Kenwood Program Cables
There are several program cables out there that work on the different radios mentioned on this site. Some of these cables will work on other radios and some will not. These cables pictured below are aftermarket cables and can be found on the internet for under $20 with shipping, for that price why bother building one?
PLEASE NOTE
If you are planning on purchasing a USB program cable and using DOSBox (for DOS based programming software, ex. KPG-5D, KPG-16D or KPG-25D) make sure you do NOT purchase a FTDI chipset based USB program cable. FTDI chipsets do NOT work with DOSBox, as they use a communication protocol of 9600 Baud, 5 Data Bits, No Parity, Stop Bits 1 or "9600, 5, n, 1".
DOSBox uses a more standard "9600, 8, n, 1" and therefore will not work with USB program cables with FTDI based chipsets!
KPG-4 Serial Cable (DB-9)
This cable is a KPG-4. This is a 6-Pin, Serial DB-9 cable that is cheap and will program the NX-901, TK-981, TK-941, and the TK-931 radios. To answer the first question that should arise, yes the TK-981 has a 8-Pin microphone connector, and this programming cable is a 6-pin, don't worry about it, it works! Because this cable is a Serial DB-9 Cable it will work with DOS or Windows based Kenwood Software and even Kenwood Burn!
KPG-4 USB Cable
The KPG-4 USB programming cable has a 6-Pin RJ-12 connector and will program the NX-901, TK-981 and the TK-931 mobile radios. This USB cable works flawlessly with Kenwood Burn (TK-931) and also with KPG-49D Version 4.xx (Windows based versions) for the TK-981. It should be noted that these cables come with, and require, a driver CD to work. Because this cable is a USB Cable you will have issues trying to get it to work with plain old DOS you can download the program DOSBox and using that program you will be able to run KPG-5D (TK-931) or KPG-25D (TK-941).
KPG-22 Serial Cable (DB-9)
The KPG-22 programming cable is for programming the TK-431 handheld and is intended to be plugged in to the Mic/Speaker port on top of the radio for programming. This is a Serial DB-9 cable and will work just fine with KPG-16D which is DOS based. The KPG-22 cable is also available in a USB version and since KPG-16D is DOS based you will need to download the program DOSBox to be able to program your TK-431 using KPG-16D. You will not be able to get the USB KPG-22 cable to work with plain old DOS.
KPG-36 USB Cable
The KPG-36 USB programming cable is for programming NX-411 and the TK-481 Version 2 using KPG-49D Version 4.xx (Windows based versions). By downloading and using DOSBox you will also be able to program a TK-481 Version 1 radio which uses DOS based KPG-35D. You will not be able to get the USB KPG-36 cable to work with plain old DOS. It should be noted that these cables come with, and require, a driver CD to work.
KPG-36/4 Serial Cable (DB-9)
This cable is a dual KPG-4 and KPG-36 Serial DB-9 Program Cable. This cable gets you the most bang for your buck in that you can program the NX-411 and TK-481 handhelds as well as the NX-901, TK-981, TK-941, and TK-931 mobiles. Because this cable is a Serial DB-9 cable it will work in DOS and Windows Based software as well. The Version 1 TK-481 requires KPG-35D Kenwood Software to program which must be run in DOSBox or a pure DOS environment- this cable will work well for the Version 1 TK-481's!
