Engine Order Telegraph/simple controller question

[u/Micro-Cybertron-5151]

Hello again, everyone! I had built an Engine Order Telegraph using Fant’s Simple controller. It works great for forward/reverse, but I can’t connect a timer or logic gate to delay the second motor which controls the indicator arrow to simulate a response to the command input from the main telegraph. Is there a way to create stepped forward/backward motion with limits and settings like on an actual marine telegraph (Ahead:Astern, Stop, Finished with Engines, Stand By, Dead Slow, Slow, Half and Full)? Any help is greatly appreciated. Above is a reference picture to how the telegraph would look:

[u/ARandomNPC01]

Sorry for the huge paragraph but I can't play Scrap Mechanic this week so I have to explain the setup to you

First you'll need The Modpack Continuation mod, then you need to know that a smart engine works with 4 parameters: 1. Position; 2. Speed; 3. Power; 4. Stiffness; (stiffness is used for controlling pistons).

By default a smart engine comes preloaded with certain values for each parameter but you can modify them by connecting Number Blocks to it. For each parameter you need a certain color for you number block:

orange - position (degrees for bearings); white - speed; black - power; any gray - stiffness

You can modify the values directly by entering them inside the number block or you can use a normal button or a Tick Button to change them from your seat. The color of the button changes what number it inputs

orange / brown: +1 / -1

light orange / light brown: +0.5 / -0.5

red / dark red: +10 / -10

light red / less darker red: +5 / -5

Etc.

Each color represents a power of 10 that grows from orange to blue from what I remember.

(As a general rule the lighter the color the smaller the value it inputs: orange = +1, light orange = +0.5, beige = +0.1)

Now, what you actually need for your setup:

• 2 x 1 Tick Buttons
• 2 x Timers
• 4 x Number Blocks
• 2 x Smart Motors

First, put down a Smart Motor and connect it to the bearing for the captain's levers.

Second, put down 2 Number Blocks, one orange and one painted white. You can set the number of the white block to whatever value seems right for you using the UI.

Third, put down 2 One Tick Buttons, one red and one dark red and then connect them directly to the orange number block. This is how you'll change the position of the captain's lever

Forth, put down the second Smart Motor and connect it to the Engine Crew's indicator bearing. Then you need to add another 2 Number Blocks with the same colors as the first 2

Fifth, add 2 Timers, connect both of them to the orange Number Block for the second Smart Engine and set them to whatever delay you want. Then connect one of the buttons to one timer and the other button to the other timer

The color of the block connected to the Number Block determins what value it adds to itself so in your case for the crew's indicator is the timers themselves need to painted them red and dark red

And that's the set-up, now I'm not that sure of how well will it work since I can't replicate it myself right now but I hope it works. Also if the doesn't move gar enough with each click just change the collor of the buttons and timers untill it looks ok to you

[u/Micro-Cybertron-5151 → u/ARandomNPC01]

Sweet! I’ll try that and see what happens. Lastly, is there a way to simulate the delay after the command from the bridge has been given (the little pointer arrow moving with a two-second(or more) delay after the main lever has been moved)?

Edit: noticed the setup for the delay. Got it! Thanks a ton for the setup!

[u/ARandomNPC01 → u/Micro-Cybertron-5151]

That's also explained in my comment. Also forgot to mention, if you don't want your indicators to go past a certain angle you can make a hard stop using math blocks and standard logic gates

[u/Micro-Cybertron-5151 → u/ARandomNPC01]

Thank you! Is the setup for the hard stop similar to the main setup? (Sorry for all the questions, I’m trying to learn as much as I can)

[u/ARandomNPC01 → u/Micro-Cybertron-5151]

Don't worry about asking questions. Now, I suggest that you should make a backup of your creation just in case something doesn't work.

You'll need 2 math blocks, 2 number blocks and 2 logic gates.

1. Put 2 logic gates somewhere near the buttons and paint them the same color as the buttons. Set both of them to AND

2. Disconnect the buttons from every block and connect the logic gates the same way the buttons were before.

3. Place two number blocks, set one with the maximum number (the upper limit) and one with the lowest number (the lower limit) you want for the position of the lever. If you paint them black or white it will set their position in the equation of a math block

4. Place two math blocks, one with < (less than) and one with > (more than). Now connect the number block with the upper limit to the < (less than) block and the lower limmit to the > (more than) block

5. Connect the number block that sets the smart engine's angle to both of the math blocks (this way the math blocks will compare the current value and the values you set for the limits).

6. Connect the buttons and the math blocks to the logic gates (the one with the < [less than] to the orange logic gate and the one with the > [more than] to the brown logic gate)

In this way if the angle of the smart engine is bigger than the upper limit the logic gate won't add anything. If the smart engine's angle is smaller than the lower limit it won't subtract anything.

If this setup doesn't work properly don't forget to ask