Mindstorms NXT on Intel Mac any luck with BlueTooth?

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Mindstorms NXT on Intel Mac any luck with BlueTooth?

Is anyone out there using NXT? I am having toruble connecting through my MacBook Pro's bluetooth. Based on the specs from the Lego website it appears that the MacBook has compatible Bluetooth.

Both the NXT, and my computer can see eachother, but I get nothing from with the Mindstorms Software.

Any Ideas?

MBP, Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Posted on Jun 28, 2006 5:36 AM

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Answer 1

AbdnAllHope Author

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Jun 28, 2006 7:26 AM in response to AbdnAllHope

Here is a response to some posts from the nxt step website.

A handful of tips based on the comments:

You can only download firmware using USB (not Bluetooth).

If your Bluetooth adapter is supported by the Microsoft Windows XP Bluetooth driver but you are currently using an unsupported Bluetooth driver, you can switch to the Microsoft Windows XP Bluetooth driver by navigating to the Device Manager, right-clicking on the Bluetooth adapter, selecting "Update Driver," choose "No, not at this time" when asked to connect to Windows Update, choose "install from a list or specific location," choose "Don't search. I will choose the driver to install," select the "Generic Bluetooth Radio" driver. These same steps can be used to switch from the Microsoft Windows XP Bluetooth driver to a supported and installed third-party driver.

If your NXT continuously "clicks," reset it by pressing the reset button for 5 seconds and then download the firmware. Make sure that you are really pressing the reset button. You will feel it move. A LEGO antenna works quite well for this.

The LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT application does not support Bluetooth communication on Intel-based Macs at this time.

Just because a Bluetooth utility can discover the NXT doesn't mean that the LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT application supports your particular Bluetooth driver. Check the system requirements.

link to website;
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21402852&postID=115145636665199273

Any other input greatly appreciated.

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Answer 2

Jul 14, 2006 1:21 PM in response to AbdnAllHope

I have a G4 Powerbook and it works fine with the NXT software. The interface is a bit strange, but I got used to it. Once the Powerbook put the NXT on the "trusted" list, connections couldn't be easier.

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Answer 3

sswartzl

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Jul 18, 2006 6:30 PM in response to AbdnAllHope

I spoke with Mindstorms tech support about this issue, and their reply was that emulated applications cannot make use of the Bluetooth feature built into the Intel Macs, so we're SOL until they produce a universal binary.

Of course, I can't get it to work under Windows either, but at least they're working with me on that...

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Answer 4

AbdnAllHope Author

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Jul 21, 2006 10:19 AM in response to sswartzl

I have succesfully changed the BT driver under XP in order to get it working with mindstorms. I found a forum discussion on another site.

http://forum.osx86project.org/index.php?act=Print&client=printer&f=63&t=12293

Scroll down until you find the file called BTinstall.zip

I downloaded this and it worked without a hitch.

use at your own risk. Good luck.

phil

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Answer 5

sswartzl

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Jul 23, 2006 3:09 PM in response to AbdnAllHope

Thanks, I'll try that if/when I dive into Boot Camp, but I just do any XP stuff on a separate desktop machine right now.

In fact, I installed the software on an XP machine using a USB bluetooth adapter that uses widcomm just to see if it would work. My actual issue is that the NXT brick itself seems to lack the ability to enable bluetooth. The Bluetooth submenu only has an on/off item, not the others (like the one that is needed to set the passkey).

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