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Kantronics KAM XL
A Product Review by James Bell Jr.
Kantronics
1202 East 23rd Street
Lawrence, KS 66046
785-842-7745 [VOICE]
785-842-2031 [FAX]
With the proliferation of software products which take a PC soundcard and turn it into a TNC, many HAM's are turned off of the idea of hardware-based TNC's. They seem to be quite happy with the crop of PC-based software TNC's. While software TNC applications are great if you have the PC to support them, that is also their biggest limitation - they must be run on a PC equipped with a sound card. In a disaster, you can't guarantee what kind of PC you may be able to find - nor if it will be equipped with a sound card.
A hardware TNC on the other hand, does not have any such requirement. You can operate them with anything from a dumb ASCII terminal, to an old 386-based laptop with DOS as the only Operating System and no sound card, to the latest P4 systems with surround sound.
As long as you have a serial port and some sort of terminal program [Hyperterm is included free with the Windows OS] you can use a hardware TNC. I recommend that EVERY HAM keep one around if they are involved in any emergency response capacity. At the very least, a VHF-only TNC will allow you to easily pass written [text] traffic digitally during an emergency. You can look into the ARESpack Version 3.0 program, published by the Utah County Amateur Radio Emergency Service [UCARES] group to see exactly how useful this can be. It can be downloaded from UCARES.
It is obvious that software TNC applications are taking their toll on hardware TNC manufacturers. Combined with a slow economy where HAM's may not have a lot of cash to lay out, there are fewer TNC manufacturers and fewer TNC models. When we looked at the diminishing crop of TNC's, I quickly decided that my favorite is the KAM XL from Kantronics of Lawrence, Kansas. It offers an excellent set of features, FLASH upgradeable firmware, and plenty of room to experiment and grow. Many HAM's have never user G-TOR or looked at NAVTEX. You may just find a new mode or two here - and they can be a lot of fun.
Admittedly, the price is higher than a software TNC program, but you get what you pay for in the KAM XL - and that's the mark of a good product.
The basic package includes the KAM XL and a CD-ROM with the complete instruction manual in Adobe Acrobat format, the schematic diagram for the KAM XL, and a variety of applications to use the TNC. A pair of 3-foot long 5-conductor shielded cables - and the DB-9 ends to go on the TNC side - are also included, as are a pair of 3.5mm mono cables for making audio connections.
The cables are a Do-It-Yourself affair since there are a number of possible configurations and connectors depending on your particular radio. Anyone with a bit of soldering experience and the ability to match numbers can make a functioning cable - although I will discuss more about cable shortly.
The KAM XL itself measures a compact 8 5/8" wide by 4 3/4" deep by 1 1/2" high. It has four rubber feet for sitting on a tabletop. It does not take up much room for a home station. The case is professionally made, and will look good in any shack. It's lightweight too. I didn't have a scale reliable enough at low weights to get a good reading.
Since my primary HF station is in my patrol vehicle [which I own], I put some industrial strength Velcro [hard side] on the bottom of the unit. The mating soft-side Velcro is placed on the dashboard. Just make sure that the Velcro can meet. You may need to remove the rubber feet, or place the Velcro on an elevated section of your dashboard so that the feet don't interfere.
The laptop in my vehicle is held on either a police-type laptop mount bolted to the floor, or it can be left on the passenger seat. Keep in mind that this is NOT something you operate while actually moving - this is for use when safely parked. Since my vehicle is equipped for full mobile UHF through HF operations, this configuration works well for me.
The left side of the front panel of the KAM XL features an LED bargraph display which is used for tuning functions. I have heard a few complaints about this, but I found it to be a very easy to use system, which I will describe in more detail later.
From left to right, there are two sections of LED's. The first section is for HF operations. It starts with a red XMIT LED, and a green RCV LED. There is a Yellow LOCK LED which also serves as a Connect LED for connected-link protocols. There is a Green VAL/STA LED, and lastly a yellow SPEED LED.
There is a yellow LED in the center which lights if there is new mail in the built-in PBBS mailbox. This has an adjustable size with a default of 100K, which should be plenty for most of us.
The right LED bank is for VHF/UHF indication. These also include a Red XMIT LED, Green RCV LED, Green CON [connect LED], and a green STA Led.
A green LED for Power On indication is located just to the left of the push on/push off power switch at the far right front of the unit. Having seen far too many products which put the power switch at the rear, this was a welcome change!
The rear panel is where all of the connections are made for power and equipment.
Starting from the left, there is a 2.1mm port [center POSITIVE] for 12V power. It requires 100mA. This is the same size and configuration as my old PK-88, so I used the same cable. This has Anderson Power Pole connectors at the other end. The KAM XL is actually rated to operate on 9 to 18VDC.
The next port [Port #2] is the connection for the VHF section. This is for packet in VHF operations. This is a 9-pin D-Sub female connector.
The next port [Port #1] is the connection for the HF section. This is used for RTTY, CW, etc. This is also a 9-Pin D-Sub female connector.
