Kantronics KAM 98 User manual

KAM’98
Users Guide: Introduction,
Getting Started,
Modes of Operation,
Command Reference, and
Hardware Specifications
Kantronics
1202 E. 23rd Street,
Lawrence, Kansas 66046
Orders/ Inquiries [phone]
FAX [phone]
e-mail [email protected]
website: www.kantronics.com
Service / Technical Support [phone] (2-5 pm Central Time, M-F)
FAX [phone]
e-mail [email protected]

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
We have attempted to make this manual technically and typographically
correct as of the date of the current printing. Production changes to the KAM ’98
may add errata or additional addendum sheets. We solicit your comments and/or
suggested corrections. Please send these to Kantronics Co., Inc.,
1202 E. 23rd Street, Lawrence, KS 66046.
© Copyright 1998 by Kantronics Co., Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Contents of this publication or the firmware within the KAM ’98 may not be re-
produced in any form without the written permission of the copyright owner.
KAM’98, KPC-9612 Plus, KPC-3 Plus, Pacterm and Pacterm’98 are trademarks
of Kantronics Co., Inc. NET/ROM is a registered trademark of SOFTWARE
2000. APRS is a registered trademark of Bob Bruninga, WB4APR.
The KAM’98 is manufactured in the U.S.A.
Printed in the United States of America.

Kantronics Warranty Registration
Please fill out this warranty registration form (or a copy of it) and mail it with a
copy of your sales receipt to register your purchase. Both must be on file at
Kantronics in order for you to receive warranty service. Refer to the warranty
policy in this manual for further information.
Mail form and sales receipt to:
Kantronics
1202 E 23rd Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
Warranty Registration
Last Name:
First Name: Callsign:
Mailing Address
City: State: Zip:
Country:
Daytime telephone:
Product: KAM’98 serial #:
Date of Purchase: Dealer:
KAM’98 v 8.3 i User’s Guide

User’s Guide ii KAM’98 v 8.3

IMPORTANT: READ THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU
INSTALL YOUR NEW KANTRONICS PRODUCT
This product contains SOFTWARE on Programmable Read Only Memory
(PROM) and/or diskette which is protected by both United States copyright law
and international treaty provisions.
If you install or use this product , you will be deemed to be bound by the terms of
the SOFTWARE license shown below. If you do not wish to be bound by such
license, return such product and all associated documentation unused to your
supplier for refund of the amount you paid.
License Agreement
1. License. In consideration of payment of the License Fee, which is included in
the price of the product, the Licensee (you) is granted by the Licensor
(Kantronics Company, Inc. - Kantronics) a non-exclusive right to use the
SOFTWARE and associated documentation. No ownership rights to the
SOFTWARE or its Documentation are transferred from Kantronics to you.
2. Term. This License Agreement is effective until terminated. You may termi-
nate this Agreement by destroying the PROM or diskette and documentation.
You may not rent or lease the SOFTWARE, but you may transfer the SOFT-
WARE and accompanying written materials on a permanent basis provided you
retain no copies and the recipient agrees to the terms of this Agreement.
Kantronics may terminate this Agreement without notice if you violate any terms
or conditions of the Agreement. In the event of termination of the Agreement,
provisions relating to Kantronics’ disclaimers of warranties, limitation of liability,
remedies, or damages and Kantronics’ proprietary rights shall survive.
3. Object Code. The SOFTWARE is delivered in object code only. You shall not
reverse compile or otherwise reverse engineer the SOFTWARE.
4. Limited Warranty. This product is covered by the standard Kantronics Co.,
Inc. Limited Warranty, which is enclosed.
License Agreement
KAM’98 v 8.3 iii User’s Guide

