Hose: Flexible Connector

[Pembroke]

In some situations it would be more convenient to have the base dock into a stationary ship instead of the ship docking into a stationary base. For example, refueling or recharging a completely drained ship. Answer: Introduce a new connector type, the Flexible Connector.

A Flexible Connector works like your standard Connector except it has a connecting range, say 10 meters or something like that. If the Flexible Connector block is turned on and powered it will connect to the closest Connector of another grid within its range if such a grid exists and has a Connector. The graphics could resemble a hose or a power cable automatically drawn between the two Connector points. Unlike the standard Connector the Flexible Connector, however, can only transfer Electricity, Oxygen, and Hydrogen through it. Maybe also Ice? (Interpret it being liquid if you like...) No other stuff, however. It's a hose/cable, meaning it should be restricted to gas, liquid, and power.

Possible uses:
- Fill up hydrogen tanks of a new ship or one that's completely dry
- Provide initial power to a ship to run its conveyor network (for example, to load uranium)
- Create mobile refuelers
- Make mobile battery packs and "jumpstart" vehicles
- Connect multiple grids into the same power network
- Make a "flexible" mining rig where the smaller moving drill part gets its power from a bigger stationary power source.
...and probably lots more that I can't think of

[Sulfur Sniffer, Glue Gobbler]

Originally posted by Pembroke:

In some situations it would be more convenient to have the base dock into a stationary ship instead of the ship docking into a stationary base. For example, refueling or recharging a completely drained ship. Answer: Introduce a new connector type, the Flexible Connector.

A Flexible Connector works like your standard Connector except it has a connecting range, say 10 meters or something like that. If the Flexible Connector block is turned on and powered it will connect to the closest Connector of another grid within its range if such a grid exists and has a Connector. The graphics could resemble a hose or a power cable automatically drawn between the two Connector points. Unlike the standard Connector the Flexible Connector, however, can only transfer Electricity, Oxygen, and Hydrogen through it. Maybe also Ice? (Interpret it being liquid if you like...) No other stuff, however. It's a hose/cable, meaning it should be restricted to gas, liquid, and power.

Possible uses:
- Fill up hydrogen tanks of a new ship or one that's completely dry
- Provide initial power to a ship to run its conveyor network (for example, to load uranium)
- Create mobile refuelers
- Make mobile battery packs and "jumpstart" vehicles
- Connect multiple grids into the same power network
- Make a "flexible" mining rig where the smaller moving drill part gets its power from a bigger stationary power source.
...and probably lots more that I can't think of

You could transfer metals by heating them up (as hard as that is in a vaccuum...) and making them in a liquid form, only problem would be the metal drying up in the 'hose.' So you could do that but have to clean it after a while. This sounds interesting.