Telnet Basics

With the advent of new internet-aware cluster software (e.g., DXSpider and ARCluster), users now have the opportunity to connect to cluster nodes via the internet.

Unfortunately, the old simple TNC connect command such as

conn k1ea

is no longer sufficient. In most cases, an internet connection to a cluster node is done by running what’s known as a "telnet session" or "telnet client" or even "telnet application." Telnet is merely the Internet equivalent of dumb-terminal emulation. But instead of connecting to the simple call sign used by an RF packet node, you'll see an Internet address or host name, such as:

66.189.87.210 [IP Address]

dxc.k1ea.com [Host Name]

66.189.87.210 7300 [IP Address and Port Number]

dxc.k1ea.com 7300 [Host Name and Port Number]

Contest and DX logging programs usually include instructions for opening a telnet session. But you can always open a plain old terminal window, if you want. There are a large number of telnet applications with varying levels of sophistication. Each of these programs needs to use the correct form of the connect command for the respective cluster node.

Perhaps the simplest is telnet.exe, built into most Windows systems. Check your start menu for "Telnet," or open the "Run" dialog box and type in "telnet":


	Summary This page gives you the basics of opening a Telnet session, used by most Internet DX Cluster nodes. Click here for a listing of YCCC-area Internet nodes.

Once you're in, select "Remote System..." from the "Connect" menu. You'll get a dialog box. This dialog is easy to use for both the IP Address and Host Name ways for specifying a node... just type the information in the top text box:

The third and forth forms add a port number to the IP address or host name. This is actually quite simple, once you understand it.

Each time you telnet to some address, you are actually using a port number. In the case of a standard telnet session, the port number is implicitly provided as port 23. In the previous two illustrations, the "telnet" entry on the second line actually means port 23. Many cluster nodes, however, use port 7300. Just change the port number to 7300 and you'll have a successful connection, e.g.:

Finally, you can do it all in one step... start a Windows telnet session by using Start > Run and then entering the address as seen in the following illustration.

Tip: Here's where another bit of convention can be a problem. In some cases, the port is included right after the address, separated by only a space. The Unix world, web URLs, and some logging programs specify the address as:

dxc.kb1h.com:7300

Note the colon before 7300. The listings here on the YCCC web site also use this format.

Thanks to Charlie, K1XX, for this write-up.

Send comments about this page to Charlie, NC1N.

[ Home ] [ Members Only ] [ Articles ] [ Calendar ] [ On Air Activities ] [ Site News ] [ YCCC Web Links ] [ Resources ] [ Meetings ] [ Scuttlebutt ] [ W1 QSL Bureau ] [ Membership & Dues ] [ About YCCC ]