5. General. This License Agreement constitutes the complete Agreement
between you and Kantronics.
The SOFTWARE and/or Documentation may not be exported or re-exported in
violation of any export laws or regulations of the United States of America or any
other applicable jurisdiction.
This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted under the laws of the State
of Kansas, United States of America.
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the Government of the United States is subject
to restrictions as set forth in subparagraph (c)(1)(ii) of the Rights in Technical
Data and Computer SOFTWARE clause of DFARS 252.227-7013.
Kantronics may in its sole discretion, provide you with upgrades of the SOFT-
WARE and/or Documentation if you have provided Kantronics your completed
Warranty registration with a copy of your receipt showing the amount you paid.
LICENSEE ACKNOWLEDGES HAVING READ AND UNDERSTOOD THIS
AGREEMENT AND AGREES TO BE BOUND BY ITS TERMS. LICENSEE
FURTHER AGREES THAT THIS AGREEMENT IS THE COMPLETE AND
EXCLUSIVE STATEMENT OF THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN LICENSEE
AND LICENSOR AND SUPERSEDES ANY PROPOSAL OR PRIOR
AGREEMENT, ORAL OR WRITTEN, AND ANY OTHER COMMUNICA-
TIONS RELATING TO THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS AGREEMENT.
Any questions concerning this Agreement or any other matter relating to
Kantronics Company, Inc. products or business practices may be directed to:
Customer Service Department
Kantronics Company, Inc.
1202 E. 23rd Street,
Lawrence, KS 66046
License Agreement
User’s Guide iv KAM’98 v 8.3

TABLE OF CONTENTS
License Agreement .................................iii
Limited Warranty ...................................1
Applicable Products: ...............................2
Return/Repair Procedures ..............................5
Check-List for Possible Problems ......................5
Return Procedures ..............................5
Charges ....................................6
International Returns ...............................7
Radio Frequency Interference Statement.......................9
EU Declaration of Conformity: “CE”........................10
RFI Suppression...................................10
Introduction................................................11
Welcome.......................................11
Summary of Features ..............................11
Major Uses of Your KAM’98 ............................14
Overview of This “User’s Guide” Manual .....................14
Documentation Conventions ............................15
Differences from the KAM Plus ..........................16
Package Contents ..................................17
Additional Parts For Your Multi-Mode Radio Station . . .............18
Our Assumptions About You ............................18
Basic Components of Your Station .......................19
Inside a TNC – the KAM’98 ............................20
Overview of Modes of Digital Communication ..................22
HF/VHF and Packet/Non-Packet Communication . . .............22
Packet Communication ...............................23
Sending a Message to Another Station .....................24
Packets: Dividing Messages into Segments ...................28
Unconnected Packets ............................29
Connected Packets..............................29
How a Packet is Organized .........................30
Kinds of Packets...............................31
Protocols: Rules for Working Together .....................32
AX.25....................................32
Alternatives to AX.25 ............................32
KAM’98 v 8.3 v User’s Guide

Installing Your KAM’98......................................33
The Major Components of Your Station ......................34
TheKAM’98..................................34
Back Panel..................................34
The Transceivers.................................35
Cabling the KAM’98 to your HF transceiver ................35
The Computer ..................................37
The Serial Port on Your Computer .....................38
GPS Device (Optional) .............................39
How the Parts of Your Station are Connected....................40
Connect Your KAM’98 to a Power Source .....................41
External Power from Your Bench (12 Volt dc) .................42
External Power Transformed from 120 Vac Line Voltage ...........43
External Power from your Radio ........................44
Connect your KAM’98 to Your Computer .....................44
Your Serial Communication Cable .......................44
Purchase Your Serial Cable .........................45
Make Your Serial Cable ...........................45
Installing the RS-232 Cable ...........................47
Install Software and Configure Your KAM’98 ...................49
Connect Your KAM’98 to Your Transceiver ....................51
Parts for Connecting Your KAM’98 to Your Transceiver ............52
Preparing the Transceiver Cable Assembly ...................52
Wiring Directions (Connecting KAM’98 and Transceiver) ........52
Constructing the Cable Assembly ......................58
Connecting Your Transceiver Cable Assembly .................63
Wiring to a Data Jack ............................64
Adjusting Receive Volume and Squelch Control of Your Transceiver . . . . . 64
Transmit level adjustment ............................66
For HF modes ................................66
For FM packet operations ..........................66
Connecting to a GPS Device (Optional) ......................67
Pacterm v 2.0..............................................69
Introduction .....................................69
Our Assumptions About You ..........................69
Table of Contents
User’s Guide vi KAM’98 v 8.3

