Dacta Control Lab Software

[amine]

On 1/16/2026 at 9:55 AM, legoROBOLAB said:

Good morning. It's sad news that we can't identify COM1 or COM2. However, DOSBox on the PC has several menus, including the configuration menu. Personally, I don't have the technical knowledge to solve the problem, but I ask: "Couldn't a version of DOSBox already configured for COM1 be uploaded to archive.org?" I appreciate all your efforts; we all know that if we ever manage to get the B interface working online, it will be the first step towards uploading other old LEGO devices... thank you very much. (I'm attaching two images, one with all apps connected to DOSBox and the configuration menu.)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lxvii5yXG1sWP1z1_OVM0nBMpOWFluyh/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l0JupcIA-WY9yeVhPYVC5ITv27FYNk4A/view?usp=sharing

 

Here is the french version of robolab 1.5 for PC and Mac.

https://archive.org/details/robolab1.5fr

Edited January 17 by amine

[Toastie]

3 hours ago, amine said:

Seems we can do our own server with it no need to rely on archive !!!

Yes, but using that code GitHub, you'll need to build and compile the server on a Linux machine.

Best
Thorsten

[amine]

Anybody has the project disk for control lab dos and win 3.1 ? On archive I added both for the french version but I discovered we are missing the English version of the project disk. Or is it specific to the french version?

I have just added the English Dos control lab. It is going to take some time "one or two days maybe" before it works online.

https://archive.org/details/ctrlab_20260118

Edited January 18 by amine

[legoROBOLAB]

21 hours ago, amine said:

Here is the french version of robolab 1.5 for PC and Mac.

https://archive.org/details/robolab1.5fr

 It seems incomplete...
Robolab 1.5 is much more extensive. Am I doing something wrong?

[amine]

36 minutes ago, legoROBOLAB said:

 It seems incomplete...
Robolab 1.5 is much more extensive. Am I doing something wrong?

Did you run the installation file ?I think that is  all what was in the CD rom. I have seen extra content in other directories with  an extra note explaining how to use them but I am not really familiar with robolab, I still need to learn it. Iam going to check again that all is complete and put an iso image with it to be sure nothing has been left behind.

 

I am adding the projects files to control lab french, and I uploaded the intelligent house project files to the English version, it should be ready soon.

Edited January 18 by amine

[legoROBOLAB]

1 hour ago, amine said:

Did you run the installation file ?I think that is  all what was in the CD rom. I have seen extra content in other directories with  an extra note explaining how to use them but I am not really familiar with robolab, I still need to learn it. Iam going to check again that all is complete and put an iso image with it to be sure nothing has been left behind.

 

I am adding the projects files to control lab french, and I uploaded the intelligent house project files to the English version, it should be ready soon.

The program works well online. Obviously, I haven't tested the COM ports yet. As for projects, I only have those for the intelligent house. Thank you for your work and for sharing.

Edited January 18 by legoROBOLAB

[amine]

48 minutes ago, legoROBOLAB said:

The program works well online. Obviously, I haven't tested the COM ports yet. As for projects, I only have those for the intelligent house. Thank you for your work and for sharing.

I am still doing some tests and corrections with it, I should be done in the next week.

[amine]

On 1/18/2026 at 5:41 PM, legoROBOLAB said:

The program works well online. Obviously, I haven't tested the COM ports yet. As for projects, I only have those for the intelligent house. Thank you for your work and for sharing.

Can you try to embed the archive player windows

directly into your blog page ?

 

On 1/17/2026 at 8:00 PM, Toastie said:

Yes, but using that code GitHub, you'll need to build and compile the server on a Linux machine.

Best
Thorsten

What if I put qbasic and your programs in the archive dos emulator?

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 11:41 AM by amine

[Toastie]

2 hours ago, amine said:

What if I put qbasic and your programs in the archive dos emulator?

