The MVnet-LocHaus system: Innovation without constraints
MVnet and LocHaus are designed to make the management of your model railway’s electronics simpler, more powerful, versatile and reliable.
At the same time, we don’t want to offer you a “closed” system, as is the case with some products of other brands: MVnet has the maximum flexibility, so that you can work alongside pre-existing systems, or vice versa, after installing MVnet, you can develop a part of your layout with other systems. We want you to choose Helvest because you appreciate its qualities, not because once you have installed a Helvest product you are tied to it, with no way out. We challenge you to keep Helvest because you appreciate it, not because you cannot go back.
You can manage your miniature railway with the software you want
LocHaus helps you configure your network, to achieve the ‘digital without a control unit’ we are so proud of. Its second, less visible but fundamental function is to “translate” the MVnet signal into the Li-Eth protocol, which is the most widely used “language” for communicating data to the PC: it is the one used by the old but still popular Xpressnet network.
This does not constrain your software choices: if your software supports the Li-Eth protocol, you can use MVnet.
Examples of such software are Rocrail, Train Controller, Jimri, WinDigipet etc.
This does not constrain your software choices: if your software supports the Li-Eth protocol, you can use MVnet.
Examples of such software are Rocrail, Train Controller, Jimri, WinDigipet etc.
How to register MVnet accessories in your software
To register the accessories that you have configured with LocHaus, simply register the accessory in your software as Xpressnet: for this purpose, please refer to the instructions of your software.
Practical example: a train presence sensor, to which you have assigned address 35 with LocHaus, is registered in your software as Xpressnet sensor number 35*. If you have other sensors, switches or signals using a different protocol, you can register it regardless of the existence of MVnet devices.
(* some software modifies the address slightly, for example to register address 35 in some cases you need to enter 34, see documentation).
Example: setting a turnout with Rocrail
Here you can see as an example how to register a turnout in Rocrail. Many steps are similar to the requirements of other softwares.
- Open the program configuration page.
2. Select a control center with the xpressnet protocol.
3. Ensure that the type is “LI-ETH.” For Rocrail, the hostname is “localhost,” and the port is “5550.”
4. Example configuration page for a turnout: enter the address of the turnout in the “port” field. (In the example, the address is “212”). In some software, it needs to be entered in the “address” field.