User:Munin295/Transmission circuit

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Horizontal transmission
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Bit transmission
A bit transmission consists of a single line whose input and output states are either on or off.

Crossing wires
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Vertical Transmission
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 * Redstone Staircase


 * Redstone Ladders


 * Torch Tower




 * Piston Tower



Miscellaneous vertical transmission
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Repeaters
To "repeat" a signal means to boost it back up to full strength. Signal strength decreases as it propagates along a wire of redstone dust and must be repeated after 15 blocks.


 * Redstone repeater


 * The common method of repeating a signal is to use a redstone repeater. Using a block before and after the repeater, this method of repeating a signal averages 18 redstone used per 18 blocks (15 redstone dust, and 3 redstone per repeater) and 1 tick delay per 18 blocks.


 * Torch repeater


 * When crossing long distances, redstone torches can also be used, simply allowing the signal to be inverted an even number of times during its journey. Torch repeaters use slightly less redstone than redstone repeaters (16 redstone per 17 blocks) but are slightly slower (1 tick delay per 17 blocks).

Instant repeaters
An instant repeater is a circuit which repeats a redstone signal change with no delay. A sequence of instant repeaters and redstone dust lines is known as instawire (or "instant wire").


 * Insta-Drop Instant Repeater


 * This circuit is small and relatively resource-efficient, but it depends on some unintuitive piston behavior which might be changed in future releases.
 * Behavior (Rising-Edge): While the input is off, the block of redstone keeps the lower sticky piston activated by connectivity. When the input turns on, the upper sticky piston begins to extend the block of redstone. The instant the block of redstone starts moving, the lower sticky piston deactivates and begins to retract block A, the reason the upper piston is extending -- this turns the upper sticky piston's extension into a 0-tick extension/retraction (the "insta-drop": the sticky piston "drops" its grip on the block and leaves it behind when it retracts), leaving the block of redstone above the lower sticky piston and powering the output. All of this happens instantly (in the same redstone tick), effectively allowing a rising edge to pass through the circuit with no delay. Now that the block of redstone is above the lower sticky piston, the lower sticky piston extends again, and two ticks later block A is back in position causing the upper sticky piston to extend again.
 * Behavior (Falling-Edge): When the input turns off, the upper sticky piston begins to retract the block of redstone, immediately cutting off power to the output, effectively allowing the falling edge to pass through the circuit with no delay. While the block of redstone is moving, the lower sticky piston deactivates, but then activates again when the block of redstone stops moving and can activate the lower sticky piston by connectivity again.
 * Earliest Known Publication: February 14, 2013.


 * Dust-Cut Instant Repeater


 * This circuit is a little larger than the Insta-Drop Instant Repeater, but it uses mechanics which are well understood and likely to remain intact in the game.
 * Behavior (Rising-Edge): When the input turns on, the lower sticky piston begins to extend, causing the upper sticky piston to retract, allowing the powered redstone dust below block A to connect to the output. All of this happens instantly (in the same redstone tick), effectively allowing a rising edge to pass through the circuit with no delay. The input signal also turns off the redstone torch which is the power source for the redstone dust, but it takes 4 ticks (1 tick for the redstone torch, and 3 ticks for the repeater) before that would turn the dust off and by that time the block of redstone has been extended and can continue powering the redstone dust.
 * Behavior (Falling-Edge): When the input turns off, the lower sticky piston begins retracting the block of redstone, immediately cutting off power to the output, effectively allowing the falling edge to pass through the circuit with no delay. The input turning off also allows the redstone torch to turn back on, but by the time it powers the redstone dust, block A has cut the output line.
 * Variation (2-Wide): The two upper levels (including the dust on top of the block the repeater is facing) can be moved one block over and down, and the last block on the lower level and its dust removed, to make a 2-wide version which is shorter in height and length. In this version, to reduce the amount of redstone used, the block of redstone can be replaced with a regular block if redstone torches are placed under both its extended and retracted position.
 * Earliest Known Publication: January 3, 2013.

Two-way repeaters
A two-way repeater (a.k.a. "bi-directional repeater") is a circuit which can repeat a signal in either direction. Two-way repeaters have two inputs that also act as outputs. Typically the problem to be solved is repeating the signal in either direction without repeating the signal back into the same input which could create a clock or a permanently-powered repeater loop.


 * Flat Two-Way Repeater



Diodes
Another important aspect of signal transmission is making sure a signal doesn't go the wrong way. "Diodes" are redstone components or circuits which allow signals to propagate in one direction but not the other.

Diode components
Both the redstone repeater and the redstone comparator behave as diodes. …

Diode circuits
Glowstone and upside-down slabs (along with components less frequently used in diode circuits, such as upside-down stairs and hoppers) have the property that redstone dust on top of them can propagate signals diagonally upwards, but not diagonally downwards. Thus, simply jumping the signal up one block to glowstone or an upside-down slab creates a diode circuit (to get it back to the same level, run the line over an opaque block before dropping it).

Analog transmission
An analog transmission is a single line which outputs the same signal strength it receives as input. Because power levels can vary from 0 to 15, an analog transmission can convey 16 states in a single line.


 * Analog comparator line


 * tl;dr: best option for short distances
 * The simplest analog line is a line of redstone comparators. However, like repeaters, comparators can draw a signal from an opaque block and push a signal into an opaque block, thus it is usually more efficient (in resources, and in signal delay) to place comparators every four blocks:
 * The analog signal in this line can be reduced or suppressed at some point along its length by feeding another signal into one of the comparators in subtraction mode. The signal can be overridden by feeding a stronger signal into one of the opaque blocks.
 * Because the redstone dust is not adjacent to any power or transmission components, only opaque blocks, it will not configure itself to point in any particular direction. This will cause the dust to also power any opaque blocks or mechanism components to the side of the analog line. Transmission components (redstone dust, redstone comparators, etc.) should not be placed adjacent to the line's dust because that would cause the dust to configure itself in a way where it doesn't power the rest of the analog line.


 * Analog repeater line
 * tl;dr: best option for long distances
 * Signal strength can also be retained by using repeaters to repeat every possible signal strength at the correct distance from the output to convey the correct signal strength.

Analog conversion
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BCD encoding
A "Binary-coded decimal" (BCD) line consists of two or more bit lines run in parallel, with each line representing a different digit in a single binary number. For example, three lines might individually represent binary 001 (i.e., decimal 1), binary 010 (decimal 2), and binary 100 (decimal 4) -- allowing them together to represent any value from decimal 0 to 7 (by summing their values).


 * 4-Bit BCD
 * tl;dr:
 * An analog line and a 4-line BCD can carry the same amount of information. The 4-line BCD takes up much more space, but is much faster over long distances, not requiring 1-tick-delay comparators every four blocks.

BCD conversion
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Unary encoding
An "unary" transmission line consists of two or more bit lines run in parallel, with the value transmitted represented by the number of lines powered (e.g., the value 3 might be encoded by having three of eight lines being turned on).

The term "unary" is also sometimes used for encoding a value by which line is powered, instead of how many lines are powered (e.g., the value 3 might be encoded by having only the third line of eight turned on).

Unary encoding is rarely used for transmitting values, but may be used for inputs (e.g., which, or how many, levers are turned on) or outputs (e.g., which, or how many, dispensers are triggered), with conversion to or from a more efficient transmission method in between.

Unary conversion
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 * Redcoder
 * Earliest Known Publication: November 21, 2012.


 * Grizdale's Analogue to Digital Signal Converter