Fwd: terminal control codes

[Linux for blind general discussion]

Hi,
Looking for suggestions. I am trying to run a program called tlf 
which controls radios. When I start it the output is full of terminal control codes.
This is true for brltty with my display hooked to the pc via usb cable,
but it also happens when i run the program from an ipad with ssh over wifi.
It is a curses based program.   running brltty 5.3.1 on ubuntu 16 on an x86 desktop.
Hims braille sense u2 display.
I tried changing TERM from linux to vt100, same problem.
Any ideas on what I might try? Thanks.

Do you know any method to block or prevent these codes?

Why do these codes appear on the braille display instead of being used by the terminal?
Why does this happen in this program but not in others?