Steam Engines stalling

[AlanEsh]

There is a weird thing happening on one of the servers I frequent.

A couple of us have Industrial Steam Engines set up in clusters, running off boilers. At times, even when chunk loaded, if we leave the area and come back, SOME of the steam engines have stopped. Toggling the Lever that is applying the redstone signal immediately starts them working again.

The Engines are all in the same chunks, it's not split across chunks or anything like that. The problem persisted when I traded out the Lever for a Redstone torch as well. It just seems like the engines "forget" that they're receiving the redstone signal.[DOUBLEPOST=1382026610][/DOUBLEPOST]Oh, and the redstone signal is being applied via rednet cable. I suppose my next test will be to replace that cable with individual levers and see if that might be the source of signal interruption.

 

[loboca]

I have spawners on rednet cable that I have to reset every time I reload the server (local server). Ya, rednet doesn't remember settings. Try just levers.

 

[AlanEsh]

Thing is, this is happening even when the server hasn't been restarted. All we have to do is let the chunks unload, then SOMETIMES a few engines end up "off"
Also, one rednet cable, 8 engines, only 3 of them stall, so it seems we are experiencing different issues.

 

[loboca]

Rednet doesn't remember state. So any unloading of chunks, restarting the server, etc will reset it. Now as to just 3 having the issue, are there any other redstone signals around that might be activating just a few of the engines?

(with my spawners, they are always chunkloaded, so it's only on server restart that the rednet gets reset)

 

[RedBoss]

I noticed this a few months back. Levers or vanilla Redstone will solve the issue. I got frustrated with red net cables.

But them I also switched to atomic science turbines soon after anyway....

 

[AlanEsh]

Nothing else around. These are vertical clusters of engines (E) round a central conduit (c). The steam runs up two gaps (s), and the rednet wire runs up the other two gaps (r)

s E r
E c E
r E s

I have a chunk loader coveing the entire area, and other things behave properly (auto-crafting, tree farms, and quarry processing) when I wander off to other ages and areas of the world. But once in a while, not always, when I look at my engines a few of them are off. No server restart required for this to happen.[DOUBLEPOST=1382031716][/DOUBLEPOST]

I noticed this a few months back. Levers or vanilla Redstone will solve the issue. I got frustrated with red net cables.

But them I also switched to atomic science turbines soon after anyway....

Unleashed so no atomic science, unfortunately.

Def. going to test with levers/vanilla redstone.

 

[casilleroatr]

A good way to automate the resetting of the rednet cable is with a quick startup program on a computer. Thats what I did when I was having the same problem as you describe and it worked perfectly.

 

[PierceSG]

If you have the resources, you can run structure pipes with iron OR gates and red pipe wires. Those gates at the engines setting at red pipe wire signal = emit redstone. And on your lever side, have it at, redstone active = red pipe wire signal.

 

[AlanEsh]

A good way to automate the resetting of the rednet cable is with a quick startup program on a computer. Thats what I did when I was having the same problem as you describe and it worked perfectly.

This would work great if the problem only occurred when the server restarts.

If you have the resources, you can run structure pipes with iron OR gates and red pipe wires. Those gates at the engines setting at red pipe wire signal = emit redstone. And on your lever side, have it at, redstone active = red pipe wire signal.

That might be workable -- basically I'd be replacing my rednet cable with pipe wire.