@Gary-Holmgren you have saved at least one other person 
G
Best posts made by garret
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RE: Unable to build px4 using rb5-flight-px4-build-dockerposted in Ask your questions right here!
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RE: VOXL2 HITL Sim with Gazebo in Docker - gazebo/voxl2 communicationposted in Ask your questions right here!
RESOLVED
for those who come after:
it was indeed an ftdi cable issue. Keep in mind that MCBL-00091-1 USB to Serial UART Cable is not a proper cable (i tried two freshly out of the box, and none worked). Currently using this cable: https://www.amazon.sa/-/en/Moyina-Converter-Terminated-BeagleBone-Minnowboard/dp/B06ZYPLFNB