Re: [chirp_users] Kenwood tm-v71a no longer responding

Just today, however, after having updated to the 2012-12-24, it fails to receive a response from radio, again, either via auto-detect or manual entry of tm-v71.

Hmm, nothing has changed for that driver in months. Any chance you've got a cable or connectivity issue?

As well, wondering why I've gotta' run it as root? It worx, but isn't optimal...

This isn't a chirp thing, it's a distro/OS thing. Make sure you're in the dialout group (or whichever group owns your serial port). If you change your membership, you'll need to log out and back in again to get the new group in your list.