There is also an interesting TELEMETRY port. This is actually a set of 8 analog voltage inputs rated up to 5 VDC [the manual later states up to 6.6VDC]. The KAM XL supports functions to read the voltage and using the TELEMETRY command can transmit corresponding data. There are also 2 output lines [FET transistor switches] on this connector, and two each on the PORT 1 and PORT 2 connections. This would be ideal for a packet interface to control devices, monitor temperatures, etc. This is a 15-pin D-Sub female connector - just like a PC joystick.
The next port is labeled AUX. The most common connection for many user on this port will be an NMEA 0183-compliant GPS. The KAM XL is APRS-ready, and it can even act as a digipeater - supporting all of the UI commands. This is one neat little unit in that respect. I still use a Byonics TinyTrak 3 for my day-to-day APRS work, but it is nice to have the more advanced capabilities in the KAM XL available if needed. I will be covering the APRS aspects of the KAM XL in a future article. This is a 9-pin D-Sub male connector.
The last port, on the right side of the unit when looking at the back, is an RS-232 connection for hookup to your computer or terminal. I used it with a DOS-based desktop PC, a Windows 95 laptop, a full-power Windows XP Professional desktop, and an old CIT 50+ ASCII terminal. It operated equally well with each, but there are dedicated Windows-based programs which may enhance your enjoyment of the KAM XL. I did not review any of these for this article.
As I mentioned earlier, you will need to make your own cables to hook the KAM XL to your radio. They give you the parts for the cables and the TNC connections, but you will need to make the radio side of the cables. Icom supplies their connector with the radio at the time of purchase.
I found that the parts Kantronics supplies to make your own cables seem to work well enough. The cable they supply is a 5-conductor shielded cable. Just make sure that you maintain the shield integrity all the way from one end to the other and that you properly connect the grounds. There is a section on RFI in the KAM XL manual, and when performing digital operations this can really become an issue. Proper shielding and grounding really helps.
If you are not handy with a soldering iron [and can't find an Elmer in your area that is], you can always buy ready-made cables. Kantronics recommends Associated Radio of Overland Park, KS. I checked their cables out [both the VHF and UHF with KEY line] and they worked really well. They have cables for the KAM XL to just about any radio.
Their cables are guaranteed, and if you find that you are encountering RFI problems with your homemade cables, you may want to consider purchasing a set. They are a bit pricey at almost $80 per VHF/UHF pair [$39.95 each cable], but they work very well and are worth it if you find that RFI is affecting you. They are also well labeled in case you have cables for a multitude of equipment. I found them to be especially useful and suitable for mobile ops where RFI is often worse.
You can reach Associated Radio at 913-381-5900. They are located at 8012 Conser, Overland Park, Kansas, 56204.
A standard RS-232 cable is used to hook the KAM XL to your terminal or computer. Once you have that setup, you are ready to start.
When you first start the KAM XL, it is set for 9600 BPS, No parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit [9600,N81]. The KAM XL will support communications speeds to your PC from 300 BPS to 38400 BPS. Set your communications program to these parameters and you are good to go. You come up initially in COMMAND MODE. This is where you enter parameters into the KAM XL [such as MYCALL, CW, RTTY, Etc.].
The initial setup you need to do really does not have to be any more than telling the KAM XL what your callsign is, and what time/day it is. You give it your callsign by typing "mycall xxxxxx" [where xxxxxx is your callsign] and hitting enter while in command mode.
You tell it the current time and date by typing "daytime yymmddhhmmss". The time is given in 24-hour format. After that, you are essentially ready to go.
I will also note that the firmware is held in FLASH memory - hence any future upgrades are easy to implement. Upgrades can be downloaded from the Kantronics website.
Entering a mode name [CW, RTTY, etc.] and hitting enter will generally allow you receive that mode. You type Control-C and then X to eXit receive mode and go back to Command Mode.
There are so many operating modes in the unit that I am not going to cover all of them. It would take up too much space! Their .PDF [Adobe Acrobat] manual is quite comprehensive on each of the operating modes. They include: CW [Continuous Wave or Morse Code], RTTY [Radio TeleTYpe], ASCII , AMTOR [ARQ or Mode A, FEC or Mode B, and LAMTOR], PACTOR [ARQ and FEC], G-TOR, PSK31 [PSK and QPSK without a sound card!], 300 and 1200 baud packet [AX.25], WEFAX, and NAVTEX/AMTEX [LAMTOR].
The KAM XL also supports DAMA [used in Europe], KA-NODE, K-NET [compatible with NET/ROM, THE-NET, and G8BPQ], KISS mode, XKISS mode, and UI Digipeating for APRS. It is a complete unit.
I have space to cover a little detail about some of these modes in this review.
I want to start by covering general tuning with the KAM XL. I heard some complaints from a few that tuning a TNC is difficult. Kantronics has long offered the best tuning assistance for TNC's using their bargraph LED display. It really isn't that hard - you just have to LOOK.
To start tuning, you must put the KAM XL into receive mode. This is accomplished by typing the mode name in command mode, and hitting enter. For the connectionless modes, you will automatically enter receive mode. In the receive mode, the LED bar graph on the front of the KAM XL provides you with an easy-to-follow interface.
