Sorting machines accepting any input - is it supposed to be this way?

[ilja]

So, since I've been away for some time I've missed several updates and also am a bit "out of touch" with how redpower works. I've tried finding an answer but my google-fu is pretty weak.

I'm trying to set up a sorting system which runs down a line from my ender chest, past a number of barrels for basic stuff, then past two sorting machines for sending ores etc to the processing setup, then past a number of filters with chests for storage.

Basically it looks something like this:

(E)--------------------------
     BBBBB    S S      FFFFFF
              | |      CCCCCC
              M M

The - are tubes and the S are sorting machines.

Now, I've set the up with stuff in their lines (so they're not empty) and on the "send everything to color code immediately" option. I want them to only pick up the ores etc, but whenever I put anything into the ender chest, they enter the system, go into barrels if they fit, then everything else enters the sorters whether they have been put into it's GUI lines or not, and nothing goes to the chests.

What am I doing wrong? Any suggestions?

 

[NTaylor]

Actual screen shots of the setup would make it a little easier to figure out but if I had to guess its because of the positioning of the barrels RP tubes try to put items into the closest valid inventory so if an empty barrel is closer than the sorting machines the ores will go into them first.

As for all items going into the sorting machine I would guess that you have the sorter on the wrong mode.

 

[nevakanezah]

As far as the system is aware, the sorting machines are the nearest inventory. You can't have the ores filtered within the pipe itself without having them go through a sorter first. put the sorting machine (or both) directly on the pipe, and you'll have to paint one of the branches that occurs after the sorting machine. Have all your ores go down one colour, and have it default route to a different colour, which will land in the chests.

Diagram:

I--------------S-------------------White-----------
          BBBB                 |                      CCCC
                                Blue
                                  |
                           Processing

^whelp. i cocked that up. you get the idea.

 

[Silent_007]

^^^This.
Also, this system will allow you to put the sorting machine before or after the barrels if you desire.

 

[ilja]

Thanks, found what I'd been doing wrong; I had to have at least one item per column in the sorter for it to ignore any other input. Apparently, the existance of an empty column made that column into an "anything goes" column. Obvious error once I realized it, but very well. Now it works like a charm.