Is there any way to turn inserters on/off on command?

[Blaank]

I can't figure out any way to do this other than hooking them up to a chest and manually putting items in the chest to turn them on.

[Blaank]

Also is there an easy way to copy circuit settings and add them to 29 other inserters instead of setting each one?

[Htom Sirveaux]

You could use a robo port to feed the chest for the inserter though without more context It will be hard to give a more reliable solution.

As for copy/pastre yes you can. I do not remember the exact command off hand (i think its shift left and shift right respectively but its listed in the keybindings all the same) this will allow you to copy the parameters (network and so on) from one entity to anther.

It can also be used to copy selected recipes from one chem plant/refinery etc. to another.

[Yugatha]

For copying and pasting, it's Shift + Right click to copy, and shift-left click to paste

This works for insterters, trains, wagons, assembly machines...

[psznm]

You could connect your inserters to a logi network and have a "switch" item. One that normally wouldn't be in your logi network, when you would want to turn them on/off you would request/trash the switch item. However I can not imagine any situation where you would need to turn inserters off on command.

[Yugatha]

Even easier would be using one of the logic items (constant decider), and have it linked to the inserter in question. Set the inserter to be activated with "A" > 0. Then, set the constant decider to output "A" = 1. Inside the desider is an on/off radio toggle.

[Nailfoot]

Originally posted by Blaank:

I can't figure out any way to do this other than hooking them up to a chest and manually putting items in the chest to turn them on.

You can also use a power switch controling the power pole that the inserter is attached to. Then that power switch can be controled with the circuit network in almost any manor you could conceive.

[Yugatha]

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

Originally posted by Blaank:

I can't figure out any way to do this other than hooking them up to a chest and manually putting items in the chest to turn them on.

You can also use a power switch controling the power pole that the inserter is attached to. Then that power switch can be controled with the circuit network in almost any manor you could conceive.

Only issue with this is turning off other things that use the same power pole.

[Nailfoot]

Originally posted by Yugatha:

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

You can also use a power switch controling the power pole that the inserter is attached to. Then that power switch can be controled with the circuit network in almost any manor you could conceive.

Only issue with this is turning off other things that use the same power pole.

Yeah, obviously one would need to plan for it.

[Varenvel The Festive Dinosaur]

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

Originally posted by Yugatha:

Only issue with this is turning off other things that use the same power pole.

Yeah, obviously one would need to plan for it.

thats not a problem if production line is making 1 good's

i myself used power switch on 1 product production lines to shut it off if condition is met , but most important place i used it was to 100% automate oil cracking

[Nailfoot]

The only use I have for the power switch is to turn off the furnace bank and associated beacons if plates are not currently being produced.

Beacons eat a ton of power.

[Varenvel The Festive Dinosaur]

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

The only use I have for the power switch is to turn off the furnace bank and associated beacons if plates are not currently being produced.

Beacons eat a ton of power.

Hardly , my lasser turrets on my last save consume 250MW on idle , during active it spikes about 350-450MW

[Repsack]

Place 2 sets of power poles, one set for inserters, and one set for other stuff. Then afterwards, use copper wire and manually disconnect all the things that should not be connected.

[Nailfoot]

Originally posted by Varenvel:

Originally posted by Nailfoot:

The only use I have for the power switch is to turn off the furnace bank and associated beacons if plates are not currently being produced.

Beacons eat a ton of power.

Hardly , my lasser turrets on my last save consume 250MW on idle , during active it spikes about 350-450MW

So you had 10K laser towers. That still doesn't invalidate the logic behind turning off a set of furnaces.

It would be no easy task (and perhaps impossible) to turn off the laser towers and have them automatically turn on once a biter gets near that wall section. If it was possible to do so, that would certainly be a great saver of energy.

[Fel]

It would be nice if you could get a signal from the radar's direct zone when an enemy enters it, but I'm fairly sure that it's not something that actually exists.

[bobSheep]

You can use a constant combinator to send a signal, then have them work if signal > 0 or = any value.
You can combine this to for instance have combinator: iron * red , combinator output iron =1, and have them work on that. Like that you can connect them to chests or stuff, and toggle them on/off using combinators.