, computers.
Why can a Power Switch be toggled from the map, no matter the distance, but a Constant Combinator can not?
Going even further, an Artillery can be used with a targeting remote - no matter the distance - and, recently, the Spidertron also has a "universal" remote, but I can't have a remote on hand that sends a basic signal to a specific circuit network number (or receiver device)? That's a bit sad.
So I've searched for ways around that limitation and found a reddit post (ab)using train stops for that (send a train to a station and read a station signal), but I thought I would prefer to (ab)use the power switch for that, and turn it into a basic remote circuit toggle switch.
First I tried with (dis)charging an accumulator and reading the accumulator power charge. But that falls apart when on solar power, as the accu won't charge at night (and the circuit signal read-out won't toggle).
The only other feasible way I found, is using storage tanks and pumps to turn the electric power switch into a "circuit switch".
If anyone else has another solution to this (or a fitting mod), I'd be glad to hear it.
[edit: see below for a much nicer solution!]
Here's my storage tank/pump setup:
- tankswitch.jpg (88 KiB) Viewed 8443 times
Two pumps circulate water between two storage tanks (in a loop). First I fill one tank with water, then disconnect it from the offshore pump.
The setup uses the fact that, when both pumps are running, one tank is always full and the other always empty (instead of equalizing the contents). So I switch one pump off (electrically), and the formerly empty tank now fills as the loop is broken.
I read out the fluid content level of that (usually full) tank, and use a decider combinator to output a signal based on "water < 20k" level in the tank, but reading either tank would work.
Any fluid works, of course, and the first tank doesn't need to be full, you just have to adjust the combinator fluid logic. So if 1k oil is more handy than finding water at the location, I'd use that.
There is a slight delay, since the pumps take time, but the tank fills a lot faster than it empties, so I check the upper fluid level (~20k in a 25k fluid system). This way it reacts reasonably fast for both on and off conditions. And make sure to connect the correct power pole to the grid, the one that powers the combinator.
And this turns an electric switch into a remote controllable circuit switch, basically.
My artillery shell inserter isn't switching to enabled after copying in the constant combinator, though when I mouse over it, it does say the signal is present and when I copy the inserter to my local map the enabled condition is present. However, curiously, it doesn't work either. I have to create a fresh inserter with the condition in order to get it to work.
