User Manual for Wico Miner mk3
(v1.55)

View the videos and other information in the workshop.

* I recommend testing in creative before spending the resources to make in survival.

* There are known bugs in multiplayer with drills and mining.
* Also know bugs with toolbars not being saved in multiplayer.

The miner needs clear space from its connector and 50m in front for launch and recovery.
Because the docking is near a ship, limited collision detection is done. There should be a connector per miner; don't try to share.

Most blocks are hidden to make control easier. Use the remote control command bars for ormal access.

After construction, take ownership, then recompile all of the programming blocks. Some are hidden.

NOTE: The configuration of the ship (including block information like batteries, solar panels, etc) is only read at startup. To have changes take effect, you will need to Open the status and main programming blocks and 'remember and exit" on each of them.

If a projector is present at startup, the miner control will assume it is being constructed and go into a special state. This is reported in the information panel of the programmable block.

Normal use
After creation, make sure to put enough uranium in reactor for emergency usage. Connect the miner to a connector. The battery should automatically start to recharge and the thrusters should turn off.

If you are using a "Tender" type ship, move the tender (with mk3 attached) to the cluster you want to mine.

Normally you will:

• Set home/launch location
  
• Set up Keen Autopilot and enable Keen docking in miner
  
• Set ranged target for mining
  
• Set 'automatic relaunch' to enabled
  
• Go Mine to initiate sequence
  
  Go get a coffee. Miner should completely mine target asteroid and keep dropping off and charging batteries as needed.

For configuration settings, see the section below.

Setting Home

There are two ways to 'set home'. One is automatic via 'Launch" command. The other is through commands.

Launch
When ready to mine, "Launch" the miner. Command Bar 1/#1. This will launch the miner away from the connector about 50 meters. This area must be kept clear. The miner remembers the launch waypoints and it assumes that the connector will still be in the same place when it returns "home".

Set Home
If you don't have a spare connector, or have multiple miners and limited connectors, use the
'Set Home" command: Command Bar 4/#2. This will set the "home" location. You will need to manually move the ship to a docking connector.

Asteroid Mining Selection

Manual Asteroid Selection
You can manually drive the ship to a asteroid to mine and press "Mine"; Command bar 1/#7. The asteroid must be in sensor range (50 meters).
The miner will mine until done and then return home. This method can also be used to change which asteroid the miner thinks of as 'target'.

Remote Target
You can also remotely target an asteroid to go mine.

Control the ship and view the front camera (Command Bar 1/#3). Zoom in with the camera onto a visible feature of the target asteroid. Select "Target" Command Bar 4/#3.

Move the miner sideways relative to the target (up/down/left/right). The further away from the first point, the more accurate the target. Then zoom in with the camera to the same feature and press "Target" again: Command Bar 4/#3.
The target is now available to get as a waypoint.

Go Mine

After a mining target is created, select "Go Mine": Command Bar 1/#5. The miner will go to the target and begin mining.

A found asteroid will be the mining target over the ranged target; the found asteroid is 'known' to be something to mine. Setting a ranged target will reset any found asteroid location.

When launched, if a target is set, the miner will automatically proceed to the target to mine after launch is completed.

Done Mining

When done mining (cargo full, battery low, etc, the miner will try to "Go Home". If no "Home" waypoint was set, the miner will call for attention.

The miner can be ordered to "Go Home". Command Bar 1/#6. You should remove the miner from inside a mining tunnel before issuing the command or it will just report collision.

Home

When the miner arrives "home", the miner will try to dock if a dock location was set (by "Launch"ing) or if the Keen Autopilot is enabled. Make sure to follow the instructions to set up the Keen autopilot \waypoints.

When the miner needs manual assistance docking it will alert you.

Docking

When docked, the miner turns off thrusters and sets the battery(ies) to recharge.

Re Launch
You can toggle relaunch using Command Bar#4/4. The status is displayed in the waypoint information display (far right).

When Launched, if the miner has a mine target set, it will automatically "Go Mine" after the launch is completed.

You can manually relaunch the ship by doing another 'Launch' command; the ship will proceed to established target and start mining.

Setting up Keen Autopilot

The ship must have been docked. It can be currently docked.
Select the [GPS] text block from the game's control panel.
Then 'edit' the public text on the [gps] panel and close the dialog.
Then go the the Keen GPS panel to import the GPS waypoints into Keen's waypoint system.

Note: the waypoints have the antenna name of the ship added. This allows you to easily name the ships and their waypoints. If you are using multiple mk3 miners, I recommend changing the name of each miner slightly as a designation ("A", "B", etc).

After the waypoints are in Keen's GPS system, you must add them to the remote control block's autopilot.
First add Docking Entry, then Dock.
Select "Precision" mode and "Backwards" and "One Way".
Add the waypoints to the remote control in the "Miner Autopilot Remote Control" group. (You can add them to both remote controls without causing problems.)

Tell the miner you have correctly set up the autopilot by toggling the docking mode. (Command bar 4/#1)

Now the ship will use the Keen autopilot to dock.

