Copyright Notes

(c) Rossopulos George (SV2AGW) 1990-2000

G.Mistakidi 49

54250, Thessaloniki

Greece

email sv2agw@the.forthnet.gr

The program  is free for use only by Radio Amateurs in Radio Amateur Stations. You don’t have the right to change any aspect of the program that  violates the copyright, that belongs only to me. You have  the responsibility to use the program according to your local law. I don’t have any responsibility for any damages that may occur from the program use even if the program has Bugs.

All the products and their trademarks that are referenced in my programs are proprietary of their owners.


General Information

Agw Packet Engine is A packet program from the Series of AGW Packet Programs for Windows 95 . In fact is the Heart of the whole system. It’s purpose is to interacts between TNCs and the Packet Applications. It handles all the traffic between the Applications and the TNCs so the Application has not to worry about TNCs ,serial ports Protocols etc. Lets see how it works ,first when you have just a TNC and second when you have more than a TNC.

1.. With only one TNC

 Run first the Packet Engine configured Properly. Packet Engine setups the TNC. Then run for example the application AGWCLUSTER. AGWCLUSTER first connects with Packet Engine and tells it that is A Cluster Program with Callsighn SV2AGW-8. From now on Packet Engine knows that each incoming Packet Addressed to SV2AGW-8 must be routed to AGWCLUSTER Application. Next run the AGWTERMINAL with call SV2AGW and then the AGWFWD with Call SV2AGW-1. So we have now running three (3) different Packet Programs each one with a unique Callsighn (SSID). This is done with only one TNC and transceiver. Isn’t it amazing!! You can run simultaneously many Packet programs and every one is running independently from the other. You can Yapp and you are still able to receive DXSPOTS from your Cluster Node and you can also download messages from your local bbs.

2.. With more TNCs

You can do all the above. But now you can connect , from each program , through any radioport you like without the need for any extra configuration. In fact if you have many TNCs ,like me, you have to configure all the TNCs from Packet Engine once and then every time you can power only the desired ones. The program understands the active tncs and works only with them all the others are in IDLE MODE (Unavailable).

Packet Engine is the only program that self adjusts TNC Parameters (persist,slottime,frack etc) according to channel trafic.That way there is nothing to worry about.

The program does not has a window.It just seats on the task bar. Select it and display its system menu to interact with it.

In the zip file there is also the “Develop.txt” where you can find info if you wish to write your own packet program using the Packet Engine.

3.TCPIP Over Radio Support

Packet Engine lets you use all the WIN95/98 internet programs over radio. It uses a special driver (AGWDIAL.VXD) which redirects the MSTCPIP(Microsoft tcpip) to Packet Engine and from there to air and vice versa. There are two drivers available one for win95/98 and another for win98.


TNC Configuration

Select properties from the system menu.

If you already have installed a RadioPort and wish to change or check its properties, select it

RadioPort is not the tnc. For instance the DRSI driver supports 8 radioports and it is just a TNC. So dont wait to have in the systray an icontnc for every radioport.

If you wish to create a new radioport press [NEW].

Everything is quite simple

BAUDRATE enter here if the tnc is external the serial port baudrate else enter the onair baudrate.For instance if your tnc is Baycom at 1200 select 1200.If it is a TAPR TNC2 then enter the serial port baudrate ,probably 9600.

EXTERNAL TNCs Not In The LIST!!

Be sure that your TNC support KISS Frames (Kiss mode).

Select the serial port,baudrate and in the INIKISS fields enter the commands your tnc needs to enter KISS mode. If those commands are more than 3.Then you can put your tnc in kiss mode using a terminal program like the Hyperterminal. In this case uncheck the “Exit Kiss on Exit” checkbox. This will leave your tnc in kISS mode on exit. So the next time your tnc will be in kiss mode

1.External tnc

1.Select the appropriate serial port.

2.Select the baudrate that your tnc communicates with your computer (NOT the on air baudrate)

3.Select your tnc type from the list. If you have a special tnc that doesnt appears in the list the select a generic type and fill the appropriate commands in the inikiss edit controls so that your tnc ennter the KISS mode

4.Select the special KISS eprom your tnc may support

5.Check how many ports your tnc has.

