[linux] [Fwd: Winlink TelPac is beta on Linux]

[Walt DuBose]

Here is a Linux version of the WinLink Projects TelPac application.

Jerry Reimer, KK5CA, <jerryreimer at charter.net> sent this to me.

Walt/K5YFW

Date: Fri, 15 Oct 2004
From: "Hans-Juergen Barthen" <dl5di at gmx.de>
Subject: TelPac Node/LinuX

I have written a small "TelPac-node" which runs on my LinuX 
server and uses
it's ax25-kernel and ax25d capabilities.

This small and simple piece of software can not be compared to 
the nice
TelPac-Node for windows from Rick KN6KB.  It is just a small tool 
and not a
real application with a GUI.

It is based on the standard ax25-tool "tcp_call" which most 
LinuX-users may
know who have ax25 installed.

I made this tool binary transparent and included the server-logon,
client-connect text, some logging, error handling and statistics.

The node is started like ax25_call, tcp_call and all other tools 
of the
package from ax25d.

The TelPac-node has no user interface and only a very small 
config file
with just the node call and the connect text.

It is running for test with the nodecall db0lj-2, attached via
ethernet/axip to the digipeater db0lj which you can reach from 
the German
flexnet network as well as in the worldwide TNN network.

The node connects to Rick's Winlink2000 server kn6kb.

Our tests during last weeks were very positiv, we had no problems 
caused by
this TelPac node. The telnet port of the Winlink2000 server is an 
easy
interface.  With the latest Airmail2000 beta release 3.1.952 
TelPac works
absolute fine, with  .351 we had some errors mainly caused by
missconfiguration of our PTC2s causing "proposal errors".

The logfile of the telpac node can be accessed at our webpage and 
shows the
callsigns, login- and logout-time, transmitted and received bytes 
and the
average transferrates (this is for test users, some nicer design 
will follow).

The telpac node is tested on SuSE LinuX 9.1 using it's ax25libs and
ax25-tools-0.0.8.  I did not have the time yet to write any nice
documentation, automatic installscripts, autoconfig and automake, 
so at the
moment it has to be installed manually and probably needs some 
adjustments.

Easiest way is to just unpack the archiv as a new directory into 
the source
tree of the ax25-tools parallel to 'user_call'.

The tgz includes a README.1st with the installation instructions 
and a
sample configfile.

I will provide a better documented and more comfortable version 
as soon as
I have some more time and have tested everything.

Maybe somebody can help with the makefile/configure/automake to 
get it
installed easier and also on different platforms and LinuX 
distributions, I
am no specialist on that tools.

You can download the current prelimenary version at
http://db0lj.dyndns.org/pub/dl5di-soft/telpac-node.08a.tgz

Please let me know any experiences when running the node or when 
using it.

73 de Hans, DL5DI

SysOp @DB0LJ, DB0QT, DA5UDI

AX-BBS: dl5di at db0lj.deu.eu
Amprnet/Internet: dl5di at db0lj.ampr.org
Internet: dl5di at darc.de

Homepage der Packet-Radio-Group-Mittelrhein e.V.
HamWeb: http://db0lj.ampr.org
Internet: http://www.db0lj.de