I've spent most of the day installing the software for Mindstorms RiS 2.0. I first tried installing it using wine on linux which did to my surprise work. Well until i got to the important part, making the tower connect to the rcx. See i don't have the 2.0 set, just the software. I figured that since it used usb that it would make my serial tower from 1.5 work with an adaptor cable, but it didn't. I tried selecting both the usb-tower and the serial but the light on the tower never lit up and i kept getting error messages.

After trying it on a virtual windows install with the same trouble i decided to try it on my laptop running win7. The virtual install failed because if the host (linux) can't find some hardware, neither will the guest. But i still wanted to try. Well the laptop was a dud as well. Last thing i did was to install the 1.5 on my main computer thinking that it at least was made for the serial tower and might find it despite the usb-connection. Well the first thing it did upon starting was to tell me it didn't find any com-ports, then flip the bird at me and crash.

So what now. While typing this i got to thinking about controller cards and back plates with serial plugs on them. Well the back plates are really cheap but require a certain kind of connector on the motherboard which i don't think i have. My motherboard says nothing about having serial connectors inside. The controller cards use pci-express so they would fit but i don't know if they would work. And they aren't exactly cheap. Beyond that the only thing i can think about is getting a usb-tower or an older computer with serial connector. The towers aren't that cheap so i'm better off with the controller cards. But i don't know if they work on newer operating systems. Does win 7 and 8 even support com ports anymore? Surely someone here has a rcx and can answer this.

BTW maybe it's me but when i tried searching for help i seemed to get every thread using the word mindstorm even when i tried to include other words to get fewer result. Oh and i got interested in RiS again since i'm going to get into GBC and had at least one idea the needs programming.

Hello

If I understand it, you used a serial to USB cable adapter.

This cable needs some drivers for the integrated controller (a chip in the cable) . Probably it uses a chip from Prolific (it's pretty common) I can confirm this works in W7 and W8.

First of all you need windows to detect the serial port with no Lego tower attached and.from your comments I am not sure if you achieved this as a first step.

Hey mate! Sorry to hear about the difficulties you've had.

Could you please put in just a few words what exactly you're trying to achieve?

What OS do u want to use, What Communication tower: Serial(com) or USB, and what software?

I am running RIS 2.0 on win 7 with USB Tower. From what i remember i just had to look for a patch to make the usb tower work, other than that - no problems.

I suppose you could use a Serial Tower with the same success. Just make sure u have a fresh 9v battery!

I am running RIS 2.0 on win 7 with USB Tower. From what i remember i just had to look for a patch to make the usb tower work, other than that - no problems.

True.

Check this:

http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=70888

And/or this:

http://www.rjmcnamar...s-ris-windows7/

And possibly this:

http://bricks.stacke...ndows-xp-driver

Although it's mostly based on Windows, so I am not sure whether it will help you.

BTW maybe it's me but when i tried searching for help i seemed to get every thread using the word mindstorm even when i tried to include other words to get fewer result. Oh and i got interested in RiS again since i'm going to get into GBC and had at least one idea the needs programming.

The EB search is not very user friendly. You might want to use Google for this.

Edited August 16, 201311 yr by Ted

Well mostly i would like it if the usb converter would work under wine, but i think it does that because i have used it with my steering wheel and that worked. OK the windows games under wine recognized the existence of the steering wheel when i selected it in the preferences but refused to actually steer the vehicle. This at least proves that wine recognizes the converter cable which at the time didn't have any special drivers installed.

I have tried using a command under linux (lsusb) that lists usb-devices and it doesn't seem to find the adapter. Kinda weird but anyways. If anyone can point me to windows drivers for an adepter i could try them on my laptop. I'm llooking for some other driver under linux but without a name it's hard.

I should probably some up before this post becomes too long. I want to use an adapter cable that is about a foot long to connect a serial tower to usb and if possible under linux, otherwise i would use my laptop even though i don't want to but the important thing is getting the rcx to work again as easily as possible. Last time i used it was on an older computer that had a serial port on it.

