LAN-LINK Application Notes Number 2. By Joe Kasser G3ZCZ PO Box 3419 Silver Spring Md 20918 Connecting to other stations LAN-LINK lets you minimise the keystrokes necessary to connect to another station. There are several ways to connect to the other station as described below. Howver before you connect to someone else, remember that LAN-LINK treats incoming connects and outgoing connects differently. To connect to another station, Use the Alt-C hot key, Function key 5 (F 5), or bring up the Call Menu by touching the 'Esc' key and choosing the 'C' option. DO NOT TYPE 'C Callsign' in the command mode. If you do, the connect will still take place (the TNC won't know if you or LAN-LINK issued the command) but LAN-LINK will treat it as an incoming connect and issue the "[ZCZ] LAN-LINK 1.56>" handshaking signal (if the LAN-LINK flag is in its default, or enabled state). If you connect to a BBS or a Node this way, you will get an error message back from the BBS or node, since it does not recognize LAN-LINK's handshake. When you use the Alt-C or F5 approach you can also make use of the 'path memory' feature in the LAN-LINK.DIR file. Point and Shoot MH List You use the F5 approach to connect to a station that you have heard. When you touch Function key 5, LAN-LINK sends a 'MH' command to the TNC and the MH list shows up in a special window and freezes until you depress any key. While the list is frozen, LAN-LINK is not monitoring received data, so don't freeze it too long. Move the cursor to the desired callsign. When the cursor is positioned on any character in the call, press the 'Enter' Key and that call will be recognized as the callsign. If the call is joined to the word "Cmd:" or the cursor is positioned on a space or blank, the connect attempt will be inhibited. Using the Call menu When you use the Alt-C hot key or the The Call Menu LAN-LINK will remember the previous 15 calls and you may use the Up and Down arrows to move the cursor to a remembered call. If you wish to capture a call from the incoming text window, push Function Key 10 (F10) to enter the window and move the cursor to the desired callsign. When the cursor is positioned on any character in the text, push the 'Enter' Key and that word will be recognized as the callsign. Any characters joined to the call (such as a '.') will be picked up as part of the call. If the cursor is positioned on a space or blank, the connect attempt will be inhibited. In AMTOR, whenever you are asked to enter a callsign, LAN-LINK will prompt you with its guess at the SELCAL. If you agree with it, just press the 'Enter' Key, if you disagree, enter your choice over the prompt version. Names, Handles and Paths If you so desire, you can create a directory file (default name is LAN-LINK.DIR) and keep a list of names and calls. The computer will look up a name and call the station by its callsign. For example if you put Joe G3ZCZ as a line in the file, when you tell the computer to connect to Joe, it will try to connect to G3ZCZ. If you enter 4X4HF 4X4HF V 4X1AA, 4Z4ZB, 4X4IL you only need to type '4X4HF' to set up the correct connect path. You can also use this feature to automate a NET/ROM and/or a KA Node path connection. NET/ROM and TheLink In the manual NET/ROM path setting up mode, you would first connect to your local node, then when you are connected with it, connect to the next node, and so on through any intermediate nodes within the whole path before you finally connect with your destination station. You may also have digipeaters in any of the paths. For example if you wish to connect to K1HTV who is in range of the SSCT node, and you are in Washington DC, you might first have to connect to your local NET/ROM node (ELK) via a digipeater, then each of the intermediate nodes, SNJ3, NNJ, WMA before you could try to connect with K1HTV. Consider the manual sequence to make the connection. K1HTV is the station the contact is being attempted with, and he is located within range of the SCCT NET/ROM node. The station attempting the connect is located in the Washington DC area one digipeat away from the ELK NET/ROM node. The connection to the local node is performed first. The operator has to type 'C ELK v WB4APR-5' to make that link. When the connect with the node is achieved, the operator must type 'C SNJ3' to connect to the next node. Each time the connection is made, the operator must type in the command to make the next one, until finally the last node is reached and a connect request can be made to the destination station (either direct or via a digipeater). Sometimes there may be an intermediate non-NET/ROM connection between two stations somewhere in the path. This procedure is tedious and time consuming, because it may take several seconds to complete each stage of the link. LAN-LINK automates this sequence by scanning the line in the LAN-LINK.DIR file associated with the callsign entered and transmitting each section of the line when it recognizes the 'Connected to' reply from each NET/ROM node in the path. When it finally gets to the destination it sounds a chime to alert you that the connect has been achieved. The LAN-LINK.DIR file entry for this path is as follows: K1HTV ELK v WB4APR-5!SNJ3!NNJ!WMA!SCCT!K1HTV where the '!' separates each stage of the link. The key word is K1HTV. LAN-LINK then scans the line to see if there is a '!' in it. If there is it knows that it is dealing with a NET/ROM path. It then tells the TNC to attempt a connect with the characters following the key word up to the first '!'. In this case it tells the TNC to connect to ELK via WB4APR-5. When the TNC sends back the connected message, LAN-LINK tells the TNC to try to connect to the next node in the path, namely in this example, SNJ3. The sequence continues each time a connection is made until the link is complete. To set up a directory entry just use the format shown above. Place a '!' sign after the uplink path and different node segments. Do not place one after the downlink path. Depending on the configuration, LAN-LINK will issue a 'disconnect' command to the TNC in the event the NET/ROM or KA-Node connect attempt fails. This feature is designed for known paths not for general path determination. KA-Nodes You can connect or crossconnect via KA-Nodes using the directory file. You must still use the ! separators as well as two new symbols % and &. Use % for 'C' and & for 'X' in KA-Node links.. For example, given that a path to W9TNN-2 is first to a local KA node [JRW] then to a second node on the same VHF frequency [W3EAX-7] and lastly via a cross connect on 40 Meters to W9TNN-2, the line in the LAN-LINK.DIR file would be as follows. w9tnn-2 jrw!%w3eax-7!&w9tnn-2 You can mix NET/ROM and KA-Node paths as in: n7dva!g3zcz-9!&WA6IEL-4!n7dva v kl7vz-3 The different symbols are used for the KA node to tell LAN-LINK which replies to look for as well as what to prefix the call with. Depending on the Node Drop Link Flag configuration, LAN-LINK will issue a 'disconnect' command to the TNC in the event the NET/ROM or KA-Node connect attempt fails. This feature is designed for known paths not for general path determination. Loop Backs In the Packet Communications Mode, if you want to loop back to yourself through someone else you would have to type C V . For example if I (G3ZCZ) wanted to loop back through G3RWL, I would have to type the command C G3ZCZ V G3RWL to the TNC. In LAN-LINK you just have to enter the '/' character followed by the call of the station you want to loop back through. For example if I (G3ZCZ) wanted to loop back through G3RWL, I just need to enter /G3RWL as the call to connect to at the Alt-C prompt, and LAN-LINK will tell the TNC to try to connect to G3ZCZ via G3RWL, namely issue the command 'C G3ZCZ V G3RWL' to the TNC. LAN-LINK has special hot keys for connecting to a BBS and packet cluster. Try the Alt-Y and Alt-Z keys instead of the Alt-C key. 73 Joe G3ZCZ LAN-LINK is available from the author. For an evaluation copy, download it from Compuserve or send $5.00, or send $35.00 for a registered copy which will entitle you to at least one free update. When you write in, say where you saw this Application Note.