Toastie

What does that mean? Flashing as it turns its LED on and off (but that is it), or actually executing a command? Best Thorsten

Would a zip file do? If so, here's a link to my universities cloud server - the file is the exe Jo referenced, stored as zip file: https://uni-wuppertal.sciebo.de/s/ebemboGYrrimRWk Best Thorsten

I saw exactly the same behavior: No unlocking, no communication (LEDs blinking or not is not any sign of logical communication. The tower LED blinks regardless which bytes are fed to it. Sometimes the CM brick's LED flashes, but no true communication. My test for a known good CM brick: I use BricxCC to unlock the CM brick (this way, you get a visual confirmation in the IDE that "the link" is established, then end BricxCC, then use a terminal program on the same port, and then manually send commands for some time. I believe sending a command also resets the time-out counter on the CM brick. Equally important: When sending, e.g., "beep" repeatedly, you need to flip the toggle bit each time. Or, just send another command; the next beep can then be identical to the first beep. If that works, then I know that tower+CM brick are actually working. Regards, Thorsten

I believe, Evan was/is in touch with him, I can try as well - but let us wait for Evan's reply! This will be such a nice read, thank you again so much, @amine for letting the past shine - brilliantly! This IS such a nice read. I have all the US/ENG cards and manuals, but there is a subtle difference. And I am really impressed how this difference in addressing - in this case German teachers - makes such a big difference! This is of course about PCs and compatibles and LEGO Lines. TLG really was something different in the past, at least this is my impression, over and over again. All the best Thorsten P.S.: I believe we are seriously derailing this thread, as this is about Interface A, LEGO Lines etc. rather than about Control Lab. No idea how to fix that other than ... just go on?

That is a nice read! GW Basic, QuickBasic, Turbo Pascal, ... all on my Laptop And the unobtainable LEGO TC Controller software is mentioned as well!!! We tried so hard, but to no avail. And here is where you could order all that stuff: "LEGO GmbH, Schulbereich, Postfach 1263, 2354 Hohenwestedt", which was 20 km away from where I grew up in Northern Germany - and never ever heard about it back then - OK, I was in my dark ages ... So enjoyable! All the best Thorsten

Wow! That IS cool. This was for the IBM PC/XT right? What BASIC, Pascal, and Comal versions are they recommending/using on what OS? I shall then feed my Gotek on my IBM appropriately! All the best Thorsten

Ahh, I see, as I said, I got a bit lost. I am also aware that Windows is not loved much (with at least one exception: Me ), but all LEGO software runs either directly within Win11 (including BricxCC = access to RCX, Scout, Spybot, Cybermaster, NXT - I have them all, and they connect fine using the serial IR or RF tower, or BT/USB) with any USB2Ser adapater I have, even a USB2BT transceiver pairs work) or within DOSBox-X, which in turn runs perfectly well in Win11. Except for Interface A, every other LEGO PBrick or device runs on some sort of serial protocol - and since USB will be around a bit, all various adapters including USB/serial-to-parallel (with a little help from an Arduino Nano or Pico). VLL requires an even simpler adapter, which in turn runs perfectly well using Win11 or DOSBox-X. So what would the Raspberry pie do differently other than running LINUX, or is that the main point? All the best Thorsten

I believe I have lost it a bit - sorry. What are you actually aiming for? Are these pies or arduinos (or ESPs) envisioned for doing any protocol translation, e.g., from serial to parallel, or are these proposed to run an entire IDE for scratch like programming? Best Thorsten Me too!!! Well, as said, I have lost track. What is the goal of all this in one sentence? There are so many things already out there ... Best Thorsten

This thing runs on an ESP32 Vroom board in a LEGO case. It can't do CM (yet), but that is a matter of a bit of additional programming Time ... All the best Thorsten