If the archive DOS emulator works as on the DOS Wasm X online emulator, it should work fine. As I said, in 9750 SIM mode nothing is sent anywhere, but the lill' virtual LEDs will go on/off as well as the direction is shown. I can certainly assemble a ZIP file containing all my latest programs (9750, 9751, 8485). I would probably need some explanations, but I can write something up as well.

Best
Thorsten

[amine]

17 minutes ago, Toastie said:

If the archive DOS emulator works as on the DOS Wasm X online emulator, it should work fine. As I said, in 9750 SIM mode nothing is sent anywhere, but the lill' virtual LEDs will go on/off as well as the direction is shown. I can certainly assemble a ZIP file containing all my latest programs (9750, 9751, 8485). I would probably need some explanations, but I can write something up as well.

Best
Thorsten

https://blog.archive.org/2015/05/08/making-your-dos-programs-live-again-at-the-internet-archive/

 

Here are the steps provided by Jason scott

jscott@archive.org

[Toastie]

5 hours ago, amine said:

Here are the steps provided by Jason scott

Oh, that is a nice read! Thank you very much @amine! It works as the DOS Wasm X browser based emulator.

I shall clear up my code, will also put the latest versions on Bricksafe. That may take a little time as I am rather busy these days, the winter semester comes to an end, which means !examania! 

As I have my C64 back to life (it was the boldly soldered in PLA ... it was a pain the a*s to get bugger out - ripped one trace off the ground and ruined a couple of vias, but works) - I have a quick question, I bet you, @evank, or @alexGS know right off the bat: I there a TC Logo version for the C64? Or is it "just" LEGO Lines?

Best
Thorsten 

[amine]

I have a good news concerning lego control lab win95 version.

It is easy to translate the software to any language you want from the englsh version.

LogoCore.dat contain all the primitives

ClabRes.dll contain the icons bitmap and menu

CTRLAB.CNT contain the help file index

 

You can open and modify everything to your taste using ressource hacker software.

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:34 PM by amine

[alexGS]

1 hour ago, Toastie said:

 I have a quick question, I bet you, @evank, or @alexGS know right off the bat: I there a TC Logo version for the C64? Or is it "just" LEGO Lines?

Best
Thorsten 

We’ve never seen mention of TC-Logo for C64. Logo on the C64 existed many years before (sold by Commodore themselves), which seems unrelated to LCSI Logo and therefore not a straightforward development path to ‘port’ across from the Apple/DOS versions.

There was mention somewhere of using COMAL-80 on the C64, I’m not certain LEGO sanctioned that (were there code examples in LEGO literature or only in the book from Germany?) - eventually the LEGO materials seemed to settle on TC-Logo for Apple II and DOS PC as being the standard.

I find LEGO Lines quite useful at shows, as it’s easy to see what’s running. Highlighting the lines on the display does slow it down somewhat, so if you need accurate responses, you can run it in a ‘fast’ mode where it doesn’t update the display.

[Toastie]

Thank you, Alex. Appreciate your reply very much!

Still did not make it into Lines, but that will happen soon. I shall also try out @maehw's GitHub code! I am also assembling all the Archive Lines images.

I was asking, because I am planning to explore the C64's BASIC a bit more. Setting it up in my attic right now. Got another Interface A, as well as the C64's user port plug. Shall make the cable, and then try out "coding" (typing in BASIC lines is generally not regarded as coding, but "I don't care, I love it") an interface program, as I did for my DOS machines and the Atari 1040. 

Three more years, and I will be 100% on all this :D

All the best
Thorsten

 

[evank]

4 hours ago, alexGS said:

I’m not certain LEGO sanctioned that (were there code examples in LEGO literature or only in the book from Germany?)

Yes. https://archive.org/details/lego_c64_manual_basic_comal/mode/2up -- starting on page 5.

[alexGS]

5 hours ago, evank said:

Yes. https://archive.org/details/lego_c64_manual_basic_comal/mode/2up -- starting on page 5.

