
TheNet X-1J release 2 read.me file                               Page 1

This disk contains the distribution version of TheNet X-
1J release 4.

1. Hardware Requirements

     The  software runs in a Z80 based TNC2  or  similar
     clone  such  as  the  BSX2.  It  is  installed   as
     described   in  the  bankswitch  mods   file,   but
     essentially all it needs is a single piece of  wire
     from pin 8 of the modem disconnect header to pin  1
     of the EPROM.
     
     There is also a version for the PK96 that needs  no
     bankswitch  mods but may need change for  the  DCDB
     select on pin 23
     
     The  EPROM needed is a 27512, rather than the 27256
     of  a  normal TNC2. Pin 1 of the EPROM is bent  out
     from the socket and connected as described above.
     
     The  TNC2 needs to be set to the higher clock speed
     of  4.9  MHz  as a minimum. Whilst this version  of
     TheNet  is  more efficient than others, it  is  not
     sensible to run at the slower speed.
     
     The TNC needs at least 32K bytes of RAM. If a PK96
     is used with extra RAM only 32 K will be used.
     
     The TNC needs to have DCDB from the SIO/0 connected
     to  pin  23 of the RS232 connector. See the section
     on RS232 later in this note for more information.
     
2. Installing over TheNet X previous versions

     If  you are replacing a previous ROM with TheNet in
     it,  be  sure to do a coldstart ( you may  need  to
     remove the battery link to force this ).
     
3. Files

     The files on this disk are :
     
          thenet1.x1j    Part 1 of the code
          thenet2.x1j    part 2 of the code
          readme.*       This file
          configur.*     Installation guide
          userguid.*     A user's guide to the node
          overview.*     The sysop's manual
          quickref.*     A handy quick reference guide
          bankswit.*     Information on the hardware bankswitching
          intro.*        The brief release note
          smeter.*       Details on the Smeter hardware
          devmeter.*     Details on the deviation meter
          patch.exe      A windowing driven patcher
          intel.exe      An Intel hex file dump utility
          intel.c        The source of the above
          motorola.exe   A Motorola S1 type file dumper
          motorola.c     The source of the above
          sethelp.exe    Utility to change the ROM help text
          sethelp.c      The source of the above
          printpwd.exe   Utility to print a password nicely
          printpwd.c     The source of the above
          smeter.csv     Sample data for smeter calibration
          smeter.ljt     Circuit for an S meter in HPPCL format
          ipxlink.doc    Ideas on node IP addressing
          x1jconv.c      Source for x1jconv.exe
          x1jconv.exe    Utility to help manage node configuration
          x1jconv.txt    Documentation for x1jconv.exe
          thenetx.hlp    Windows 3.1 Help file of main documents
          
    The files denoted '*' are stored in two formats
    
    .TXT	ASCII versions of the files
    .DOC	Word for Windows 2.0 format
    
    The files contain the same except for the DEVMETER
    and SMETER, as the ASCII version does not contain
    the circuit diagrams or graphs. The smeter circuit
    diagram is shown in laserjet printer format ( i.e.
    HPPCL ) in the file smeter.ljt. As this is a large
    file, it has been compressed into the zip file
    smeter.zip.
    
    The file thenetx.hlp is a MS Windows 3.1 help file.
    Whilst running windows, open file manager, select
    the file and either run it or drag it to the
    desktop to create an Icon under windows that
    contains most of the main documentation.
    
4. Using it with a TCP/IP system

     One  of  the reasons for the inclusion  of  the  IP
     router  was to help the development of IP networks.
     This is in two different ways :
     
       It  allows a IP station that does not  run  24
       hours  to run an IP router for the others in  the
       area without leaving the PC running,

       It allows existing nodes to double as IP routers.

     In  scenario 1, where a station runs a  TNC2  clone
     with  a  KISS ROM or similar, this software may  be
     used  instead  of  the  KISS  ROM.  It  should   be
     configured to run KISS, Selective Copy on the RS232
     port.
          