6.the serial buffer size is ok and leave it as is

7.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for that radioport

8.the kissid is always auto filled by the program.

2.Baycom Serial modem

1.Select the appropriate serial port

2.Select the appropriate baudrate.In this case the baudrate is the onair baudrate 1200

3.Select from the tnc type list Baycom Serial. Now appears the serial comm port properties. Check them to be correct. Must be the same as in Control Panel/System/Ports .The program searches the registry but !!!!!

4.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for the radioport

5.If this is the second baycom installed then the kissid will be 16.Leave it as is

 6.Now Software DCD for Baycom. Check it from the second tab dialog to use unsquelched audio.

 7.You can change also the WalkStepDiv from port(x).ini file.Where x is the port number -1.If Baycom is radioport1 then change the port0.ini. I havent included this in the dialogs since it is rather rare the need to change it.

Try to find a suitable value for your baycom

3.DRSI cards

1.Leave the serial port and baudrate as is.They have no meaning

2.Select from the Tnc type list the appropriate model

3.Now appears the dialog with the properties for your DRSI card

4.Check if the baudrates are correct for your card and also the base address and irq line. If you               wish       to use Hardware clocking for external modems enter a value of  0.

5.In the Tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for each RadioPort

4.USCC Baycom Cards

1.Leave the serial port and baudrate as is. They have no meaning.

2.Select from the Tnc type list the appropriate model.

3.Now appears the dialog with the properties for the USCC card.

4.Check the correct parameters . In fact you have only to set the third HDLC port parameters if you have installed a modem to that port

5.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for each RadioPort

6.OE5DXL 9600 G3RUH compatible modem

1.Select the appropriate serial port

2.Select from the tnc type list  OE5DXL 9600 . Now appears the serialcom port properties. Check them to be correct. The program searches the registry but !!!!!

3.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for the radioport

4.If this is the second OE5DXL modem installed then the kissid will be 16.Leave it as is

5.Now Also Software Dcd threshold.

You must connect the modem with the sortest possible cable (Serial Port cable). Also from Control panel system ports select the serial port the modem is installed and from advance dialog disable the FIFO for that serial port.

7.YAM 9600/1200 modem

1.select the appropriate serial port

2.Select from the tnc type list  YAM . Now appears the serialcom port properties. Check them to be correct. The program searches the registry but !!!!!

3.Browse and find the YAM initialization file.

4.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for the radioport

5.If this is the second YAM modem installed then the kissid will be 16.Leave it as is

6.Select the appropriate BaudRate 9600 or 1200

8.OptoScc 4 channel Isa card (PA0HZP)

1.Leave the serial port and baudrate as is.They have no meaning

2.Select from the Tnc type list OptoScc card

3.Now appears the dialog with the properties for your card

4.Check if the baudrates are correct for your card and also the base address and irq line.

5.In the Tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for each RadioPort

9.PetScc 2 channel Isa Card (PE1PET)

1.Leave the serial port and baudrate as is.They have no meaning

2.Select from the Tnc type list PetScc card

3.Now appears the dialog with the properties for your card

4.Check if the baudrates are correct for your card and also the base address and irq line.

5.In the Tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for each RadioPort

10.Sound Cards

Sound Cards have no ptt. So we need to use some method to ptt while tx.So we use the RTS signal from a serial Port.

1.Select from the Tnc type Sound Card

2.Select The serial/Parallel Port that will use as the PTT source

3.The serial Port BaudRate should Be 1200 or 9600.Depending on the baud rate you wish to operate on air.

4.In the Tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for each RadioPort

The Sound Card Connections are as follow. For DB9. The PTT output is the RTS and DTR. Use any of them, but only one.

You can use also the parallel port. Use the same circuit just connect it to any of D0-D7 parallel port pins.D0=2..D7=9

.