Thanks. So that’s where I saw it… I thought it was in the German book you’d scanned ☺️

Thorsten @Toastie: cheers and good luck! :) Bear in mind that the C64’s BASIC is pretty awful - anything created with POKEs and GOSUBs and variable names (where only the first two letters are considered) is going to be pretty obscure to anyone else, and thus not really a ‘general solution’, apart from any ‘IT snobbery’ against BASIC!

It’s a little like when people use spreadsheets for accounting, and IT people dislike it. Better to use the development environment, where all the groundwork is done (e.g. the graphics in LEGO Lines). I spent about 15 years showing people how to use spreadsheets correctly, and it all counted for nothing in the end (no credibility), apart from the happiness of all the people who made their own solutions 😉

Edited Wednesday at 07:17 AM by alexGS

[Toastie]

34 minutes ago, alexGS said:

anything created with POKEs and GOSUBs and variable names (where only the first two letters are considered) is going to be pretty obscure to anyone else

Hi Alex,

in inner BASIC circles, that obscurity is also called "IP protection" .

I grew up with “programming” BASIC on a Sinclair ZX81, and then (for years due to budget limitations) on a ZX Spectrum. Commands were exclusively tokens, the rubber (mat) keys represented >multiple< "commands" and graphic symbols, I was PEEKing and POKEing everywhere, moved RAMTOP around to make space for bytes some call "assembly", no line indenting, nested GOSUBs and so on and so forth. The dirtiest of dirty coding - but it sometimes worked.

That will be quite the C64 experience. Others visit amusement parks, I take the C64 BASIC roller coaster - for free. 

I guess it is some rare variety of electro-masochism - but I'm actually looking forward to poking around on that 8-bit number cruncher.

All the best
Thorsten       

[legoROBOLAB]

On 1/18/2026 at 5:31 PM, amine said:

I am still doing some tests and corrections with it, I should be done in the next week.

 

21 hours ago, amine said:

Can you try to embed the archive player windows

directly into your blog page ?

 

What if I put qbasic and your programs in the archive dos emulator?

 

 

Done... it is embed...

https://legoeducacional-umcontributo.blogspot.com/2021/05/control-lab-programacao-lego-5-anos.html

by now, at the end of the post... in english.

[amine]

25 minutes ago, legoROBOLAB said:

 

Done... it is embed...

https://legoeducacional-umcontributo.blogspot.com/2021/05/control-lab-programacao-lego-5-anos.html

by now, at the end of the post... in english.

Looks great !!!In my archive I have scanned the technologica manuals.

https://archive.org/details/dacta-elevdata

I am missing a few floppy disk but I have all the activity cards in sweden that I didnt scanned yet.

I may have a way to translate the programs of lego control lab easily. I am going to check if I can do the same in the

sweden software. Basically you would have to drag and drop two or three files in your installation folder in replacement of the originals.

Edited Wednesday at 09:34 AM by amine

[legoROBOLAB]

Okay... my blog is a repository of books and software (not currently used or commercialized) from LEGO Education. This way, everything is in one place. Similarly, I'm a teacher registered in the LEGO Education forum and I announced there the existence of the online Control Lab. I think that if the old software can run online, like the interface A, TC Logo, lego lines or dacta ( for sensors) and the 1997 code pilot... it's always a added value for the history of these products and for LEGO itself.

Leonardo

Edited Wednesday at 10:28 AM by legoROBOLAB

[amine]

4 minutes ago, legoROBOLAB said:

Okay... my blog is a repository of books and software (not currently used or commercialized) from LEGO Education. This way, everything is in one place. Similarly, I'm a teacher registered in the LEGO Education forum and I announced there the existence of the online Control Lab. I think that if the old software can run online, like the A interface software and the 1997 code pilot... it's always a boon for the history of these products and for LEGO itself.

Leonardo

The old sets are extremely valuable and I think the past of education is worth saving.

Learning kits are sadly leaving kids hands to go on those of a few private collectors.

What a shame...

