Kantronics KPC–3 Plus User Manual page 26

which there are several kinds) and unnumbered packets. To learn more about these,
see the documentation for the KPC-3 Plus' MCOM command.
As noted at the beginning of this section, the organization of amateur radio packets is
defined by the AX.25 protocol. Now it is useful to give a brief discussion of this protocol,
and another that fits ―within‖ it.
Protocols: Rules for Working Together
Packet radio, like any communication, is only possible if all parties involved (i.e., sender,
receiver, and intermediate points on the route between them) agree on the rules for
organizing information and the rules for dealing with all steps of the transmission. These
rules are called ―protocols,‖ or standards.
AX.25
The defacto standard protocol for amateur packet radio communication is AX.25 (level
2, version 2). For details on AX.25, see the ARRL publication, AX.25 Amateur Packet-
Radio Link-Layer Protocol.
Hint: You can set the KPC-3 Plus to use an earlier protocol, AX.25 (level 2, version
1)
Alternatives to AX.25
TCP/IP and the KISS protocol: The TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol) suite of protocols require functionality not found in native AX.25 packets, so
Phil Karn KA9Q defined a protocol called KISS that implements TCP/IP functionality for
amateur radio. For further information on KISS see the KISS Mode section of the
―Modes of Operation‖ chapter.
XKISS is an extension of the KISS protocol, defined by John Wiseman G8BPQ.
For further information on XKISS, see the XKISS Mode section of the ―Modes of
Operation‖ chapter
.
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