@futzle
I have attempted every possible combination of jumpers on the board and all i can get is the buss light and a flashing light for the "waiting for host".
Don't try every possible combination. Only the default and the opposite-to-default configurations will be meaningful.
Till now I've been assuming that you've got an established connection from the NX-584 to the Vera. I'm not so sure of that now. You may have a physical connection, but:
* Are you sure that the USB-to-serial adapter is recognized by the Vera? Look in /dev/usb/tts for USB devices.
* Are you sure that the USB-to-serial adapter is getting enough power from the USB port in the Vera? Look for signs that it's got enough power (e.g., it might have a power LED)
* Are you sure that the serial configuration is right? Baud rate, data bits, etc. Check both ends.
* Are you sure that you named the correct serial device when you created the D_CaddxNX584Security.xml device? It should be whatever device in /dev/usb/tts appeared when you plugged in the USB-to-serial adapter.
All the LEDs flash like crazy when it's talking to the Vera, so if you're not seeing that then I don't reckon you've got a complete electrical connection.
I looked into the logs for Vera using putty but I don't know how to copy them. Is there another way to pull the log files that is newbie friendly?
PuTTY has a logging feature. The PuTTY user manual has a section "Creating a log file of your session". Probably you want the option "Printable Output".