DIGITAL CONNECTION

Going Old-School on VHF and Above

Back in the day, keyboard-to-keyboard communications were all the rage, and the TAPR TNC-2 paved the way for an explosion of packet radio activities. Today, one can use a computer sound card to operate packet, but for some the expense of a sound card-to-radio interface is more than they prefer to spend. (On a side note: If you do go buy an interface, ask the seller why they don’t advertise in CQ for me, OK?). One can also buy a used TNC for just a few dozen dollars, but few modern computers have RS232 serial ports, so we add the expense of a USB-to-RS232 converter. Not insurmountable obstacles for sure, but can be a pain for some.

I am seeing growing interest in operating packet the old way, and after my spectacular failures at getting a station on the air last year, I decided to try yet again, this time using a NinoTNC. I’ve written about the NinoTNC before, but as a refresher, it is a KISS TNC about the same size as a Raspberry Pi