Use your Sound Card Line in to connect your tranceivers speaker out. It could be better to use the output some tranceivers provide at the mic connector. Eg Kenwood has such an output at pin 6.

If your Sound Card has a line out then use this to provide audio in mic input. Otherwise use the speker out. You may find necessary to use a voltage divider to reduce the audio output level.

Be carefull use screened cable and ground the screen only at tranceiver side, use another cable to connect Sound Card ground with tranceiver ground.

11.G4XYW 9600b Modem

1.Select the appropriate serial port

2.Select from the tnc type list  G4XYW 9600 . Now appears the serialcom port properties. Check them to be correct. The program searches the registry but !!!!!

3.In the tnc RadioPort Description write the friendly name for the radioport

Now you are ready. Terminate the program and start it again.


TNC Support

You can use any external TNC that can be in KISS mode. Including special Tnc Types like Kantronics (@), etc. (Dual port etc).

DRSI cards. Up to 4 sharing the same Irq line.

Baycom USCC 2 and 4 port cards

Baycom serial modem for 1200 or 2400.

OE5DXL 9600 G3RUH compatible modem.

The Yam 9600 G3RUH compatible modem.

OptoScc card with 4 ports

PetScc card with 2 ports

Baycom or Tigertronics PicPar96

Any Soundcard that works under windows(1200/9600)

The G4XYW 9600 smart modem

And very soon I will include also a generic SCC driver to fit with other SCC cards.

My intend is to support almost every tnc in the market.

You can have up to 100 Tncs simultaneously.

Each RadioPort has its own thread running independent from other RadioPorts.

The Baycom Serial Driver is capable of driving two (2) modems simultaneously.

The Drsi driver supports 4 cards sharing the same IRQ line.

The Baycom USCC driver support up to 8 RadioPorts This driver has the follow limitation. Its polling function is called every 10ms. But WIN95 doesnt support this resolution so the function is called roughly every 20ms and sometimes every 30-40ms.This affects the slottime which is always 20-30ms. The other drivers hasn’t that limitation because the Baycom Driver uses the serial port inerrupts and the DRSI driver The Hardware timer that exists in every DRSI card.

The performance is greater with these drivers than with  external   tncs.


In case of Trouble

If the program doesnt work properly then must be a wrong configuration parameter. In that case erase all the ini files  start the program  and do the configuration again from scratch.

Remember not to change the parameters that are set auto as is the kissid parameter.

Check the Kiss Mode. For Software Tncs (Baycoms,SCC etc) must be Simple Kiss.

With External Tncs check if your tnc support any special Kiss mode.

Check also the KissId. For Dual port tncs must be 0 and 16 for mono (not stereo!!) tncs must be 0.

The only exception is the second Baycom serial modem which must has an id of 16.

PK232

This tnc (especially earlier versions) need special configuration. Read your manual about the commands needed to enter kiss. And enter them from a simple terminal program.

My TNC is Not In The List

Select TNC2. Now enter the commands your tnc needs to enter KISS mode in the IniKiss fields. If the commands are more than 3 then enter the commands from a simple terminal first. If there are less then leave blank the first fields.

I Dont USE a TNC and I Receive The Message “The xxDriver is not loaded!”

The Common error is that the serial port resources are wrong (irq and Base Address). In that case press the [Options] button in the first page of properties dialog. Now check/change the resources. You can compare these values against those in control panel/system under the ports folder.

See also Baycom Troubleshooting.


Self Adjust Parameters.

AX25 timing parameters unfortunately are set once and then we leave them. But those parameters must dynamically change according to channel traffic. In most cases we select average values. Now Packet engine self adjusts those parameters, that affect the speed of data transfer, according to channel activity and Link quality. Lets see how this is done and how we can adjust the algorithm to work better. The channel activity is divided in 8 parts.1 is if channel is empty and 8 when the channel activity matches the channel capacity. Channel capacity is the amount of data we can transmit in 2 minutes with continuous tx. This capacity depends on channel Baud rate (1200...,9600....)

