polaraxis
Definition of "Polar Axis". The Earth revolves about an axis called the "Polar Axis" which in the northern hemisphere is aligned closely to the "North Star".

The sun also appears to rotate about this axis.

The best solar tracking mounts have the main axis aligned with the polar axis and rotates in Right Ascension, sort of East and West.

If dual axis, the secondary axis is oriented 90° to the polar axis and rotates in DEClination, sort of North and South.

To set the Polar Axis, angle the North end up from the North horizon by your local LATitude.

pseudo
Definitions of "True Polar Axis" vs. "Pseudo Polar Axis".

There is quite a bit of confusion about "True" vs "Pseudo" polar axis mounts and how they operate.
There is a very nice explanation of how to setup "True Polar Axis" mounts for satellite dishes.
Solar applications are essentially the same.
signals
See the Satellite Signals web page:
"Explanation of satellite antenna polar mount"
Polar Mounts
Polar Example 1
Polar Example 2
Polar Mount 5
and others on the page.
Thank you Satellite Signals!

Polar Mounts on Wikipedia
Satellite Dishes on Wikipedia

The difference between solar and satellite use is the solar application will have no offset angle. The sun is a long distance away and the satellites are much closer. Offset angle is caused by ones location on the earth. At locations other than on the equator the one needs to look down a bit to see the satellite at an orbit of 23,000 miles. This effect is essentially nil for the sun at 93,000,000 miles.

True DEClination is the seasonal adjustment, a tilt "ON" the main or polar axis. Not the polar axis itself. The example shown is for a satellite dish but is equally applicable to anything needing to be tracked. Once the true polar axis is set it is permanently fixed never to be changed. Seasonal adjustment is done only with the DEClination angle.

Lots of people have what I call "Pseudo Polar Axis" mounts. They adjust the main axis up and down to simulate true DEClination. Moving the main axis up and down is what I call "Pseudo Declination". This works OK for flat panel or low concentration use, 10X or so. However, there is considerable tracking error compared to the true mounts. Error is greater near the solstices and zero at the equinoxes. I would not use a pseudo polar axis mount on any concentrator of more than 10X or so.

Of course the daily motion, or Right Ascension, works in the normal way.

Just to be complete:
Some satellite dish mounts are designed to be moved purely manually. These generally don't have the "Offset" adjustment. Without the offset adjustment these can only be used for "Pseudo Polar Axis" mounts.

Great page on dish specs.
Polar Mounts on Geo Orbit

Dish      Focal   Image  Real
Diameter  Length  Diam.  Diam.  F/D  
C-Band (The Big Dishes)
 6' 1.8m  ?       ?      ?      ?   
 8' 2.4m  36"     0.36"  3.5"   0.40
10' 3.0m  48"     0.48"  4.25"  0.40
12' 3.7m  51"     0.51"  4.5"   0.48
KU-Band (Direct Broadcast)
?   ?    ?        ?      ?      ?

High winds are unpredictable. Especially a type of wind called a "Downburst" or "Microburst".

This is usually the highest survivable wind. OK, tornados have much higher wind speeds but are not survivable nor predictable. Hurricanes have very high winds and quite predictable so the panels can be removed and stored.

When I design tracking mounts I use the local building code horizontal wind loading specification. In my locality this is 10 lbs/_ft² at 90_mph. In Florida this is 15 lbs/_ft² at 105_mph. I assume the tracking mount must withstand these winds in any orientation at any time.

Normal "weather" based wind is generally limited to a peak of about 70_mph or about 5 lbs/_ft².

Wind pressure can be calculated with this general equation.
(Speed_mph * .0237)³ = lbs/_ft²

BTW, some localities such as mountain tops and deep in valleys can have peak wind speeds far in excess of the above recommendations.

I never use wind sensors for shutdown because this would only give false security. Just make the mount strong enough in the first place and you shouldn't have any problems.

Some ask why not "Table" or park with the face in a horizontal position looking strait up at the zenith. Several reasons.

1. Hail damage is more likely in this position.

2. Some want to move into the table position when a wind sensor detects high winds. They mistakenly think they can save cost by using a lighter weight mount. However, in the case of a downburst, which can happen in seconds, there wouldn't be enough time to go to the table position. The wind sensor is just "False Security". Make the mount strong enough to take any reasonable wind at any time in any orientation.

3. When parked overnight with the face oriented, generally looking at the horizon, snow and ice sliding off in the morning partially cleans the surface. (Of course, periodic maintenance cleaning must still be done, but the snow really does a good job until springtime.)

4. And of course, with a dish it would just fill with water. Nice for the birds but bad for the reflector.

windsensor
However, it would be nice to record high winds if they do occur. Here is an excel spreadsheet that calculates the parameters of a simple and reliable type of one shot wind sensor I call a "Ball On Pipe Wind Sensor".

torque

force

I have the standard LED3XS24Vc3P solar tracker available for sale for $35.00us fully assembled. This includes the power connector and 5 pins (an extra pin, just in case).

I have a number of variations for special applications. Please email me for particulars on special application trackers including versions with:
1. ReMote sensors, single or dual axes
2. High drive voltages
3. No-Parking
4. Reverse Inhibit for fast motors drives
5. Remote Shutdown for things like thermostatic over temperature controls
6. Limit Switches with Normally Open contacts.

sh
Shipping & handling is $4.00us for any number of trackers or devices in the US.
Shipping & handling is $10.00us for any number of trackers or devices in the outside the US
to almost anywhere in the world.
I accept checks, money orders, and funds in "US DOLLARS ONLY".
Make checks payable to "Duane C. Johnson".

wu
Use Western Union:
http://www.westernunion.com/Home
Just email me the Western Union Money Transfer Control Number (MTCN).
If you entered a query question please give me the correct response answer!

Please don't forget to include: Your shipping address.
The part numbers and the quantities of what you want me to send to you.

Places I can't ship to:
Jamaica
Mexico
Packages just get "lost".
Use FedEx, UPS, or DHL at about $95us for 6 day service.
Or a private shipping service in the US. I call these "Smuggler Address".

Problematic shipping to:
Many times Canada takes 6 weeks, especially British Columbia.

I don't accept credit cards.

whatubuilding
What are you building?
   Be very specific.
   Got any pictures?
What is the tracking mount type?
   Vertical axis, AZimuth/ALTitude? (Generally not recommended)
   Horizontal axis? (Usually for parabolic troughs, or LFRs(Linear Fresnel Reflectors))
   Polar axis, Right ASCension/DEClination? (The best)
   Possibly a Heliostat mirror?
What is being tracked?
   PV Panels?
   Thermal Panels?
   Dish or Trough Concentrators?
What motors are you using?
   How fast do they move?
   How much time to move 180 degrees?
   How much power do they take?
   How much current do they consume?
Where are you located?
   The Longitude?
   The Latitude?

address
Postal Address:
Duane C. Johnson
Red Rock Energy
12181 375th St.
North Branch, MN
USA 55056-6799

Email address:
Duane C. Johnson <redrok@redrok.com>

Phone number:
(651)583-2265 days and evenings. Central time zone.

