Trying to figure out power

[Cougar281]

I've been playing with Tekkit for a few days now trying to figure out how to work with power, and for the most part, I think I'm getting the hang of it. but the part that's still escaping me is powering things like lamps with battboxes or MFSUs. What's the right/best way to make a connection to a Battbox or MFSU that will work with things like lamps? the regular gold/copper/glass fiber cables connect to the power devices, but they won't link to the lamps. The red alloy wire connects to the lamps and when energized with a RS torch, will light the lamp, but the red alloy wire won't link to the battbox or MFSU. Redstone dust, when placed next to a MFSU will become powered, and it'll link up with the red alloy wire, but when linked this way, the lamp will not light as apparently, the RS to red alloy is not very efficient. Is there any way to make this kind of connection? Call me wierd, but I'd like to be able to power lamps using something other than redstone torches.

[milcondoin]

If you want lamps that need EU, you'll have to use the luminators. Both the vanilla lamps and the ones from Redpower work via redstone power.

[flamingsalad]

Batboxes and MFSUs are from IC2. They output EU and will only work with IC2 cables. EU is COMPLETELY different from redstone current. Redstone lamps do not need EU (and will never take in EU) to be powered. They only need a redstone current, and nothing else can power them. You could try using luminators if you want EU-powered lights.

Also, there's no such thing as "the RS to red alloy is not very efficient". There is no voltage or current in redstone; just whether the current is ON or OFF.

Just another note, don't confuse either redstone current or EU with blutricity. The three of them are different things. Don't try to link blue alloy wires to MFSUs or anything like that.

[liXiomm]

Just another note, don't confuse either redstone current or EU with blutricity. The three of them are different things. Don't try to link blue alloy wires to MFSUs or anything like that.

And adding to that, never try to generate EU by powering a BatBox with Buildcraft compatible engines. So the different types of powering things:

- Redpower stuff and vanilla Minecraft machines (pistons, transposers, RP2 lamps, etc) use redstone, which has ON and OFF...

- Redpower blutricity (which has varying degrees of current to power specifically blulectric machines)

- IndustrialCraft 2 Energy Units (EU) (" " to power specifically IC2 machines)

- Buildcraft Energy (created by engines, etc, to power your pumps and quarries)

- Equivalent Exchange EMC (which is used to transmute objects into different objects directly or indirectly, and has pretty much no other purpose)

And that should pretty much be the only energy types in Technic Pack, omitting Forestry. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

[Xylord]

And adding to that, never try to generate EU by powering a BatBox with Buildcraft compatible engines. So the different types of powering things:

- Redpower stuff and vanilla Minecraft machines (pistons, transposers, RP2 lamps, etc) use redstone, which has ON and OFF...

- Redpower blutricity (which has varying degrees of current to power specifically blulectric machines)

- IndustrialCraft 2 Energy Units (EU) (" " to power specifically IC2 machines)

- Buildcraft Energy (created by engines, etc, to power your pumps and quarries)

- Equivalent Exchange EMC (which is used to transmute objects into different objects directly or indirectly, and has pretty much no other purpose)

And that should pretty much be the only energy types in Technic Pack, omitting Forestry. If I'm wrong, please correct me.

There is also the Vis/Taint system from Thaumcraft

And btw, the BC energy is named MJ (MinecraftJoule).

[liXiomm]

There is also the Vis/Taint system from Thaumcraft

And btw, the BC energy is named MJ (MinecraftJoule).

Oh really? I thought that was like for Forestry, I heard that in a Direwolf video thing. But I guess he was talking about the engines... That was during my beginning Technic days...

Yeah, vis is a good point, I forgot about it since I use Tekkit, more machine and technical. ya know? But I don't mean to change the subject.

[Cougar281]

Thanks guys. That helps. finally learning! Another thing related to power that I'm still not sure about is the MFSU's. the 'redstone button' cycles throught the folowing modes:

Nothing

Emit if full

Emit if partially filled

Emit if empty

Do not output energy

Do not output energy unless full

These modes don't make much sense. 'Emit if full' doesn't make sense because it would seem that it would start emitting, but if it drops below full, it'll stop. Similar for 'Emit if partially filled' as it would emit until full, but once full, would stop and no longer drain or output power. If it's empty, there's nothing to emit. 'Do not output energy' would essentially be 'off', and 'Do not output energy unless full' would seem to be more or less the same as 'Emit if full'. Will any of these modes output power regardless of it's state (unless of course it's drained)?

[DanielJin]

The "emitting" means redstone signal, not EU.

[Cougar281]

The "emitting" means redstone signal, not EU.

Ahh, so they will always emit EU, it's the redstone signal that can be turned off and such?