So when the channel is empty we can have fast data exchange and we can take the channel. Packet engine monitors the channel and every 2 minutes updates those parameters. If the channel is busy then adjusts the parameters such a way to leave room also for other stations. Packet engine changes Persist, Slottime, Maxframe, Frack, Resptime. Those settings are general and affect all our AX25 channels. AX25 channel (or LINK) is the connection we have with other station. Now Lets see what happens if we connect with a station and we start a file transfer. If the link quality is poor (we rcv rejects) AX25 reduces Maxframe. If the reject received was because of a collision then after 5 packets Maxframe is increased.

What  I forgot is to tell you that Packet engine also autodetects the channel baudrate (1200,2400,...,9600,..).

Lets see now how we can control the behavior of the algorithm. We can do it from AGWPE.INI under the section [AUTO].If there is a particular entry then the program uses it else use its default value.

1.Traffic level

We have an entry for each parameter and each traffic level. We control here only maxframe,perssist and slottime

like:

[AUTO]

MAXFRAME7=3

PERSIST7=100

SLOT7=12

;***************

MAXFRAME2=3

PERSIST3=100

SLOT2=12

Here we define values for traffic level 7 and 2 only. We can have any combination we like.There is no need to enter every value but only what we want to change.

2..Onair Baudrate Auto detection and Traffic Level Definitions.

 Packet engine calculates the traffic level according to data tx in the channel for the last 2 (two) minutes. We must provide the maximum channel capacity for each baudrate. the section is the same [AUTO]

[AUTO]

MAXBYTES1200=15000

MAXBYTES2400=30000

MAXBYTES4800=70000

MAXBYTES9600=140000

MAXBYTES19200=300000

3..AX25 timing and link quality change

We enter here the frack and the time required for a frame with 256 characters length to be tx in 100 miliseconds . (A second has 10 100ms) Lets see how

[AUTO]

MAXTIME9600=80

FRAMETIME9600=10

FRACK9600=50

Where MAXTIME(1200,..,19200) is the time required for 7 data frames with 256 bytes of data each to tx. FRAMETIME the time for a single frame need to tx. And FRACK is the time the AX25 wait to receive a confirmation from the other station. After the AX25 sends a frame calculates the Frack as follow. Add to the frack time the time needed to tx those frames.

4.Idiot Tnc Responses

Many tncs (mostly software) send idiot frames. You send 2 info frames and wait to receive something from that Tnc. A confirmation or a Reject. The Tnc then does the follow send a confirmation for the first frame and then a reject. So we must provide a time delay to receive both these frames. In an ideal word we can just process each frame as it arrives but… So we have to wait some time to be sure that nothing else will received that will turn over the previous frame. We do so, again the time is in 100ms steps

[IDIOT]

IDIOT1200=10

IDIOT2400=10

………………

IDIOT19200=5

5.Auto Maxframe Adjust

There are two entries that control the behavior of maxframe algorithm. The Max value for the maxframe and the minimum. Maxvalue is the value for the maxframe to use if the link is very good and min is the value for the bad link.

The entries are under section  [AUTO] like

[AUTO]

MAXMAXFRAME=5

MINMAXFRAME=3

This means that use maxframe of 5 and decrease it down to 3 if there are rejects.Never below 3 and never beyond 5. The default values are 7 and 1.

That is the algorithm for the auto self adjust parameters. As you have noticed I have no entry for HF baudrate (300b). I will include also that in next versions because I need to do accurate measurements.


Writing Packet Applications using AGW Packet Engine

If you wish to write your packet program you can do this using AGWPE.EXE to control tncs. That way your program will have access to almost any kind of tnc and of course many tncs at the same time. Also you will not have trouble writing code to access serial ports ,tnc parameters etc. You can interface with Packet Engine very easy using WINDOWS DDEML manager (old method) or the TCPIP API . In the file develop.txt I include all the necessary info to do this including source code of  how to. If you have any questions then ask me.


My Baycom Doesnt Works
My Baycom Doesn’t Works

1.Check in the properties dialog that you have selected the correct BaudRate.