Note! All the standard trackers have the "Parking" feature unless otherwise noted.

Part Number	LED3X Solar Trackers For Sale	Cost
sellled3xs24vc3p LED3XS24Vc3P	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with Parking	$35us
sellled3xs24vc3pkit LED3XS24Vc3PKIT	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker KIT with Parking	$20us
sellled3xs24vc3rip LED3XS24Vc3RIP	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with Reverse Inhibit & Parking	$45us
sellled3xs24vc3ri12” LED3XS24Vc3RI12”	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with Reverse Inhibit, & 12” Pigtails +Red, Yellow, Blue, and -Black	$45us
sellled3xs48vc3rip LED3XS48Vc3RIP	48 Volt Single Axis Solar Tracker with Reverse Inhibit & Parking	$50us
sellled3xs24vc3ripkit LED3XS24Vc3RIPKIT	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker KIT with Reverse Inhibit & Parking	$30us
sellleddrm24vc3pppack LEDDRM24Vc3PPPack	Standard Dual Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, & Parking on both axes	$90us
sellleddrm24vc3pppackkit LEDDRM24Vc3PPPackKIT	Standard Dual Axis Solar Tracker KIT with ReMote sensor, & Parking on both axes	$60us
sellleddrm24vc3ripppack LEDDRM24Vc3RIPPPack	Standard Dual Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking on both axes	$110us
sellleddrm24vc3ripppackkit LEDDRM24Vc3RIPPPackKIT	Standard Dual Axis Solar Tracker KIT with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking on both axes	$80us
sellledsrm24vc3ppack LEDSRM24Vc3PPack	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, & Parking	$45us
sellledsrm24vc3rippack LEDSRM24Vc3RIPPack	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking	$55us
sellledsrm24vc3rinpack LEDSRM24Vc3RINPack	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & No Parking	$55us
sellledsrm48vc3rippack LEDSRM48Vc3RIPPack	48 Volt Single Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking	$60us
sellleddrm48vc3ripppack LEDDRM48Vc3RIPPPack	48 Volt Dual Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking on both axes	$120us
sellledsrm24vc3ppackkit LEDSRM24Vc3PPackKIT	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker KIT with ReMote sensor, & Parking	$30us
sellledsrm24vc3rippackkit LEDSRM24Vc3RIPPackKIT	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker KIT with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & Parking	$40us
sellledsrm24vc3rinpackkit LEDSRM24Vc3RINPackKIT	Standard Single Axis Solar Tracker KIT with ReMote sensor, Reverse Inhibit, & No Parking	$40us
sellledsrm24vc3rinpackkit LEDSRM24Vc3RINPackKIT	Standard Power unit with Reverse Inhibit, & 12” Pigtails +Red, Yellow, Blue, and -Black	$40us
sellri RI	Reverse Inhibit Module	$10us
sellls LS	Normally Open Limit Switch Module for use with Normally Open, NO, switches Note! Not recommended as its not "Failsafe".	$10us
sellrils RILS	RI & LS Module Again, Not recommended as its not "Failsafe".	$15us
sellsarms SARMS	Single Axes ReMote sensor Module. Specify if "Parking" or "No Parking" is desired?	$10us
selldarms DARMS	Dual Axes ReMote sensor Module. Specify if "Parking" or "No Parking" is desired and on which axes?	$20us

Top. Normal operation between limit switches.
Middle. The left limit switch has opened to stop movement to the left. To move to the right again the diode conducts current that allows movement to the right.
Bottom. The right limit switch has opened to stop movement to the right. To move to the left again the diode conducts current that allows movement to the left.

Select a diode or rectifier rated at the maximum motor current plus some margin. Also the voltage should be at least 100V and preferably 200V.

Needles to say, the limit switch must operate before the mechanical limits are reached. If the mechanical stop is reached before the switch the motor can draw quite high currents and can destroy the solar tracker, motors or even the thing being tracked.

This is a nice limit switch at Burdens Surplus Center and other sources.
This type of switch is often called a "Refrigerator Light Switch".

limitthermostat

Limit switches can be used in combination with a "Normally Closed" type thermostat. These thermostats "Open" when the temperature is greater than the set point. This circuit assumes the thermal storage can absorb the heat delivered to the storage for the time it takes the sun to move sufficiently of axis to reduce output.
Another method is to use a thermostat with the Remote Shutdown option to prevent over temperature conditions.

Of course, parking and limit switch operation is unaffected.

power
Some have expressed an interest in driving high powered loads, more than 10A or so, beyond the capabilities of the H-Bridge driver transistors. To this end I developed several high powered driver circuits using relays, (actually their almost the same circuit as in the relay trackers Relay, Led1, Led2).

Ok, lets get serious here, there is no earthly reason to require high powered motors. The Sun moves very slowly so low power motors with high gear ratios work best.

relaydc1
RelayDC1
Relay circuit that uses DC relays. The DC motor in this case is a permanent magnet DC type which is reversible. The capacitors are used to prevent relay chatter. The value must be tested with your relays. The value may range from 10µF to as much as 1000µF depending on the relay characteristics.

I basically don't recommend using relays or contactors in DC current solar tracker applications. The tracker will be energizing them thousands of times each day. This tends to wear out the contacts, especially in DC circuits. In 10 years that would be about 7 million operations. Not all relays can handle that.
Stick with solid state circuits which don't have a wear out problem.

If you have to use relays make sure they are SPECIFICALLY rated for use in low voltage high current DC applications. Mercury Plunger relays are the best as they also don't have a wear out problem.

relayac1
RelayAC1
Relay circuit that uses AC relays. The AC motor in this case is a capacitor run type.

relayac2
RelayAC2
Relay circuit that uses AC Solid State relays with 3 to 32 VDC control inputs. The AC motor in this case is a capacitor run type.

manualops
LED3XManual
Some have expressed an interest in adding a switch to manually move the array for test or cleaning. One of these circuits, when added between the tracker and actuator, will allow manual movement.

Some of my commercial customers like the 2nd circuit. Essentially, forward and reverse manual motion is done with 2 pre wired plugs. Just unplug from the tracker and insert the pre wired plug. This guarantees that no damage can be done to the tracker because it is entirely out of the picture.

The power contacts are sized to accept a wire size up to 18 gauge. I usually use 24 gauge. High current motors may need a bit larger wire. However, even for high current motors large wire size is not required as the average current is less than an average of 3.75A.

The tracker was designed to be used in the northern hemisphere and park in the east. The components will then be up on the board. To use in the southern hemisphere flip it over with the components down. If the motor tracks in the wrong direction just flip the motor leads around.

If you want to park in the west, (not recommended), flip the circuit opposite from above.

c1connections
c3connections

trough
rowe
Patrick Rowe's system based on the Solar Resources International SOL R BEAM thermal parabolic trough

Patrick Rowe is using an LED3XS24Vc1RM variant. It has an external LED sensor. This tracker is driving an American Science & Surplus DC gear motor. In this case the gear motor is being tested for use with a trough solar hot water heater. I believe the motor turns at 1.6 RPM and consumes 300mA @ 12V.