 

[Toastie]

2 hours ago, legoROBOLAB said:

it's always a added value for the history of these products and for LEGO itself.

This is absolutely true. However, I am not so sure about the last bit. Whenever we were asking TLG about historic software (apparently, the inquiries went all the way up to The Archives in Billund), in the end their reply was: Not to be found or not possible to disclose anything due to IP infringements. Well, this was about software(s) introduced 35+ years ago ... Could be that their archives suck, could be that their contracts are legal monsters.   

Besides the added value for the history, I also find it highly educating to study any >principle< progress that has been made over the decades. That is true for virtually everything, but I like to reflect from time to time real progress and not the change of color or communications protocols. Sure, new powerful hard- and software may do things unheard of every time they are introduced. But one has to tell them to actually do so. In the educational line of "robotics", having been limited for some decades to 2-3 sensor inputs or 3-5 actuator outputs (except for Interface B) without cascading the controlling devices, some repetitive elements are clearly observable. Line followers is only one. Furthermore, it is certainly true that schools and other institutions of education should be on top of the high-tech-game. However, the repetitive introduction of follow-up technology, being incompatible with its predecessors, seems also to be a nice way of increasing revenue at increasing pace. In addition, teaching folks need also be a) able and b) willing to teach the ever evolving advancement in technology. 

It is not only playing with old stuff from a historical perspective - it is purely fascinating to realize again and again, what can be accomplished with this old stuff, when used properly and with some skill. All the little hardware tricks and the software tweaks enabled many cool features - decades ago. Whether one sends data through a wire or through the air, be it IR, BT, BLE - in the end data need to be sent, and understood or interpreted at the other end and vice versa. Yes, today everything is high-res, multicolor, superfast, and totally awesome - but when you've built a LEGO model equipped with some sensors and some motors, 5GHz CPU clock rates are hardly necessary. Color sensing, fine, recognition of the user using an iris scan, fine, but your LEGO model will respond by moving something or making sounds. That sound could be a "beep" - as it was decades ago, or a super-nicely modulated sound from outer worlds as it is today; it remains a simple response, though.

I am also aware of all the gurus out there, really bringing new technology introduced by TLG to the highest levels of sophistication. But we are talking education here, classroom action, performed with plastic bricks that have become more diverse, but the central idea of holding them together, as well as sensing and actuating, is 3 ... 4 decades old.

I am not saying that today's students need to listen to beeps, because we did (in addition to all the limitation we had to live with ), no, I am talking about me, trying to get something across as a teacher. Getting to the heart and principle of the process by moving away all the decoration making it look good, no, look >awesome<. 

All the best,
Thorsten

[legoROBOLAB]

I liked your reflection.

The real dilemma is us wanting to teach something basic to our students in the face of today's society, and the dual educational/commercial nature of LEGO.

About LEGO's archives... I have the same opinion, either they're not good, or they don't want to help us... although they know that we "help" them when we talk and post about their products.

Let's continue on our paths... it's no coincidence that we still use Control Lab and Robolab... new isn't always better. It's different, but not inherently better.

[Toastie]

11 minutes ago, legoROBOLAB said:

Let's continue on our paths... it's no coincidence that we still use Control Lab and Robolab... new isn't always better. It's different, but not inherently better.

I completely agree with you - with everything you wrote!

Yes, let us continue to voice our enthusiasm and appreciation for what has been accomplished by TLG in the past. And show what (still) can be done with these fantastic educational materials.

All the best and have a very nice day!
Thorsten  

[evank]

4 hours ago, legoROBOLAB said:

Okay... my blog is a repository of books and software (not currently used or commercialized) from LEGO Education. This way, everything is in one place.

I recently acquired several Control Lab teacher's manuals that are not scanned anywhere. So I am rectifying this. :)  It's going to take a couple of months. Michael Mulhern (known in the Apple II community) is going to do the scanning on our behalf. Then it goes here: https://archive.org/details/vintagelegorobotics