Overview.....................................70
Installing Pacterm ..................................72
Saving Pacterm on Your Hard Drive ......................72
Copying files from a floppy to your hard drive . . .............72
Guided Installation .............................73
Saving Pacterm on a Floppy Disk ........................73
Establishing Communication ............................74
Starting Pacterm...................................75
Coordinating Pacterm and Your TNC........................76
Coordinating BAUD Rates: The Autobaud Routine ..............76
Configuring the TNC for Use with Pacterm...................77
Required TNC Parameter Settings .....................77
Optional Parameter Settings.........................78
Pacterm Screens ...................................79
The MAIN Menu Screen ............................79
The Terminal Screen ...............................80
The Status Line ...............................80
Pacterm Commands: Overview ...........................81
On-Screen Help .................................81
From MAIN Menu, BACKSPACE = Go to Terminal Screen ..........81
From Terminal Screen, F1 = Go to MAIN Menu ................81
Commands: Setup, Using the MAIN Menu.....................82
F3 = Select TNC Use (Default = Packet) ....................82
F7 = Select SERIAL PORT (Default = COM2) .................83
F8 = Select BAUD RATE (Default = 9600)...................83
Commands: Controlling the Flow of Data .....................84
F5 = Pacterm to TNC: Offline or Online (Default) . . .............84
F6 = TNC to Pacterm: STOP or START (Default) . . .............85
Commands: Output Control .............................85
ALT+P = Printer: ON or OFF (Default) .....................86
ALT+B = Holding Buffer: OPEN or CLOSE (Default) .............86
ALT+C = Holding Buffer: CLEAR .......................87
F2 = Holding Buffer: SAVE and CLEAR ....................87
Two ways to Save Holding Buffer Data...................88
ALT+F = Send a File to Your TNC .......................89
Commands: Exiting .................................90
Table of Contents
KAM’98 v 8.3 vii User’s Guide

F9 = Switch Your TNC to Command Mode...................90
F10 = Disconnect and EXIT to DOS ......................91
ESC or CTRL+C (on Main Menu Only) = EXIT to DOS............91
HF Non-Packet Functions (For KAMs Only)....................92
Commands that Work Differently in HF Non-Packet Mode . .........92
Additional Commands for HF Non-Packet ...................93
ALT+T (transmit) = Exit Type-ahead ....................93
ALT+R (receive) = Return to Type-ahead .................93
ALT+E = Return to Receive.........................93
ALT+H = Shift Tone Pair Frequencies ...................94
ALT+I = Invert Received Signal (rtty/ascii) ................94
ALT+S n = Speed Change..........................94
Trouble-Shooting Difficulties in Communicating .................95
Problem: Go to Terminal Screen, but Nothing Happens ............95
Problem: Your Computer Freezes Up ......................95
Problem: You Are Getting Bad or Intermittent Data ..............95
Problem: Your TNC Stops Behaving Normally .................96
Getting Started .............................................97
The Front Panel of the KAM’98 ..........................98
Beginning a Session ...............................99
Packet Operations ..................................99
Giving Commands and Transmitting Data ...................99
Command Mode (Packet) ..........................99
Converse (Conversation) Mode (Packet) .................100
TRANS (Transparent) Mode........................100
TNC Commands ................................101
NEWUSER Commands ..........................101
List of NEWUSER Commands ......................103
Using NEWUSER Packet Commands .....................104
Check Your KAM’98’s Version Number and ID .............104
GetHelp..................................104
View Current Values of Parameters ....................105
Change the Value of a Parameter .....................105
Connect to Your Mailbox (PBBS) .........................106
Switching to the Full Command Set (and Back)..................107
Table of Contents
User’s Guide viii KAM’98 v 8.3