This turns a bit fast without speed reduction but this was only a test besides it can be slowed down considerably with the duty cycle control. The diode that shows on the side of the motor is one of two across the limit switches on this gear motor. The motor was originally used on vending machines, and paper shredders, however it is no longer in their catalog.

The commercial trough on which the LED3X is installed. The original tracker had given up the ghost several years before. The four troughs are mechanically linked together.

The Motor is in the box on the right with a gear reduction in the center with the crank and linkage on the left.

Insulated hot water piping and what looks to be a Kee Klamp frame. See:
Kee Klamps

The glass baby food jar weather dome.

The control box which contains the LED3X and switches for manual operation.

Interior of the control box.

Thanks for the pictures Patrick!

Note!, the current revision LED3XS24Vc3RM variant with external sensor, and connectors costs $45us + $4us s/h. The new one includes a single axis ReMote sensor PC board called the LEDSRMP with parking. A pack of all parts is the LEDSRM24Vc3PPack.

george
plhak
George Plhak's N-S Axis Parabolic Trough Tracking Mount



Note! This animation is of an earlier revission.
(It has a different weather dome and motor drive.)

George has a beutiful looking activly tracked trough array. The parabolic troughs are arranged so the main axis oriented in a North-South direction. The North end has been elevated a bit so the main axis is between horiziontal and polar.

The water piping doesn't move, similar to Rowe's example above. This method has a distinct advantage as there are no rotary joints that can cause leaks. Cool huh!

The LED3XS24Vc3P tracker is enclosed in a weatherproof enclosure from Leviton.
The cover is a Leviton
5997-CL. George polished out the raised lettering to improve the optical properties.

George is selling plans and passibly some hardware parts for this project.
* George Plhak's Web Site.
<George Plhak>

smith
Ron Smith's N-S Axis Parabolic Trough Tracking Mount

Ron Smith has built this impressive polar axis parabolic trough water heater.

He says, "The unit runs well and produces the same water temp rise As a 7 KW mini boiler.
These 4 units will raise the water temp 20°F at 2 gallons per minute flow."

That would be:
2^gal/_min*8.35^lb/_gal*20°F*60^min/_hr=20028^BTU/_hr
Which is:
20028^BTU/_hr*0.29307^Whr/_BTU=5870W

britton
Jim Britton's parabolic trough

Jim is making a parabolic trough solar powered refrigeration system.
<jbritton@dslextreme.com>

envsolar
Paul Soucy's Environmental Solar Systems parabolic troughs


Paul of Environmental Solar Systems makes a line of parabolic trough reflectors.
They are selling this in several sizes.
He is intending this for the DIYer who wants to make their own tracking mount and receiver.
This version is 15.97ft² in area, but other sizes can be made.
The first 2 images are intended to have reflective films applied to the surface.
The third image has an anodized reflective surface.
I estimate the thermal power output to be about:
16ft²*80^W/_ft² = 1280W thermal before losses.
http://www.environmentalsolarsystems.com
<envsolar@comcast.net>

grabon
Mike Grabon's Parabolic Trough

Here at Solar Mountain Energy, we have a low cost parabolic concentrator with a fifteen square foot aperture. Our unit has a copper receiver with a selective radiation surface and a static vacuum encasement. In a 3.5ft by 6ft, 21ft², Lexan covered package it weighs in at 25 pounds. It will heat 30 gallons of water 100°F in 5 hours, or create steam.
I estimate the thermal power output to be about:
21ft² * 80^W/_ft² = 1680W thermal before losses.
They offer them for $450.00 per unit.
$450 / 1680W = $0.27/W
$450 / 21ft² = $21/ft²
Unfortunately, I think this guy has disappeared.
http://solarmtn.com
<solar.mountain@yahoo.com>
<solarmtn@aol.com>

solarthermo
Basic Solar Collector Thermodynamic Calculations
I have an Excel spreadsheet that may be useful for calculating the performance of solar collectors and collectors in combination with heat engines, especially Rankine or Steam engines.
SolarCollectorThermodynamics01.xlsx
1. I have included the steam formulas for converting between temperature and pressure. Now the formulas can use a variety of fluids other than water. Any fluid which has the "Antoine Equation" parameters can be calculated.
2. Useful for all flat plate collectors.
3. Useful for Concentrators such as Troughs, Dishes, Heliostats, and Linear Fresnel Reflectors.
4. Calculations for PV Panels vs. panel operating temperature. Also shows the rejected heat from the panel which is useful in understanding cooling requirements. Rejected heat could be used for domestic water heating.

Note!! A basic measurement needed for accurately determining performance is the "Stasis Temperature" of your particular collector. I describe how to do this in the documentation as well as in more detail here.

I wrote this using Excel 2007 but works with older versions too.
If not this version is in ".xls" format for Excel 97 to Excel 2003.
SolarCollectorThermodynamics01.xls
If you don't have Excel you can get a free version from WPS Software.

If there are any errors please report them to me at <redrok@redrok.com>.

lee
Lee's Vertical Axis Flat Panel Water Heating Tracking Mount

Gary Reysa of Build It Solar published Lee's system.

We don't see very many tracked flat panel water heaters. They are benefited by tracking by reducing cosine losses. However, they still have low collection efficiency compared to the concentrators.

He is using the LED3XS24Vc3RIP Single Axis Solar Tracker with Reverse Inhibit.

shadowing
Shadowing Calculations.

Here is an Excel spreadsheet to do some Shadowing Calculations.
Note! While I have tried to be accurate these calculations may not be fully rigorous.
Also the latitudes and angles are basically for the northern hemisphere.

set
sel
backtracking
SET, Solar Energy Technologies
was Sedonia Energy Labs
http://sedonasolartechnology.com InteliTrack
They have a horizontal East/West mounted array of PV panels.
Note! The shadowing is fairly severe so the ROTation, East/West, motion is quite limited.
They could get more energy return if oriented North/South, mainly by the reduction of shadowing effects. They prevent shadowing by employing a concept called "BackTracking" motion at the ends of the day, effectively making the array more closely resemble a "Stationary" array. Stationary arrays have sever "Cosine Losses" in the early morning and late evenings.

Worse yet, as in the picture above you can clearly see that shadowing is already occurring. Of course, if the panels were spaced further apart they could rotate more without shadowing. but that would mean length at greater expense.

As of 2017 or even a couple of years ago, PV panels are getting so cheap the East/West motion in this design is not needed at all. Just pack more panels in the same space.
( Yes, in the past I've written against this because panels were expensive.)
The extra panels will be cheaper than the cost of the East/West motion mechanism. Today this orientation, as SET described, just doesn't make sense anymore.

Remember, all East/West Horizontal Axis tracking mounts suffer severe "Cosine Losses" in the East/West direction. If you consider the total area of the mount, not just the area of the panels, there is no increase in the energy production of the SET design over the same mount area covered by panels. (Ok, the SET design may do a bit better because they have less "Snell Reflection Losses", although modern panels tend to limit this.) Anyway, if you require an East/West Horizontal Axis tracking mount just fill the mount with panels and use a single axis North/South axis tracker.

