Jumping in here, but keep in mind, my use case is quite limited; mostly just Pat for Winlink access. And even at that, it's mostly just tinkering, and nothing serious.
All that said, I am able to connect my D710G to the RPi over USB without having to install Direwolf. I use the TNC in Packet mode on the radio and everything seems to work out just fine. I have not tried to use it with APRS at all, so I can't comment on YAAC or Xaster, but I would guess you do not need Direwolf for that either. Perhaps others here might have more experience...?
¡ªMitch, N7USU
