The ground was the problem. For some CRAZY reason, pin 5 of the 9-pin serial connector of the KA630-AA and cabinet kit has a 1K Ohm resistance to system ground. I ran a clip lead from the cabinet to pin 5 of the USB serial cable and then the communication works.
But, now, for the POST I get 7..6..5..4.. ?24 UNXINTconsistently. Now, I don't know what to do about that. It used to do that once in a while, but now it is on every power-up.
Anybody know what this means?