2.Receive ok but no Transmit.The Driver by default needs the squelch to be closed. If you are using open Squelch then check soft dcd and adjust threshold.

3.Registry entries for serial ports is rather confusing so it is possible the Address and the IRQ line for the serial port to be wrong. So from control panel select the serial port, where your baycom modem is installed and check if the resources are the same as in AGWPE.EXE.

4.You must use the shortest possible cable to connect your Baycom (like) modem with the serial port. If it is possible connect the modem direct to the serial port and use longer cables to carry the audio and ptt lines

5.From control panel select system and in the hardware driver tree select ports and select the com port where your modem is installed.Select properties and from advance settings disable FIFO.

a.Disable the Screen Saver .

b.It is Possible that another program running interacts with the Baycom Driver. Try to terminate all other applications especially the antivirus programs. (check them pressing ctrl-alt-delete)

c.Set the accelerator of the graphics card to zero (no accelerator). It is possible that the vga driver eats the serial port interrupts.

d.Receive well but no transmit.Check the KissId parameter must be 0 for the first Baycom and 16 for the second (if you have two)

e.Tne TCM3105 modem chip that Baycom uses,needs high audio volumes to hear well. So try to get audio from your tranceiver external speaker jack.

f.Change the walkstepdiv from port(x).ini file.Where x is the Baycom radioport-1. If your baycom is radioport 1 then change the port0.ini file.

These are the common problems with Baycom modems.


DialUp Networking to AGW Packet Engine
DialUp Networking to AGW Packet Engine(TCPIP overRadio)

DialUp Networking is the ability of AGW Packet Engine to connects with the AGW TCP/IP modem virtual device driver. That way every WIN95 Application that uses that modem can communicate with AX25 packets.

So now you can access your Local TCP/IP Gateway station with all the WIN95 Internet programs.

NetScape,IExplorer, telnet,ftp  and all the other thousands of Internet applications available for WIN95.

******************

That mechanism is not FREE. You need to register sending 28$ USA and your callsign. I will send you then your personal registration number. If not Register then the Dialup will work only for about 30 minutes. Then you need to close the program   (Packet Engine) and start it again. All normal AX25 operations will still continue working. Registration is needed only for DialUp access.

Normal packet operations need no registration.


How to Setup DialUp

It is quite easy to do the setup. Be aware that you may need to install the PLUS (Microsoft).

You need the AGWDIALUP.ZIP file. Then do the follow.

Install the virtual Modem.

1. 	Unzip the file in a floppy disk. You have now the follow files  ( AGWDIALUP.VXD) and  AGWDIALUP.inf.

1. 	From Control panel modems press [ADD]

2. 	Check the Don’t detect my modem check box and press [NEXT]

3. 	Press [Have Disk]

4. 	The setup will find the info it needs.

5. 	Press [OK]

6. 	Now you can see the description of the new modem as AGW WIN95 DialUp to AGWPE

7. 	press [NEXT]

8. 	press [Finished]

9. 	Now the modem is installed and need configuration .

10. 	select the modem and press properties

11. 	Select a communication port. Anyone you like because we don’t use it.Our modem actually doesn’t exists. Disable all the call preferences check boxes.

12. 	Select the slowest speed possible (1200) and check the only connect at this speed checkbox

13. 	Change page dialog and go to connection

14. 	Press [ADVANCE] and disable error control and  flow control

15. 	press [OK]. Now the modem is installed ok.

You need now to install the dialup adapter. If you already have installed it the skip the follow section.

Setup DialUp Adapter

1. 	From Control Panel select Network

2. 	if the dialup adapter is not installed then press [ADD] and install the dialup adapter

3. 	Be sure to install also TCPIP protocol

Now you must setup the internet access even if you already use internet with other modem.

Setup Internet Access

1. 	double click [My computer] icon on the desktop.

