Connectors

[Space Crayon Muncher]

So I am trying to create a carrier and my idea is to create a port with a merge block and a connector. I'm planning to build a fighter that runs entirly on battires. I wanted to know if a connector can transfer power from ship A to ship B. Thank you.

[Dante]

Connectors can transfer power, cargo, and allow access to systems in the control panel. (Similar to merge blocks but still technically two different ships.)
You will need both ships powered to actively connect the two connectors though. If one is unpowered no link is possible.

I pretty much exclusively use connector for docking ships and rarely (if ever) use landing gear.

[Space Crayon Muncher]

Ok thank you Dante I guess I will have a reactor ready just in case.

[Dante]

They used to be damned impossible to seperate for sufficiently large ships since turning one or both connectors off did nothing and they would still attract each other.
Now unpowering or turning any of them off will break said attraction.

I would also suggest you name your connectors appropriately (At least on the ship side, station not so much.) 'cause if you have 10 ships docked you'll have 20 connectors listed in the control pannel and finding the right one is a ♥♥♥♥♥ if they aren't named.

[Space Crayon Muncher]

Hm ok then, the hanger that i'm creating is pretty small mostly because its role is more of a transport than a carrier so it can only support 4 fighters. If its like that then it will only have 8 connectors that I think will go well I guess.

[Vargali]

i know what you mean dante....naming connectors will soon be needed at my base... i have started ship builds by placing light blocks just next to a connector so i can place another connector down and already docked. i then just remove excess light armor and build my ship..this ensures it will fit with my docking system and space... after ship is built, all i have to do is unlock the connectors and convert to ship. "" remember to unlock connectors first or station is ruined..lol ""

[Nightwing]

Originally posted by vargali:

remember to unlock connectors first or station is ruined..lol

Everybody makes that mistake at least once. If they say they haven't, they either don't play space engineers, or they are lying...

[Raszagal]

@Dante, you should also use the unlock after you disabled a connector block to truly power it down and break the connection, otherwise you would be attacked because of the yellow status or stay connected because the connection hasn't been broken.

[Wastefield]

Batteries work wonders in at least small block ships. 2 batteries on an average 30t-40t ship will meet any momentary high output demands as if 28 reactors, and have capacity for many hours.

I've coupled them with a "solar recharge station", built once as a station (align panels with 2 rotors) and once as a large ship (align with gyro).
Grouped "Solar Batteries" can be easily ticked off recharge to supply power when connecting a ship for a quick recharge.

That same grouping you should do to your ship batteries and remember to ALWAYS TURN THEM OFF when connected to your main station as it'll stupidly try to use them to power your refineries, draining the batteries empty in 15mins. ;)

Another tip on the connectors is to put it on the action bar ("G" when in cockpit) as Turn Block On/Off.
AFAIK there is no limit on the power nor inventory transfer speed through the connector so only one is needed? Only collector/connector pairs needed multiple but they're outdated. Containers don't empty like drills but full stacks are quickly dragged manually.

[Nightwing]

When I build a battery-powered ship, my controls depend on if the battery is primary or support power.
If it's primary power, I just have 'recharge on/off' on my hotbar.
If the battery is support power, though, I use two hotbar slots. One is' recharge on/off'. One is 'toggle block on/off'. The first option just charges up the battery, while the second uses stored power if my primary power is cut for any reason.

[Rilbur]

Originally posted by BLUETAC Nightwing:

Originally posted by vargali:

remember to unlock connectors first or station is ruined..lol

Everybody makes that mistake at least once. If they say they haven't, they either don't play space engineers, or they are lying...

Or don't build ships using connectors as the 'anchor' point -- which while I will concede is a brilliant idea, it isn't one I've seen before.

[Space Crayon Muncher]

My plan is for the fighter design when I get to it to be powered entirley by a battery (Yes I know I mispelled a couple of words). however I will probobly have a battery for emergency power if I run out of it. What the plan is, is to build a fighter that is completly depenent on the carrier. It will be able to last on its own for a while but it needs a power source (the carrier) and has no way of powering itself.

[Space Crayon Muncher]

I plan on using a merge block as the anchor point and the connector to transfer energy to the other points. If I can just use the merge block then that would be absolutly amasing.

[Wastefield]

Connectors can be used between small and large ships and stations, merge blocks only between same block size: small-to-small or large-to-large, unless you use some kind of glitch/bug as a workaround from what I understood.
Aside from that, both transfer power (and control) through the whole ship and to rotor/piston extensions, and connectors transfer inventory as well.
And sorry I forget to use "reply" ;)

[Wastefield]

Originally posted by mfoley0406:

My plan is for the fighter design when I get to it to be powered entirley by a battery --- however I will probobly have a battery for emergency power if I run out of it. ---

Yes if you meant emergency reactor even just one, turned off, is a good idea since you need any small amount of power for connectors/merge blocks to get a recharge.
Basically batteries could only deplete suddenly if you forget to turn them off after connecting because the game uses battery power before reactors (trying to conserve uranium).

[Rilbur]

Originally posted by Wastefield:

Basically batteries could only deplete suddenly if you forget to turn them off after connecting because the game uses battery power before reactors (trying to conserve uranium).

Which is one reason I wish they'd add a 'capacitor' switch for them, so they can be charged from reactors and used when your ship temporarily goes into an underpowered state.