More Importantly!!!! How I would do it.

I believe this tracking mount should be orientated North/South. And possibly the North end raised to reduce the shadowing effects to greatly increase the captured energy per day. See the Excel "Shadowing Spreadsheet".

This design is well built and should be a good example of a dual axis system, if properly orientated North/South.
Adjust the spacing to prevent shadowing at solar noon on the winter solstice. Backtracking would never be needed.

They are using the Yokogawa HXS10 microprocessor solar tracking controller. This is a very nice unit, albeit fairly expensive. The HXS10 can also drive heliostats. The SET East/West mount would work nicely with mirrors for lighting heliostat applications. The Yokogawa HXS10 knows how to do this.
However, backtracking of the SET mount wouldn't be needed with a North/South orientation.

scorpius
Scorpius Trackers

Now these guys, as opposed to SET, know how to orient their "Horizontal North/South Axis" system properly. This is for a large utility sized array where they are packing a lot of panels into a given area.

I'm not going to second guess the reason they are not spacing them a bit further apart to lessen shadowing effects. I suspect they are maximizing power output near noon vs more even power output for more of the day with more spacing.

You can see the "BackTracking" motion to prevent any shadowing, similar to the motion in the SET design.

Scorpius does have a unique flexible, kind of a leaf spring, mechanism which eliminates any bearings.
Very cool!!!
However, I suspect there may be problems under high winds where vortex shedding may cause oscillations. Especially if a resonance is encountered.

Their design used springs. However, a similar thing can be done with tension bands or cables wrapped around a pair of circular cylinders.

loonstra
Andra Loonstra's "Horizontal North/South Axis" with Tilted Panels"

epicycloid
An Epicycloid Bearing

Red in this image is the cable or tension bands. Notice how the upper circle rotates 180° while only going 90° around the lower circle. This arrangement is also used to effect the bisector motion in the "Receiver Axis Heliostat" designs.
There is a bit of a problem with the above diagram for use in solar tracking mounts.
It's out of balance, just as in the satellite dishes. It would be better if the rolling part rolled under the stationary part like this:

And since it need only rotate 180°:

While there is metal to metal contact I'm not sure it can be called a "bearing" as the metal surfaces don't slide over each other. Just as in the Scorpius spring design no lubricants would be needed.

Technically, the Epicycloid Bearing can be superior to the Scorpius design as it can rotate at least 180° and probably to 360°.

See some info on the Epicycloid Curve. This example would be of the "k = 1" form.

youtube
Some youtube videos using my trackers.
djpitrut
djpitr made a YouTube video showing his system.
Tracking throughout the day
A heliostat in the works
bomba
bomba244's Tracking Chair
scrapit85 made a YouTube video showing his system.
windysolar
windysolar1's Vertical axis mount. Part 1
windysolar1's Dual Axis Vertical axis mount. Part 2
windysolar1's Dual Axis Vertical axis mount. Part 3
windysolar1's Dual Axis Vertical axis mount. More
gray
Andrew Gray is building a multi trough parabolic water heating array. Part 1
Andrew Gray doing some testing. Part 2
Andrew Gray mounted one element in the frame. Part 3
Andrew Gray rearranged the frame to a North/South orientation. Much better! Part 4
Andrew Gray has completed 2 of the troughs and the embedded computer control system that keep them aligned with the sun. Part 5
Andrew Gray has them all done and ready to be mounted on the roof. Part 6
sportsmandave
Sportsmandave's Single Axis Pseudo Polar Axis C-Band Satellite dish mount.
Roberts
Paul Roberts's Single Axis Pseudo Polar Axis mount.
Andrew
Andrew Thompson's Array of Vertical Axis mount.
This is an amazingly large array of tracked PV panels. Each mount is rotated with cables from a central drive mechanism. A single LED3XS24Vc3P tracker drives a Suzuki windshield wiper motor. The gear reduction train is made from a string of bicycle derailleurs and a large plywood final "Not A Sprocket". Very Cool!!
Andrew is having a bit of a tracking problem when starting up in the morning.
1. It was parked in the east overnight.
2. When the sun comes up it heads to the west and is stuck there for hours.
3. If manually positioned to aim at the sun it tracks fine.
All that light blocking tape was an experiment which didn't really work.
Andrew now tried a "Gate" using a black paper card between the sensors. While this is an improvement I suspect this may not work at all times of the year.
I think the problem is caused by having the tracker located behind the front row of PV Panels to the south. The backside is white and highly reflective. The tracker can get confused by the bright reflections.
My suggestion is to mount the tracker on top of the middle PV Panel to the south and not use the tape nor the gate.
Andrew has moved the tracker to the top of a panel in the front row eliminating the earlier problems. Watch the system searching for the optimal direction.
Andrew describes in more detail about why there were tracking problems with the tracker mounted low down on his large "Not A Sprocket" drive wheel.
He also describes a fix for his out of round "Not A Sprocket".
See: thompson
fearlessthinker
RED ROCK LED3X - Solar Tracker Circuit KIT - Assembly and test. Tom made this cool YouTube video showing us how to assemble an LED3XS24Vc3PKIT. Thanks Tom!
canbe
Tightas Canbe: demonstration of LED3X driving a linear actuator. Solar tracker for satellite dish mounted solar panel array
Tightas Canbe: Solar Array on a not-so-sunny day
Tightas Canbe: Solar Day January 23 2016
Tightas Canbe: Solar tracker for second array now installed and working
Tightas Canbe: Solar Array Number Two
Tightas Canbe: Solar PV
Tightas Canbe: Solar Pot Roast
Tightas Canbe: Solar Squash
Tightas Canbe: Doubt the power of the sun?

paulpakelson
Paul Pakelson's system

I did not supply the tracker for his tracking mount but it is a nice example. Thanks paul for the picture.

lancette
Bernie Lancette's PV Array Tracking Mount



A very nice example of a PV tracking array.

This design uses a "Sanka" coffee glass jar mounted on an aluminum plug he machined. It includes an O ring for a seal and friction lock. This plug is threaded onto a conduit which acts as a mast, a wire way, and a vent.

The motor is a Grainger 2l008. 8 rpm with a gear ratio of 603/1.
The gearbox is made by Winsmith Inc. It's a double worm gear type with a gear ratio of 2000/1. I could not find it on their web site though.

This makes for a total gear ratio of about 1,200,000/1.

instructable1
Solar PV tracker, as featured in an Instructable.

This is an interesting tracking mount based on bicycle wheel rims for use as the bearings.
This tracking mount is described in an Instructable. See:
The Instructable
Solar_PV_tracker
.PDF of The Instructable
bwitmer_Solar_PV_tracker.pdf

Note! There is a serious flaw in this Instructable.
The tracker needs to be mounted on the panel and not on the vertical pole as in bwitmer's instructions.
I have tried several times to get him to edit this Instructable but he hasn't done it yet nor has he returned my messages. I gave up.
Also, if the small linear actuator is used, which is probably in the "Fast" category, the
LED3XS24Vc3RIP $45us plus shipping tracker with reverse inhibit feature should be used with these fast motors.
However, I would not recommend the use of linear actuators for this tracking mount!

