[Xastir] Xastir on pi3 with kpc3 plus

[Tom Russo]

One word of warning:  Whatever you do, do NOT use the KPC3+ in KISS mode.  The
recent posting saying that it should be happy is incorrect.

The KPC3+ firmware has a serious bug in KISS mode that will cause it to
start delaying packet transmission (in both receive and transmit), and as an 
Igate this is very bad news.  You will start forwarding delayed packets to 
APRS-IS and it'll make a huge mess.  I ran one this way for a while, and
when I finally realized what was going on found that it was necessary to 
power cycle the KPC3+ every few days to prevent it.

This bug is well documented all over the web, and Kantronics never fixed it.
https://www.google.com/search?q=KPC3%2B+kiss+bug&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

The KPC3+ in standard converse mode is just fine.  But useless for linux
ax.25 networking, if you were hoping to share the TNC across a lan.

I eventually mothballed the thing and went to a dedicated KISS device (mine
is an old Argent Data Systems tracker 2).  My Pi (a 2B, I think) is set
up with this TNC as and AX.25 network port, and runs javAPRSSrvr for the 
igate software and ldsped to share the TNC across my LAN or other machines to
 use.  Xastir is running on my primary desktop machine, and just connects to 
that with AGWPE protocol.  Sometimes I connect additional laptops via the same 
protocol, all sharing the same KISS TNC.

I personally do not recommend Xastir for use as an IGate.  Xastir is great for 
an APRS client, but there are better programs to use that have more complete
implementations of the full igate functionality, and that don't have Xastir's
graphical overhead.  My choice, as I said, was javAPRSSrvr, but there are 
plenty of others.

But if you do choose to go with Xastir, so long as you use the KPC3+ in normal
converse mode, your usb<->serial interface should do fine, so long as it's
using a chip that the Pi recognizes.  

On Mon, Jun 26, 2017 at 11:29:30PM -0400, we recorded a bogon-computron collision of the <ve3ctp at cogeco.ca> flavor, containing:
> 
> 
> I'm setting up xastir as an igate on an ras pi3. I have a kpc3 plus tnc that I'm trying to get to work with the pi3. ??I have a usb to 9 pin serial adapter, Will this work with the pi. ??Has anyone set up xastir like this. ??
> I was trying to use the equipment I currently have rather than purchase a pi tnc.
> Thanks??Chris??
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
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-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY   SAR502   DM64ux          http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236        http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?DDTNM
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