5. The other version

     The version that includes the HIGH and LOW commands
     is   not   included  here.  It  used  a   form   of
     bankswitching  that  clashes  with  the   deviation
     meter.
     
6. Problems

     One of the main problems with release 2 was the
     loss of buffers over time. It was cured by a fault
     in the L2 receive handler when a reject frame was
     sent on connect establishment. In this case the
     receive buffer was not released. This has been
     cured.
     
     One  common problem. If your node appears to 'lose'
     nodes,  look  very carefully at the rates  of  node
     broadcasts   and  the  setting  of  the   algorithm
     control.  The RS232 rate should be faster than  the
     radio  rate  or it should be set to zero,  and  the
     alternative algorithm should only be enabled on the
     RS232  port if at all. Try switching it off to  see
     if that helps.
     
     The patcher has been altered. The code now comes as
     two  parts and the patcher patches both at the same
     time. It needs & expects to be able to access  both
     parts.
     
7.   RS232 connections

     It is important that you understand the RS232
     connections.
     
     The  RS232  port will operate in one of  two  basic
     modes,  a  dumb terminal mode and a protocol  mode.
     Each  of  these  modes  has  two  basic  types   of
     operation. These are detailed further below.
     
     The  decision  as to whether the node  operates  in
     dumb  terminal  or  protocol mode  depends  on  the
     setting   of   the  DCDB  input   of   the   serial
     communications chip ( the SIO/0 ). In TNC2  clones,
     this   is  the  signal  on  pin  23  of  the  RS232
     connector, but in most TNCs you will need to either
     insert  a  link or a piece of wire, as detailed  in
     your  TNC  manual. After connecting  the  links  if
     needed, then leaving pin 23 open circuit will cause
     the  TNC  to  operate  in dumb terminal  mode,  and
     setting it to a negative voltage ( ie connecting it
     to  pin  10 ) will cause it to operate in  protocol
     mode.
     
     If  you use a BSX2 TNC, then you should connect pin
     23  to  pin 7 rather than pin 10 for protocol mode.
     You  will also need to insert a link into  JMP14  &
     make sure there is no jumper in JMP9.
     
     If you use one of the other common TNC2 clones such
     as   the   PK80,  MFJ1270,  TNC-200  etc,  then   I
     understand  (  but cannot confirm ) that  you  will
     need  to connect a wire from JMP9 pin 1,2  or  3  -
     they are all joined on the PCB - to RS232 pin 23.
     
     Incidentally, don't forget to increase the watchdog
     timer capacitor to give a 1 minute timeout ( C31 to
     47uF in TNC2 clones ).
     
     Finally, the protocol modes are CROSSLINK or  KISS,
     selected  by  the firmware, and the  dumb  terminal
     modes are STANDARD or MODEM, again set by firmware.
     In the MODEM mode, hardware handshaking is used for
     connect request / disconnect. This is NOT the usual
     method  of  operation. Unless you are  certain  you
     understand, DO NOT use this mode !.
     
     If  you  use the PK96 there are some problems  with
     the  RS232 port. See the text in the overview guide
     for details.
     
8. Introduction to nodes

     If  you have not used a TNC based node before,  the
     following  notes  on  the operation  of  the  'dumb
     terminal' port may be of use.
     
     When  pin  23 on the RS232 interface is  high,  and
     with  a terminal or terminal emulator on the  RS232
     port,  the  node  will  not appear  to  respond  to
     anything.  If  you send an 'escape' character,  the
     node  should respond with a '* '. If it  does  not,
     look at the TNC status LED. It should be dimly  lit
     with a little bit of a flicker. If not, the node is
     not operating. If it is, you have an RS232 problem.
     If you receive unsolicited garbage whenever the TNC
     receives data, you have pin 23 tied low and you are
     receiving crosslink or kiss frames.
     
