Re: Non X-10 lighting control...

["paul gordon" <paul_gordon@xxxxxxx>]

Uncanny!

This sounds very much like something I thought up many years ago, (before
I'd even heard of X.10 actually), whereby I figured that I could Use a PC's
Parallel port, signalling into an 8-port "latch" chip (It had
some fancy
name, which I REALLY can't remember after all these years!!), in turn
controlling a bunch of relays. - My theory was that all I would have to do,
is "print" whichever ASCII character gave me the bit pattern I
needed on the
parallel ports' 8 signal lines, which would be seen by the 8 input lines on
the "latch chip", which would then "latch" (IE in
response to a momentary
signal, it would switch states, and stay in that state until another
momentary signal was received, when it would toggle back again), the 8
output lines from this chip would then control 8 seperate relays. (with
appropriate isolation and signal amplification as needed??) VOILA! 8
individually addressable computer controlled relays...

I never actually tried to build it though, (I think I discovered girls at
around that time ;-)))))

Paul Gordon.



>From: "Harrison, Mark (Alliance)"
<Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
>To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
>Subject: [ukha_d] Non X-10 lighting control...
>Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 17:46:31 +0100
>
>My lighting control system is almost all together, but I need some help
in
>the last bit.
>
>Can any provide me with
>
>:EITHER
>- The details of how one takes some known MIDI event messages, and
turns
>them into a ".MID" file
>
>:OR
>- An executable that runs under Windows 98, taking as command line
>arguments
>a set of Midi Control sequences, and plays them to the default system
Midi
>device (as defined in Control Panel/Multimedia/Devices)
>
>:END
>
>
>
>For those of you wondering how this gives lighting control, here we go:
>
>What I have:
>
>- A web browser in every major room
>--- OK, just the study at the moment, but the principle holds
>- A web server running Windows 98, and a freeware HTTP server
>- A web page that calls a CGI script that runs "Media Player"
with a
>defined
>.MID file
>- An AWE/32 card
>- An AWE/32 <-> 5 pin Din MIDI cable
>- An NJD 8 channel MIDI lighting control unit
>--- Also a CASIO CZ-101 synth for debugging purposes ;-)
>--- actually, several of them and a MIDI repeater box will be coming as
>soon
>as it works
>- A house that's wired to give runs of cable from every lighting
circuit
>back to a central patch panel
>--- This is a _lot_ of cable
>--- similarly, runs from every wall switch back to the panel, since I
still
>use switches at the moment
>
>The problem at the moment, is that while I have a .MID file to flash a
>particular light on and off in sync with the music track from Age of
>Empires, what I need is a .MID file that plays a "NOTE ON" on
a particular
>track, with a particular attack velocity to move a single light ;-)
>
>I'm happy that I could knock a PERL script together to generate such a
.MID
>file, but need the .MID file format spec.
>
>Regards,
>
>Mark Harrison
>European IT Manager, BP/Bovis Alliance
>Tel: +44 20 8869 1439
>Fax: +44 20 8423 7711
>--- London Phone numbers have changed - please start to use the new
ones
>---
>SMTP: Mark.Harrison@xxxxxxx
>
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