Picture of my connections:

Thoughts:
Using the solder pads and pin header, should not make any differences, as they are the same? (Or maybe not)
When I look closer at the "solder pads" and "pin header", then I can see:
• Called RX at the pin-header, but RXD on the solder pad.
• Called TX at the pin-header, but TXD on the solder pad.
• GND is GND, not matter if you take it from pin-head or solder pad.
• “5v solder pad” vs “VCC pin-head”, when the jumper is set correctly on 3,3v, then it won’t matter either?
I also saw another topic here on the forum, where a user had a similar problem and he only switched the USB adapter. I used the same USB interface adapter, which is mentioned here:
http://www.vogons.org/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=43416