Which I suspect most of us have. So I didn't want to leave an impression that I disagreed, hacking a programming cable if you already have a USB-serial adapter is certainly cheaper. And I also agree that spending $35 for a Kenwood RS232 cable makes no sense. My reply was that $30ish for a dedicated Kenwood USB cable such as the RT Systems is something I might spend money on.
And the Yaesu, at least with the FTM-400 and FTM-100. The TM-D710 has been around a long time and is a pretty great radio but a TM-D720 with (I assume) D-STAR and a few updates would be killer. Put in DMR and I'd go all new iPhone junkie and camp out for one!
Are you sure you can update the radio's channel memory through the serial port on the RC-D710? I thought MCA-2A (I don't have a TM-D710G to know anything about MCP-6A) only updates the configuration (TNC options for example) and firmware on the RC-D710 panel. Wasn't personally aware the software could traverse the panel's serial port to get to the radio memory in that direction, which would be very handy indeed.
It's the part number for the panel on the TM-D710A/E and could be used to upgrade a TM-V71 to a TM-D710. I don't know if it is the same control panel (e.g. if it's any different than integrating GPS) on the TM-D710G since it's discontinued as a stand-alone part now and I missed the boat on getting one.
Memory organization in modern radios is a pain. They have too many slots and it become unwieldy when you load every repeater for a major metro area. You go from difficult to next to impossible to scan for traffic with long scan lists. The problem is you're also right that many repeaters go unused while a handful tend to be heavily used and so it's hard to determine which to use. I find the best way is to find a mentor (e.g. Elmer) who has this sort of tribal knowledge.
