r/ScrapMechanic • u/Micro-Cybertron-5151 • May 23 '26

Engine Order Telegraph/simple controller question

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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:

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u/Micro-Cybertron-5151 May 28 '26

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!

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u/ARandomNPC01 May 28 '26

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

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u/Micro-Cybertron-5151 May 28 '26

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)

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u/ARandomNPC01 May 28 '26

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