A bicycle wheel rim is perfect for a "Rotary Motion" drive.
The rim is basically a large diameter pulley, what could be better?

Rotary Motion Concept for use with this Instructable.

Small high gear ratio DC motors are a much better choice for the drive motor, and a lot cheaper too!
Use this motor:
| Burden Sales Surplus Center
| http://www.surpluscenter.com
| 2 RPM 12 VDC GEARMOTOR $15
| http://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?item=5-1763
Or the Dayton 2L003 gearmotor from Graingers.

LED3XS24Vc3P $35us plus shipping tracker can be used with high gear ratio motor drives.

Cut a large rubber band out of a bicycle inner tube and use the motor shaft itself as the drive pulley.
Or use the large red rubber inner tube protector as shown in his images.

I recommend adding a counter weight to the wheel that is opposite the panel to balance the weight.

Shipping is $4us inside the us or $10us outside the us for any quantities.

Limit switches are required.

tomwolf
Tom Wolf's system

wolfgang
Wolfgang Schmidt's tracking system on a boat deck

Wolfgang <wschmidt@smartt.com>
is making tracking solar panels for boats. He plans to sell them. Neat huh!

The vertical axis mount can turn 360°s. They are equipped with slip rings to bring the power to the boats battery charging system.

The solar trackers are the LED3XS24Vc1NP, $40us. These have been modified with the "no park" feature, (see below). This was required as the orientation of the boat changes constantly.

This project has been a bit of a struggle. We first tried to to use the LED5 low power solar tracker as Wolfgang was using high gear ratio motors rated at 100mA. However, during storms the high winds caused overloading and burned them out. Unfortunately the standard LED3X high power solar tracker would try to park at night, but there are no limit switches in the system which would cause the panels to turn all night, not good. The solution was to add the "no park" feature which worked perfectly for him.

See how the constant tilt PV panels can rotate under the boat railings.

teton
fitch
Fresnel Dish

What the William Fitch's Fresnel Dish looks like before mirrors are added.
This is ????'s version of the Teton Engineering / Mother Earth News Fresnel dish.
I have a copy of the The Mother Earth News version here:
tmen
* The TMEN article. evacuatedtube
William Fitch's Evacuated Tube Polar Axis Mount

William Fitch is using an LED3X on an evacuated tube water heating panel.
Bill's power supply is a simple 24V transformer, 4 diode bridge, and large capacitor.
He had problems burning actuator brushes. I recommended he use the center tap on the secondary
to reduce the peak voltage from about 34V to 17V.
http://www.WeAreSolar.com
<William H Fitch III>

martinez
Vincent Martinez's Test Tracking Mount

Vincent made a mock-up using two car rear view mirror electrical motors plus a few plastic gears.
This was a test for him to become familiar with the equipment before fit it on the real big one in three years or so.
The tracker version he is using is the LEDDRM24Vc3PPPack, a dual axis tracker with a ReMote sensor head. Notice the shadow blocker.
<vincent.mrtnz@hotmail.fr>

solartony
Solar Tony's Weather Dome

Solar is using a Glass Hazardous Environment light fixture for his weather dome.
You can see the dual axis remote sensor with its shadow blocker.
The tracker version he is using is the LEDDRM24Vc3PPPack,
a dual axis tracker with a ReMote sensor head.

theismann
John Theismann's Small Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount


This is a very nice example of a pseudo polar axis mount. The basic mount is built with threaded water pipe and 45° elbows. The drive motor is a Grainger's 2L003 gearmotor with 7000/1 gear ratio. The final gear ratio is about 8/1 for a total of about 56,000/1. Note, the final gear is made from a 180° segment of an internal gear ring. OK, I would like it longer but John says it works nicely with the standard LED3XS24Vc3P running on 12V.
John has a pair of limit switches to limit the mechanical travel. He also has manual motion switches for experimental purposes.
John has a homemade wind generator.
<John G Theismann >
John originally had an <MTM Scientific> tracker but it didn't work well so he got mine instead.

moore
Kevin Moore's Tracking Mount

Kevin's found some very nice looking sidewalk lighting units that can be a bit modified to be used as weather domes. There was a kind of pagoda structure that was cut off. There is also a nice weather tight 1/2" threaded EMT port on the bottom.
Nice work!

He choose to use a pair of single axis LED3XS24Vc3P trackers. The mount is a rebuilt Wattsun unit.

hoskin
Christopher Hoskin's Tracking Mount

Christopher wrote:

" Thanks, the LED3X is an elegant design, and I speak as an engineer. I stuck it in an outdoor lighting can I got from the local hardware store.

I've included a couple of pictures, including one that shows the original Wattsun controller (now defunct, but still useful as a shadow post). I originally built up this system to see if it was possible to charge my electric bikes solely from a small PV setup. This answer seems to be: yes, for about 5 months of the year in Seattle.

I got the can at Lowes hardware here in Seattle. It's a Luxar #144175 black 10W halogen light made by Manor House. I stole the weatherproof cable entries from the original Wattsun tracker, and bent up the internal bracket that held the light to mount the board (how about another mounting hole on the board, btw). The best thing about the can is the front glass screws off to make adjustments, but still has a nice rubber gasket to seal against weather when on."

lexan
Douglas Hutchinson's Machined Lexan Weather Dome

Very nice weather dome. This is machined in 2 halves and bolted together. He will be casting the next blocks using acrylic casting resin to form the space needrd for the LRDDRM dual axis sensor.

Note, I do not recommend casting the circuitry in the resin as, long term, there can be damage to solder joints due to differential thermal expansion.

scratchbuilt

lenox
Dan Lenox's Pseudo Polar Axis Solar Build Chronicle
Briery Mountain Enterprises, LLC


Dan Lenox has developed a nice pseudo polar axis solar tracking mount.
He has extensively documented his build on his website.
He is using one of my single axis LED3X solar trackers.
<dlenox@briery.com>
http://www.briery.com/solar/index.html
Here is a full discription of how Don built this:
http://www.briery.com/solar/solar_tracker.html

witherspoon
Gary Witherspoon's Dual Axis Tracking pseudo polar axis Mount


Gary Witherspoon builds dual axis tracking mounts commercially.
These are Dual Axis Tracking pseudo polar axis Mount designs.
He uses my LED3X series of trackers to control them.
Please contact him for pricing. <garyrw@direcway.com>

pezant
Ed Pezant's Dual Axis Tracking pseudo polar axis Mount

Ed has an Enphase Energy data logger.
Click this link and see how he's been doing.

Micro Inverters.

carmen
Walter Carmens's Single Axis Tracking pseudo polar axis Mount


Walter modified a fixed PV panel mounts by Power-Fab.
Note, how he added pivots on the ends of the pseudo polar axis main bar.
This allows the PowerTech QARL-2436 (HV-36) linear actuator to move the panels in Right Ascension (directly follows the path of the sun).

juiceguy
Henry Boschen's Single Axis Horizontal Mount



Ya, I said "Horizontal Axis" mount. Even though it is mounted on a pole
the main axis is horizontal oriented from East to West.

Henry modified a fixed PV panel mounts by Power-Fab.
This is an unusual application with limited sun exposure. There is no East/West motion.
The PowerTech QARL-2436 (HV-36) linear actuator moves the panels in ALTitude only.
The motion is from nearly vertical in the South to flat at the zenith and somewhat over the top to the North.
Ok, this is not an ideal tracking motion but was the best for this location.

The weather dome is the glass Model: 62480 replacement globe from an outdoor light sold at Menards.
The glass is fairly thin and nearly wrinkle free.
If you look closely the base is from a clear plastic drinking cup
with a removable screw on lid and the cup bottom is cut off.
The tapered sides fits snugly into the glass dome and glued in place.
Note, the white nylon rope used as a wick type vent.

The tracker is an LED3XS24Vc3P mounted in the North/South orientation.

bernd
Bernd's Dual Axis Tracking pseudo polar axis Mount

This is a nice design. The pseudo declination drive has not been added yet.

meunier
Denis Meunier's Dual Axis Tracking Vertical Axis Mounts

Denis Meunier builds single and dual axis tracking mounts commercially.
These are Vertical Axis designs.
He uses my LED3X series of trackers to control them.
He is in Canada. Please contact him for pricing. <deny@mcsnet.ca>

plunk
Virgil Plunk's Dual Axis Tracking Mount

Virgil Plunk made a huge dual axis PV array.
<vlp2@sbcglobal.net>

kozlowski
Rich Kozlowski's Dual Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount

Rich is using an older LED3XS24Vc1 tracker.
He has a nice weather based web site.
http://www.rsklogic.com/weather

mcintyre
Jeff McIntyre's PV Pseudo Polar Axis Mount

Jeff McIntyre built this very nice pseudo polar axis mount.
This uses a single axis LED3XS24Vc3P in the jar.
He lives in New Hampshire
DEClination is seasonally adjusted with the pair of large bolts.
Jeff has an extensive weather webpage.
Video of the last 24 hours of his tracking system.
<jeff@maccnh.com>

bray
Duncan Bray's PV Pseudo Polar Axis Mount


Duncan Bray built this very nice pseudo polar axis mount.
This uses a single axis LED3XS24Vc3P in the jar.
He lives in New South Wales, Australia.

rhodes
David Rhodes's PV Pseudo Polar Axis Mount



David built this very nice pseudo polar axis mount. In this case it's high up on a pipe. 6 Helios 250 watt panels. Movement is with large linear actuators.
Note the counter balance weights to balance things out. I highly recommend doing this.
The last picture is an older mount with 8 185 watt Sharp Panels.

tripod
luke
Joseph Luke's PV Polar Axis Tripod Mount


Joseph built this very nice tripod mount that uses a single axis tracker. The main leg is angled up from horizontal at the sites LATitude.
OK, not actually a tripod as the north end is a vertical pole but the concept is the same. The tracker used in this case is an LED3XS24Vc3RIP with the reverse inhibit feature.

javier
Javier Aguirre's PV True Polar Axis Bipod Mount


<Javier> built this very nice tripod mount that uses a single axis tracker. The main leg is angled up from horizontal, on the North, by the sites LATitude of about 34° in Arizona.
The vertical legs are made from very heavy drill stem.
OK, not actually a tripod as the north end is a vertical pole but the concept is the same. The tracker used in this case is an LED3XS24Vc3RIP with the Reverse Inhibit feature.
<Javier> said he would be willing to help if anyone had questions regarding construction of a similar system.

See:Tripod Mounts

There is a problem. The tracker is not oriented correctly. It should be tilted up 90° from what you see in the picture. Sure, it still operates in a normal manor but the directional sensitivity is reduced.

That weather dome is an outdoor light fixture. Yes, its thick glass which I don't generally like but this one is working fine.

hill
Dave Hill's Dual PV Polar Axis Tripod Mount


<Dave> built this very nice dual tripod mount that uses a single axis tracker with a second mount linked to the first. It looks to me more could be linked together, The main leg is angled up from horizontal at the sites LATitude.
OK, another one one leg short of a tripod. The tracker used in this case is an LED3XS24Vc3P in a nice domed plastic electrical box.

energyoptions
Energy Options PV Polar Axis Tripod Mount

Energy Options has this very nice tripod mount for sale that uses a single axis tracker. The main leg is angled up from horizontal at the sites LATitude.
OK, not actually a tripod as the north end is a vertical pole but the concept is the same. The tracker used in this case is an LED3XS24Vc3RIP with the reverse inhibit feature.
This example has a link between several mounts with a linear actuator moving the set. Very cool!

gordon


Glen Gordon's Pseudo Polar Axis Tripod Mounts.
He has 7 of these, WOW!!! They are VERY nicely done. They look very strong compared to mounting on top of a post.
He is tracking each of them with an LED3XS24Vc3P and driving each 24V C-Band linear actuator from 12V to slow them down.
Seasonal adjustment of the Pseudo Polar axis is accomplished by changing the high end mounting height.

brown
Robert Brown's Tripod Polar Tracking Mount


Robert Brown lives in the UK. His mount is loosly based on the polar axis designs of Martin Poulek's Traxle Tripod mounts.

The panel drive is a linear actuator from Firgelli Automations. Part # FA-05-12-24. Rob says they seem of good quality and the price was right. However, the limit switches are not adjustable on this design and it's a bit fast at 3/4"/s.

Easterly extent is limited by one of the actuator's limit switches. The geometry extents do not permit the use of the other one for Westerly extent, which does not signify at this time of year, but I am going to fit a separate switch for that, one of the coil-spring sensor ones, like a pinball machine switch, before the days get longer. The output goes to a junction box in the greenhouse with an armored cable, of handsome cross-section, running to the basement of the house.

Robert's glass weather dome was a bit cramped to be able to use the connector which extends out the back end. So he soldered his wires directly to the board pins.

Note! I can supply the unit with the connector mounted in other orientations:
1. Strait up, roughly along the power MOSFETs.
2. Strait down from the bottom of the board.
3. Forward mounted under the board.
4. Rearward mounted under the board.
5. Or no connector at all, just 12", ( or any other length ), wire pigtails.
6. And the standard, mounted rearward on top of the board.

Robert glued the board to the top of a plastic post using epoxy. While this can be done successfully gluing is generally not a good idea. Especially don't use the RTV silicone with acetic acid retarder. The acid can damage the board or prevent proper operation of the circuit. And don't do anything to the front end of the board forward of the IR2184 MOSFET drivers.

I just don't recommend gluing at all. There is a hole in the corner of the board that accepts a 4-40 machine screw.

simmons
Walter Simmons' PV Pseudo Polar Axis Mount

Walter Simmons built this very nice pseudo polar axis mount.
This uses a dual axis LED3X in the old C-based electric meter enclosure.
It has ten 48v 42w panels and four 12v 15w panels mounted on the array.
Two of the 15W panels supply power for the tracker and two charge his generator starting batteries
He lives in Texas.

satellite

roberts
Paul Roberts's Satellite Dish Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount.

Paul has a blog describing how he's constructing his solar tracking mount, based on a satellite dish mount, which will be a grid tied system.
He's using an LED3XS24Vc3P standard single axis tracker.

taylor
Marshall Taylor's Semi Portable PV Mount based on a Satellite Dish Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount.

Marshal setup this PV system at the 2004 Burning Man Festival.
This uses an LED3XS24Vc3P in the jar.
This mount originally was a C-band satellite dish mount.
<marshall@perilith.com>

wylan
Joel Wylan's Array of Satellite Dish Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mounts.

Joel, from Florida, made these from old C-band satellite dish mounts.

parish
Jim Parish's Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount based on Satellite Dish Mounts.





The tracker is made from old C-band satellite dish mount.
Jim is using the standard single axis LED3XS24Vc3P trackers.
Note! The concrete block bases do not anchor the pole mounts sufficiently to the Earth. Several of these were over turned in high strait line winds. Thankfully none of the PV panels were dammaged.

flores
Roberto Flores' Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount based on a Satellite Dish Mount.

The tracker is made from old C-band satellite dish parts, a 24 inch’s actuator on a pseudo polar axis mount.
<roberto_fm@hotmail.com>

volvo
Volvo Farmer's Satellite Dish Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount




Volvo Farmers C-band satellite dish based pseudo polar axis tracking mount.
See the story here:
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/3/6/12351/04204
http://www.fieldlines.com/story/2006/7/8/20847/11730

djpitr
djpitr's Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount based on a Satellite Dish Mount.

He is using an LED3XS24Vc3P single axis tracker.
djpitr made a YouTube video showing his system.
Tracking throughout the day
A heliostat in the works

scrapit85
scrapit85's Pseudo Polar Axis Tracking Mount based on a Satellite Dish Mount.

He is using an LED3XS24Vc3P single axis solar tracker.
scrapit85 made a YouTube video showing his system.

moleiro
Alexandre Moleiro's PV Pseudo Polar Axis Mount based on a Satellite Dish Mount.


This is an old 1.8m satellite dish mount with some minor modifications. He made a drawing for the rack and mast and had it made by a local welder.

The LED3XS24Vc3P is in the glass jar.

It has six 75W panels with space for two more. He also has a wind turbine. They power his ham-radio station and the lighting for his house in Portugal.

wheelrim
garrison
Steve Garrison's Vertical Axis Tracking Mount based on a Satellite Dish Mount.

This is a Vertical Axis mount.

The vertical axis can rotate as many degrees as required. The drum, actually a small tire rim, is fixed to the main pole. The cable is moved with the linear actuator. When moving the actuator assembly and dish rotate about the fixed drum in AZimuth. The dish moves in ALTitude with the secondary tilt actuator.

He is using an LEDDRMPP24Vc3Pack Standard Dual Axis Solar Tracker with ReMote sensor and parking on both axes.

In general the mechanics works well but the speed of rotation is to fast. Linear actuators already move fairly fast, this makes things move even faster.

vertical

thompson
Andrew Thompson's 4KW Array of Vertical Axis Tracking Mounts.

notasprocket



Andrew is located in England at a latitude of about 54°North.

The basic array motion is done with cables wrapped around wheel rims and driven by a single centrally located solar tracker, (in this case an LED3XS24Vc3RIP). The tracker is mounted on a large diameter chain driven pulley or "Not A Sprocket". The plane of this pulley is parallel to the plane of the main axes of the multiple tracking mounts. Note, the chain is bolted to the "Not A Sprocket" just as the cable is bolted to the wheel rims so there can be no slippage.

The gear motor's, in this case a small Suzuki windshield wiper motor, relatively fast rotation speed of 50 rpm is converted to a low speed high force drive through a string of bicycle derailleurs and a final plywood "Not A Sprocket". This is mounted on top of a wheel rim of the same size and orientation, vertical axis, as those on the multiple tracking mounts.

A single cable is wrapped around the multiple wheel rims. Since all the the wheel rims are the same diameter they all rotate synchronously at the same rate and controlled by the tracker.

In this case the tracking mounts are arranged vertically or aimed 90° above the horizon to the zenith and rotates about the horizon in AZimuth. He has a secondary horizontal axis manually adjustable in ALTitude. This is not ideal as good AZimuth/ALTitude tracking mounts should have dual axis trackers to gain maximum energy per day, about 20% or so over a fixed ALTitude. With the cable arrangement it would be difficult to do this so the energy per day will be a bit less than ideal. Even so, there will be significant energy per day gains over fixed mounts.

Andrew had been having tracking problems that I think was caused by reflections from the back sides of the front row of PV Panels. The back side is white and diffusely reflects a lot of light which was confusing the tracker in the morning. By moving the tracker to the top of a PV Panel in the south, or front, row these problems have been eliminated.

Gear ratio calculations:
1. Suzuki gearbox = 40/1 (my guess)
2. 7 derailleurs, 32/13 * 32/13 * 26/13 * 34/14 * 26/19 * 25/14 * 24/19 = 90.8/1
3. Final "Not A Sprocket" = 16.2/1
40/1 * 90.8/1 * 16.2/1 = 58865/1 Total NICE!!!
or calculated a different way:
1. Suzuki gearbox = 50 rpm = 72,000rpd (revolutions per day)
2. 72000rpd / 90.8/1 / 16.2/1 = 49rpd
Andrew reports it takes about 25 minutes to rotate about 200 degrees. The last 2 derailleurs look like they are not at the maximum reduction. Also some appear to be crank derailleurs.

This arrangement is superior to Garrison's "linear to rotary" mechanism for rotary motion.

See a YouTube of the operation of his system.
Andrew's email address: <struck2soon@tiscali.co.uk>

My comments:
1. This arrangement of multiple tracking mounts linked by cables is "HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT" and can be adapted to many other tracking mount types. Such as the Tripod Tracking Mounts.
2. The orientation of the master cable drive must be the same as the multiple tracking mounts if the tracker is mounted on it.
3. An improvement would be to orient the master and tracking mounts to the "Polar Axis". In Andrews case the main axis would be tilted up from the horizon on the north by 54° and tracked in RIght ASCension. Now, the manual secondary axis would be close to ideal when adjusted only 4 times per year.
decadjust
See my excel spreadsheet "decadjust" for the proper dates to set the DEClination angles:

February 21st to April    21st =   0° of DEClination for 2 months
April    21st to August   21st = +12° of DEClination for 4 months
August   21st to October  21st =   0° of DEClination for 2 months
October  21st to February 21st = -12° of DEClination for 4 months

west
Dan West's Tracking Mount

I've started with my prototype using a 4.6' dish covered with 2" mirrors. The collector is a little oversize to the square footage of the dish but I've already got plans to go up to the 10 and 12' dish.
<danwest@missvalley.com>

cnewton


* C. Christopher Newton
This is a beautiful example of a Solar Dish Steam Turbine Electric Generator.
This was his masters thesis project.
Attached is a copy of his thesis paper which is on a concentrated solar thermal steam system.
In the appendices of the paper, you will find the diagrams for the steam turbine.
With the proper amount of steam supplied, the turbine is capable of about 5 hp.

