[Xastir] Mac OS X serial port woes

[Jason KG4WSV]

I don't think this is an xastir problem per se, but it prevents me
from using any serial devices with xastir, so maybe someone can toss
me a clue.

system:

Mac OS X 10.4.11 (latest patches)
xastir 1.8.5 built december 23 2006
FTDI USB/rs232 adapters, latest drivers
Keyspan USB/rs232 adapters, latest drivers


Problem:  xastir hangs when opening any serial port.  I've used NMEA
GPS, KISS TNC, D700 TNC devices.  Multiple units of FTDI and Keyspan
adapters.  kermit will talk to the serial devices correctly.  xastir
hasn't changed, but a compile of a current CVS snapshot doesn't work,
either.

Using a different mac (OS X 10.5.8) and the same usb and radio
hardware, things work fine.

weird data point:

I can run stty </dev/tty.usb232path on the working machine if xastir
isn't running, but stty hangs if xastir has the device open.  On the
broken machine, stty hangs always, which seems to imply that something
has latched on to the serial port, but I can't find anything. (I have
checked networking, which is a typical suspect.  It may be telling
that the serial port doesn't show up in potential network devices,
either.)

any clues would be greatly appreciated, as I don't have one.

-Jason
kg4wsv