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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 serial 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 serial 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 serial 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 serial 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 /?'