Enabling KISS mode on the Kenwood TM-D710G

I recently picked up a new Kenwood D710G to be used for 2 meter packet radio. I decided to set up a BPQ node as the software is very powerful and offers a lot of features.

In order to get the D710G working with BPQ, you must first enable KISS mode in the built-in TNC. To do so, you’ll. need to first connect to it. You’ll need the Minicom software to do so. Follow these steps:

1. Run sudo apt install minicom
2. Run sudo minicom -s
3. Go to Serial port setup and press enter
4. Press A, and type your radio’s serial port location. It is most likely /dev/ttyUSB0
5. Press enter, and press E
6. Select your radio’s baud rate
7. Pres enter
8. Press escape
9. Go to Exit from Minicom, and press enter
10. Run sudo minicom
11. Press enter if you don’t see cmd:
12. run kiss on
13. run restart
14. Press CTRL-A and then Z and then X to exit minicom

BPQ should now be able to communicate with your radio’s TNC.