What is that? RCX 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 are all running the exact same communication protocol. The only differences are 1) power feed and 2) firmware. There was no change on the com protocol. This is a bit confusing: Cybermaster has not much to do with Scout; the Scout follows exactly the RCX protocol. There are some additional op codes, but that is very well documented in the NQC software, which bundles with the current BricxCC framework. And also in the LEGO SDKs documents for all the original Mindstorms platforms. The CM came before the RCX, but shares a lot of the programming infrastructure. As discussed extensively in another thread here, you can connect to a CM using the RF tower with a simple terminal program - after initialization. Again NQC/BricxCC documentation has all the opcodes. Hope that helps + all the best Thorsten Wow! That is a nice one! When wanting to integrate the Interface A into your suite, you'll need 8-bit parallel outputs (2 input 6 output). It appears as if the 40 pin GPIO port can do that with no hassle. This is different for all other interfaces and PBricks; they run on serial hardware. But I believe you know all that. Cool project! All the best Thorsten

Hey folks, when the RCX protocol works, so will SCOUT and Spybots. I have to dig up my MulPI and CM stuff - man, time goes by ... Best Thorsten THAT sounds really cool!!! My IBM XT has a German keyboard - and the CGA card of course refuses to do any codepage or related stuff. Would be nice to see when Ä Ü ß ö ä ü need to be pressed (OK, I do have the GER <-> US keyboard layout conversion on a laminated print out of course) to get into action Best Thorsten

I never thought that this is even debatable? Of course, they do their very best, being openly fully exposed to the "public". Everything they create which makes it into a product is exposed to the WORLD, including the myriads of YT channels believing they know it, all social media outlets, catalogs, websites ... "they" are not named, but "they" see these responses, for sure. When "they" decide to do so. The "constraints" ... let's speculate: Are these ... minimizing the cost for TLG to realize a set? Or creating a set that satisfies the tastes of - experts, knowing it better anyway, as they have no constraints? Or anything in between? Or is it just that: Assessment of buying habits of world-wide cohorts, analysis of regionally resolved buying power, balancing invest to revenue, always monitoring the world-wide market? I sincerely do believe so. In other words: Being a LEGO designer sounds like a dream. Maybe unless reality (= money) checks in. Maybe not; it could be fun for some creating a set at minimal cost rather than ... making it through EB's quality control. Which in addition sells well. I have no clue. But calling out the set designers within TLG world - no. It is TLG. Just my very personal view. All the best Thorsten

You are very welcome! These SDS sheets always imply that the end is near ;) BTW: Large LD50 numbers mean that the poor mice had to swallow >a lot< before they died. Butanone, as well as acetone, are really sort of safe "household" solvents. When it comes to flammability, gasoline, that we put into our cars every so often, is in the same ballpark. With regard to toxicity, gasoline is much worse than MEK and actually is a carcinogenic formulation (mixture). It is always the same: Things we are used to, and we learned to handle, can be as bad as imaginable, but we are fine. Just a three-letter abbreviation as MEK does ring so many alarm bells, because that stuff is mostly "unknown". Folks in a chemical lab are really happy when MEK does the job as solvent, because it is so "friendly". There are so many way worse solvents ... (yes, I am a chemist) In conclusion: It is really safe and smart using MEK as a means to permanently attach LEGO bricks. Just make sure there is sufficient ventilation to prevent for fires. And don't inhale or drink too much of it. All the best Thorsten

Methly ethyl ketone or butanone is hazardous, but not because it is causing cancer. Here is what Wikipedia says: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butanone. There is also a link to the safety data sheet (SDS). The last SDS revision in the EU is from December 2025. Even the LD50 numbers are rather high. However, it is >highly< flammable. So what people try to do with "venting" is diluting any MEK vapors to the extent that a) the explosive region is not reached, b) preventing any sparks to fire up the air (does not always need an explosion to cause damage), c) people who are working with it don't irritate their eyes etc., it is also toxic upon inhalation, however, virtually all chemical compounds with such a high vapor pressure as that of MEK are. Here is an interesting "article" of a US chemicals supplier (Alliance Chemical) talking about how to "glue" LEGO bricks together and why it works: https://alliancechemical.com/blogs/articles/beyond-the-basics-using-mek-as-a-lego-glue-for-permanent-structures? There is also a short version of the SDS for MEK attached at the end. Best Thorsten

I could not agree more. However, the good design judgment of the individual listening to the parts speaking, is governed by the individual's willingness or capability to let imagination, transfer thoughts, extrapolation, memory (...) run freely, without limits. Best Thorsten