TermTCP CLI

A terminal TCP client for BPQ32 packet radio nodes, written in C with an ncurses TUI. Connects via BPQTermTCP protocol, displays split output/monitor panes, and supports real-time RF frame monitoring with port filtering.

Features

• ncurses TUI with split output and monitor panes
• BPQ packet radio node support (BPQTermTCP protocol)
• RF monitor with per-port and frame-type filtering
• Auto-populates port names from the BPQ server on connect
• Scrollable output and monitor windows with history
• Input history (Up/Down arrows)
• Session logging to timestamped files
• Multiple host configuration with quick connect
• Unicode box-drawing borders on all menus

Dependencies

• GCC
• ncurses (wide character support — libncursesw6)

Install dependencies on Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install gcc libncurses-dev

Build

make -f Makefile_CLI

The binary is ./termtcp.

Other make targets

make -f Makefile_CLI clean     # Remove build artifacts
make -f Makefile_CLI debug     # Build with debug symbols
make -f Makefile_CLI install   # Install to /usr/local/bin/

Manual compile

gcc -Wall -Wextra -O2 -std=gnu99 -D_XOPEN_SOURCE_EXTENDED \
    -o termtcp termtcp_cli.c -lm -lncursesw

Configuration

On first run, ~/.termtcprc is created automatically. Edit it to add BPQ nodes:

[Host0]
Host=10.0.2.7
Port=17023
Username=kb8pmy
Password=yourpassword
Name=Home Node

[Host1]
Host=10.121.15.68
Port=17023
Username=kb8pmy
Password=yourpassword
Name=Water Tower

Port names and monitor settings are also saved here automatically.

Usage

./termtcp

Key bindings

Key	Action
Ctrl+A	Open menu
Ctrl+A C	Connect
Ctrl+A D	Disconnect
Ctrl+A O	Config / host editor
Ctrl+A M	Monitor options
Ctrl+A L	Toggle session log
Ctrl+A H	Help
Ctrl+A Q	Quit
Up / Down	Input history
PgUp / PgDn	Scroll output window
Home / End	Scroll monitor window
Enter	Send line to server

Monitor options (Ctrl+A M)

• Toggle TX, supervisor, nodes, and UI-only filtering
• Toggle monitor pane visibility
• Select which RF ports to monitor (Tab to switch to port selection)

Port names are auto-populated from the BPQ server when you connect.

BPQ Protocol Notes

• Connects using BPQTermTCP protocol (same as QtTermTCP)
• Sends trace options on connect to enable RF monitoring
• Port list is requested automatically via P8=1 parameter
• Monitor frames delimited by 0xFF / 0xFE byte markers
• NODES broadcasts filtered client-side via >NODES detection in AX.25 header

Version

Current: 0.0.53