Cable Matters USB-DB9 and Windows11

#1

hi Diego,

first of all, thanks for providing Control Lab IO !

I discovered the existence of these LEGO Dacta control labs looking again at your excellent GBC Tower 2 instructions and videos, and ordered several Control Labs to feed my LEGO GBC modules via Control Lab IO

Unfortunately, my current setup does not seem to work :disappointed_relieved:

here is my setup:

  • Windows 11 x64

  • Control Lab IO 64bits

  • Cable Matters USB to Serial Adapter Cable (USB to RS232, USB to DB9) 3 Feet (drivers installed and Device seems OK in Device Manager)

  • cable plugged to a USB port

  • when I launch Control Lab IO (after having plugged the USB cable), I get the following error message: “Please connect a Control Lab before running Control Lab IO”

Any idea what is done wrong ?

I’ve seen within another support thread that I need to plug a “null modem DB9 adapter” ?
Is it the step I miss ? what’s the purpose of such device ?

thanks by advance for your support, take care

Polo (from Planet GBC)

#2

Hi Polo,

Sorry for the late reply - I have been busy with work. Looks like you are indeed missing the null modem adapter. The way I understand it is that the USB to Serial adapters convert the USB to Serial, but you can’t connect those directly into the Control Lab device. You need a “cable” to connect from the Serial port to the Control Lab itself.

Something like this is a compact way to do it:
https://www.amazon.com/female-slimline-transfer-serial-adapter/dp/B075XHWVSJ/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2LC8FJID0PS6F&keywords=null+modem+adapter&qid=1694063000&sprefix=null+mode%2Caps%2C170&sr=8-3

Cheers,
Diego