Compact RedPower automated cooldown timing circuit

1st Official Post

    After puzzling for quite will with the RedPower mod I've been able to cram an adjustable timing circuit into a 3x3x4 room, with controls and indicators too! :)


    Edit!: Introducing a much smaller and simpler timer circuit! --> Yay, simpler!


    This little 3x3x2 block thing is so much easier to program:
    - Set the 'Generation' timer to whatever you want.
    - Set the 'Cooling' timer to whatever you want.
    - Profit!


    Edit, again: Damn it!.. The connection to the back reactor doesn't work properly, best ignore that part.


    Since it's not clear on the pic, one of the torches on the RS Latch is pointing between the indicators and the other is pointing between the timers.
    Also, the orientation of the timers is important.


    The 'optional' wires can be any length or be removed entirely and have the Buffer/NOT gates right up against the circuit. The wires dont even need to be insulated.


    Slight bug: While the timers are switched off, pressing the button on the red 'generation phase' indicator will activate the reactor connected on the left for a second.

    good:
    this is the circuit I envisioned and even tried (and failed) to make because I have a Mark III Reactor with 2000 on VS 4600 off ticks

    Here's a little 'addon' circuit' that'll mercilessly chime at you after a set time --> Clicky!


    The Counter is set to how many turns the 'Generation Timer' has to do until the reactor has done a full cycle (10000 seconds).
    For Example: If the Generation Timer was set to 25 seconds, the "Decrement" and "Max. Count" on the noteblock counter should be set to 400 (10000 / 25).


    The noteblock timer sets how often the noteblock will chime.
    The button on the front will reset the counter.


    It's not completely 100% accurate, there are ways for things to get slightly out of sync but atleast it'll give a good idea of when the reactor is finished.

    • Official Post

    if you needed high accuracy for something like breeders you split off the wire going to the reactor and connect that to a timer, thus when the reactor has power and is off, so is the timer.

    Quote from silentdeth

    if you needed high accuracy for something like breeders you split off the wire going to the reactor and connect that to a timer, thus when the reactor has power and is off, so is the timer.


    It kinda already is, the counter ticks at the end of the generation phase.


    Idealy I'd want a timer set to 10000 seconds, but I can't because a timer resets to 0 when told to stop. Another way would be to have a 1 second timer sitting infront of a 10000 counter, but the endless clicking would drive me crazy. So the way I did it was a compromise, a low amount of clicks but only a fair amount of acuracy.

    This is brilliant, thank you for this design! Currently being implemented (only 2 reactors for now, but my Quarry is working hard to supply me with materials :D works fine having it run half cycles (clicking the timers to 10000s takes a while...), then cooling and restarting.


    EDIT: Erm, messed something up, while off, the blue light is on, and its cooling, but when I start it, and the red light comes on, it keeps cooling, then when the blue does, it starts running :/ trying to figure out what I did wrong...

    Quote from Talonius

    Switched the lights around perhaps?, note that the blue light is infront of the 'generation' timer and the red light is infront of the 'cooldown' timer.

    Figured it out, I was using the back-wire to hook up my reactors - that messed up the whole system :P Very neat design, in any case, I just had to use it correctly ;)