I’ve never heard of anyone having those issues before. Did you say that the red power LED is blinking? It’s supposed to just stay on. Are you sure you are not using an AC power supply, or some type of power supply other than what’s specified? It should be 9V DC at least 100mA, center negative. Try a different power supply to just make sure it’s not the problem.
If the power supply is correct then make sure there are no shorted solder joints in the power supply section (see the schematic for details).
-Brach