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z8530-utils2

Configures Z8530-based HDLC cards for high-speed packet

Status: retired. The scc driver these tools configure left the kernel with the rest of drivers/net/hamradio in Linux 7.1 (merge 64edfa65, 2026-04-24), and the cards it drove are ISA and early PCI with no modern host. Verified by us: the merge's --stat, and the module trees of seven machines read on 2026-09-04 (docs/reference/kernel-ax25.md). Not inherited from anyone's shell comment. A 6.12 kernel on a machine with an ISA slot can still apt install z8530-utils2 by hand. Recorded 2026-04-24. Verdict tested by us.

  • Version recorded: 3.0-1
  • Categories: device-support, soundcard-modems
  • Upstream: https://tracker.debian.org/pkg/z8530-utils2
  • Needs from the kernel: ax25 — checked against the running kernel at plan time; see kernel-ax25
  • Not a recommended default — installed only when asked for.

What it does

Loads configuration and firmware into Z8530 serial communication controller cards -- the SCC cards used for packet radio at speeds a sound-card modem could not reach -- and sets the parameters the kernel driver needs.

Why you would want it

High-speed packet, 9600 baud and well above, was built on this hardware. If you have an SCC card and a link to run over it, these are the tools that configure it; nothing else does.

Before it will work

A Z8530-based card in an ISA or PCI slot, and a kernel with the matching driver. Both are museum conditions on current hardware.

How it installs

  • apt: z8530-utils2

Known problems

Needs the kernel AX.25 stack and the scc driver, both of which Linux 7.1 removed with the rest of drivers/net/hamradio (merge 64edfa65, 2026-04-24); the plan refuses or defers this unit by name on a 7.1 or newer kernel. Retired on that evidence (D-045). See docs/reference/kernel-ax25.md. The hardware predates PCI Express and most of it is ISA, so a modern machine cannot host it at all. Carried for completeness and for anyone maintaining an existing installation, not as a route to build a new one. Suggests rather than Recommends in the Blend, marked hardware-specific.

Keeping it current

  • probe: apt policy
  • strategy: apt_upgrade

Where to get help with the software itself

No upstream Homepage is declared. Debian's package is the only route, and it is long stable rather than developed.

Source: catalog/packages/z8530-utils2.yaml