As of 11/29, there's no RT systems software available to program the radio, but they're working on it. Also, if you have one of these, you might want to make sure to upgrade the firmware to 1.04 (available via the Kenwood download page)
Have the radio and love it but I can't load the virtual COM port driver. Would like to see instruction on that with Windows 7.
My understanding is that Kenwood owns 30% of DSTAR with ICOM. Are you in the camp of having a DMR version to make the price lower?
I've had no problems loading the driver in WIN7 or 10. All I needed to do after installation was reboot the PC so the driver got loaded right. However, if you still can't seem to connect, check your port settings on the radio and make sure they're set to talk to a PC. Right out of the box, the battery life is the pits, maybe 2 or 2 1/2 hours on a full charge. However, if you full cycle the battery a few times, I've gone as long as 7 hours with it just doing APRS and FM/Repeater receive. FWIW: I've had the radio for a few weeks, overall it's a typical Kenwood in construction, feel and (mostly) performance. In comparison to other radios, this one does fall a bit short. The SW receiver is nothing short if the pits. I did a side-by-side test of the 74 with my F6A on AM receive, the F6A did much better (both using the bar antenna) D-Star is where I would label this radio as the Obamacare Radio (no politics intended here). What I mean by that is that Kenwood had a golden opportunity to see how everyone else was doing D-Star, how they programmed it and used it, and they seemed to have decided to just go their own way. There's still bugs (such as the "Error" announcement in DR mode when there's no error), but KW is at least addressing things and there are firmware patches coming out regularly.
Kenwood supplies instructions on the driver download page.. See --> http://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/thd74_vcp_e.html What part isn't working as it should for you?
Because D-Star is an amateur specific protocol, and you can actually program it in the field. With my DMR and P25 radios, even the ones with FPP, it's difficult, if not impossible, to program them on the go without a computer and software. I know there are products just released (Rfinder android HT) and those in deveopment (DV4Mobile), but still not a great way to program a new repeater easily on DMR or P25 like you can on D-Star.
D-Star isn't owned by anyone. It was developed by the JARL and is an open standard. And a DMR version, also an open standard, wouldn't decrease the cost. Part of the cost in making any digital radio now a days is the licensing fees paid to use the AMBE vocoder technology.
You don't need RT systems software, Kenwood gives you free software to load up memory etc. It comes with a repeater list you can use to auto pickup repeaters on the road. The Kenwood software is easy to use. Don't forget to download the newest Manual from Kenwood, the manual in the box is incomplete.