Redstone Circuitry

Redstone Circuitry


Redstone is not just used for making compasses and watches. It's main use is
circuitry. These circuits, powered by a redstone torch (recipe below) or a
switch (recipes below also) allow you to set off various traps. The most
common use outside of traps (but sometimes incorporated into traps) is to set
off dynamite. Now, dynamite is made from sand and sulphur/gunpowder, which you
get off of creepers that don't explode before you kill them.

Remember the Redstone is the dust you use to make compasses, not the block you
mine it from.

Note that the stone above is NOT cobblestone, it is actual stone. You have to
smelt cobblestone in a forge to get stone.

Redstone is placed in a line by holding it and right-clicking on the ground
somewhere. From here on, a "line" of redstone dust will be refered to as a
"circuit". They are the same thing, in that a circuit is a line of redstone
dust.

When redstone circuits are used with redstone torches, they are activated as
soon as the torch is placed at the end. A circuit is connected at the other
end to whatever the trap is. It must go right up to the edge of one of the
blocks that compose of the trap. So, for instance, if you're making a dynamite
explosion trap, the redstone must go right up to one dynamite block.

Here is a diagram of a simple redstone circuit:

O--------------------------------------------###
^ ^ ^ ^
| Redstone circuit |
Torch Dynamite

The more common uses for traps that involve circuits are used with step
switches. These are placed on the floor to open wooden doors, but are also
used to activate redstone circuits. These must be placed at the end of a
circuit like a redstone torch. The difference is that a torch immediately
activates the circuit, whereas a switch activates it only when stepped on. The
best use for these are when mobs step on them, activating a nearby trap. One
great use for these step traps is employed in the v1.2 update. These use one
straight hallway with a step switch at one end, the redstone circuit going the
length of the hall, and a dispenser at the other end. Since a dispenser is
powered by redstone, it is a great tool to use for mob traps. You just load it
up with arrows, and it's basically an auto-fire bow. The arrows fly down the
hall and hit the mobs at the other end to kill them.

I will add stuff to this as time goes along. I am going to experiment with
different traps and put down the ones that I think are the best.