AprsPoint setup for Kantronics KPC-3

Date: 3/5/2006

 Revised: 3/12/2006 06:04 Hrs

  This is work in progress and probably has spelling errors. That is what you get constructing web pages at 5am! Let me know if this page helps! I'll be adding more info here shortly.

Setup:

• Dell Desktop 240
• Yaesu FT-2600
• Kantronics KPC-3 ver 8.2-xxx7265 (the Plus version will be tested later)
• Garmin GPS II Plus
• Garmin GPS III
• Garmin GPS 120
• AprsPoint 1.2.7 and Microsoft MapPoint 2002

AprsPoint is configured for COM1 and the GPS is configured as COM2.  The GPS has been configured with NMEA output.

This was a quick test using an older setup to verify that the GPS would work using a TNC on COM1  and GPS on COM2. AprsPoint 2.2 uses a tnc setup file. That will be tested sometime this week. Fingers crossed!

Before turning on your GPS, boot the computer until the desktop shows up or your mouse will usually go crazy across the screen. There is a fix in Device Manager but I’ll update that at a later time.

We are going to use Windows HyperTerminal (figure1) to setup he TNC commands below.

I’m going to assume that your TNC is talking 9600 baud (if not switch it to whatever it’s set at) to the COM port. If it’s not at 9600 and you want to set it there, you can reset the TNC via Jumper 7 by momentarily putting the jumper across both pins and power up. Then remove the jumper and place it on one pin. After a few moments, you will see garbage appear on your screen then shortly after you will see PRESS (*) for callsign.

Enter your callsign and you will then get a CMD: prompt

Type INT TERM at the command line and press enter. You can now enter ABAUD 9600 (then press ENTER) to keep your 9600 baud rate.

Now on to setting the commends to your KPC-3. Most of the commands below we want to verify their default status but the main ones that AprsPoint needs to have set are highlighted in RED.

 After you are through with HyperTerminal (HT), click on the disconnect button to release you TNC. I usually keep HT open in a window then switch to AprsPoint to verify that the settings are working. At this point we want to start AprsPoint. You will see the "Tree" pane on the left and your map on the right.

	From the tree settings on the left, right click on My Station then left click on Station Settings
	Here on the station settings you will enter your Callsign. Next type in your Unproto which is the version of AprsPoint that you are running. In my case, i'm testing the older version of 1.27 so my Unproto is APO127 (not a zero the letter "O"). Next enter your via or your digi path. "Out with the old and in with the new!" The Via use to be RELAY,WIDE but now has been replaced with WIDE1-1,WIDE2-2 or 2-1 depending on your local area. Here I'm showing WIDE2-1 as the last entry for the path. NEVER USE WIDE1-1 as the last entry of your path. Either use WIDE2-2 or WIDE2-1 as the last entry. Next select the station symbol from the dropdown list  that you want to use. As you can see in my example I used the Antenna as my station icon. Next leave the "Hide name" unchecked unless you don't want anyone to show up on your screen!. Finally, select your reporting intervals. For home stations 30 minutes would be adequate, for mobile you might want to select 2 minutes. It's good practice to check with your local Digi Sysops in your area (look for the digi icons on your screen for your Sysops callsign) for suggested reporting intervals.
	Next... enter your position information. We are going to set this manually before we connect the GPS. To do this, you can exit out of this setup screen, go to your map on the right side of the screen and zoom into your location. Then bring back up the settings menu (from the instructions above), click on the "Pencil" icon on the left and you will now get a "cross-hair" pointer to click on your location on the map. Your coordinates will now be entered as shown in the graphic. The optional information (Altitude, power etc) will show additonal information about your station when someone clicks on your icon in the Tree. Finally put some kind of comment at the bottom. So now we have our station settings complete and we are ready to connect the TNC! Take a break and grab your favorite beverage if you want!
	Select COM from the menu at the top (or F5 shortcut) to select connect TNC. In my case it's COM1 and the TNC is setup for 9600 baud that we set in HyperTerminal. Do not select the GPS checkbox here because we are going to set this up for COM2. This setting is for the Kenwood D700a or D7 handheld or a KPC-Plus with the GPS connected directly through the TNC. Finally click on the "Create map symbol" to see station icons on your map.
	Finally, click on COMM again from the menu at the top and select CONNECT GPS. I have connected the Garmin GPS to COM2 and the default output from GARMIN is 4800. Next click on the Enable GPS tracking checkbox. Be sure to check your GPS settings for NMEA output via the GPS Menu. Otherwise, your GPS will not function properly with AprsPoint.

Time for a break, be back shortly!

Doug, KD4MOJ