            Using the Wisconsin Network - Part 29
                 by Andy Nemec, KB9ALN

     In the last two installments of our series, we have been
discussing how to automate our packet mail system. You will
recall that we discussed the general concepts at first, then
looked at specific commands used in the set up a of a Paccomm
Tiny-2 for this service. In this installment, we discuss how to
set up another popular TNC model, the Kantronics KPC-3, for
automated mail delivery and pick-up.

     Users of other Kantronics TNCs may find that a lot of
these commands are similar, if not the same. Do note that this
TNC has been around a while, and there are a number of firmware
revisions since the first one rolled out of the factory doors.
For that reason, you should also double-check these commands
against the ones in your manual. The commands I used are from a
fairly recent firmware version of this TNC, version 6.0.
Some older models may have a slightly different command set,
and not all are capable of every feature.

     Of course, if you have read the last two parts of this
series, you no doubt remember that you will have to consult
your BBS sysop when configuring your station. Also read the
other cautions in part 27 of this series.

     Now on to the meat of things. You found out that setting
up the Tiny-2 is fairly easy when it comes to your forwarding
parameters. The KPC-3 on the other hand, requires a little more
time and effort to set up. In exchange for this effort you get
a few extra features (and some of them you may very well use).

     One special word of warning is required for KPC-3 users.
This TNC has precious little memory available for the PBBS to
start with, and certain features enabled, even less. You will
have to perform a delicate balancing act with TNC memory
management or live without certain features.

     Perhaps the most prominent, and sometimes unused feature
of this TNC is the KA-Node. In areas not served by a local
network node, or distant from it may find this feature
valuable. If you find that you are maintaining a KA-node for a
user group of any size, you may want to re-evaluate your
situation and change your strategy. Each KA-Node connection
circuit requires 4K of memory, with a maximum of 6 circuits. If
you use all 6, you have no mailbox to deal with at all. 

     Another feature requiring memory usage is the Remote
access feature. This allows you to remotely manage your
mailbox and TNC from another station. If you clear the 
MYREMOTE call-sign and RTEXT, you will not have to worry about
this feature using memory. Of course, then you have no remote
access. 

     All of this changes if you have additional memory (up to
512K) installed in the TNC. That is one option you have if you
find that you are providing a lot of users with PBBS and
KA-Node services.

     With all of that being said, let's look at the commands
you will become familiar with:

HTEXT <xx>   This is your hierarchical address. Kantronics
             recommends that you set this to only part of your
             hierarchical address. For example, if your home 
             BBS is: WX9APR.#CWI.WI.USA.NOAM the enter
             #CWI.WI.USA.NOAM.

MYPbbs <call> This is the call-sign of your mailbox, usually
             your call with a -1 after it.

PBbs <5>     Or more. This allocates 1K blocks of memory to the
             Mailbox in the TNC. If you have a memory expansion
             kit in your TNC, you may set this much higher.
             The default is 5, meaning 5K, which is about 2
             printed pages' worth. 

PBForward    Usage requires you specify a call-sign of the BBS
             used in forwarding, and a the word EVERY or AFTER
             and a time in hours. This tells the TNC to try a
             forward session to the BBS at a certain time
             interval. You might wish to keep this set to every
             3 hours or so to avoid tying up your LAN frequency. 

PBHOld ON    Now you get a taste of BBS Sysop-ing. This sets the
             THC to hold all messages so that you can review
             them before they are forwarded. FCC Rules hold the 
             originator and first forwarder (this is YOU!)
             responsible for message content.

PBRevers ON  This allows your TNC to request a collection of
             your mail right after it has finished forwarding
             your outgoing mail.

     The following commands can be set differently than the
recommendations with care. They will depend on your operating
habits, but you will still have to look at them.

MAXUSERS 6   Sets the maximum number of users of your station
             to 6 (5 connections plus a Mailbox user). If you
             find you rarely type to more than one person at a
             time, you might try 3.

USERS 5      This is the number of converse connections available.
             Again, you may set this lower to conserve memory.

     The next few commands deal with the KA-Node. If you have
no use for it, or seldom use it, then you can turn it off with
these commands, also to save memory (see the above discussion
on memory).

NDWild OFF  Turns the "wild node" function off.

NText <xxx> Here, <xxx> is the connection text that people
            receive when connecting to your node, if it is
            enabled. I recommend turning it off unless it
            is needed. Therefore, clear this text out.

NUMnodes 0  This shuts off the KA-node function of the TNC.
            Again, it is best to turn this off unless it
            provides a regular service.

     The next 3 commands can be set to your preference,
but there are some important considerations in setting them.

PBKillfwd   When you turn this off, all personal and NTS
            traffic messages will remain in you mailbox even
            after they have been forwarded. It is best to keep
            this ON to save memory space.

PBPERSON    This is set to ON or OFF. When on, it prevents
            a message from being addressed to anyone other than
            you. 
  
PBHeader    When you turn this to ON, the mailbox will also
            store the routing headers along with the message.
            This takes memory, and some messages have a
            half-page of lines with this information. If you
            have the memory, it is nice. Turn it off if you
            need memory.

     Naturally, if you are not familiar with the operation of
the mailbox, you might wish to "practice" with it. 

     And always, follow the recommendations of your local BBS
sysop when setting any parameters.

     That's all we have for this time. Until next time, 73 from
Andy.