NOTE: you do not have to use the GPS coordinates provided by the miner. You could make up your own waypoints; but this is a very complex process.

Verify selected docking mode by viewing the far right text panel on the displays camera.

Needed Groups
Verify the following groups exist:

"Small Miner Normal Thrusters" All other thrusters that are not overridden (ie, the two groups above).
This is used to turn off thrusters when docked.

"Thrust Backward" Thrusters that move the ship backward.
"Thrust Down" Group of Thrusters that move the ship down.
"Thrust Up" Group of Thrusters that move the ship up.
"Thrust Backward" Group of Thrusters that move the ship backwards.
"Thrust Forward" Group of Thrusters that move the ship forwards.
"Thrust Left" Group of Thrusters that move the ship left.
"Thrust Right" Group of Thrusters that move the ship right.

"NAV Gyros" Used by the Nav program to control orientation. These should be the normal thrusters and not normally overridden.

Optional Groups
"-Miner Remote Control" Convenience group for selecting remote control. Note: when docked, groups are shared, so this group will be ALL remote controls."
"Miner Autopilot Remote Control" Use this remote to set the waypoints for docking.
"Lights" (depracated in 1.50 release)
"Mining Lights" Turned on when mining and and waiting to mine. Turned off when done mining.
"Running Lights" Turned on when not docked.
"Searching Lights" Turned on when searching.
"Docking Lights" Turned on when docking.

"Action Launch". Has the launch action. Useful when multiple miners are docked. Triggering this group of timer blocks will cause all miners to launch at once.

"Drills" turned on when starting to mine. The scripts no longer use this group. However, Command Bar 2/#1 does (Drills On/Off).



"WicoPBMain" The main control program for the miner. Group used as shortcut by developer when doing testing.
"WicoPBStatus" The status reporting program for the miner. Group used as shortcut by developer when doing testing

Removed groups 08/01/2015
"Heavy Forward Thrust" Heavy thrust forward group. Used when inside asteroid mining.
On Miner are all named "H FTThruster". This blocks in this group must have an override set.

"Auto Forward Thrust" Small thrust forward group. Used when approaching asteroid and kept on until exit.
On Miner all named "A FTThruster. This blocks in this group must have an override set.

"NAV Thrusters" Thrusters that move the ship forward. On the miner these are all named FTThruster


Visible Blocks
* wsam Mk3. The antenna. Name can be changed. Do not use ! in the name as that's used by the status reporting.
* Miner Battery. The main power sources for the miner.
* Miner Battery 2.
* Miner Connector. The back connector on the miner. Visible so settings can be manually changed.
The control program will normaly manage the connector itself (including docking).

* Miner Remote Control Top. The remote control. Normally, access through the "-Remote Control" group. But, when docked, access the block directly.
* Miner Remote Control. A remote control. Used by the Keen Autopilot. Except when docking using Keen autopilot, this remote is a duplicate of the spare.
* Miner Conveyor Sorter. Sorter with whitelist to throw out unwanted items.
Is set up to pass stone by default.
* Text Panel L3 [GPS]. This panel contains the waypoint information in GPS format.
Click on Edit for the public text, then close. Then open the GPS tab and the waypoints will appear.
* Wico Miner Config. Configuration file for control of basic settings of the miner control.
Edit the public text to change the configuration.
* Nav Status: Status report from the navigation program. informational only.


NOTE: The configuration of the ship (including block information like batteries, solar panels, etc) is only read at startup. To have changes take effect, you will need to Open the status and main programming blocks and 'remeber and exit" on each of them.

If a projector is present, the miner control will assume it is being constructed and go into a special state. This is reported in the information panel of the programmable block.

Command Bars

Command Bar 1: Common Automated Controls
*
#1: "Launch"
#2: view displays camera
#3: View front camera
#4: View aft camera
#5: Go Mine. This command will go to a ranged target (if set) or back to a previously mined asteroid. (Action Go Mine)
#6: Go Home. This command will return to the home launch point. Currently, the only way of setting this point is to "launch". (Action Go Home)
#7: Start Mining. Assume an asteroid is in front and start mining. Same as in mk2 and mk1 (my previous miners) (Action Start Mining)
#8: Start Search Top Right. Changed 1.55: Use when aiming at an asteroid within sensor range (50m). Miner will move to the top right and begin strip mining.
Pre 1.55: Search for an asteroid in sensor range. (Action Start Search)
#9: Miner reset. Reset automated control to allow manual control. Does NOT reset waypoints. This does reset all alert states (displayed in antenna). (Action Miner Reset)

Command Bar 2: Common Manual Controls
* This bar is set up for using the automated miner without waypoint automation.
* This bar is similar to main bar from mk2 and mk1.

#1: "Drills" On
#2: View displays camera
#3: View front camera
#4: View aft camera
#5: Connector On/Off. used for docking
#8: Master Reset. Resets miner state including waypoints.(Action Master Reset)
#9: "Running Lights" group on/off.