Try this driver, it's the chip maker for a pretty generic one used in many adapters: http://www.prolific.com.tw/US/ShowProduct.aspx?p_id=225&pcid=41

If only my laptop wasn't so darn slow. Anyways while i wait for it i should perhaps say that the only number i can see on the adapter says: 501213-0000 HC SK

I tried reinstalling Ris 2.0 since i kept getting an error message about a critical error but it didn't help. I used the instruction found here that worked until step 8. My tower was not identified even though i installed the prolific drivers. Then i remembered that i used to program in nqc in a program called brickx command central. I was delighted that the program was still being developed but unfortunately the program didn't find the rcx. Now i'm gonna eat dinner and then perhaps try to install it under linux again and this time also try bxcc.

I feel that the main problem except for a lousy laptop not wanting to run a old program even it should be able to handle is that the tower is not found. Perhaps due to the converter. I tried searching for the number posted earlier but few hits and no good ones makes me think that it's not a useful serial number.

Ok i'm close to giving up now. I've tried several reinstalls under linux using the guide linked to in the last post and all for some reason crashed with the same error message. I think those patches are the cause. The program ran fine before. Well the installation went on a little further. I know you guys can't help me with linux, i need to figure out where those files went and delete them, i just want to state what i have been up to. There is use trying a virtual install again. If linux can't find the adepter then i can't enable it in the virtual machine and therefor it wont be found. Well the only thing i can try now is restarting into windows xp and hope that works.

Ok now i have officially given up. I tried installing first RiS then BXCC and none would find the tower. Funny thing is that before i rebooted the computer RiS worked. Afterwards it didn't. Still not sure why. Then i tried installing the other tower drivers and the xp patch but not difference. Looks like i need to look into a usb-tower or a controller card with db9 plug. I'm thinking about the controller card since it will work for more than just one thing and it would probably be cheaper too. In any case i'm dropping this until next month at least. I've got a ton of ideas so i wont need this right now. I even have at least one more GBC idea but you wont hear about it if it fails.

Any ideas on what i could try other than switching hardware would be appreciated. The choices as for as operating systems are concerned are xp on the main and win7 on a laptop. Maybe i should go for another usb-adapter. The one i have is really old, the steering wheel it came with has win98 drivers, so perhaps a newer one would work better. I'll upload my own picture tomorrow of what the adapter looks like.

The problem is that as far as I know a serial to USB converter needs a driver. The OS needs to know that a COM port exists there. Without that no matter what you plug, it wont work.

Well after several hours trying to get my steering wheel to work i know a bit more. I need a new steering wheel, at least if i want force feedback. Or at least a newer windows game to test it on. The fact that windows even finds it proves that the adapter do work, at least when connected to something that has its own power supply. Here is a picture of it.

I tried some linux games but still no force feedback. This has nothing to do with the subject of this thread but when trying to make my Logitech Formula Force work in windows xp i stumbled upon this guide that worked just fine. I'm just mentioning it just in case someone else ever needs that information.

As for mindstorms i need to find an adapter that has a chip in it, something i don't think mine does. Or go for a usb-tower. Any ideas on how i can spot the right kind of converter? I'd hate to buy the wrong kind.

Man I hope the adapter you are using with the Lego isn't the one that came with the Logitech cause it does not work that way. That is not a Serial to USB adapter.

The Logitech already has USB support, it simply changes how it works based on whether it detects that is USB or COM connected.

Well that is exactly what i'm using and thanks for giving a good explanation of why it doesn't work. So the compatibility is in the steering wheel? Makes me wonder if buying plugs would work or do i need to go for adapters with a cable. Here are 3 links to various adapters at a swedish retailer. Just to show the difference in design.

http://www.webhallen.com/se-sv/hardvara/66437-deltaco_usb_till_seriell_adapter_rs232_db9ha

http://www.webhallen.com/se-sv/hardvara/128053-deltaco_seriell_adapter_rs-232_db9ha_till_usb_20

http://www.webhallen.com/se-sv/hardvara/55117-deltaco_usb_till_seriell_adapter_rs232_db9ha_dongle

After looking at deltacos own website i found a mountain of converters. Look here. I looked up the ones that store sells and all had drivers so i guess they all work. Funny how a cable that adepts a serial plug into a usb plug isn't really a adapter. Well i guess a chip really is needed and without it all it does is change the plug without really offering any compatibility. This has been really educational. I'll still wait a while before ordering, if only to have a change to see if any local stores sell one. Not that i think so. Those kinds of adapters aren't exactly common to use nowadays.

