While the power supply for the FTDI adapter is capable of providing the required ~300mA to the badge, I should have used a larger gauge wire to attach the pogo pins to the USB to serial adapter.

Just over a year ago, FTDI, manufacturers of the most popular USB to serial conversion chip on the market, released an update to their drivers that bricked FTDI clones. Copies of FTDI chips abound ...

Add or Remove Programs entry for FTDI USB Serial Converter Drivers. This is a driver pack that allows USB ports to be used to connect to Serial bus devices with a USB - Serial adapter cable.