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I do have a success saga to tell so please bear with me.
I opened the "bricked" box to find the sim version (2.10) and tried every combination of rs232 null modem setups with all versions of Dreamup and Optiflasher -no success I could not get any form of connection either with sim card out and sim card in ( the fan did not run with sim card out).
I had an interfaker box in series with the cable that allows me easily to change the rs 232 connections to partial handshake, full handshake no handshake etc. with no luck.
What I did notice was that the rs232 chip (Uart) on the mother boad got extremley hot as I applied the power.
Because I could disconnect individual pins easily I found that it was the pin 5 connection (signal ground) which was causing the overheat when I applied the power.
It did not make sense as it is only an earth.
So here is where I got a result. I disconnected pin 5 followed on the instructions and just after applying the power and I mean as soon as humanly possible after I applied the power I closed pin 5 and instantly got a connection and managed to flash the Merlin software (.nfi) and have a success story--all working.
In all this process I have managed to damage the lcd unit which does not work any more( the remote control still does work so I suspect its only a bulb thats blown) but I have ordered one fron China at a vey cheap price £12 or so.
I would love for someone to throw some light on why this method worked and all oth methods did not.
Many thanks for your patience