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Ok my first video about my experience with Diego's Interface C is finally out. As mentioned in the video I will have two followup videos, one where I got to sit down and talk to Diego about this and many of his other projects and then a full assembly tutorial. I ended up buying two (with my own money, this isn't any kind of sponsorship) one of which I will keep stock and one modified. I think it's a great little device and I'm excited to do more mods in the future! I love to see this kind of thing!

I'll go on record and say how awesome I think this project is. It's not for everyone, but nothing in life is ever for everyone. Here are some positive things I see: For GBC builders the higher output current will be great! I'll do some hands on testing once mine arrives but I would estimate the Interface C could take the place of at least two 9v train controllers and should provide a more steady voltage. Same goes for train builders. Need more than two 9v train motors? You'll need more than one Lego train regulator anyway or some other custom solution. Having a PF plug output is great! Official Lego extension cables can get expensive and they won't be needed here at all. You can buy PF plugs cheaply online along with some silicon insulated wire and make any cable length you desire. I have yet to see a third party 9v to PF conversion cable and I doubt any company outside of FxBricks will be making aftermarket 9v cables. I'm still an advocate for a cheaper "dumb" version but I'm sure there are some folks out there that could find creative solutions for the app control or implement their own additions to the code on the micro-controller. I love the aesthetics of the Interface C, it's very "Lego"! I could see this inspiring many more projects / devices in the Lego community. The stl files are freely available so if someone wanted to make their own motor controller they already have a design for an awesome enclosure to put it in. Lastly... it's fun! I've been itching for a fun electronics project to build. At this point I would pay for the building experience even if I never planned on using it 😅

This is awesome! I can't wait to get my hands on one 😁. I'm still looking through all of the documentation to get a better grasp on things but I did have a couple questions that popped into my mind immediately: Do you have any plans to release a "dumb" version? Just a speed control for PF motors without the option for control from the app? I'm not sure how feasible this would be or how much this would save on cost in the end but thought I would ask. Do you have any plans to add options for alternate colors for the kits on Tindie? The black and yellow one definitely appeals to me 😁

Forgot to post here, the Lego DACTA 9702 Control System Building Set video is done! While this set was less interesting than the 9701 set I still had a lot of fun making the video. I've always wanted to build the DACTAsaurus! I'd really like to cover the Intelligent House set at some point, still looking for the software! I may have a lead on the DOS version but they said it would be a few months before they can check the disk and make sure it still works. I still have plenty of other sets I want to make a video on but don't have teachers guides or other materials. I've gotten back in the habit of searching auction sites but haven't found much.

A commenter on that video mentioned they used to be proportional, stepless even, but they burned up batteries or some other design flaw. It's been years since I've looked into it so the details are a bit fuzzy and there may have been developments in the meantime. I mostly use servos for 2 or 3 positions like controlling monorail mono-switches so the cheap ones online work fine for me

Well it only took 3 years but I have finally released a full set overview! What better way to kick things off than 9701 Control Lab Building Set! I have made a few attempts to make a scripted video about the set but opted for a non-scripted approach to make things easier. I actually think it makes for a more watchable video, my earlier attempts were just plain boring. I've also made quite a bit of progress archiving materials. I couldn't have done it alone, I did have a ton of help from an anonymous viewer of my channel. I purchased a CZUR Aura Pro scanner which I've had mixed results with, the "Simple Control Activity Pack Teachers Guide" is my first scan done solely by me. I think it looks pretty good and was pretty easy to get done. I have struggled with other materials like a Shop at Home catalog, it had issues auto cropping the image which is kind of the point of using such a device. I'll report back later as I gain more experience with it. Any materials I archive will be available at the link below (shoutout to the Internet Archive!). https://archive.org/details/@batterypoweredbricks

DACTA is always worth a shot 😁. The Control Lab set is probably my favorite all time Lego set. If the wires have the rubber insulation they've probably degraded, just make sure not to throw them away if so. I typically cut the wires off and keep the connectors / sensors as they are relatively easy to repair (The wires more so than the sensors).

My experience, nostalgia and interest mostly center around the 90's era DACTA sets. I have a few interface A's but don't really have a period appropriate computer. At this point I'm leaving it to folks like yourself, Evan and a few others to keep that era of Lego computing alive 😁. I've really enjoyed @evank's video on the 80's / 4.5 era stuff. The 90's / 9v era has a lot to cover and will keep me busy for quite a while, I'd feel like a hypocrite trying to cover the older stuff 😅. I am interested in looking at the catalog assuming there are pictures, I obviously don't speak German

Well 3 years later I think it's time for an update 😅. While I have been acquiring as many Lego DACTA sets / accessories as possible I'm only just now starting to really work on dedicated videos. I think this is a good thing, I've definitely learned a lot having uploaded a few hundred videos at this point. Lego DACTA is one of those things many people probably wouldn't be interested in or at least wouldn't think they would be. My goal isn't just archival it's also to bring attention to Lego's educational efforts. I think it's a really great accomplishment and the thing that means the most to me when it comes to Lego. As of now I am going through all of the sets I've acquired and making sure they are complete. That's the easy part. The hard part is all of the software, instructions and curriculum. I'm working on a spreadsheet to try to inventory what I have and what I still need to find. A good example of this is the original software for the 9707 Intelligent House set. While the Control Lab software has been archived and could be used to control the "smart" functions of the house, it would be great to find the dedicated software. If you have any software or curriculum you are able to archive it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to @evank we have a fair bit already archived at the link below. https://archive.org/details/vintagelegorobotics In addition to archival materials, I am also interested in stories from teachers or students that have experience with Lego DACTA in the classroom. Feel free to respond in this thread, a DM or any other social media I am on. Below is the first video in the series, serving as an introduction to what Lego DACTA is. Looking at a few sets, their packaging and flipping through a Pitsco / DACTA catalog from 1999. It's unscripted and a bit unorganized but it's better than nothing. I've tried to make scripted videos on the subject and they tend to be incredibly boring. That was several years ago but keeping things simple means I will have less obstacles to actually making progress. I'll also link a playlist below with any haul videos that featured Lego DACTA sets or materials. There's still a lot to find but I am thrilled to have found all that I have. I am always excited to find hand written or printed notes from teachers 😀

It was a fun project! BritishBricks did a great job with the look of the build but trying to stick to original parts as much as possible was very limiting. It is pretty fragile in a few places. He is planning to build a version 2 without such limitations so I'm excited to see what he comes up with

Instead of starting a new thread I figured I would just post here. @diegobaca has made a few custom software solutions in the past for the DACTA Control Lab, well he's at it again. This time you can interface with the Control Lab using a Raspberry Pi Zero W (or other models) and control the motors through a web browser. This has to be one of the smallest footprints required to use the Control Lab. I'll link his website below which has everything you'll need to try it out including a bill of materials. The parts required shouldn't cost much, the Raspberry Pi Zero W sells for $20 (From Amazon In the US, subject to change over time). I've created a video showing a quick overview of the steps to get it going and a couple use cases. In the video I talked about how much power the Control Lab can provide, I should have tried using a beefier transformer as that did help a lot with the GBC layout. There's more to share there but I may start a new thread, especially if I end up making modifications. Diego's website https://controllab.io/

Incredible work @Toastie You won't see this anywhere else!

In the description of the most recent tutorial there is a link to wire that works just as well from AliExpress. I've used it for dozens of wires and found no noticeable difference. The trade off is it takes a lot longer to arrive but is cheaper. I've also added a link that someone sent me for UK Amazon. I'll add the links to this thread but the video may have more updated links in the future. I talk to a lot of folks in different places about repairing wires and the video description is the first place I update. If anyone has links for another country lmk and I'll gladly add them. Always glad to hear folks are getting their wires repaired!