In each of the modes aside from CW and PSK31, the bar graph will light up one or more segments in the middle. As you tune onto the signal, the LED's at the far ends of the bargraph will light up brightly. The one on the left shows SPACE tones and the one on the right shows MARK tones. When these two LED's are lit up and flashing in sequence with the received tones, you are locked onto the signal. You will also see the LOCK LED light up.
In the CW mode, the LED at the far left will light up. As you tune onto the signal, the LED's will light up further to the right until they are all lit in sequence with the received code. When you see this, you know you are right on. It is really clear when you just look at the display.
PSK31 is the most difficult to tune and operate with the KAM XL, but even it isn't bad. In PSK31 receive mode, the bargraph starts out by showing an overall audio bandwidth of 125Hz to 3875Hz. The center of this is around 2000Hz. PSK31 signals are indicated by lighting of individual LED's on the bargraph.
To zoom in on a particular one, hit Control-C and then the number of the LED corresponding to the signal you are after. This "zooms" the bandwidth to about 50% of the previous setting. When the signal is centered, hit control-c and 6 to zoom in. You will then see the text when you have zoomed in far enough. This allows you to operate PSK31 without having a PC soundcard!
In each mode, transmitting is started by hitting Control-C and then T. The message is typed, and then you hit Control-C and E to send it and return to receive mode. This works for all of them.
CW is very easy to operate with the KAM XL. Just hit CW at the command prompt to enter CW mode.
The main parameters you need to set are the CWTONE [the CW tone that KAM XL should expect to hear] and the CWSPEED [to tell it roughly how fast to expect to receive code]. CWTONE 600 sets it for 600Hz. CWSPEED 20 sets 20 WPM. The range is from 5 to 99 WPM.
On our 706MKII-G, the default CW tone is 600Hz. The default CWTONE on the KAM XL is 750Hz. You can either set your radio to the 750Hz, or change the CWTONE to match your radio setting. I found the latter to work slightly better - but either way the two simply have to match.
The CWSPEED command tells the KAM XL what speed it should be looking for and to transmit. It looks around that speed by about 10 wpm. If the speed is too different, hit Control-C and then U to Unlock the speed tracking. Once you are on the signal, hit Control-C and then L to lock the speed in.
There is also a CWBAND command which adjust the internal bandpass filter. The default is 200 Hz and can be set from 10 Hz to 1000 Hz. Being a DSP unit, the KAM XL offers excellent versatility. It just takes a while to learn all of the nuances and tricks.
NAVTEX is kind of a fun mode, especially if you are interested in radio frequency scanning. NAVTEX is the name for the bulletins transmitted on for the Maritime service. Bulletins can include all sorts of interesting things about navigational hazards, weather condition updates, and more. To receive NAVTEX [it is a receive-only mode] just enter Navtex at the command prompt and tune to 518 KHz. It's interesting to check it out once in a while. It's another way to keep up on big and small things going on in the world that not many people outside of the maritime community are aware of.
We used an Icom IC706MKII-G for testing the KAM XL. Let me fill you in on a few of the specifics we discovered to make your experience with these two a success...
Turn off the DSP on the 706MKII-G.
This makes since as the KAM XL unit IS a DSP. It does not need to compete with the DSP in your radio.
Use good, shielded cables.
RFI will hurt the signal if your cables are not well made.
This is especially true in a mobile environment. Turn off the engine while running HF too.
I found it to work very well with the right cables running mobile with an Icom 706MKII-G and AH-4 tuner. The Associated Radio cables are especially helpful in this environment.
Make sure that the CW tone is set to be the same between both the KAM XL and your radio.
The only other complaint I have heard is that some 3rd party applications for use with the Kantronics TNC's tend to leave them in host mode. Host mode is a method of communicating with, and controlling, the KAM XL via framed commands rather than the command line interface. It is used by 3rd party programs because it is faster for them and more versatile. But if they leave it in host mode, you will need to get it back to command mode to use Hyperterm or a dumb terminal.
You will know If that has happened to you by what you see on your screen. You will see some characters and the text S00, then some more characters. To return it to command mode - use a PC and a regular terminal program - and do the following...
Hold down the ALT key on your keyboard and type the numbers 0192 on the keypad (not the keys above the keyboard).
Release the ALT key.
Type the letter Q.
Hold down the ALT key on your keyboard and type the numbers 0192 on the keypad. Release the ALT key.
This should do it for you.
The KAM XL is an excellent, high-quality hardware product. It is a do-it-all system that eliminates the need for a soundcard-equipped PC, allowing any digital mode - including PSK31 - with even the most simple dumb ASCII terminal. If you are involved in emergency communications response, you should have a hardware-based TNC in your inventory. I heartily recommend the Kantronics KAM XL.
In this review, I have covered the most difficult way to operate the KAM XL - the command prompt using ANY terminal program. There is Windows-based software out there written specifically to operate with Kantronics TNC products. I started to test one of these applications, but it is only good for 30-days unless it is registered - I ran out of time before I was able to test that product. We may look into that in a future review.
As for the KAM XL, I like it, and we added one to the Emergency Communications Project Jeep!
- James Bell Jr. - CommoJeep.com