[Lothos]

Ahh, so they will always emit EU, it's the redstone signal that can be turned off and such?

i believe the last 2 have to do with a redstone signal going TO the storage. I can't think of why you would not want EU output as a setting by default, but I can see having it output based upon a redstone input being detected. The same with the one "only if full" although that one I see less usage.

The one I tend to have a hard time with is the partially full one because if I'm using it to turn a reactor "on" I want it to be on when empty or even partially full for example. But you basically have to use the third option whenever 2 choices are what you want and simply invert the signal.

[Cougar281]

I'm starting to get the hang of it now. Pretty cool stuff.

However, I've been having what appears to be some 'glitching' with my storage devices. I've noticed on several occasions that power would stop, and when I looked at my devices, there woudl still be one or more that had power. I have a bank of 3 MV Solar arraysthat come down and split off to two banks of MFEs and Batboxes.

My arrangement looks like:

Solar Arrays ->

*MFE -> MFE -> LV Transformer -> BatBox -> BatBox -> furnaces/macerators/compressors (I'm going to change this to have a BattBox for each 2 appliances as I noticed a lack of power when running 4 off one Batbox output)

*MFE -> MFE -> LV Transformer -> BatBox -> Energy Link -> Power teleport Pipe -> ~~~~~~~~~~~-> receiving Power Teleport pipe at remote Quarry

The last time it glitched, the BatBox before the Energy Link was dead, but the two MFEs were full. When I removed the glass fibre cable between the LV transfomer and the BatBox and replaced it, the BatBox started filling immediately.

Is this just a glitch in the game, or is there something else that could be causing this?

[liXiomm]

Solar Arrays ->

*MFE -> MFE -> LV Transformer -> BatBox -> BatBox -> furnaces/macerators/compressors (I'm going to change this to have a BattBox for each 2 appliances as I noticed a lack of power when running 4 off one Batbox output)

*MFE -> MFE -> LV Transformer -> BatBox -> Energy Link -> Power teleport Pipe -> ~~~~~~~~~~~-> receiving Power Teleport pipe at remote Quarry

I don't understand. So, you have two MFE units powering two different cable lines? Or one MFE is charging another? Make sure that the outputs are in the right order? I'm not sure why you have MFE units connected to BatBoxes, I think those are superfluous, because your arrays could directly output EU into the LV transformers and into the BatBoxes. I usually set up my machines with 3 to a power source or storage unit, etc.

Generator>Canning Machine>Compressor>Electric Furnace (that being the left) Macerator<Extractor<Macerator<Generator

Maybe you could try that, and make sure you don't have forks in your cables, because that leads to a lot of EU loss and maybe glitches. I don't know, I'm not a wiring technician maybe someone else can help you more in depth.

[OmegaJasam]

Since you setup makes /no sense/ this will have to be a bit general.

heck each device near the transformers e.t.c. and the redstone settings on the boxes to see if any stray redstone signals are getting in the way.

[Cougar281]

liXiomm, I have a total of 4 MFEs and 4 BatBoxes. I have a bank of 2 MFEs and 3 Batboxes powering my devices at home. The MFEs are wired in series and feed a LV transformer which then goes to now three BatBoxes at my appliances with two appliances on each Batbox. This is being fed by a bank of MV Solar arrays that splits off before the first MFE in each run.

The second bank is wired similar with the two MFEs in series, then the LV transformer, then the BatBox, then the Energy Link and power teleport pipe.

In the case of the run powering my local appliances, the BatBoxes are just there for additional storage. In the case if the run powering the power teleport pipe and my Quarry, the BatBox is there as a limiter because the Power Teleport pipe would suck the MFEs dry in no time and they'll never hold a charge without it.

OmegaJasm, why does my setup make '/no sense/'? Please elaborate. As for redstone, the only redstone signal in the area is a lever on the side of the Batbox powering the Energy Link so I can shut down the quarry if I want/need. There are no stray signals. The 'facility' is fairly deep underground in a specially built Obby room with nothing nearby.

[miniboxer]

don't use obsidian. it can't survive any blast over tnt. use reinforced stone instead.

[Cougar281]

don't use obsidian. it can't survive any blast over tnt. use reinforced stone instead.

What more can reinforced stone hold up to that Obby can't? In my testing in creative mode, Obby had no problem surviving anything and everythign short of a nuke. Creepers. TnT. Industrial TNT. Same with the Reinforced glass.

[miniboxer]

it can't survive nuclear reactor explosions, which have a larger blast radius than nukes.

[Cougar281]

Hmm. Well, maybe I'll change it at some point, but ATM, I'm mostly concerned about creepers being 'accidentally' detonated. One of the players detonated one by accident not too far from my home not to long ago...