Comfortable PC-Light Control for analog and digital Model Railways!
The PC-Light Control Light@Night is the perfect solution for the control of Layout- and Ambient Room-light effects of your analog or digital model railway. The PC-Light Control has been developed as a modular system. This allows an optimal matching to any layout size and any individual requirement at low cost. Besides the Layout- and Ambient Room-light control offers Light@Night the possibility to release spontaneous various effects at the layout via 64 push buttons. Additionally is a weather simulation including a 3D-sound possible.
The PC-Light control Light@Night contains of 5 components:
1.Layout Light-Control: The Hardware for the Layout Light-Control with up to 280 light control outputs will be connected to the PC via the parallel interface. The hardware contains the Light-Interface, Light-Display- (with 40 outputs of 0,5A each) and the Light-Power-Modules (with 24 outputs of 2,5A each).
2. Remote Control of Layout Lights: The Hardware for the Remote Control of the layout lights with up to 64 release inputs will be connected to the PC via a RS232-interface or via an USB-Adapter. This hardware contain a High Speed Interface HSI-88 and up to 4 Feedback Modules RM-DEC-88. It is possible to connect up to 64 push buttons or switches for the Remote Control of the Layout Lights.
3. Premises Light-Control: The Hardware for the Ambient Room-Light Control will be connected to the PC via the RS232- or USB-interface. This hardware contains a Remote-dimmer and switch of the standards X10 or DMX of the home installation systems.
4. 3D-Sound: For the weather simulation as for rain, thunderstorm and additionally for firework.
5. PC plus PC-Software: The Light@Night PC-Software offers the possibility to establish and link comfortable all functions for the control of the layout lights and the room ambient lights. The software generates all common light effects for the layout light control (e.g. neon lights, gas street lamps, flashing blue lights, light chains, traffic lights and many others). Each effect can be individually assigned to any of the max. 280 outputs of the layout light control hardware (as described under 1.). Additionally offers the software a 3D-sound for the support of the weather simulation such as rain, thunderstorm and firework.
The PC-Software for the light control Light@Night will be supplied together with Manual by Company Railware (www.light-at-night.com).
Hardware description of the Layout Light Control:
The
Light@Night
hardware for
the layout light control consists
of one Light-Interface for the parallel-interface port of a PC and
as a minimum of one Light-Display-Module
or one Light-Power-Module which will be connected to the
Light-Interface.
Light-Display-Modules contain 40
outputs which can cover a maximum load of up to
0,5 Ampere each. Therefore are the Light-Display-Modules
especially suitable for the control of singel incandescent model lamps or
light emitting diodes.
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The Light-Interface (right)
and at least one Light-Display Module (left) for |
Light-Power-Modules
which contain 24 outputs with a maximum load of 2,5 Ampere each should be
preferred whenever many incandescent model lamps shall be switched
together at the same time (e.g. complete street- or train station
illumination).
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The Light-Power-Module (left) contains 24 outputs for up to 2,5 Ampere each for the model railway illumination. |
Up to 7 Light-Modules (Light-Display or
Light-Power) can be connected to the Light-Interface and
combined as required. Therefore are between 168 and 280 light outputs
for the layout light control available.
Via the
Light@Night PC-software
is it possible
to assign the light effects by a mouse click to any output. All common effects
will be supported: neon lights, gas street lamps, flashing lights, light chains,
flashing blue lights, traffic lights, rail crossing lights, building sites, dimming
lights, headlights, fire, TV- sets, railway control posts and many others.
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If you visit us on a model fair we can demonstrate many light effects for the layout lights controlled by the PC-Light Control Light@Night. |
If you do not want to connect the Light Modules of the PC-Light Control Light@Night
directly to each other but intend to assemble those at a larger distance, you
can use the cable
Kabel
L@N
0,5m
with a total length of 0,5 meters
or the cable
Kabel
L@N
2m
with a total length of 2 meters.