Command Bar 3: Advanced controls
*
#1: Gyro Miner Yaw block on/off. use in case out of control
#2: Gyro Miner Roll block on/off. use in case out of control
#3: "NAV Gyros" group on/off. use in case out of control

#5: "Small Miner Normal Thrusters" group on/off. used when docked. Miner should turn these off automatically when docked.

#7: Gyro Miner Yaw Override on/off. use in case out of control
#8: Gyro Miner Roll Override on/off. use in case out of control
#9: "NAV Gyros" Override on/off. use in case out of control

Command Bar 4: Advanced Automation Controls
* Other commands will be added here as implemented.
#1: Toggle using Keen autopilot for docking. (Action Toggle Autopilot)
#2: Set Home. Sets the home location for the miner. This reset any connector dock that has been set.
Miner will go to home location and ask for assistance docking. Useful if you don't have a
dedicated connector for each miner.
The location is accessible in the [GPS] text panel.
(Action Set Home)

#3: Ranged Target. Start or finish a ranged target. Calculated target is stored in Target Asteroid;
The location is accessible in the [GPS] text panel.
(Action Target Ranged)

#4: Toggle automatic relaunch. Miners will automatically relaunch if they have been launched once and if battery power >80% and cargo % < 5
(Action Toggle Relaunch)

#8: Master Reset. Resets miner state including waypoints. (Action Master Reset)
#9: Miner Reset. Reset automated control to allow manual control. Does NOT reset waypoints. This does reset all alert states (displayed in antenna). (Action Miner Reset)

Command Bar 5: Cameras
#1: View Center->Fore camera
#2: view displays camera
#3: View front camera
#4: View aft camera
#5: View Left->Fore camera
#6: View Right->Fore camera


Alerts

The miner communicates alerts to the user by changing the name of the antenna that is being broadcast.

Most of the alerts are informational. The Attention alert means the miner needs user intervention to continue. The informational alert will let the user know which alert needs attention.

"ATTENTION NEEDED"

The miner needs user attention. This alert is only reset by the user; Command bar 1/#9.

Usually the miner will need remote control to move the miner or recover from some error.

"Cargo Full"
Informational. The cargo is above the high water mark

"Collision Detected"
Informational. A collision has been detected. In most the miner will be able to avoid the collision.

"Search Failed"
Informational. A search for an asteroid has timed out.

"Battery Low"
Informational. The battery is below the low water mark

"NAV Timeout"
Informational. The navigation system has timed out.

"Cannot reach target"
Informational. The target is not defined or unreachable. For example, "Go Home" when no "home" waypoint is set.

"Docking Assist Needed"
Informational. The miner needs user assistance to complete the docking procedure.

"Going Home"
Informational. The miner is currently going home under automated control.

"Launching"
Informational. The miner is currently launching automated control.

"Going to mine"
Informational. The miner is currently going to mine under automated control.

"Docking"
Informational. The miner is currently trying to dock under automated control.

Configuration Settings
You should not have to edit the scripts to change any settings (unless you are trying to make your own miner using the scripts).

You can edit the configuration text panel (Wico Miner Config) to change many settings.

# Can be True or False. if false, then ejectors will not be turned on nor off.
throw stone = True

# Percent of battery remaining to be considered "Low".
battery percent low = 20

# minimum Percent of battery charge before relaunching.
battery percent launch = 80

# Percent of cargo space to stop searching and allow
# cargo to drain (by removing stone)
cargo high watermark = 70

# Percent of cargo space to resume searching after waiting
# Must be less than high water
cargo low watermark = 60

# minimum Percent of cargo space before relaunching
cargo min launch = 5

# maxiumum minutes to wait for cargo space
cargo wait mins = 1.5

# maxiumum minutes to search for asteroid to mine
search max mins = 1

# maxiumum minutes to wait for ship to clear while mining
ship clear wait mins = 2.5

# maxiumum minutes to wait for NAVigation system
nav max mins = 3

# verbose antenna status output.
verbosity = True

# Enable features of miner that use the most simspeed
sim features = True

# Enable controlling lights automatically. Cosmetic, but can save FPS.
control lights = True


After editing the configuration, you will need to cause the scripts to reload by either reloading the saved game, or by compile/remember exit on each wico programming block


Problem Solving
If something goes wrong
* Select the Main Programming Block and see if there are any errors reported. If any blocks are missing, replace them from blueprint and restart the programming block. Also check the other programmable blocks for errors.

If you replace any damaged sensors, find hidden "Programmable block Sensor State" and run it. Default argument is "load". This will reset the sensors to their default state (from information in "Sensor State Save")

* Check all groups are created. See list at top

Status displays are not updating
check all timers are actually running. Hit start if they are not:
* Timer Block LCD
* Timer Block Wico Miner Status
* Timer Block Wico Miner

Use 'Miner Reset' to reset states. Then try action again.

Use 'Master Reset' to fully reset.

* Please post any bugs you find in the workshop discussion.