Hi! I hate to be the idiot but im confused by the adjustable transformer interface. i get the top area is the packet size. But the bottom area... what does that mean? it is rated in EU but accepts a very high number but can only be max of 64? Does it override the top area? Will setting it higher than 32 EU make my LV machines explode?
Is it possible to completely disable a side, say for compact wiring? Or set different sides to different EU/t values?
You're not being an idiot at all. I'll be happy to help describe this further. I may do a youtube video on it as well since there have been a couple questions on how it works.
Using the screenshots in the opening post as a reference, here's what it does.
Due to limitations of the current IC2 API, there's no way to configure the machine to output a specific packet size in a specific direction. Directions can currently be set to accept energy or output energy, but there's no option to disable the direction. I'll check with Tallinu and see if that's something we can add. I think we can but we have to look over the IC2 API.
As for the packet size and transfer rate, you'll need to understand how the EU network works. An insulated copper wire can carry LV sized packets without burning out. That's the top option (Packet size). The bottom is the transfer rate, which a max of 64 packets emitted each game tick (1/20th of a second if running at full tick speed). If you have enough energy input, you can set the packet size to 32 (LV max) and run up to 64 packets a tick of energy through that copper wire, or 2048 TOTAL energy a tick. That's spread out over 64 packets, each 32 EU.
When a machine or cable or other EU compatible device indicates a maximum like "LV" or "MV", what they are (usually) really saying is maximum packet size. The number of packets sent over a wire seems to only be limited by how much lag you want as each packet requires some processing time. We've limited our interface to 64 packets a tick because we thought anything more was just insane. 64 may be too much as it is.