11
votes
Accepted
Old RCX Wires Have Become Grey and Brittle
This is a common issue with the older Lego 9V cables. Lots of sources, including myself, have experienced the same thing - this particular chemistry of insulation ages poorly, no matter how well it's ...
- 1,392
8
votes
Accepted
How to load an RCX from a modern system?
Buy a USB to Serial adapter. There are USB IR Towers, but the drivers are only for older version of Windows. A new USB/Serial adapter, on the other hand, should be compatible with Windows 10 (Windows ...
- 9,778
5
votes
How to load an RCX from a modern system?
Honestly... it was WAY easier for us to find a computer on eBay! We bought an IBM ThinkPad with Windows 2000 installed on it. We won the auction with a bid of $28 and with shipping it was the best $...
5
votes
Accepted
Lego RCX to NXT converter cables not working properly with EV3
These cable don't have anything connected to pins 5 or 6. This causes the software running on the EV3 that detects which type of motor is connected to think that there is nothing connected. Since it ...
- 9,778
4
votes
Can Power Functions components work with the RCX?
The RCX uses "electric system 9V" style connectors. These are not compatible with power functions connectors. The "electric system 9V" connectors have the connections built into regular lego studs (...
- 673
4
votes
Accepted
Can Power Functions components work with the RCX?
RCX is compatible with the older 9-V system that came before Power Functions.
However, since PF motors are also 9V and still unregulated as the RCX motors, a simple conversion cable suffices.
The ...
- 11.1k
4
votes
Accepted
What do I need to connect an old RCX 2.0 to a computer and is it worth compared to just buying a new one?
Modern hardware/driver support for the RIS is limited, but it's definitely possible to get it working again.
The main obstacle is transmitting programs to the Lego RCX brick. The RIS 2.0 came with ...
- 1,392
4
votes
Could not open serial port or USB device, RCX on Linux
Just as an aside you can also do the following:
sudo ln -s /dev/usb/legousbtower1 /dev/usb/legousbtower0
That worked for me, and my challenge now is that there is no firmware :-)
- 41
4
votes
Accepted
Use legacy RCX sensors with EV3
Unfortunately, you cannot use the LEGO 8528 (NXT to RCX adapter) cable with sensors on the EV3. You can use it with motors though.
This is because the adapter cable only connects to pins 1 and 2 on ...
- 9,778
4
votes
Where can I download the software for old RCX-era Mindstorms sets?
There are a lot of ISO files with the Robotics Invention System (RIS) software on them. Here's one link:
http://www.brickfactory.info/iso/
These will only work on Windows.
- 41
3
votes
Lego Mindstorms RCX RIS 2.0 IR tower Windows 7 / XP driver
Please note as of 2022 the accepted answer NO LONGER WORKS (RobotC.net no longer hosts this file). An equivalent tower driver can still be found from here: https://www.philohome.com/sdk25/sdk25.htm
As ...
- 1,392
3
votes
How to load an RCX from a modern system?
There are a few hurdles to jump through.
For the IR tower, you need one of the following:
Infrared Transmitter with USB Cable (cheaper BrickLink listings on the part page) (uses USB instead of 9-pin)...
- 13.3k
3
votes
Where can I download the software for old RCX-era Mindstorms sets?
RIS 2.0 ISO now up on archive.org https://archive.org/details/ris20
- 31
2
votes
Accepted
Could not open serial port or USB device, RCX on Linux
New here but I just had the exact same problem you did, I can't be 100% sure this solution will work for you, but given that I also used the ubuntu repo version of the software I imagine it will.
...
- 36
2
votes
How to load an RCX from a modern system?
The USB RCX Tower only has 32-bit support, which doesn't work on modern Windows versions. It has been reported to work on Linux though (I didn't try that myself).
I own a serial USB RCX Tower which I ...
- 49
2
votes
Lego Mindstorms RCX RIS 2.0 IR tower Windows 10 64-bit driver
Robotic Invention System 2.0
Hello.
I found this blog as I just upgraded my Mac with an Intel processor to one with an M1 processor.
I was running RIS 2.0 and Mindstorms NXT on Windows XP through ...
2
votes
Where can I download the software for old RCX-era Mindstorms sets?
there is also coach 5 & 6 software special for education.
from CMA / amstel Institute ( University from Amsterdam). 1999 for the RCX1.0 and the RCX 2.0
https://adoc.pub/handleiding-coach-5-...
- 21
2
votes
Where can I download the software for old RCX-era Mindstorms sets?
I have RIS 2.0 in GERMAN Language, which I backed up for myself and all other old LEGO Fans and uploaded it. I run it on Virtual WinXP, which is set up with Oracle Virtualbox. For the old RCX Tower I ...
- 21
2
votes
Lego Mindstorms RCX RIS 2.0 IR tower Windows 7 / XP driver
If you’re attempting to use the USB RCX 2.0 on Windows 7, 64 bit OS, I used the free version of Oracle VM VirtualBox. I installed Windows XP. In the settings section of the VM software for the XP ...
- 21
2
votes
RCX firmware download problem
How about running Windows 98 on a Raspberry Pi device and using the Lego IR USB tower that way?
Here is a tutorial on running Windows 98 on a Raspberry Pi.
https://magpi.raspberrypi.org/articles/run-...
- 71
2
votes
RCX firmware download problem
Just went through this exercise on a Windows 10 64 BIT PC. RCX 1.0 w/ serial IR transmitter. I am able to get the RIS software running w/o issue on Windows 10 via compatibility mode (256 color, Win ...
2
votes
RCX only accepts short programs
Summarizing our discussion from the comments:
System is running Windows XP SP3 (not a VM) with an (unknown) USB to Serial converter connected to the Serial IR Tower.
Problem is that most interactions ...
- 1,392
2
votes
Old RCX Wires Have Become Grey and Brittle
While the answer by MindS1 is the standard solution that comes up with internet searches, I've found it is possible to use the wires usually used for Arduino jumper wires. These are slightly smaller ...
- 147
2
votes
Old RCX Wires Have Become Grey and Brittle
At a guess the plasticizer used to make the cable sleeving flexible seems to be evaporating. Perhaps this is common with natural rubber (latex) and vinyl based wires.
You could try the plastic ...
- 1,113
2
votes
Serial tower RCX 1.0 works with NQC but flakey with RIS 2.0
What a strange issue. I'm not sure the exact cause, but I have a few troubleshooting tips for you to try:
Make sure the serial tower is set to "Long Range" mode (the little switch on the front).
...
- 1,392
1
vote
BricxCC not seeing Serial Tower in Windows 10
A bit more fumbling around led me to an actual installer:
http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/test_releases
I was hesitant to use that because of the word "test", but in fact that's what's needed to work ...
- 141
1
vote
Could not open serial port or USB device, RCX on Linux
All this above wasn't working for me. A short analysis with strace command showed that nqc called with -Susb:/dev/usb/legousbtower0 wants to open
/dev/legousbtower0. Though a symbolic link solved the ...
1
vote
RCX Windows 10?
Update in 2020:
The original, "official" Lego software doesn't work on modern Windows. It was designed for Windows 98, and then abandoned in favor of the NXT ecosystem. Some people have gotten it ...
- 141
1
vote
Lego 3804, Mindstorms Robotics Invention System 2.0 on Windows 10
I found I could not get the Mindstorms NXT 2.0 software to load on my Windows 10 PC because LEGO revoked the security certificates and wants you to run the newest software. The latest version of ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible