Let's say I have a 5x5 wall that has redstone torches on each block on one side:
Is there a redstone circuit that would allow me to power every block in this wall, so that all torches turn off ?
I'm pretty new to redstone, so forgive me if this is obvious.
I don't think it's possible, to power a block you need a wire running towards it, which it won't if there is another wire next to it (it'll turn into a corner, rather than a straight line, or a T if there is another wire on the other side).
Here's my best attempt. It lights everything but the middle 3 in the middle row, and you can control each torch independently with clever uses of repeaters to isolate circuits (not in the way I have it screenshotted, though):
At best you could do it with three rows using Redstone Repeaters or the classical checkerboard pattern using standard wires.
If you want to use redstone repeaters, you can make this pattern (showing the back of your wall):
If you want to use strait wires you can make this pattern:
Yes, although it won't be pretty.
The neatest thing you can do is to pulse the wall with a wall of observers watching toggleable bubble columns - switching soulsand or magma block for any other block under a column of water sources will instantly propagate updates up the column and the observers will emit a 1rt-tick pulse, too short to make the torches even blink though. This will flick trapdoors, pulse pistons, blink redstone lamps etc, though.
The much less neat solution will power the wall just fine but not infinitely, not reliably, with no easy power-off other than 'do nothing for a minute' or manual. Coat the wall with wooden buttons. Have dispensers filled with arrows aimed at them from a block away. Power the dispensers with an observer wall like above. It may be worthwhile to trigger a couple times to make sure all buttons got hit by at least one arrow, and other than waiting for the arrows to despawn, you can go and pick them up, but there's no 'off' switch.
An ugly, laggy and slowish but definitely working solution is tripwire hooks and minecarts. Cover the wall with tripwire hooks, tripwire, then more hooks on another wall. Then fill the tripwire space with minecarts. Dispense them onto short rails above, dropping onto fencegates below, letting them stack on the fencegates, activating the tripwire. Remove the support blocks using pistons and let the minecarts drop onto a sloped rail that will bring them to a breaking station to return to the top dispensers.
Cheesy solution: cover the wall with levers. Toggle manually.
Redstone blocks will do it. One behind each lamp and your good to go.