The
Light@Night PC-Software
can also be used together with any model railway control software on
your PC. Which model railway software (e.g. Railware,
TrainController, WinDigipet or WinDigital) will be used is not important because the
PC-Light Control Light@Night
executes the light control in the background independently from the railway software.
The Light-Interface will be supplied together with
the connection cable (1,8m length) for the parallel-interface and
with a demonstration version 1.0 of the
Light@Night
PC-Software
for the immediate start of the system.
The demonstration version 1.0
supplied together with the Light-Interface
and the Start-Set
is limited against the complete version 2.0 with the following
reduction: for light effects
at the single outputs is only "Glühbirne" (incandescent lamp) and "Blinklicht"
(flash light) available. The remote control of the layout light,
the ambient room light control and the weather simulation
including the 3D-sound is not possible. For implementing these
functions is the complete software version 2.0 required.
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Sample connections for downloading can be found here!
Each Light-Interface, Light-Display and Light-Power will be supplied with a detailed operation or assembly-instruction.
You can purchase the hardware components
for the PC-Light Control
Light@Night
as a kit or as tested finished module:
| kit (-B) | finished module | |
| Light-Interface including PC-connection cable and Light@Night PC-Software (demonstration version 1.0 for start-up) |
€ 34,90 | € 49,90 |
| Light-Display | € 59,90 | € 79,90 |
| Light-Power | € 64,90 | € 84,90 |
| Light-Startset-D consisting of: |
€ 87,90 | € 119,90 |
| Light-Startset-P consisting of: |
€ 92,90 | € 124,90 |
The complete version 2.0
of the
Light@Night PC-Software
for all light effects (neon
lights, gas street lamps, flashing lights, light chains,
traffic lights and many others)
including Manual (in German language only,
please find the english translation (version 2.0) at our download section)
is available by company Railware
(www.light-at-night.com)
From the Light@Night software version 2.0 is it possible to switch single light points and vector groups via layout- contacts, push buttons or switches on or off. The release contacts will be connected to one of the 16 inputs of a Feedback Module RM-DEC-88. A maximum of 4 Feedback Modules RM-DEC-88 with up to 64 release contacts can be connected via the High Speed Interface HSI-88 to the PC. Connection either directly via a serial COM-Interface or via an "USB to serial" Adapter.
The Hardware for the Ambient Room Light Control consists of Remote-Dimmer and swictes of the Standards X10 and DMX of the home installation systems. Which hardware can be implemented and können und where to be purchased will be described within the Supplement Manual for the Light@Night Software 2.0.
If your PC is equipped with loudspeakers or better with a sound-board and external loudspeakers you will become enthusiastic about the sound for the weather simulation and the firework.
The Light@Night PC-Software works on almost any PC with a Windows operating system of Windows 95 or higher. Nevertheless we recommend particularly modern operating systems such as e.g. Windows 2000 or XP.
| Operating system | Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP or higher |
| CPU | Intel or AMD from 300MHz clock frequency |
| Working memory | 64 MByte RAM |
| Interface to the Light@Night hardware | Printer connection LPT (*) |
If you use Light@Night PC-Software together with a model railway control software (e.g. Railroad & Co., Railware, WinDigital or WinDigipet) you have to attend to some strict specific requirements because the control software as well as Light@Night PC-Software requires some system resources. In this case please find out the system requirements of your model railway control software and attend to the specific instruction.
In a doubtful case it could be considerable to use a second probably older PC exclusive for Light@Night.
In case of a common operation of Light@Night PC-Software and a control-software for the model railway the following PC-system requirements are necessary:
| Operating system | Windows 2000, XP or higher |
| CPU | Intel or AMD from 800MHz clock frequency |
| Working memory | 256 MByte RAM |
| Interface to the Light@Night hardware | Printer connection LPT (*) |
(*) The connection via an USB-adapter is technically not possible. On some few Laptops is it possible that the parallel interface does not comply to the actual valid standards. In this case Light@Night can not be used on this Laptop.
For the application of the printer function (table of light points) a further parallel interface can be configurated.
© 2008 by LDT
