[FADCA] 6-pack TNC image

[Chuck Hast]

For those of you who are interested,
Here is the text on the 6-pack image, and the driver for DOS/Windows,
it is part of the Linux installation so you do not need it.

Read the documents, I am going to get it tested on my Linux machine,
this according to the documentation should be better than CRC kiss as
it not only does the CRC check on the rs-232 port but also keeps more
network and detecion functions in the TNC where as kiss keeps most of
them back on the computer, so you can get into issues of timeing with
particularly faster networks and retry issues.

The ability to multiplex TNC's on a single serial port is also supported
by 6-pack, it is as far as i can see not yet implemented under LINUX.
FYI, it does work differently from the BPQKISS multi-drop operation.
The TNC's are connected in a ring rather than a star, there is no need
to use the control lines to signal activity. Nor do you have to go into the
eprom binary and change the address byte, the TNC's are numbered
by their position in the ring.


Here is the english text


FlexNet-Driver documentation    6PACK.EXE   (C) 1995 G. Jost DK7WJ/AC5FC

Date:  10/95
Ident: 6PACK

Driver to control TNC2 with 6PACK eprom

A KISS driver controlling a TNC2 has it's well-known timing problems.
If you were using KISS, this driver is the matter of choice as it controls
TNC2 under PC/FlexNet with precise timing (the other users on your channel
will be happy for this).
Before starting don't forget to burn the file 6PACK.BIN (delivered with
this driver) into an eprom and install in your TNC2.

The use of 16550-type UARTS with FIFO-buffer is supported and generally
recommended.

Command line parameters:

   - COM 1-4 can be adressed simply by the COM port number
     e.g. '6PACK 1' installs the 6PACK-driver with the default
     values of the seriel port 1
     other port adresses and IRQ numbers are optional; adresses and
     IRQ numbers can be given either decimal or beginning with '0x' for
     hexadecimal notation.

   - the seriel baudrate is also adressed here (default: 19200bd)

IMPORTANT: In order to function properly, the baudrate between computer
and TNC2 must be at least TWICE the baudrate of the HF communication
(e.g. a 9600bd FSK transmission needs at least a baudrate of 19200bd at
the seriel port).
In order to have the right timing to FlexNet, the correct RF baudrate must
be set with the 'MODE' command (FSET or MODE).
Other parameters like DAMA master, full/halfduplex are also set with the
'MODE' command (please refer to the FlexNet documentation).
The 'MODE' options 'c/t/r/z' are ignored.

Meaning of channel statistics:

terr:   TX-underrun in TNC, means TNC is too slow for HDLC-baudrate
rerr:   RX-underrun in TNC, means TNC is too slow for HDLC-baudrate
rberr:  Buffer-overflow in TNC; means PC is too slow or overloaded
        with the current tasks
ioerr:  RX-overrun or transmission error in PC; means PC is overloaded;
        also incremented every 60 seconds if no TNC is active

terr, rerr and rberr are also incremented by RS232 transmission errors!
If the ioerr counter shows errors, these values may be incorrect.
Errors occuring occasionally are no problem but if they happen more often,
either the PC should be tuned or the seriel baudrate be decreased, so
avoiding a 'hanging' of the HF channel.

Controlling several TNCs:

6PACK is capable of controlling up to 8 TNCs. To use this feature, the
seriel lines must be conected in a ring. That means the TxD-line of the
PC is connected to the RxD of the first TNC, TxD of the first TNC is
connected to the RxD of the second TNC and so on... The TxD of the last
TNC in the ring is then connected to the RxD of the PC.
The channel assignment is done automatically; the lowest channel number
is assigned to the first TNC in the ring.
This alignment is hardware compatible to TNN token ring. Yet, in case of
6PACK a completely different protocol (without token) is used.
Watchdog triggering via RTS is supported.
The number of channels assigned upon installation of the 6PACK driver should
be equal the number of the TNCs in the ring.
Nevertheless nothing will happen if these values differ.

A short description of the commandline parameters is available by typing
'6PACK /?'


-- 
Chuck Hast 
To paraphrase my flight instructor;
"the only dumb question is the one you DID NOT ask resulting in my going
out and having to identify your bits and pieces in the midst of torn
and twisted metal."