Packet Radio 101 – The Ultimate Guide
Here you will find all of my efforts to document and consolidate valid usable packet radio knowledge online. This page should give a clear path from getting started with TNCs, APRS, BBS Systems, to the advanced topics of TCP/IP over AX25. This has been attempted many times, but it almost always turns into the same story. Usually the information is stale, unorganized and even flat out wrong. I hope this can serve as a decent roadmap to getting started in the 21st century.
Most pages referenced here have an accompanying video format for those who are visual learners. That way we cover subjects in two mediums. The page is an ongoing work in progress.
Table Of Contents:
Introduction to Packet Radio
Shopping for Materials
Ultimate Dire wolf TNC Setup guide
Getting Started with APRS on Windows / Linux
Build your own APRS Digipeater
Host your own Packet Radio BBS
Connect to a BBS Node
TCP/IP Over Packet Radio
Introduction to Modern Packet Radio
From the below video or this blog post (Modern Introduction to Packet Radio) , you can get an idea of the current state of packet radio
From here, you can get an idea of what specific field you may want to get into, and get a grasp on what things look like as of 2024.
Required Materials for Packet Radio
The following blog post will give you an effective list of needed hardware or software to get a packet radio node up and running. This can’t possibly cover every single radio or device/TNC on the market. But I’ve got suggestions that are modern, still being manufactured, and applicable today.
Click here to get started shopping for packet radio radios and resources.
Ultimate Dire wolf TNC Setup Guide
Direwolf is a great, and flexible software TNC. It is used as the TNC in most of the examples and guides going forward. As such, I’ve taken the time to cover a setup guide for both Windows and Linux in great depth. If you don’t want to purchase a hardware TNC for your packet station, see the below guide to get direwolf up and running.
Click here to get the Dire Wolf software TNC running on either Windows or Linux
Getting Started with APRS
I have both video and written guides for getting started on APRS for Windows and Linux. These guides cover everything to get position reporting and messaging up and running on a desktop/laptop or raspberry pi. These blog posts will get a visual map running on your chosen operating system, and talking to a hardware or software TNC of your choosing.
Click here to Get started with APRS on Linux with YAAC(Yet another APRS Client)
Click here to get started with APRS on Windows with Pinpoint APRS
Building your own APRS Igate and Digipeater
After getting some familiarity with packet radio, and APRS, you may want to look into running your own I-Gate and digipeater. Dire Wolf is a great option for that. You can see the below blog post to get your own running to serve your local community.
Click here to Configure your own APRS iGate and Digipeater with Dire Wolf
Building your own Packet Radio BBS Node
Just like with APRS, I have made both text and video guides for windows and Linux in reference to building your own packet BBS node. The following pages will get you a working BPQ32 installation for windows, or a LinBPQ node for Linux Node running from scratch. I go through the configuration options, management and even show a real time connection example for both pages.
Installation of BPQ Software BBS and CHAT
Click Here to Install and Configure LinBPQ packet software on Debian/Ubuntu and on a Raspberry Pi
Click here to Install and Configure BPQ32 packet software on Windows
Extra and Further configuration of BPQ
Send Winlink Email To/From your BPQ32/LinBPQ Node.
Node to Node BPQ32/LinBPQ linking and Chat via AXIP
Mail Forwarding and Routing in BPQ Packet Radio
As a bonus BBS, I’ve included a guide to getting the JNOS BBS Software up and running with direwolf:
Setup the JNOS PAcket Software with Dire Wolf
Connect to a Radio BBS Via Windows or Linux
Although the above examples show how you can connect to other BBS nodes via the one you’ve setup yourself, the following guides will show you how to connect to nodes standalone.
Connect to a Packet Node on Windows or Linux with KISS/QtTermTCP or AGWPE/Paracon
Connect to a Packet Node on Arch Linux with Linux Native AX25
TCP/IP Over Packet Radio
The following section is still being filled out. Here we talk about how packet radio can be used to route TCP/IP traffic over AX25 or other packet radio based protocols.