Plus, if you have an RCX v1, there is a 9-volt AC adaptor plug in the back (made for the train adaptors). So, connect the 12v Exide to a 12vdc-9vdc transformer, hook that up to the RCX, and you don't need to use 6 AAs!
Anyway, The connecting cable won't be standard: the tower is a Male with just enough space for the cable that came with the kit (No screws). The FRC prog is female. Both the FRC prog and the LEGO IR Tower (LIRT) are made to connect to a computer, so there are going to be problems if you just connect them directly. (Some good info on RS-232 can be found
here.)
Using the jargon, we are trying to connect 2 DCE devices. Unfortunately, I only have pins for DTEs which is (DB9):
Code:
DTE
Pin Purpose
0 - Gnd (Shell)
1 < DCD (Data Carrier Detect)
2 < Rx
3 > Tx
4 > DTR (Data Terminal Ready)
5 - Gnd (signal Ground)
6 < DSR (Data Send Ready)
7 > RTS (Request To Send)
8 < CTS (Clear To Send)
9 < RI (Ring Indicator)
^Direction (< = DCE to DTE, > = DTE to DCE, - = None)
So, to connect DCE to DCE (think of the FRC as the DTE):
Code:
FRC LIRT
Gnd Gnd
Tx Rx
Rx Tx
DSR DTR
DTR DSR
I'm not sure about the rest of it (RI, DCD, RTS, CTS). The problem is that there are 3 lines for DTE>DCE but there are 5 for DCE>DTE. And I don't want to fry my FRC or LIRT. Don't forget, the labels are relative to the DTE. If someone figures it out, tell us!
(The standard is RS-232.)