2. 	double click the Dial Up Networking icon

3. 	double click the make new connection

4. 	Enter a name for that connection

5. 	Select as modem the previously installed modem (AGW Win95 DialUp to AGWPE) and Press [NEXT]

6. 	Enter a telephone number. Anything you like we actually don’t use it. Press {NEXT] and [Finished]

7. 	Now select the created icon and select properties. That must be done from Dialup Networking folder ,we previously opened

8. 	Press the [Configure] button and select the options sheet .Check the (operator assisted or manual dial) checkbox. And then press [OK].

9. 	Now select the server types dialog sheet and select from the (Type of dialup Server) SLIP:Unix Connection

10. 	on the (advanced options) uncheck the (Log on to Network) checkbox.

11. 	on the (allowed network protocols) check (TCP/IP) and press [TCP/IP Settings]

12. 	Enter you tcpip address and your Local Gateway station IP address Press [OK] and you are ready

Setup AGWPE for DialUp

Select from AGWPE.EXE system menu [DIALUP]

Fill all the fields . If you don’t have a registration number then leave that field clear. You will be able to use the dialup services only for about 30 minutes.

If you Already have a Telphone Internet Connection

To have separate settings for each dialup connection then leave blank the properties of  TCPIP for the DialUp Adapter and enter the Ip Addresses for each  dialup connection from the properties of the dialup connection Icon in the DialUp networking folder. That way each internet connection will use its own settings. Otherwise ,configure the tcpip dialup adapter, all internet connections will use the same settings.


Register DialUp Service
Register TCPIP services

The registration fees for dialup service is only 28$ USA.  You can register using any method you like. The registration must be done via BMP. A company which handles my registrations. So reach BMP and you are ready. Then I will send you the registration Number for your sytem. If you cannot afford the 28$ then tell me and I will send you the registration number for FREE.

You can register online also from my WEB site http://www.forthnet.gr/sv2agw/

Mail Orders :

                                  BMT Micro

                                  PO Box 15016

                                  Wilmington, NC 28408

                                  U.S.A.

                    Voice Orders: 8:00am - 7:00pm EST (-5 GMT)

                                  (800) 414-4268 (orders only)

                                  (910) 791-7052

                      Fax Orders: (910) 350-2937  24 hours / 7 Days

                                  (800) 346-1672  24 hours / 7 Days

                    via Internet: orders@bmtmicro.com

                                  http://www.bmtmicro.com

        Secure Ordering: http://www.bmtmicro.com/info/placeorder.html

     Ordering and general ordering questions:

                            Via AOL: bmtmicro

                         Via Prodigy: HNGP66D

                    Via Compuserve: 74031,307

     We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, Diners

     Club, Carte Blanche, Cashiers Check, Personal Check.   Personal

     checks are subject to clearance.  Eurochecks in DM are welcome.

     DM, Sterling, and US Currency is welcome but send only by

     registered mail, return receipt requested.   We cannot be liable

     for lost cash sent through the mail.


How To Use DialUp

First double click the icon connection from mycomputer dialup networking,you created for use with AGWPE.EXE

Press the [CONNECT[ in the Connect To dialog.

Press again [Connect] in the Manual Dial dialog

Press [Continue] in theTerminal Screen.

Now you are ready.

Run AGWPE.EXE.

You are ready to run any internet application you like. Do it Now.


Multilingual Support

AGW Packet Engine now has Multilingual Support. Of course Y O U have to do the translation. And it is very easy. First of all unzip in an empty directory the file multilingual.ZIP. You will find there among  others, the files English.Lng and AGWHELP.RTF and agwpe.cnt.

Help File Translation How…..

1.The AGWHELP.RTF file is a Rich Text formatted WORD file that contains the source of the help file. Translate it but keep unchanged all the special headers and footers. Use Microsoft Word ver 7 and more. If you have the windows help compiler then compile the file. If not send it to me to compile it.

2.Open the AGWPE.CNT file and translate it. Leave the numbers and the @agwpe.hlp unchanged.

Now you have translated  the help files and you can send me the files to include them in the package.

Messages,Dialogs and Menu Translation How…..

You need only the file English.lng.

1.Translate the file but only the right elements of each equation only. Like

[MENU]

HELP=&Help

ABOUT=&About

PROPERTIES=&PROPERTIES

………………………………..

