TNC Help, APRS WX Station

[gradybruton1819]

I am attempting to set up a remote APRS weather station without using a computer (WX-->TNC-->Radio) in a location without internet. The current setup is a Peet Bros Ultimeter 800, a Kantronics KAM Plus, and a Motorola GM300. So far I haven't been able to get any packets i-gated.

I have been able to verify that the Ultimeter 800 is spitting out its data every 5 minutes in packet mode using PuTTY to observe the serial port. The TNC side I am not very familiar with, but it will key the radio through the cable I made when put into CONVers mode. When the weather station is hooked up to the DB25 of the TNC in "GPS" mode, it keys the radio every 30 minutes and the familiar APRS sound can be heard from a separate receiving radio. However, the separate receiving radio (a Baofeng with APRS cable to an old Android phone running APRSdroid) is unable to decode its packets. I then tried using AFSK 1200 decoding software on a laptop with an aux cable to a Uniden scanner without success.

My questions are:
1) Is the old Kantronics KAM Plus capable of what I am trying to use it for? Or is it better suited being tethered to a computer for use on APRS? The version of this TNC is 8.0P. If it is not capable, I have 3 other TNC's I can try. Has anyone ever tried interfacing an MFJ-1270B, MFJ-1278, or AEA PK-900 to a weather station?
2) If this TNC is capable of supporting a stand alone APRS weather station, I am assuming I have some settings wrong (first time playing with Kantronics). Is anyone familiar with Kantronics TNC settings and interfacing them to weather stations?

Any help is appreciated

 

[techman210]

Walk before you run

With just putty hooked to the TNC, turn on your monitor command so your TNC will monitor everything. You should be decoding fine- if not you may be running too much audio into the TNC. Reduce volume if you are using speaker level audio.

Set UNPROTO to something like “unproto test via wide3-3”. You can replace “wide3-3” with a named digipeater nearby.

Go into conv mode and send some carriage returns and see if you “see yourself”.

If that does not work, then your deviation is too high or your TXD is set too low. On a GM300 TXD should be 20 or 30.

To set deviation without test equipment, I would set deviation so you can barely hear the packet, and then double that in your ear. That should get you close to 3KHZ deviation.

All of those TNCs should work. That Barofeng may not be opening the squelch fast enough to allow the program to decode.

Once you can see your packets, then move onto interfacing the weather station.

Good luck!

 

[techman210]

One other thing, it’s been a while since I looked at a GM300 manual but most Motorola radios DO NOT like speaker audio referenced to DC ground- which happens in the TNC.

There are a pair of low-level audio pins on that accessory connector on the 300 that you can run to the TNC that is not affected by volume control settings and CAN be referenced to ground.

 

[gradybruton1819]

Thank you for the advice. I do have the GM300 wired thru the rear accessory connector as you described. While running some tests I came to realize the digipeater I normally use has been taken out of service (2,400 ft tower, antenna was @ 1,500 ft, was nice while it lasted), and the second one I can sometimes reach has been taken down as well, leaving my half of the county cut off from the APRS RF network. So my next project will probably be a 2 way I-gate or additional digipeater.

Anyway, I set up a temporary RX only I-gate using APRSIS32 and AGW packet engine tied to a uniden scanner to test in Conv mode to see if I could see myself. It worked, but wrong symbol. Went back to the KAM Plus and changed some settings and got it beaconing with the WX symbol (Callsign KF5QBO-13). My problem now is getting the weather data to transmit. I've tried both "$ULTW" and "!!" in GPS head. I've got ABaud set at 2400, what Peet Bros says their weather stations put out. The I-gate log appears to hear some "Non-AX.25" data that might be the data from the weather station but it is scrambled with random symbols, followed by my beacon text "!3307.70N/09741.51W_Paradise TX, Peet Bros Ultimeter 800".

I am using a DB9 to DB25 adapter between the KAM and the Ultimeter serial cable. Could that be the culprit? When I plug the serial cable from the Ultimeter into the computer I am able to see the data, both in "!!" data logger mode and, when I switch it, "$ULTW" in packet mode. I don't have a computer with a DB25 to see if I get the same results using the adapter.

Or could some settings still be wrong like baud rate, etc on the incoming Ultimeter signal that the KAM can't decode?

Or is it the I-gate not able to decode weather packets?

