13 Interface Type Dialog
Tom Russo edited this page 2026-02-08 14:04:04 -07:00

The interface type chooser dialog

Interface Types

When you click "Add" in the Interface Control Dialog, you will have to choose what sort of interface you're adding.

  • Serial TNC: a standard Terminal Node Controller in normal converse mode attached via a serial port. (Do not use this if your TNC is a KISS-mode TNC, we have a different interface type for those!)
  • Serial TNC w/GPS on an HSP cable: Old TNC units had no connector for a serial GPS unit. A simple two-transistor duplexor circuit (a Hardware Serial Port or HSP) could be built that allowed a single serial port on the Xastir computer to control both a serial TNC and a serial GPS. If you have one of these set-ups then choose this option. Xastir will toggle a pin on the serial port to multiplex the signals.
  • Serial GPS: A GPS unit with a basic serial port, connected all by itself to a PC serial port.
  • Serial WX: A weather station connected to a serial port
  • Internet Server: An APRS-IS server interface (like we set up in the Operating Quickstart)
  • AX25 TNC: Applicable only to Linux systems, an AX.25 kernel networking interface set up for APRS.
  • Networked GPS (via gpsd): You can connect a GPS to your system and have gpsd control it. gpsd can then share this information with other programs, either on the same computer or over a local network. Xastir can connect to gpsd with this interface type.
  • Networked WX: You can set up a daemon to collect and distribute weather data over the network. Xastir can collect that information and use it to populate its weather database for your station with this interface type.
  • Serial TNC w/GPS on AUX port: Some TNCs (such as the Kantronics KPC3+, or the Kenwood APRS-enabled radios like the D700 and D710) have two serial ports, one for connecting to a PC and another for connecting to a GPS. This interface type is for those sorts of TNCs.
  • Serial KISS TNC: A serial TNC that has been set to (or only has) KISS mode.
  • Networked Database (Not Implemented Yet) but for some reason still available for selection. Don't.
  • Networked AGWPE: For connecting to daemons that implement the AGW Packet Engine protocol. This is a way of sharing TNCs across a network.
  • Serial Multi-Port KISS TNC: These are TNCs with more than one radio output port.