Hacking Lighting Control Systems
Hacking Lighting Control Systems
ghost | 9474 Reads | - Section 1: Introductions
- Section 2: GRAFIK Eye
- Section 3: LightMaster Modular
- Section 4: Other Systems
Section 1: Introductions
Greetings and salutations. Well in case you aren’t familiar with lighting control systems they are devices (computers or just an embedded processor) that controls the lighting of a building. This is for the most part the miracle answer to that daunting task known commonly as the light switch. Well in this article we’re going to be talking about how to access these devices remotely to control the lighting in a particular building. Kind of like Project Blinkenlights without all the pisaz. Some of these are for home automation, business, and some others are designed specifically for theatrical purposes.
Section 2: GRAFIK Eye
So the first system we’re going to talk about is a fairly popular system made by Lutron Electronics. This system is used in a variety of residential and business settings. This system is controlled using the RadioRA Telephone Interface. This is a device that you would dial into to remotely access and configure the settings for said device. This is integrated with the PBX in the case of a business, or is a dedicated line. To find the extension or number for this you’ll have to think of that means for yourself depending on the situation (technician in need of a favor perhaps?).
To configure this device we need to first punch in * followed by the 6 digit access code. By default this code is 123456, but if not try different common combinations (111111, 654321, 121212, 13579, etc). If the access code is accepted the device will return 2 beeps. Once to this point there are 3 different light settings that you can enter called scenes. There is the dusk scene (option 1), midnight scene (option 2), and off scene (option 3)…all denoting how much light levels are set for each dimmer. To set these scenes you would hit the scene number followed by 2. So for example if you thought a little dusk would look nice you would hit 12. Then when you are settled with a scene simply hang up the phone.
Section 3: LightMaster Modular
This lighting system is produced in the Neatherlands, and comes with a few more features than the GRAFIK Eye. Motion sensors for starters, plus better configuration options for light settings. Also while the former uses a telephone operated control menu and integrates with the PBX this lighting system integrates with the LAN/WLAN and is operated by the LightMaster Modular Floor Manager (it’s own http server). So really all this means is it’s also easier to get to than the former for those not feeling very sociable. Just a laptop, a wireless card, an antenna, and a little free time on your hands.
By default the address from the Floor Manager is http://192.168.1.254 . When you reach this page just click the Config menu and punch in the password, which by default is “admin”. That’s pretty much it, the options from this point are pretty self-explanatory.
Section 4: Other Systems
Well of course there are many types of other systems that don’t have this type of remote administration. For example CentraLite uses the StarLite Master Control Station for all it’s administration. Others may use just a keypad within the building for configurations. What configurations these have for remote control may be up to the discretion of the owner so the general rule of thumb is if it’s a telephone operated controller use the aforementioned common pass scheme mentioned in GRAFIK (they’ll be 4-6 chars), and if it’s a http server of course try ‘admin’ before anything. Well that’s all for now, over and out.
