VE7ED.COM

Diagnosing and fixing ComPort communication errors when using
Winlink Express.

There are seperate pages for KPC3+ firmware versions 8.3 & 9.1


Things you need to know:
The Comport number that is currently set up in the TNC and the Baud rate
Eg. Com1  9,600

TNC seems locked up:
When changing/switching from P2P to WL2K or WL2k to P2P there is a possibility of all the TNC Commands being sent out at the time of their connection.

Note: You may want to up the Baud rate to 19,200 this will narrow the time that the TNC is vulnerable.

Why does this happen?
When switching to or from P2P or WL2K the software sends out required commands to the TNC at 9,600
If someone connects to you when this is happening the TNC commands are now sent out over that air vs to the TNC.

When you try and use it after this happens the TNC may not respond or initialize correctly

What NOT to do the following..
1. Turn off the TNC
2. Turn off or reboot the Computer
3. Pull the lid on the TNC and do a factory reset.
4. Upload all the commands

This is time consuming and 99% unnecessary

What do I do...
1. Close Winlink's Packet session only (you can leave the main window open)
2. Open Airmail and open the Packet Client and wait for the intialization OK to complete
3. Close Airmail
4. Open Winlink Express Packet session and confirm the TNC has Initialized OK

This is why you should have Airmail (as a diagnostic/repair tool) on every computer you have Winlink Express.

If you choose to change from 9,600 to 19,200 this will close the window of oppertunity for this error to occur.