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Terminal node controller
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<p>A terminal node controller (TNC) is a device used by <a href="/facts/Amateur_radio/cBsMyamV">amateur radio</a> operators to participate in <a href="/facts/AX.25/7HlnxQwA">AX.25</a> <a href="/facts/Packet_radio/90L290N1">packet radio</a> <a href="/facts/Computer_network/3w5RM99p">networks</a>. It is similar in function to the <a href="/facts/Packet_Assembler/Disassembler/QRYJcnBm">Packet Assembler/Disassemblers</a> used on <a href="/facts/X.25/yaGPqw2Y">X.25</a> networks, with the addition of a modem to convert baseband digital signals to audio tones. </p><p>The first TNC, the VADCG board, was originally developed by Doug Lockhart, VE7APU, of <a href="/facts/Vancouver/rn2AKA1n">Vancouver</a>, <a href="/facts/British_Columbia/Ty3e3g1Q">British Columbia</a>. </p><p>Amateur Radio TNCs were first developed in 1978 in Canada by the Montreal Amateur Radio Club and the Vancouver Area Digital Communications group. These never gained much popularity because only a bare <a href="/facts/Printed_circuit_board/muSR2p43">printed circuit board</a> was made available and builders had to gather up a large number of components.[<i>specify</i>] </p><p>In 1983, the <a href="/facts/Tucson_Amateur_Packet_Radio/Yx0BzpR8">Tucson Amateur Packet Radio</a> (TAPR) association produced complete kits for their TNC-1 design. This was later available as the <a href="/facts/Heathkit/UzElPd6X">Heathkit</a> HD-4040. A few years later, the improved TNC-2 became available, and it was licensed to commercial manufacturers such as <a href="/facts/MFJ_Enterprises/AkHkmdvr">MFJ</a>. </p><p>In 1986, the improved "TNC+" was designed to run programs and protocols developed for the original TNC board. TNC+ also included an assembler and a version of Forth (<a href="/facts/STOIC/Sb9SuXnI">STOIC</a>), which runs on the TNC+ itself, to support developing new programs and protocols. </p><p>In 2018 Nino Carillo (KK4HEJ) developed and produced a TNC (the <i>NinoTNC</i>) with (currently) 16 different data modes, from 300 baud AFSK to 19,200 C4FSK.It has a KISS interface to the compute device, and implements IL2P (Improved Layer 2 Protocol) for Forward Error Correction (FEC) in some modes. </p>