Here are my current settings on the KAM Plus:

KANTRONICS ALL MODE COMMUNICATOR PLUS Version 8.0P
(C) COPYRIGHT 1988-1995 BY KANTRONICS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
DUPLICATION PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF KANTRONICS.
cmd:display
display
8BITCONV ON
ASCBAUD 110
ARQBBS OFF
ARQID 9
ARQTIME 2 (128 cycles)
AX25L2V2 ON/ON
ABAUD 2400
AUTOCR 0
AUTOLF ON
AUTOSTRT OFF
AXDELAY 0
AXHANG 0
BEACON EVERY 30/EVERY 30 (30 min/30 min)
BITS $00
BKONDEL ON
BLT
1 EVERY 00:30:00/EVERY 00:15:00
2 EVERY 00:30:00/EVERY 00:15:00
3 EVERY 00:30:00/EVERY 00:15:00
4 EVERY 00:30:00/EVERY 00:15:00
BTEXT !3307.70N/09741.51W_Paradise TX, Peet Bros Ultimeter 800
BUDLIST OFF/OFF
BUDCALLS NONE
A/V Link state is: DISCONNECTED
CANLINE $18 (CTRL-X)
CANPAC $19 (CTRL-Y)
CD INTERNAL/INTERNAL
CHECK 0/0
CMDTIME 1 (1 sec)
CMSG OFF/OFF
CODE AMTOR ITA2
CODE RTTY ITA2
COMMAND $03 (CTRL-C)
CONLIST OFF/OFF
CONMODE CONVERS
CONOK ON
CONPERM OFF
CPACTIME OFF
CR ON
CRADD OFF
CRSUP ON/OFF
CSTAMP OFF
CTEXT
CWAUDIO ON
CWBAND 200
CWFARNSW 15
CWID EVERY 0/EVERY 0
CWIDTEXT DE KF5QBO
CWPTT OFF
CWSPEED 20
CWTONE 750
CWWEIGHT 0
DAYTIME 07/14/19 12:15:28
DAYTWEAK 8
DAYSTR mm/dd/yy hh:mm:ss
DAMA OFF
DAMACHCK 18 (180 sec)
DBLDISC OFF
DELETE $08 (CTRL-H)
DIDDLE ON
DIGIPEAT ON/ON
DWAIT 0/0
ECHO ON
ESCAPE OFF
FLOW ON
FILTER OFF/OFF
FRACK 4/4 (4 sec/4 sec)
FSKINV OFF
FULLDUP OFF
GPSHEAD
1 !!
2 !!
3
4 !!
GPSINIT
GTDOWN 6
GTERRS 40
GTFUZZY 3
GTTRIES 2
GTUP 3
HBAUD 300/1200
HEADERLN OFF
HID OFF/OFF
HTEXT
INTFACE TERMINAL
INVERT OFF
KNTIMER 15 (15 min)
KNXCON OFF
LCOK ON
LCSTREAM ON
LFADD OFF/OFF
LFSUP OFF/OFF
LLIST OFF
LOWTONES OFF
LT
1
2
3 !3307.70N/09741.51W_WX Paradise TX
4
LTP
1 APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3/APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3
2 APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3/APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3
3 APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3/APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3
4 APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3/APNKMP VIA WIDE3-3
LTRACK 0
MONITOR ON/ON
MALL ON/ON
MARK 1600
MAXFRAME 4/4
MAXUSERS 10/10
MBEACON ON/ON
MCON OFF/OFF
MCOM OFF/OFF
MISSCHAR $20 ( )
MORSE
CODE TX RX CODE TX RX
**-- $00 $00 *-*- $2A(*) $4141(AA)
---* $00 $00 ---- $00 $00
***-* $21(!) $534E(SN) **-** $00 $00
**-*- $00 $00 **--* $00 $00
*-*** $25(%) $4153(AS) *-**- $00 $00
*-*-* $2B(+) $4152(AR) *-*-- $00 $00
*--** $00 $00 *--*- $00 $00
*---* $00 $00 -**-* $2F(/) $2F(/)
-**-- $00 $00 -*-** $00 $00
-*-*- $26(&) $4B41(KA) -*--* $28(() $28(()
-*--- $00 $00 --**- $00 $00
--*-* $00 $00 --*-- $00 $00
---*- $00 $00 ***-*- $23(#) $534B(SK)
*-***- $00 $00
MRESP OFF/OFF
MRPT ON/ON
MSTAMP OFF
MXMIT ON/ON
MYCALL KF5QBO-13/KF5QBO-13
MYALIAS KF5QBO-13/KF5QBO-13
MYAUTOST KF5QBO
MYGATE KF5QBO-3
MYGROUP KQBO (93214),YSFZMPT (478217710) [KF5QBO]
MYGTCALL KF5QBO
MYNODE KF5QBO-7
MYPBBS KF5QBO-1
MYPTCALL KF5QBO
MYREMOTE
MYSELCAL KQBO (93214),YSFZMPT (478217710) [KF5QBO]
NAVERR 5
NAVMSG ALL
NAVSTA ALL
NDWILD OFF
NEWMODE ON
NOMODE OFF
NTEXT
NUCR 0
NULF 0
NUMNODES 0
PACLEN 0/0
PACTIME AFTER 10 (1000 msec)
PARITY NONE
PASS $16 (CTRL-V)
PASSALL OFF/OFF
PBBS 10
PBFORWRD NONE VHF EVERY 0 (disabled)
PBHEADER ON
PBHOLD ON
PBKILLFW OFF
PBLO NEW VARIABLE
PBPERSON OFF
PBREVERS ON
PERSIST 64/64 (25%/25%)
PID OFF/OFF
PMODE NONE
PORT VHF
POSTKEY 0
PREKEY 0
PROSIGN $5C (\)
PTEXT
PTDOWN 6
PTERRS 80
PTFECSPD 100
PTHUFF OFF
PTSI OFF
PTRPT 2
PTSUM 5
PTTRIES 2
PTUP 3
RBAUD 45
REDISPLA $12 (CTRL-R)
RELINK OFF/OFF
REPHASE ON
RESPTIME 5/5 (500 msec/500 msec)
RETRY 10/10
RING ON
RNRTIME 0
RTEXT
SCREENL 0
SENDPAC $0D (CTRL-M)
SHIFT 170
SLOTTIME 10/10 (100 msec/100 msec)
SPACE 1800
START $11 (CTRL-Q)
STATSHRT ON
STOP $13 (CTRL-S)
STREAMSW $7E/$7C (~/|)
STREAMCA OFF
STREAMEV OFF
SUPLIST BOTH
SUPCALLS NONE
SWP 25,8,75/17,17,108
TRACE OFF/OFF
TRFLOW OFF
TRIES 10
TXDELAY 100/100 (1000 msec/1000 msec)
TXDFEC 0
TXFLOW OFF
TXDTOR 5 (50 msec)
UNPROTO APRS VIA WIDE3-3/APRS VIA WIDE3-3
USERS 1/1
USOS ON
WTEXT DE KF5QBO
XFLOW ON
XMITECHO OFF
XMITOK ON/ON
XOFF $13 (CTRL-S)
XON $11 (CTRL-Q)
cmd:

