Hardware configuration

Cabling

The control lab is an RS‑232 serial device. It is also a DTE serial device, which means that to connect it to one’s computer, which is also a DTE device, one must use a null modem cable or adapter.

OEM null modem cables:

Set # Description References
9768 Control Lab Serial Cable for IBM PC and Compatible (9 and 25 pin) Peeron BrickLink
9769 Control Lab Serial Cable for Macintosh (8 pin) Peeron BrickLink
Power adapter

The control lab was supplied with a region specific AC to AC power transformer, also known as a wall wart. It was the same wall wart supplied with other products of that era, as opposed to the AC to DC transformers in more current sets.

OEM power transformers:

Part # Description References
70931 Train Speed Regulator 9V Power Adaptor for 120V 60Hz Peeron BrickLink
70928 Train Speed Regulator 9V Power Adapter for 230V 50Hz (Continental European) Peeron BrickLink
70928b Train Speed Regulator 9V Power Adapter for 240V (UK) Peeron BrickLink
70930 Train Speed Regulator 9V Power Adapter for 240V (Australia) BrickLink

Serial ports

If one’s computer has what is now considered a legacy serial port, which would appear as a DE‑9 or DB‑25 male connector, or Mini DIN‑8 in the case of the Macintosh, connecting the null modem cable is all that’s needed to connect to the control lab.

However, most modern computers have stopped including legacy serial ports, favoring to provide USB ports exclusively. This is not an issue though, as there are many inexpensive USB to serial adapters available. Operating systems can often use them out of the box, without any additional drivers. The number of serial ports one can have with such adapters is nearly unlimited, just add additional adapters as needed.

Note that while these adapters add ports, and they are often at the end of a cable, they still need a null modem adapter before they can connect to the control lab.

Port identification

Operating systems assign logical handles to serial ports during to the boot process, such as COM1, COM2, etc. While the names assigned to legacy ports are usually consistent between boots, one may find that names assigned to USB adapter based ports are less consistent, particularly if more than one adapter is in use, or if they are removed and reinserted.

Under linux, port names may vary by type. Legacy serial ports often appear as /dev/ttyS0, /dev/ttyS1, etc, while USB adapter based ports may prefer /dev/ttyUSB0, /dev/ttyUSB1, etc.

Port access

Under linux, non-root users don’t have access to serial ports out of the box. The ports are in the dialout group, and adding your user to that group will enable access:

sudo usermod -a -G dialout $USER

Serial configuration

The details of the serial configuration are handled by brick-control-lab and do not vary, but are documented here for reference:

  • baud rate: 9600
  • data bits: 8
  • parity: none
  • stop bits: 1