Yeah "Logitech formula" made everything clear.

Oh and just in case.... If I recall correctly force feed back does not work without drivers because the Formula force uses an old protocol previous to the the standards used nowadays. Also Logitech did not publish a proper version of the drivers for 64 bits. So if you like your wheel, XP or W7 32 bits are your only options unless you don't care about the force feed back, of course.

Well having tried several games without it i must say that it sucks. Well the steering wheel is not something i have room for near the computer anyway and i only started using it to see if the adapter could work so i wont be bothering with it anymore. Maybe someday i'll buy a new or newer used one but for now it stays in the box.

I've been looking around regarding adapters and will wait until monday before ordering. I did find one that has 2 serial plugs and uses the prolific driver linked to earlier but it's not the cheapest choice and i only need one plug anyway. I know i said i would wait but i'm curious to get my rcx working again even though i can't remember what kind of GBC module i was gonna build for it.

I ordered an adapter on monday and was hoping to have it by now but i don't so it looks like i have to continue waiting. I downloaded the drivers for it had a look at the linux section. Weirdly enough there was only drivers for redhat and none for ubuntu. Oh well guess i'll just have to plug it in and see what happens. Kinda standard procedure anyways.

Here is a link to the product page. http://www.logilink.eu/showproduct/AU0002B.htm Not sure why some of the text is in german. Must not be translated.

Now that you are done with the Logitech cable I don't think Ubuntu will have much problem with the adapter.

In fact it could be worse that needing an adapter...

A few years ago I got another mindstorms set because my new Notebook did not have serial port. So my almost never used RCX 1.0 got a younger twin so they could gather dust together, I think I never used the USB tower But I always kept everything in boxes, well protected in a closet.

So I got two RCX, a USB Tower and... no cables. All the cables rot, the plastic or rubber protecting the copper just felt in pieces. I salvaged the connectors and I am in the process of getting a few meters of suitable cable.

For $20, you can get one of the USB towers on Bricklink. On Linux, you can follow the directions on this page to install NQC and get the tower working. Of course, you can't use the RIS visual programming language, and you'll have to learn NQC.

What on earth did you do to make cables rot so quickly? I have rubberbands from the 80:s that still hang together even if they are dry. I doubt computer cables rot that fast.

As for running mindstorms under linux i have almost gotten the original program to run. The problem was the tower not being recognized. After quitting that dialog i came to the login screen but didn't proceed since due to the tower not being there i couldn't really do anything. One thing i did notice was that it messed up my display setting by changing the resolution. This does nasty things with the icons on my desktop so i'm thinking about running the program under a virtual windows installation instead.

But i'm getting curious and since Mindstorms RIS doesn't have a page under wine's appdb i'll install the program again and then see if i can get to the programming part. Should hopefully work.

Ok forget what i said about running this thing under linux. The program will start then hide behind other windows after changing the resolution to something much lower than 1440-900. Clicking outside of the window resets the resolution to what it should be. Since i installed the program last time many times using different configurations i'm thinking that the most working version must have been in a virtual windows. I'm gonna try that now.

I will still need the adapter since if the host can't recognize the tower, neither will the virtual system. BTW feeling a bit bored i also tried to get Vision Command to work. It failed in exactly the same way as Ris 2.0. BTW i did get some error message about running out of memory but found not one but two rather helpful guides on the subject. They differ slightly in how they present the help so i link to both. I wont run into any problems in the virtual system so i wont post about it. Hopefully on monday i will have my adapter. Now i just need to think up something to program.

I don't know what happened to the cables. I got way older rubber parts in mint condition. I guess those cables where biodegradable or something.

OK Didn't think cables were made that way.

So, the rubber on the outside of the cables just rot? Just like that, just from being stored?

Good luck to you. I may have to revisit thread in the near future - my old Windows XP's motherboard died a few weeks ago. I have bought a replacement refurbished Windows XP system in anticipation of having problems running it on my Windows 7 laptop. I cannot test anything RIS. 2.0 at the moment though, because I don't have it with me. I hope I'm OK though - My RIS 2.0 came with a USB tower.

Anyone of you ever had success using that USB tower in an emulated Windows 98 system in VMPlayer?