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MFJ-1278B MULTI-MODE BASIC OPERATION
Exchange several messages to get a feel for this new mode. If you monitor the radio transmit
indicators and listen to the speaker audio from the two rigs, you will have a better idea of
what is happening. Your radio will be inactive most of the time, even while you are actually
typing. When you come to the end of a line while typing, press the <ENTER> to send the
data to the MFJ-1278B. The MFJ-1278B will key the radio briefly, after it receives the data
you typed. When the MFJ-1278B keys the radio, data will be sent to the radio, and your
friend will hear a "brrraaappp" sound on his speaker. As your friends TNC displays your
message on his screen, his radio will key for even a shorter time. When your friends TNC
sends data back to your station, you will hear a short "brrapp" sound on your speaker. The
short "brrapp" sound on your speaker is an ACK, or packet acknowledgment. The MFJ-
1278B takes note that the packet was received correctly, but nothing is displayed on your
screen.
Digipeating
Now that you are on the air, you and your friend can try out the MFJ-1278B's digipeating
capabilities. This is actually more interesting if you have at least three stations participating,
but you can get the feel for it with two stations.
Return to the Command Mode and disconnect from the other station:
<CTRL-C>
cmd: DISCONNE
*** DISCONNECTED
Now issue the following command.
cmd: CONNECT K5FLU VIA WB0QRP
As before, substitute your call for K5FLU and your friend's call for WB0QRP. You are
requesting a connect to yourself, as you did before in digital loop-back mode, but this time
you are using a sort of RF loop-back. You transmit packets to your friend's TNC, which
relays them back to you. When the connection is established you will see
*** CONNECTED to K5FLU VIA WB0QRP
and you will be in Converse Mode. Your friend will not see anything displayed on his
computer and his TNC's state will not be affected at all by your QSO. In fact, your friend
could issue this connect request,
cmd: CONNECT WB0QRP VIA K5FLU
and you can carry on two separate conversations completely independently. Monitor the
radio transmit indicators and listen to the speaker audio. See if you can follow the packets
and the acknowledgments back and forth.