I've been using a very old Dell Optiplex with handy separate jacks on the back of the case for audio in/out. I use this in conjunction with my Kenwood D710. I have that connected to the PC via serial port, but I also bought the Kenwood PG-5H EchoLink interface kit, though I've never really done anything with EchoLink (in sysop mode). I believe the serial port by itself is fine for APRS/Packet. That said, I replaced the old PC with a Dell Optiplex 7050 MT, and it turns out that there's only an audio out jack in the back, but a combined in/out (headphones + mic) on the front of the case. I believe this universal jack takes a 3.5mm TRRS adapter, to combine the two Kenwood cables onto one plug. Or maybe there's an updated cable from Kenwood or some other supplier that utilizes a combined in/out signal on the same cable. Anyone have a reliable solution? 73, KD0KZE / Paul
Let me be more specific here. I've got the TM-V71A and RC-D710 control head. I believe this combination is pretty much equivalent to the TM-D710. 1. The COM port on the back of my RC-D710 head is plugged into the serial port on my PC. This provides APRS data to YAAC, setup in KISS mode for Packet. YAAC does the APRS encoding/decoding, and it works great. 2. The DATA port on the back of the TM-V71A. This uses the PG-5H from Kenwood and has two TRS cables, one for audio in, one for audio out, to interface with older PC's that have two separate TRS 3.5mm audio jacks. So what I need is either a combined/universal DATA -> PC Audio cable, or (ideally) a TM-V71 DATA -> USB cable that someone has actually gotten to work for EchoLink, QSSTV, etc. which seems to want sound off the TM-V71, not APRS/packet data from the D710 control head. Anyone have a hassle-free proven setup? 73, KD0KZE / Paul
Hey Paul, Hopefully you've solved this by now, but a couple of options come to mind. Because the PG-5H (really PG-5A) cable has a common ground for the mic and audio, you can use a readily available TRRS splitter. They're like $5 on Amazon. Another option would be to buy a CM108 USB sound dongle. These are commonly used for EchoLink, Allstar, etc and have good audio quality. About $8 on Amazon, but you'll have to deal with two sound cards on your PC then. 73, N0KAI
