Software Setup Tutorial

  

1.   Installing USB Tower

2.  Installing BricxCC

3.  Installing NQC

4.  Placing Firmware on a RCX

 

 

USB Tower (Install the tower driver before you connect the Lego IR tower to your PC)

1.        Download this folder for XP or this folder for Vista. You may save it to your desktop. You have just downloaded a compressed set of files.  The folder will need to be uncompressed before using it.

2.       Double Click the folder to open it. You will see a file called Setup.exe. Double click on it to install the driver for USB IR Tower.

3.       Connect the tower to your PC to complete the installation. The green LED inside the IR tower should briefly turn on after the installation and every time the tower is connected to the USB port on your PC.

Now your IR tower is ready to transmit data.

Installing Bricxcc

Click here to download the .exe file. Once downloaded to your PC just double click the file to install.

Now you need to download and unzip the NQC software folder as described in the next step.

Installing NQC

You can go to the course web site to download the NQC software, or you may just click here. This will download a compressed folder.

Right click on the nqc-win-2-5-r3.zip file and click on Extract to Folder ... This will decompress all the files, so that they may be used. Open the decompressed folder and copy (or move) the nqc.exe file to the same folder that contains the bricxcc.exe file. 

If your RCX does not have the firmware downloaded yet (for example if the batteries are removed from the RCX for few minutes or longer and then replaced), then you will need to download the firmware to the RCX as described next.

Downloading the Firmware

        To understand programs and other information the RCX needs firmware, which is the equivalent to an operating system (think Windows on a computer). 

 

1        Download:  Download this file by right clicking  then selecting "save target as." After "Save as" dialog box pops up, Select  C:\bricxcc for the "Save in" field. Then click Save. Now your "C:\bricxcc" folder should have a file called firm0328.zip. Unzip this file to get the file firm0328.lgo.  Move this file to the same folder that contains the bricxcc.exe file.

2        First Usage:  If this is the first time you have used your RCX you will need to install the firmware on your RCX. 

3        Tower:  Connect your Lego Tower to one of your computers USB ports.

4        RCX & Tower:  Place your RCX in front of the tower (Infrared ports facing each other), turn the RCX on.

5        Open the Command Center: Double click on bricxcc.exe to establish communication between the RCX and your PC.

6        Goto Tools, Download Firmware, then locate the firmware file on your computer ( C:\bricxcc\firm0328.lgo) and press ok.  This will take up to three minutes. The firmware will stay in Brick's RAM as long as the batteries are not dead.

 

You are now ready to program your RCX !