That's kind of the issue, when you snap the connector together is when you find out if you have a good connection. I don't use glue often so I don't have a suggestion except for I wouldn't use something that would seal super quick in case you need to try again.

I'm really excited for the electronic offerings. I love the modular approach for the speed regulator. I have a fair amount of 9v track so I've never been able to justify the cost of FX track. But the electronics stuff... I NEED all of it . Anyone who knows of my work knows my obsession with custom Lego control panels . Very excited to see previews of these products, hoping the track contacts will be less than $50 which is what degraded ones on eBay go for .

I remember trying to get Robolab working years ago but was never successful. After using the official Lego DACTA Control Lab software I've never had a reason to look back. If I find any info I'll be sure to pass it along!

In my testing 2, 3 and 5 were the only wires necessary. I'll include a video where I went through the troubleshooting of the RS232 connection (starting at 23:17). They were the only wires connected. Update on my non-functioning unit: One of my units refuses to connect to the official Lego software as well as 3rd party. It kept giving the same error over and over again (I think it just said unable to connect). I figured it wouldn't hurt to replace both capacitors (220uf and 2200uf) since they are so old. Now it just gives a checksum error. Not really sure where to go from here. I vaguely remember leaving one of my control labs on for several days controlling the lights on my Galaxy Explorer display but I can't remember if this was the unit. Also there is a bit of rust / corrosion on some of the screws and a couple places on the board. I didn't even notice at first it was so minor.

@LH4PI I think I've only had a problem with one of my interfaces not communicating, IIRC I just set it to the side and used another I had. So I really don't have much to add to the conversation for fixing the issue. One thing you can try is a test program (LEGOInterfaceB.exe) written by Tom Cook. It will work on modern operating systems (I've tested up to Windows 10) so you can try on another PC just to see if it works. Beyond that I'm really not sure what else to try

@LH4PI Just to make sure the cable is correct here's diagram. It can be very confusing when male and female plugs are used. It took me hours to wrap my head around it when I was using cat5 serial adapters. Very useful for long runs or in my case I had an old POS terminal with RJ50 serial ports. If the cable is correct there could be another problem.

2 to 3, 3 to 2 and 5 to 5

@LH4PI Actually it uses a male to female null modem cable, the hardest cable to find . I did find some on Amazon after a bit of searching

That's awesome! As far as the limited outputs I ordered PU and PF compatible plugs and made my own adapters. I used two PF connectors so I can have mirrored outputs. I used it in my Amtrak locomotive to have dual motors and a set of lights. I have a tutorial recorded, it should release in the next couple weeks. I will say the PF motors are not quite as smooth with the acceleration as the PU motors, but I think that could be remedied by making adjustments to the PyBricks code.

The updated Metroliner is a MOC I found on ReBrickable by Oninino. It looks fantastic! I don't think I ever posted it here anywhere but I did make a video showing off all of its features like opening doors etc.

Wait your wallet is lightening? I've been wanting something like this for a year and a half. There are probably posts here and elsewhere of me dreaming out loud about such a system back then. The @Pybricks team has done an excellent job, hub to hub communication is a real game changer. Of course @Lok24 and @and_ampersand_and are absolute legends for writing and modifying the program respectively. Programming has never been my strongsuit, it really speaks to the power of the Lego community to see something like this come to fruition! The double / triple headed trains are absolute pulling monsters. I've done some testing with inclines as well and it makes a massive difference. If you do make any more alternate liveries for the 10219 loco I recently bumped the thread here about that. I'd love to see yours @Toxic43!

Thanks so much for putting in all the work to create an English translation! It seems like shipping is quite expensive when trying to acquire the book in the US. I may just pick up the Kindle version to read on my PC along with the PDF. I'm assuming this supports the author about the same as buying a physical version? That's something I'm curious about, I always want to support in the best way possible for works such as this. If I find a good solution for getting the printed book imported I will share a link here. Cheers!