Note! His electric output is about 100W. The turbine output was about 500W. There was a major mismatch between the turbine and the generator. (He said he ran out of money.)

geotrack
Geotrack Horizon to Horizon Satellite Dish mount.

cclancy1, Australia, sent me these photos of a single axis mount based on a Geotrack H-H satellite dish mount. I have not had one of these in my hands yet, but I'm told that they have the required limit switches. They should work fine as long as the wind loading is not exceeded to badly. The one in the picture was designed for a 1 meter, 3.25', dish which is about 5 square foot of area. I think the one in the picture is a bit larger than this.

cross
Paul Cross' Horizon to Horizon Satellite Dish mount.

Paul has a large Horizon to Horizon Satellite Dish mount. It's a Jaeger SMO-36 and is good for a 2.4 to 3.6 meter dish, I don't think it's made anymore. It's similar to the SMR-1224EL (1.2-2.4m). Paul is initially going to use a single axis tracker and manually adjust the DEClination axis electricly.
http://www.jaeger.com.tw/tvro/superjack/mount_superjack.htm#1224

jory
Jory Schwach's Polar Tracking Mount


Jory is a college student at the University of Minnesota. He is working on a project to power a very cool Panasonic digital camera. This camera in linked to the Internet using WiFi. The basic application is for counting traffic at intersections. The counting is done using DSP software with a master computer any where in the world. The mount is to be attached to semaphore poles using magnets.

He needed a low cost light weight system to power the camera with a PV panel. We decided that a tracking mount was the best solution. There is a lead acid battery to run the camera when the sun is not out.

The Steca Solsum 6.6c LVD charge controller has a low voltage disconnect feature to protect the camera and not allow the battery to be discharged excessively. This charge controller was taken out of its case and installed inside the Lexan weather dome.

I made 2 versions. The big mount was for a 30 watt panel and cost about $275us total. The small one was for a 10W panel and cost about $235us total. Ok, this does not include the $1600us Panasonic camera.

LED3XS24Vc3P solar trackers were used in both units.
The DC gear motors have built in limit switches. They are from vending machines, the type that spits out candy and rolls with a large spiral wire. I like these because they have a plastic cam and switches. All the hardware is there. The plastic cam can be carved to obtain any desired limit position.
Cool huh!!!
<jschwach@gmail.com>

sg2100
dm2100
dg240
dg280
Small Polar Tracking Mount based on the Sadoun DG-240 H-H Mount


This mount system is suitable for relativly small tracked PV panels.

This tracking mount is based on the $70us Sadoun PowerTech DG240 H-H, horizon to horizon, small dish mover and LED3XS24Vc3RIP solar tracker with Reverse Inhibit. The DG240 is designed to support a 1.2 meter aluminum dish. This is equivalent to about 13 square foot of area. A crystalline PV panel has an efficiency of about 16% or about 15W/ft². This implies that this mount can support about 180 watts of crystalline PV panels. The panel in my example is rated at 30W and is 13"x23".

Note! This class of satellite dish movers have been designed to be operated with DiSEqC control signals. My solar trackers don't use the DiSEqC controls. They only operate the motors and possibly the limit switches.

Sadoun DG240 About $70 + shipping from Sadoun.
Note! The DG240 is no longer available so use the DG280 instead.

Or the larger 1.4 meter aluminium dish unit capable of supporting about 23 square foot.
Sadoun DG280 About $90 + shipping from Sadoun.

Or this is available with a smaller diameter mounting shaft for 1.0 meter aluminium dish unit capable of supporting about 9 square foot.
Sadoun DG280B About $80 + shipping from Sadoun.

The main bearing is what appears to be a sealed ball bearing type. The secondary bearing is an Oilite type. The main worm gear is capable of rotating 360°s.

Cool thing, the DG240, and DG280, have what I call "conventional" internal limit switches.

(I have another H-H mount, SG2100, that has "unconventional" limit switches which are not as easy to use. I have a possible method to use the internal switches, but this is untested. The simplest method is to use external limit switches. There is another model available, the DM-2100, but I have never seen this one.)
Note! The worm gear in the SG2100 I have is not complete. It is a sector of a full gear, the DG240 has a full gear so it can rotate a full 360°s if required.

If the limit switches are removed the unit can be rotated 360°s and be used with a "no park" tracker. Of course "slip rings" would be needed. In this case the shaft would be stationary and the body would turn.

I have a customer that used a DG240, with limit switches removed, as just a motor. He attached a chain sprocket, the smallest he could find, to the DG240 and a large flat belt sheave with the chain bolted to it. The final drive was about 20/1.

I gutted the unit by removing the main board and motor drive board. I also removed the center positioning switch. The Yellow limit switch wire is soldered to the marked motor terminal, (Red dot). The Red limit switch wire and the second motor terminal go to the LED3X tracker motor terminals.

Note! This drive is a bit fast so the RI, Reverse Inhibit, feature daughter board must be installed!

I have tested this motor on 36V with no trouble. However, 12V is a better choice. Even at 12V I would put the speed in the "Fast" category. This definitely requires the "RI" or Reverse Inhibit feature installed. This tracker is the LED3XS24Vc3RIP.

Note! The mounting pipe, in this example, is mounted upside down from the normal "Dish" position. The little metal arrow must be filed off so it will not interfere with a metal tab on the case.

windvane
An idea on how to mount a PV Panel on a boat.

I got this idea about how to suspend a PV Panel on a sail boat from the mast. The tracking is done between the wind vane tail and the panel. The swivels also serve as slip rings.

This should work well because, generally, the wind direction doesn't change direction as fast as the boat does.

This idea can also be mounted on a deck.

pardell
Ricard Pardell's ALT/AZ Tracking Mount

Ok, I didn't supply the tracker, although I could have.
But seriously, take a look at the cool large size gears on this ALT/AZ mount.

poulo
oops
Oops

An example of what can happen when the power is reversed on this "c1" tracker.
Don't do this!!!

parrot
Another Oops

Keep away from Parrots in Aruba!!!

water
And Another Oops

Tracker Drowned in Water!!!
Andre in Aruba wrote this:
"Hi Duane, You made a joke about fixing that unit, but why would you want to fix it if it ain't broke. I saw you posted the picture in the OOPS section. I think you should also add to that picture that as messed up as the unit is still on my roof tracking the sun as I am writing this. There was just a bad contact in the connector plug. You should be very proud of that unit."

hawk
This is Cool

This is an impressive picture!!
BTW, I feel the weather dome is mounted upside down.
If there is a leak in the seals the dome can fill up with water.