AXCALL is an implementation of the AX.25 protocol, which stands for Amateur X.25. AX.25 is a data link layer protocol derived from the X.25 protocol suite, originally developed for packet-switched networks. It is widely used in amateur radio communications, particularly for packet radio and APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System).
AXCALL builds upon the foundation of AX.25 and provides a simplified interface for hams to establish and maintain connections in a packet radio network. It offers a set of commands that enable users to connect to remote stations, exchange messages, and transfer files. AXCALL’s simplicity and versatility make it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced ham radio operators.
We need to install ax25-tools and ax25-apps. In the terminal run these commands
sudo apt update
sudo apt install ax25-tools
sudo apt install ax25-apps
We will also need to install Direwolf and its dependencies. The easiest way I have to install Direwolf is directly from github using git clone.
Install dependencies
sudo apt-get install git
sudo apt-get install gcc
sudo apt-get install g++
sudo apt-get install make
sudo apt-get install cmake
sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev
sudo apt-get install libudev-devI use a ‘dev’ directory to save all my ham radio Linux programs. Git clone will create the Direwolf directory and download the most current version of Direwolf. Then we need to compile and install Direwolf. We’ll use the instructions right from the github (https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf).
mkdir dev
cd dev
git clone https://github.com/wb2osz/direwolf.git
cd direwolf
git checkout dev
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j4
sudo make install
make install-confNow you have axtools and Direwolf installed. Next we need to configure both axports and direwolf.conf.