:) :P These have Chinese controllers for sure! The time investment is equal to the know-how you will acquire, so it is invaluable.
The simplest way to do it is in a pure analog way, using a four quadrant analog detector with LDR of photodes. This is simple, being simple it works, the only issue you will have is to keep it dry. You still need a microcontroller to drive the motors at defined moments of time ( to avoid useless power consumption all the time) and to "park" easily your tracker on heavy rain and storms. The most complex way is to do it in a pure digital way, input is the GPS coordinate, computing the sun trajectory for that coordinate and add a correction table for each day of the month. Such a device already made (EU product) is about 300 euro, I would say is not expensive for your capitalist world. :) best wishes BTW, after you tracker works you may propose to the owners of the neighborhood park to make them work too. :) On Sun, Jul 10, 2022 at 11:12 AM hans <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Vasille, > I completely agree with you that a control on two axes and an MPPT charger > for the battery is the best, but the question is how much investment it > entails compared to the yield. Here's a picture of the park near us where > the panels have had irregular positions for years. Even this “professional” > approach makes me raise my eyebrows. All in all, it's still fun and > educational. > regards > Hans[image: 20220630_114118.jpg] > > Op zondag 10 juli 2022 om 09:43:45 UTC+2 schreef [email protected]: > >> Very nice Hans and good to see that it works. >> >> You should start a solar farm 🙂 >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Rob >> >> ------------------------------ >> *Van:* [email protected] <[email protected]> namens hans < >> [email protected]> >> *Verzonden:* zaterdag 9 juli 2022 17:35 >> >> *Aan:* jallib <[email protected]> >> *Onderwerp:* Re: [jallib] sun power use >> >> Hello all, >> >> Here is the solar panel I will be using. I just went back to 12 volts and >> a small lead acid battery. One motor drives the axis that is parallel to >> the Earth's axis and follows the sun. Actually the screen should go 24 >> degrees up (June) and 24 degrees down (December) but I did some >> measurements and the gain is too small for me to do anything about it. >> >> Anyway, Jal lets things run smoothly again and now we just have to wait >> and see if the weather gods accept this thing. >> >> regards >> >> Hans[image: zon_set.jpg] >> >> Op woensdag 29 juni 2022 om 17:28:57 UTC+2 schreef hans: >> >> Hello >> Kiste >> I still have to come up with something to switch off in time due to too >> low voltage, but you did wake me up. Thank you. >> Vasile >> Years ago I had a larger solar panel rotate with the sun. I did the >> incline manually. However, the rotating construction must be very heavy and >> in a big storm I was only just able to save the case >> Near us there is a park with 12 such panels, it was always surprising >> that they are never all in the right direction. A technician in this field >> told me that the added value in yield is almost lost at the cost price of >> the installation and that they now just use fixed panels. >> And nevertheless it is very nice to be working on this. The application >> of the MPPT is again its news for me. >> thanks everyone >> regards >> Hans >> >> Op woensdag 29 juni 2022 om 16:22:16 UTC+2 schreef vasile: >> >> About keeping up with consumption, PV has to (i) charge the battery and >> (ii) supply your board. >> If you really want to try something new, then a two axis tracking system >> will improve your charging by about 40% with the same PV. >> Why? Because the PV will stay oriented to the sun, except for minor >> clouds and heavy rain when everything will be disintegrated :) >> >> https://www.banggood.com/Smart-Solar-Tracking-Equipment-Maker-Project-DIY-Kit-Technology-for-Arduino-p-1952195.html >> >> >> On Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 4:39 PM 'Oliver Seitz' via jallib < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hi Hans, >> >> it's true, you don't need to worry about charging, but you do need to >> worry about stopping discharging. LiPos may explode if overcharged or >> over-discharged. The device you've bought has both- charge and discharge >> controller. But, with your extra wires, you're discharging the LiPo >> directly without the discharge controller. That is ok, if you're really >> sure the LiPo will never go empty. If you're not so sure about that, you >> would need a way to stop discharging at a certain voltage, like 2.6V. >> Really switching electronics off to only keep drawing few nanoamperes is >> possible, but not always easy. >> >> Greets, >> Kiste >> >> Am Mittwoch, 29. Juni 2022, 12:34:35 MESZ hat hans <[email protected]> >> Folgendes geschrieben: >> >> >> Hi Rob, >> The set has both a solar panel and a lipo battery, so I don't have to >> worry about charging. I'm just curious if the solar panel can keep up with >> the consumption. I can also charge it via USB. >> By the way very nice to see a project, most of the contributions are very >> abstract. >> Kind regards >> Hans >> >> Op woensdag 29 juni 2022 om 11:44:28 UTC+2 schreef [email protected]: >> >> Hi Hans, >> >> Don't make it more complex than it is. An MPPT (Maximum Power Point >> Tracking) is used on solar panels to get the most out of it but you do not >> have to add such a device. >> >> If I am right a Lipo battery needs a certain way of charging and so you >> need a special Lipo battery charger. >> >> I made a Cat repellent some time ago using a small solar panel. And since >> I am using three NiMh batteries (so 3.6 Volt) I use a small charging >> current for keeping the batteries charged. The batteries are connected to >> the solar panel only via a diode (Shottkey in this case because it has a >> low voltage drop). >> >> For your info. You can find the schematic diagram here: >> https://www.instructables.com/Cat-Repellent/ >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Rob >> >> ------------------------------ >> *Van:* [email protected] <[email protected]> namens hans < >> [email protected]> >> *Verzonden:* woensdag 29 juni 2022 11:22 >> *Aan:* jallib <[email protected]> >> >> *Onderwerp:* Re: [jallib] sun power use >> Such a prompt response! I bought a solar charger with a built-in 5000mAh >> battery. It delivers a beautiful 5 Volt but with a minimum load of 150 mA. >> Opened the case and the lipo delivers 3.5 Volts. So I soldered a few more >> wires to it. Hence my question. It's still so much fun. >> Now i have to discover what a MPPT is. >> regards >> Hans >> >> Op woensdag 29 juni 2022 om 09:59:30 UTC+2 schreef [email protected]: >> >> Hi Hans, >> >> Most PICs can operate at 3 Volt, below a screenshot from the datasheet. I >> only use F versions. >> >> >> Just check the datasheet for the PICs that you have. >> >> I have done several projects using a PIC that is supplied by batteries so >> operating at 3 Volt or lower. >> >> What I do not know for sure if when you program the PIC if it should be >> at 5 Volt, maybe only if you use Low Voltage Programming, so I normally >> program the PIC when it is connected to a 5 Volt power supply but in the >> application it can run even on a supply voltage as low as 2 Volt. >> >> If you have peripherals that work at 5 Volt you could always use a >> step-up converter to step-up the power supply from 3 Volt to 5 Volt. >> >> Kind regards, >> >> Rob >> >> ------------------------------ >> *Van:* [email protected] <[email protected]> namens >> vsurducan <[email protected]> >> *Verzonden:* woensdag 29 juni 2022 09:11 >> *Aan:* [email protected] <[email protected]> >> *Onderwerp:* Re: [jallib] sun power use >> >> You may continue to use it at 5V if the energy extracted from the PV is >> drawn via a MPPT ( maximum power point tracking) IC and your solar panel >> assures the current needed for your electronics. Many panels have 6V open >> at 0.3A or 0.5A short circuit current >> Actually any actual PICmicro will run on 3.3V ( including those rated for >> 5V) if the internal oscillator is set to maximum frequency intended only >> for 3.3V. Most of the low power PICs ( LF series) will run down to 2.2V ( >> some down to 1.8V) so you may connect the solar panel directly on your LDO >> without MPPT or PWM. >> best wishes >> >> On Wed, Jun 29, 2022 at 9:57 AM hans <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> Hello all, >> I don't want to reinvent the wheel. >> Until now I have always used 5 volts supply voltage, but because of a >> solar panel I would like to work on 3 volts. Which processors should I use >> and what should I pay attention to? >> Thank you in advance, >> greetings Hans >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/3220a563-f63f-435b-b0a6-c088cc777aaen%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/3220a563-f63f-435b-b0a6-c088cc777aaen%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/CAM%2Bj4quz-mvFLM7nuWmPg0YBcQCGNLDqw09bJMr%3DbKpmALa9TQ%40mail.gmail.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/CAM%2Bj4quz-mvFLM7nuWmPg0YBcQCGNLDqw09bJMr%3DbKpmALa9TQ%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/b59b60f5-848e-4d33-b9d9-a6bc2b872dabn%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/b59b60f5-848e-4d33-b9d9-a6bc2b872dabn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/16197ba2-f8db-441f-865b-3acd184f4d7en%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/16197ba2-f8db-441f-865b-3acd184f4d7en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/366793553.5677601.1656509982227%40mail.yahoo.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/366793553.5677601.1656509982227%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "jallib" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/675be8f1-9300-4934-8467-1466f4faf675n%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/675be8f1-9300-4934-8467-1466f4faf675n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "jallib" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/dc051144-9ba0-414f-9009-e87515fdbe40n%40googlegroups.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/jallib/dc051144-9ba0-414f-9009-e87515fdbe40n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "jallib" group. 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