‰ NOW 35 WPM ‰ TEXT IS FROM APRIL 2017 QST PAGE 53‰ SOFTWARE KENWOOD PROVIDES MCP D74 PROGRAMMING SOFTWARE FREE OF CHARGE SEE FIGURE 2. THE RADIO USES A STANDARD MICRO USB CABLE THAT YOU CAN FIND IN ANY ELECTRONIC STORE OR CELL PHONE BOOTH FOR A FEW DOLLARS OR LESS. IF YOU HAVE A BLUETOOTH COMPATIBLE PC, YOU DONT EVEN NEED THE MICRO USB CABLE YOU CAN USE THE VIRTUAL COM PORT. NOTE THAT THERE ARE NO MAC OS OR LINUX VERSIONS OF THE SOFTWARE, ONLY WINDOWS. I HAD THE TH D74A FOR ABOUT A MONTH, AND WITHIN THAT PERIOD, KENWOOD UP DATED THE FIRMWARE AND THE REPEATERS LIST TWICE. I APPRECIATE THAT THEY INCLUDED DETAILS ABOUT WHAT WAS UPDATED IN EACH RELEASE. IM NOT SURE IF YOU CAN UPDATE THE FIRMWARE VIA BLUETOOTH, BUT I WOULD NOT TRY IT, AND I STRONGLY RECOMMEND USING THE MICRO USB CABLE FOR THIS SPECIFIC APPLICATION. YOU CAN FIND ALL THE SOFTWARE, THE FIRMWARE UPDATE, AND A FULL MANUAL ONLINE. KENWOOD ALSO PROVIDES, FREE OF CHARGE, THE ARFC D74 PROGRAM FOR CONTROLLING THE TH D74AS FREQUENCY FROM A PC VIA THE WIRED USB PORT OR BLUETOOTH. WITH A SMALL AUDIO CABLE CONNECTED BETWEEN THE SPEAKER OUTPUT OF THE SPEAKER/MIC JACK AND YOUR PC SOUND CARD LINE IN JACK, YOU CAN ALSO HAVE RECEIVE AUDIO ON YOUR PC YOU CANT TRANSMIT VIA THIS SOFTWARE. OPERATING THE TH D74A ON MY FIRST DAY WITH THE RADIO, I DIDNT READ THE MANUAL. I JUST PLAYED WITH IT FOR A FEW HOURS, AND I COULD DO ALMOST EVERYTHING. I INTUITIVELY DID D ‰ END OF 35 WPM TEXT ‰ QST DE W1AW ƒ