Factorio Forums

TL;DR

Radars can have many channels.

What?

I suggest adding channels to radars to transmit logic signals. The channel can be set both manually and with the help of logic.

Why?

Right now, radars on a single surface can't transmit much information. They only have a red and green channel, which may not be enough for much logic.

You can use an encoding technique to encode your input signal into 32 bits of the carrier signal. First arithmetic combinator will take your input signal and mask (truncate) it with "AND" operation by a constant "2^N - 1", where "N" is a number of bits you want to transmit. Second arithmetic combinator will "shift-left" the value by a number of bits "M". That way if you encode your signals in a way that carrier bits will not add-up on the wire, you can then decode them back by "shift-right" and "AND" mask again.
It will cut down on a range the original value can have to the number of bits "N", but you either way constrained by 32 bits in original (more precisely, 31 bits + 1 for sign). Also you will need to encode each distinct signal by each separate pair of combinators.

There is also a way to encode signals across time and saving updates with S-R latch, but I stop post here.

I'd recommend using Schall Virtual Signal mod.

That mod adds A LOT of new virtual signals.

Just feed the signal you want to 'modulate' through an Arithmetic combinator set to * 1, then `demodulate` it on the consuming side with another Arithmetic * 1.

+1

When I only get 2 radar channels (2 wires), it makes me value them so highly that it makes me not use the feature at all. Because that is all you get for the surface, and if I use it for one thing, then I can’t add anything more without having the signals all mixed up!

imo, it would work best like in AAI signal transmission, where the radar has a string to identify separate channels. Then it would make more sense to have interplanetary/interstellar radar connections.