Translate like

[MENU]

HELP=Your language

ABOUT=Your Language

PROPERTIES=Your Language

Now you need to rename the file with your language ID number like 1036.lng.

1.Run AGWPE.EXE

2.Exit Program

3.Open AGWPE.INI file and read the Language ID number

4. Rename the translated English.lng file to IDNumber.lng

You are ready. Include the 3 files in AGWPE.EXE directory and ready. Send to me also the files to include them in AGWPE.ZIP package.

I M P O R T A N T

Include your name and call in the file AGWPE.RTF in the first page Copyright Notes as follow at the end.

Translation for [Your Language] Language done By [Your Call] [Your Name] at [DATE].

Include also the same line in the translated English.lng file.


What is TCPIP Driver

Well this is a second generation TCPIP over Radio Driver. You need the follow files

a)AGWPE.EXE

b)AGWTCPIP.SYS and AGWTCPIP.INF

This driver is multiport and can use all the available radioports. It is a NDIS miniport driver and is binnary compatible with NT. It is a true tcpip networking driver and not like agwdial driver which was rather point to point. The new driver allow you to setup an Internet Ham Gateway staion in less than 5 minutes. Also this driver needs registration. If you already registered the previous driver (AGWDIAL) then you can use the same Registration number.

If you are an advanced TCPIP user or Sysop then read this if not skip the rest.

The driver emulates an Ethernet card (802.3) the problem is that Ethernet Hardware address field is 6 bytes long and AX25 (Packet) is 7 bytes (calssign). In fact the AX25 call is only 6bytes Alphannumeric and 4 bits the SSID. But again the 6 bytes aphanumeric is only 7bits long since the 8th bit must be always 0. We need to map the callsign 6,5 bytes long to 6 bytes ethernet hardware address. Since the driver is multiport we need to inluclude also the port info. So we have a space of 6*8=48 bits (in fact 47) to fit a

6*7=42 bits Alphanumeric call info

4 bits SSID info

4 bits Port info

total 50 bits. So I created a table (Array) of all the letters and numbers (36 entries) and use instead of the alphanumeric its position in the table. That way I can use for each alphanumeric only 6 bits and so i need only 6*6=36 bits plus 8 for SSID and Port total 44 bits.

Now how the multiport works. Everything is based on ARP so we have to deal only with ARP since TCP and other protocols then use the hadrware address which includes, as i said before, the port info.

a)A station sends an ARP asking our hardware address (Callsign) the driver responds from the same port.No problem here at all

b) We need the hardware address from a tcpip station and we need to send an ARP request.

What port should we use? The driver acts as follow

Checks first the internal routing table (routes.bin) If there is an entry for that tcpip station then uses that info to send the arp. If not then uses the default port we specified in the tcpip setup in AGW Packet Engine. If the default port is "ALL Ports use" then it sends the ARP from all radioports and then if a respond received uses that radioport for this station.

The only limitation with this driver is that we can have the same,only, callsign and IP address for all ports. Next versions will be more flexible.

The driver has also user defined the follow values

a)Paclen (MTU or MSS under tcpip) The default value for ethernnet cards is 1540 too large for 1200 bauds packet, you can change it between 128 and 1540

b)The driver speed(??) Well ethernet cards have data speed between 1MBs and 2Mbs too fast for packet. You can change this value according your ports speed. The built in default value is 9600bauds. That way when driver is loaded Microsoft windows tcpip (NDIS) asks the driver capabilities. Driver reports its speed and so NDIS adjust correctrly the iternal timers.


How To Install The Driver

Follow the instructions step by step

1.Copy the files AGWTCPIP.INF and AGWTCPIP.SYS into a floppy disk.

   For NT pse use the OemSetup.inf file instead. All other steps are common with small variations. But since you are using WinNT then you can deal with them.