See anything in the settings that I might have goofed?

 

[techman210]

Taking a quick look-

TXD is way too long. As I previously mentioned that radio should work at TXD 20-30

The Ultimeter is capable of 2400 or 9600 baud. Verify the settings match.

Also, the Ultimeter has to be put in "Packet Mode" - Page 40 of the owner's manual.

 

[techman210]

Also try:

GPSHEAD
1 $ULTW
2 $ULTW
3
4 $ULTW

 

[gradybruton1819]

Tried "$ULTW" in GPSHEAD as described in previous attempts (while in Packet Mode) as well as "!!" (while in data logger mode) which is what the current settings are still showing. I will switch it back to "Packet Mode" and "$ULTW" format.

I have NOT tried 9600 baud with the Ultimeter yet (It's an older one so I assumed 2400 baud was the highest it could go) so I will give that a try and report back.

I'll also fix TXD while I'm at it.

Thank you again for the suggestions.

 

[techman210]

Thank you.

I wasn’t advocating 9600 baud, just to make sure that the setting is correct in the Ultimeter. Your TNC is obviously at 2400, so just confirm that the WeatherStation is set the same.

You can also set CONOK to off.

Since the Weather station is connected directly to the TNC, you don’t want anybody connecting to your primary call sign which then would connect them directly to the Ultimeter.

 

[gradybruton1819]

Oh ok, oops! Switching back to 2400 baud then. Hooked the Ultimeter serial directly to the computer with WinPack in 2400 baud and wx station is putting out "$ULTW0000000003550022----000086A00001023300C3050500000000" like it is supposed to every 5 minutes. When hooked directly to the TNC however it still only spits out the beacon text and the text in LT line 3. ABAUD set back to 2400, GPSHEAD 1, 2, and 4 set back to "$ULTW". CONOK is now off.

 

[gradybruton1819]

Found an old website outlining troubleshooting connecting a GPS to a Kantronics KPC3 Plus (Not quite mine but close enough?) for use as an APRS tracker in a vehicle. One of the suggestions was as follows:

"Are you using the same cable to connect your TNC to the GPS as you use to connect it to the computer? If so, it is important that the data in and data out lines of the GPS be "reversed" from "normal". In this case, "normal" is defined as the connections necessary to read the output of the GPS on your computer. If both your GPS and TNC can talk to the computer, you need to reverse pins 2 and 3 on ONE of the cables to make the GPS and TNC talk together."

So maybe it could be a cable issue?

 

[techman210]

Yes – it could be as simple as reversing the transmit and receive data pins on the connector.

Remember, there is a delay between when the weather station loads up the TNC and when the transmit packets go out. Be sure to give it time to work.

Looks like you’re getting close

 

[gradybruton1819]

I believe the adapter I'm currently using between the Ultimeter and tnc is straight through... I went ahead and ordered a null modem cable to see if that makes a difference. The null modem cable I use between the computer and tnc has the wrong gender to use to connect to the ultimeter.

 

[gradybruton1819]

Problem solved. It was the cable connecting the Ultimeter to the TNC. Replaced with a null modem cable and weather info now shows up on aprs.fi

Thank you for your help!