Msg: 4100 *Conference*
03-13-93 08:17:29
From: CRAIG HALLMAN
To : M100 HAMS
Subj: PACKET RADIO
I just got my ham radio license about a month ago (I'm KD6RWW) and I now want to get into Packet. There has been some conversation here about Packet already. It was noted the a Terminal Node Controller (TNC) is needed. If I understand correctly, a TNC is a stand-alone microprocessor and modem unit with a serial port. Since the M100 has a standard port and a terminal program, it works well with a TNC. I have also learned that there is another kind of TNC that is basically just a modem and it uses a computer (typically a MSDOS or C64) as the microprocessor. It too attaches to the serial port but requires specific TNC emulating software -- not just a terminal program like full-featured TNC. The advantace of these types of TNC are price --about $50-- and size -- about the size of a serial adaptor. Has anyone written a program for the M100 to run one of these TNCs? I would LOVE to give new life to my beloved M102 which is seeing less and less use these days. If a program hasn't been written and somewhat is up to the challenge, I'd be glad to tell them more specifics! Packet radio is revolutionizing Ham radio and it would be great to see Hams adopt the M100 as their pet comptuter. I'll check back here in about a week. Craig A. Hallman