Redstone
|
Type |
Raw Materials | ||||||
|
Stackable |
Yes (64) | ||||||
|
Alpha 1.0.1 | |||||||
| |||||||
|
Sinks | |||||||
|
Data Value |
331 |
Redstone is a deceptively simple mineral, mined from Redstone Ore with a Pickaxe of Iron or better, or an Iron Chisel, that has an enormous variety of applications in complex devices, and can be placed as a block to transmit redstone power. Power is initiated by Redstone Torches, various sensors or player-activated switches such as Levers. By combining the strategic placement of Redstone Torches and other redstone-related items, logical circuits can be built to activate and control mechanisms from a distance. Powered Redstone can also be used to apply a brake to Redstone Clutches, allowing for the combination of Mechanical Power constructs with Redstone logic to create massive systems for automation.
Circuits can be designed to act in response to player activation, or to operate autonomously -- either on a loop, or in response to non-player activity such as mob movement, item drops, plant growth, etc. The mechanisms that can be controlled by redstone circuits range from simple devices such as automatic doors and light switches, to complex devices such as elevators, automatic farms, or even in-game computers.
Contents
Crafting
| Name | Ingredients | Input » Output | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redstone | Block of Redstone |
|
Uses
When placed as a block, redstone forms a non-solid wire on top of that block that can be freely picked up and replaced without the need for tools. Placing another piece of redstone in an adjacent block will cause them to connect together, and can also connect between blocks that are one step up or down from one another.
Crafting
Circuit Terminology
- Redstone components
- Blocks that provide power to adjacent redstone are called Power Components, and blocks that react in some way to redstone power being applied to it are called Mechanism Components. Some blocks, such as the Redstone Repeater, do both of these functions by reacting to redstone power and transmitting it further, and are called Transmission Components. At its most basic level, a Redstone wire up to 15 blocks long can connect a Power Component such as a Lever to a Mechanism Component such as a Piston, which will cause the Piston to extend when the lever is pulled.
- Power
- Some blocks may be powered or unpowered. Think of a "powered block" as a block that is electrified (but safe to touch). Some blocks will show their powered state visibly (for example, redstone wire lights up, a piston extends, etc.), but other blocks may give no visual indication of their powered state other than their effect on other redstone components.
- Opaque blocks can be strongly-powered or weakly-powered (a different concept than power level, see below). The only difference is that a weakly-powered block will not power adjacent redstone wire.
- Power level
- Power level can vary from 0 to 15. Most power components provide power level 15, but a few provide a variable amount of power depending on how they are set up.
- Redstone wire transmits power to adjacent redstone wire, but its strength decreases by 1 for each block traveled. Redstone wire can thus transmit power up to 15 blocks before needing to be re-strengthened (either with a redstone repeater, or by controlling a power source to create a new signal).
- Redstone tick
- A redstone tick is the time it takes for most redstone components to change state, such as the Redstone Torch, which occurs every 0.1 seconds. Redstone torches, redstone repeaters, and mechanism components require one or more ticks to change state, so it can take a number of ticks for a signal to propagate through a complicated circuit.
- Signals and pulses
- Circuits with a stable output are said to produce a signal -- an ON signal if powered, or an OFF signal if unpowered. When a signal changes from OFF to ON and then back again, that is described as a pulse (or ON pulse), while the opposite is described as an OFF pulse.
- Very short pulses (1 or 2 ticks) can cause problems for some components or circuits such as Redstone Torch burnout, because they may fail to keep up with the rapidly changing states.
Circuit types
Although the number of ways to construct circuits is endless, certain patterns of construction occur over and over again. The following sections attempt to categorize the circuits which have proven useful to the Minecraft community, while the main articles describe the specific circuits which fall into those categories.
Some of these circuits might be used by themselves for simple control of mechanisms, but frequently you will need to combine them into more complex circuits to meet the needs of a mechanism.
Logic circuits
It's sometimes necessary to check signals against each other and only output a signal when the inputs meet some criteria. A circuit which performs this function is known as a logic gate (a "gate" that only allows signals through if the "logic" is satisfied). Although there are many different possible "logics" that could be checked, the two most common ones are the OR Gate and the AND Gate (possibly with inputs or outputs inverted).
- OR Gate
- An OR Gate produces an ON output if any of its inputs is ON (i.e., its output is ON if input A is ON or input B is ON, or input C is ON, etc.).
- AND Gate
- An AND Gate produces an ON output only if all of its inputs are ON (i.e., its output is ON if input A is ON and input B is ON and input C is ON, etc.).
Inverting a signal (such as with a redstone torch) is also considered a logical operation (a NOT gate, because it produces output only when there is NOT input).
Pulse circuits
Some circuits require specific pulses, other circuits use pulse duration as a way to convey information. Pulse circuits manage these requirements.
A circuit which is stable in one output state and unstable in the other is known as a monostable circuit. Many pulse circuits are monostable because their OFF state is stable, but their ON state will quickly revert back to OFF.
- Pulse Generator
- A pulse generator produces a pulse of a specific duration.
- Pulse Limiter
- A pulse limiter (a.k.a. pulse shortener) reduces the duration of pulses which are too long.
- Pulse Extender
- A pulse extender (a.k.a. pulse sustainer, pulse lengthener) increases the duration of pulses which are too short.
- Pulse Delay
- A pulse delay circuit delays a pulse by a specific duration. Pulse delay circuits can be designed to only delay the rising edge of a pulse ("positive delay"), only the falling edge ("negative delay"), or both.
- Edge Detector
- An edge detector reacts to either a signal changing from OFF to ON (a "rising edge" detector) or from ON to OFF (a "falling edge" detector), or both (a "dual edge" detector).
- Pulse Duration Tester
- A pulse duration tester reacts only to pulses in a certain range of durations (often only to pulses of one specific duration).
Clock circuits
A clock circuit is a pulse generator that produces a loop of specific pulses over and over again. Some are designed to run forever, while others can be stopped and started.
A simple clock with only two states of equal duration is named for the duration of its ON state (e.g., for example, a clock which alternates between a 5-tick ON state and a 5-tick OFF state is called a 5-clock) while others are usually named for their period (the time it takes for the clock to return to its original state; for example, a "1-minute clock" might produce a 1-tick pulse every 60 seconds).
Clocks can also be built based on minecarts, boats, item despawn, etc.
Memory circuits
Unlike a logic circuit whose state always reflects its current inputs, a memory circuit's output depends not on the current state of its inputs, but on the history of its inputs. This allows a memory circuit to "remember" what state it should be in, until told to remember something else.
- T Flip-Flop
- A T Flip-Flop is used to toggle a signal (like a lever). It has a primary input and a "clock" input, and its output changes state ("toggles") only when both the primary input and the clock input are ON at the same time. In practical redstone circuits, the clock input is often omitted from the circuit so that the output toggles whenever the primary input turns ON (turning it into a T Latch).
- RS Latch
- An RS Latch is used when you need greater control of the circuit's output state. It has two separate inputs, a SET input and a RESET input. Its output is set to ON when SET turns ON, and remains ON until RESET turns ON (no matter what SET does). When the output is OFF, it remains OFF until SET turns ON.
- An RS latch built from NOR gates is known as an "RS NOR Latch".
- Counter
- Unlike T Flip-Flops and RS Latches which can only hold two states (ON or OFF), a counter can be designed to hold a greater number of states.
Many other memory circuits are possible.
