I am working to get our Winlink up and running for our SkyWarn office. Am looking at the Kenwood TM-D710G with it's built in TNC. So far cannot find any definitive evidence of anyone actually using this radio for winlink. Can anyone please confirm that the 710 will work with Winlink and Airmail? It would appear that just connecting the cable from the head unit to PC via the PG-5G cable and serial adapter is all that is needed. Is the extra cable that comes with the PG-5H necessary for Winlink/Airmail? Any other info on this subject would be greatly appreciated before I put the requisition in for the radio.
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This is an excellent choice for WINLINK. I have used with great success for over a year, no problems. You need two cables. One connects between your computer headphone & mic jacks to the radio. The second cable connects to the computer USB and the radio. My first setup worked just fine with all settings at default. I had some weird problems at first, ferrite chokes on both ends of both cables fixed that permanently. HS data and RF are not good neighbors.
This little TNC will work with any radio that has a mic jack. Very small, Bluetooth to your computer, and cables for most radios. We use these in ARES WINLINK Go-Kit.
.. there is even a setting in Winlink Packet for the D710.
All you need is USB-K5G cable either from
RT Systems https://www.rtsystemsinc.com/TM-D710-programming-software-and-USB-cable-s/1882.htm
or Amazon https://smile.amazon.com/Valley-Enterprises-Programming-TM-D710A-TM-D710E/dp/B072QDHT11
( Valley Enterprises version is not compatible with RT Systems, but works really well for programming the radio with Kenwood software and accessing the TNC)
You plug the USB side into the PC.
Plug the 8 pin accessory plug in the back of the head unit of the D710 labeled COM (NOT in the main body, that is the programming port).
Start a Winlink Packet or Packet P2P session.
Pick the D710 from the dropdown menu.
Pick the correct Serial Port for your USB cable.
Change the Maximum frames to 2.
Click OK.
Pick a frequency and you are off to the races.
Good forums for these questions are
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/winlink-programs-group
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/winlink_for_emcomm
73,
Oliver K6OLI
Hope this helps
Don va7dgp