Redstone Components

Not every single redstone component will be listed here- there's a lot of them. Only the basic components needed to get a grasp at the further mechanics of redstone are included here.

Redstone Source Components

Any redstone component that creates power is a redstone source component. As explained in the home page, each redstone source component outputs a signal strength of 15.

A lever in On (down) and Off (up) positions.

Redstone Block

A block... made out of redstone. Pretty self-explanatory. Can be crafted with 9 redstone dust.

Lever

Powers any adjacent blocks/components when flipped to the On position. You saw an example of a lever in use in Figure 1 on the Home page.

An oak wood button.

Every different type of pressure plate.

Button

When clicked, will power any adjacent blocks/components for a short period of time. Can be made out of any type of wood or stone. Wood buttons stay down for longer when clicked.

Pressure Plate

Powers adjacent blocks/components while any entity (player or item) is on top of it. Can be made out of any type of wood or stone, as well as iron and gold. Wooden pressure plates detect items, while stone/metal pressure plates (listed as "weighted") do not.

A lit redstone torch.

An unlit redstone torch.

Redstone Torch

This one is a bit more complex than the other source components. A redstone torch will power any adjacent blocks, EXCEPT for the block it is placed on top of. Figure 3 shows exactly how this plays out in different arrangements of redstone components and blocks.

One more thing- they can be turned off. When placed on a block that is already powered, it goes into its unlit state and no power will be emitted from it. This can be quite useful in cases where one might need to reverse a redstone signal.

Fig. 3: How redstone torches work in different scenarios involving other components. What are those flat things with sticks popping out of them...?

Why is it looking at me like that?

The backside of an observer, outputting a redstone signal lasting a single tick.

Observer

An observer is a block that detects changes in other blocks and outputs a redstone signal when a change is detected. Specifically, it looks for a change in state in whatever object is adjacent to the block's face side (the side that... looks like a face) and outputs a redstone signal from its back side.

An important concept to introduce along with the observer is the "tick" mechanic. A tick is one instance of the shortest measurable amount of time in Minecraft, and everything in Minecraft runs at the game's "tick speed." It's like a separate framerate for the game to run at mechanically rather than graphically. Ticks are especially important to keep track of in redstone contraptions where precise timing is needed.

When an observer detects a change in an object's state, eg. unpowered to powered; open to closed, it outputs a redstone signal that lasts for one single tick.

Redstone Transmission Components

Any redstone component that transmits a redstone signal from one point to another.

Fig. 4: Redstone dust (and a sheep) in action. Notice how the top lamp isn't getting powered- that's because, while the lamp is adjacent to the redstone dust, it isn't actually touching it.

Redstone Dust

The simplest form of redstone; acts as wiring. Will power any blocks it is connected to or on top of.

An unpowered redstone repeater, set to delays of 1 (both torches closest together) to 4 (farthest apart) ticks.

Redstone Repeater

Transmits a redstone signal by resetting its signal strength back to 15 and adding a delay of 1-4 ticks. This component is very important for precise timing in redstone contraptions.

An unpowered redstone comparator.

Fig. 5-1: An empty chest, 0% full. The comparator in turn is not powered.

Fig. 5-2: The chest now has 3 stacks of items in it. The total number of items a chest can contain is 1728 (27 item slots x 64 items per stack). 3 stacks of 64 is equal to 192 items total, 11% of the chest's total capacity. 11% of 15 is 1.65, rounding up to 2, which is the signal strength outputted.

Redstone Comparator

Oh boy. Where do I begin with these things. Redstone comparators may be the single most complicated redstone component- but also possibly the most important.

A redstone comparator's main usage is to "read" a block's "inventory" and generate a redstone signal output with a strength of 1-15 based on how "full" said "inventory" is.

What does that mean? Well, take a chest as an example. If you place a comparator with its back (the side with two torches) facing the chest, and place a line of redstone dust 15 blocks long out from the front of the comparator, you've effectively created a sort of "status bar" representing a percentage of how full the chest is.

Comparators can be used to check not only chests, but also furnaces, dispensers, droppers, and hoppers (we'll get into the latter later).

To be honest, that's where my current knowledge on comparators stops. These things are an enigma. Yes, they have even more functions. As I look at the official Minecraft Wiki for info, I'll do my best to pass the info on to you.

First of all- what does that other torch do? In Figure 5, you'll see that when the comparator is powered, the torch on its front side is still unlit- what gives? This torch is toggleable by the user and determines whether the comparator is in "comparison" or "subtraction" mode. The default, "off" mode is comparison mode.

In comparison mode, both the comparator's rear and side inputs are compared. If either side input is stronger than the rear input, the comparator powers off and produces no output from its front.

In subtraction mode, the comparator once again compares (haha) its input from both sides and rear. The outputted signal strength this time is the back input minus the stronger side input. Sound confusing? Yeah, I agree. Figure 6 is a helpful visualization of this from the Minecraft Wiki.

Fig. 6: Thanks, Minecraft Wiki.

Redstone Mechanism Components

Any other redstone component that plays its own part in redstone contraptions.

A piston extending and retracting.

Piston

When activated, can push up to 12 blocks at a time, excluding obsidian and bedrock. A sticky piston, crafted from a piston and a slimeball, can also pull blocks.

Huh?

Slime Block

A sticky (and bouncy) block. Will bring adjacent blocks along for the ride when pushed by a piston. Useful for- you guessed it- flying... machines?

A target block in use.

Target Block

Technically, this is a redstone source component. When shot by an arrow, it will generate a redstone signal. It's rarely used for that, though. Its real purpose is to redirect redstone lines, as any adjacent redstone dust will always connect to it, unlike most solid blocks- making it one of the most sneakily useful redstone components.

A powered redstone lamp.

Redstone Lamp

It's a lamp. It can be turned on or off. That's pretty much it. Mainly just useful for visualizing whether or not the block is powered.

A hopper facing downward.

A contraption involving hoppers. Items placed in the top two chests will provide the input and fuel for the furnace, while the bottom chest collects the furnace's output.

Hopper

Can collect and store items inputted directly above it, as well as funnel items into storage blocks adjacent to it. When it is powered, it becomes "locked" and cannot take in/transfer any items.

Stone. A solid block.

Waxed Exposed Cut Copper Block. Also a solid block.

Solid Blocks

Any 1x1 block in the game, apart from glass, is a "solid block" and can be powered using redstone.

Now that we know about the most important redstone components, let's take a look at some simple contraptions that can be made using them!

Continue to Simple Redstone Contraptions

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