2.From Control Panel double click [Network]

3.Press [Add] button

4.Select [ADAPTER] and Press [ADD] button

5.Press [Have Disk] button

6.Huuur Huuur the floppy disk driver and oops will find agwtcpip.inf. Press [OK]

7.In the select Network adapter dialog select the [SV2AGW TCP/IP Adapter] and press [OK]

8.Windows now installing the driver. They will ask for the win98 cdrom

9.Now select from the list TCP/IP->SV2AGW TCP/IP Adapter and press [Properties]

10.Check in IP Address  specify an IP Address,enter your ip address and as subnet mask the value 255.255.255.0

11.WINS Configuration check disable

12.GATEWAY enter the ip address of your local gateway station or nothing if you are going to be a Gateway station

13.DNS Configuration Enter the DNS server(s) address(es) (ask your sysop)

14.Bindings check  client for microsoft networks

15 NETBIOS disabled

16.Advanced empty

17.Press [OK] we have finished with this dialog

18.Press [Ok]. But dont restart your computer (Win will ask for restart)

We have finished the driver installation and configuration. Now we shall configure Packet Engine.

First of all Packet engine must be configured properly with your tnc(s). If ok then go

1.Run AGWPE.EXE configured properly with tnc(s) attached

2.Select TCPIP Setup from its system menu

3.Select now the TCPIP driver (Recommended)

4.Enter your registration number.If you don’t then TCPIP will work for only 45 minutes(enough for tests).But you can close agwpe.exe and restart it immediately.That way you get other 45 minutes.No need to close any tcpip program, since they will not understand that Packet Engine has closed.

5.Enter then your callsign for TCPIP operation

6.Select the desired radioport for default routes. The driver will use this port to find an unknown user. Select "All Ports USE" if you wish to search fro unknown users from all radioports.

7. Press [Route Table] button to setup routes.

 This New dialog is simple, just press [NEW ROUTE] for new route. You will enter only the IP address and you will select the desired Radioport. Something important, you can manipulate the routing table even while the program run, the new entries will be in use immediately.

8 Set the desired Paclen (it is actually the MTU or MSS). The optimum value for 9600 is 576. This results in about 520-530 bytes long packets. For 1200 use a smaller value since it is possible for Baycom users to loose sychronization on large frames while receiving. A value of 320 is quite good.This value is added in the registry and is controlled by the driver.

Now restart the computer not only the program.

***Be carefful when windows starts will ask you to logon. Enter NO PASSWORD and they will never ask you again to log on.


How to Setup an Internet Gateway
How to Setup an Internet Gateway under WIN98

First setup packet engine to work with the TCPIP Driver and with your tncs

Now you need a Proxy server Program. There are a lot of them shareware and freeware. I selected for my tests AVIRT. Configure the proxy server and you are ready. You need of course a connection with the internet via a Phone Line or Ethernet card.

I will explain here how this scheme works

You have two network ports now The first is with the Internet via your phone line (or ethernet) and the second is via AGW Packet Engine and AGWTCPIP driver over radio (Packet). The Proxy server program listens the AGWTCPIP driver for TCPIP connections and redirects them over the phone line to internet. Please follow the instructions of the proxy server carefully and assist other hams who wish to use you as Gateway how to setup their software. The instructions are in the proxy server program.

A good location for start is the follow Url

Error! Reference source not found.

The whole procedure is safe and legal. Why??

1.No amateur TCPIP address or call  travells over the Internet

2.No non amateur address or call  travells over Packet on air.

3 It is the same as Yapping but instead of receiving or sending data from a file you send or receive data from internet.


Windows NT

AGW Packet Engine can work under WinNT with no problem(hope!!!). The problem is that you cannot use the modem drivers that exist so far. We need special NT drivers. So Under NT you can only the use follow TNCS/Modems

1.Any external TNC that AGW Packet Engine supports so far

2.The SoundCard 1200/9600b modems.

3.The TCPIP over Radio driver.

I am trying (have not so much free time!) to port all the drivers to NT and since Win2000 are ready now. I will Support also them. The new drivers will be WDM so they will work on Win98/NT/2000.

WIN95 users will continue to use the old vxd drivers.