Originally Posted by Barsk

Darn. Having some issues here. The decoder and loop amp are completed with just the C1 tuning for the increased loop length left to do. But I decided to start the decoder up first.
Led lights and power is 5V via the 12 V input. I've hooked up hyperterminal to check the serial output. But nothing. 115200 baud, 8-N-1, no flow control. Used pin 2 and 5 on the serial connector. No communication messages at all.

I've soldered an IC holder for the PIC, to be sure not to damage it in any way so I guess it should be safe, all other soldering was done with great caution and looks perfectly ok to me. Still, somewhere there is an issue. Any idea on where to start debugging? I would guess the greeting message on the serial port is pretty much isolated from all the rest of the decoding stuff so if the PIC has power it should print that message. All else could be pretty much broken but that message should come either way? What if the PIC got fried in customs by x-ray? Just thinking...