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The Needles Lighthouse

The Needles Lighthouse was built in 1859 on an outcrop of rocks (known as the "Needles") that jut out into the Solent on the South-western side of the Isle of Wight. The Lighthouse has remained in contentious operation since it's first lighting and was one of the last Lighthouses to be automated in England in 1994, it was also one of the last few Lighthouse's to still use DC power. During it's many years of service it was upgraded several times, from gas lighting to electric, with modern conveniences for it's crews, and later in it's life a helipad.

These two versions of the Needles light are reminiscent of how it would have looked in the 1980's and 1990's prior to being automated. The Needles Lighthouse always had a non-rotating beacon with colored filters marking rocky areas and safe passages, however due to game limitations and because it's more fun to watch I changed the lantern to a rotating type. The Lighthouse's "character" is two flashes every 10 seconds, and the Fog Signal sounds twice every 30 seconds.

*Please reference the screenshots above for locations of the different switches*

GENERATOR OPERATION:

• Enter the Generator Room and turn on the 'Fresh Water Pump'.
  
• Select 1 of the 3 Generators to operate and turn on the 'Fuel Cut-off'.
  
• Turn on the 'Air Start' valve for the associated Generator.
  
• Once the RPM's increase you can turn off the 'Air Start' valve and the Generator should begin idling normally.
  
• At the Electrical Panel for the associated Generator increase the DC voltage to 100.*
  *Note: You can run the generators at lower voltages, but to operate the Lantern the voltage must be at 100 VDC.
  
• Turn on the associated 'Low Voltage Knife Switch' to provide power for lighting and communications equipment.
  
• If required turn on the 'High Voltage Breaker' to provide power for the Lantern and Air Compressors.

Things to remember about the Generators:

• It is recommended to only operate 1 Generator at a time. The Generators will (intentionally) overheat every real time 20 minutes and must be cycled to prevent overheating, the real Lighthouse Keepers cycled the generators as well so as to prevent wear.
  
• When the Air Compressors are needed turn on 2 Generators, one to run the High Voltage power, and the other the Low Voltage power, also a real world practice.
  
• If the Air Flasks are allowed to run low, starting the Generators might be difficult if not impossible. Keep them charged by occasionally filling them with air from the Fog Horn Tanks located in the 'Lower Lantern Room'. To do so, open the Valve marked 'Generator Starting Flask Refill Valve', located in the Lower Lantern.*
  *Reference the Lower Lantern screenshot above for it's location.
  
• When switching between Generators have them both providing electricity first, so electrical power to the Lighthouse is not interrupted.

LANTERN AND FOG SIGNAL OPERATION:
The Lantern should be "lit" everyday without fail at 1700 and "put out" at 0800 the following morning. The Foghorn and Lantern should be used in conjunction when the Hygrometer is at or above 30%.

• When needed turn on the associated Lantern and Compressor Relays in the Lower Lantern Room
  
• Then move to the 'Trinity House Light and Fog Signal Coder' and turn on one or the other Lantern Motors, but not both. Observe the Lantern Lens should now be rotating.
  
• Move back to the Relay Panels and Turn on the Lantern.
  
• For the Fog Signal to operate enough pressure must be available in the Air Tanks. If not, turn on one of the Air Compressors, and open the 'Air Reservoir Charging Valve'. The tanks will charge until reaching 35 PSI.
  
• Open the 'Fog Signal Actuator Valve'
  
• Turn on one of the 'Fog Signal Actuators' located on the 'Trinity House Light and Fog Signal Coder'.
  The Fog Signal will now sound twice every 30 seconds, and prevent anyone from getting any sleep tonight ;D

FAILURES AND MAINTENANCE:
Preventative maintenance is a BIG part of any Lighthouse Keeper's Daily routine, yet sometimes things just break and you need to be ready to either fix them or turn on a redundant system. That said, if you'd rather not deal with it, failures can be disabled by clicking a small button to the right of the parts cabinet in the Service Room.

Failures can occur on one of four different systems.

• The Generators:
  They can over heat in time and should be cycled roughly every 20 minutes (as explained above).
  
• The Trinity House Light and Fog Signal Coder:
  There are two redundant Lantern Motors and Fog Signal Actuators incase one fails. You can switch between the two intermittently but avoid having both running as damage will occur to both negating their redundancy.
  
• The Air Compressors:
  The Air Compressors also are redundant in the event of a failure. Again having both on negates their redundancy but also consumes more electricity then the generators are capable of producing and could result in a power failure on the lighthouse.
  
• The Lantern Bulbs:
  The Bulbs burn out over time. If one bulb fails the Lighthouse "character" will be wrong and confuse sailors. Should a bulb burn out immediately turn off the lantern and activate the 'Backup Emergency Light' it can run on battery power if needed, but is not as bright as the primary Lantern.

These systems can be monitored to see their current 'condition'. Hovering the Cursor over a 1x1 logic block located on the piece of equipment will display this information. The states of operation are displayed in one of 5 categories:

- New: The equipment is between 0% - 25% worn.
- Used: The equipment is between 26% - 50% worn.
- Worn: The equipment is between 51% - 75% worn.
- Failing: The equipment is between 76% - 99% worn.
- Failed: The equipment is completely broken and in need of replacement.

To replace parts of the broken system, power must be shutoff from the relay associated with that system in the Lower Lantern Room (except the Lantern Bulbs, which only requires the Lantern rotation to be stopped). Then a replacement part must be gathered from the Cabinet located in the Service Room by clicking the respective part in the cabinet. Then move back to the broken system and stand as close to it as possible, the oldest most worn out part will be replaced and should display "New" after a few seconds, at which point the system is ready for operation again. The Parts Cabinet can be restocked when the shelf or shelves are empty by clicking the hidden button located in the 'Storage Room'.

SUPPER TIME!:
On those long lonely days and nights on the Light one of the few ways to keep morale up was good food. If you are using MrNJersey's 'Hunger Addon' you too can enjoy a well prepared English meal!



To eat, select which ingredients you need from the 'Food Cuboard' and turn on the Stove Burner which has the pot above it, wait a bit and your meal will appear on the plates on the table. Click the plate and your food will be consumed. You DO NOT need to turn on the stove for lunch. Meals come in three varieties; English Breakfast, Chicken Sandwiches for Lunch, and Shepard's Pie for Supper.

HEATING:
To provide heat to most of the Lighthouse, you well need to use the Rayburn Stove located in the Kitchen. First go to the Coal Bunker under the stairs in the Storage Room, click the arrow button 'shovel coal' then move back to the Kitchen and open the Rayburn Stove door, press the arrow button to add coal, and touch the screen to light the fire, then above the stove, open the ' Chimney Damper'. Add more coal to keep the fire lit.

ENJOY!