     If it does respond with a star and a space, you can
     now type one of 3 characters - C, D or P.
     
     P will display or set the current password.
     D will disconnect you from the node.
     C will connect you to the node.
     
     Try  the  C  command. You should get a  'connected'
     message.  Hit '?' followed by return and  you  will
     get a list of all commands.
     
     Escape commands only work on the RS232 port when in
     dumb terminal mode. Don't forget to disconnect from
     the node before you disconnect the terminal.
     
     The  main  documentation details the  new  commands
     added  to  the original TheNet 1.01.  It  does  not
     cover  the original commands unless they have  been
     changed. The commands of interest are :
          
          Connect
          Node
          Route
          User
          CQ
          Parms
          Sysop
          Info
          Reset
     
     These  are  described  in  user  guide,  with   the
     exception  of  the Sysop aspects of  the  commands.
     These are as follows :
     
8.1 Node

     The Node command may be used to make a manual entry
     in  the  Net/Rom node table. When this is done,  it
     may  also  make  an entry in the  routes  table  if
     necessary. The syntax of the command is :
     
     NODE Callsign + Ident Quality Count Port Neighbour
     
     callsign is the callsign of the destination node
     ident is the alias of the destination node
     Quality is the node quality for the entry
     Count is the obsolescence count to be given to  the
     entry
     Port is the level 2 port ( 0 for radio, 1 for RS232
     )
     Neighbour is the callsign of the neighbouring  node
     to route through
     
     So  to  make  an  entry that will never  expire  to
     ANODE:G8KBB-1  where the node is accessed  directly
     on the radio port with a quality of 123, enter
     
     NODE G8KBB-1 + ANODE 123 0 0 G8KBB-1

     If  the  same station is not heard directly but  is
     accessed through node GB7TXM-2 over the radio,  and
     the  entry will expire when its obsolescence  drops
     to zero from an initial count of 8, enter :
     
     NODE G8KBB-1 + ANODE 123 8 0 GB7TXM-2

     An  entry  may be deleted by substituting  '-'  for
     '+'.

8.2 Route

     The  routing  table tells the node  the  routes  to
     neighbouring nodes. It can also be used to  make  a
     manual entry as follows :
     
     ROUTE Port Callsign [ Digilist ... ] + pathquality

     Port  is the AX.25 port number, 0 for radio  and  1
     for RS232
     Callsign is the neighbouring node's callsign
     

8.3 Parms

     The  PARMS  command  sets a number  of  basic  node
     parameters.  See the quick reference  guide  for  a
     list of them.

8.4 Sysop
     
     Sysop is used to attain Sysop status. The node will
     challenge with 5 numbers. These are used to look up
     the  corresponding password characters in the Sysop
     password  table. This password is returned  to  the
     node  on  the next line. The password is stored  in
     the  ROM  and  is  copied  into  RAM  following   a
     coldstart.  From a locally connected  terminal  the
     password  may  be displayed or changed.  using  the
     <escape>P command.
     
9. 'User channel' nodes
     
     To  create  a  'user channel' node (  ie  one  that
     supports  Net/Rom protocols on its RS232  port  but
     not on its Radio port ), do the following :
     
          Set the radio port default quality to one less
       than minqual
           Bar  node  broadcasts on the  radio  port  by
       setting MODE parameter number four to 2
           Ensure  that  no manual routes exist  in  the
       route table for port 0.
     
10. EADG Nodes
     
     If  you  put a node up in the UK that can be  heard
     from  East Anglia, may I encourage you to  put  the
     QRA  locator in the Beacon text to enable the G1TLH
     Beacon  analysis  program to report  accurately  on
     propagation conditions.
     
     
73's

Dave G8KBB @ GB7MXM.#36.GBR.EU
[44.131.16.31] g8kbb@g8kbb.ampr.org

7, Rowanhayes Close
Ipswich
IP2 9SX
England

Tel    0473 682266
    +44 473 682266

