Interesting concept on solar tracking for panels

[Two on Tour]

 

[pappajohn]

That's gonna be fun getting that contraption flat to the roof for travel.

 

[Jim]

That's gonna be fun getting that contraption flat to the roof for travel.

Proof of concept was very good though I thought.

 

[Lenny HB]

Nice to see someone can design something without the compulsory microprocessor.
A lot to be said for KISS.

 

[Duck Truck]

Not beyond the skills of a good engineer

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[Richard n Ann]

Very crude even when refined. Missiles track heat sources by having a very small hole in the front and the heat is projected down onto a sensor like a pin hole camera. The dot of heat is kept in the centre of the sensor by adjusting the tail fins. Perhaps an adaptation of this would be more practical.

 

[hilldweller]

Very neat.

Won't work for real, fully automatically, for reasons he said at the start of the day the sun will not hit the panels which will be pointing in the wrong direction.

It would work for MH user who get their panel out in the morning and align it to start with and in this case you need only one motor and the right bearing angle.

 

[eddie]

Or just buy an Alden Phenix lol

 

[SuperMike]

I love it when people have a go at stuff. Even if it’s crude looking, I bet he had fun doing that and getting it to work. Excellent

 

[TheTwoOfUs]

This is what makes an inventor/design engineer. Wondering how to make something work from basic first principles and the feeling of satisfaction when you make it happen. The result doesn't have to be a financial gold mine, it's just the satisfaction achieving something before you move on to the next problem.

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[hilldweller]

I bet he had fun doing that and getting it to work. Excellent

Yes, as long as it recognised as FUN. I'd hate any FUNsters going out and buying bits and pieces only to find it does not work for real. It's a brilliant introduction for a young kid.

Here is the next step.

 

[pappajohn]

Won't work for real, fully automatically, for reasons he said at the start of the day the sun will not hit the panels which will be pointing in the wrong direction.

You must have fallen asleep Brian, while he did explain that he also showed a workable and simple solution.... A shade on the center boom to cast a shadow over the furthest panel then only the closest to the sun would detect it.

 

[pappajohn]

Or just buy an Alden Phenix lol

The one in the video......
Less than £10 in materials plus panels.....
Alden Pheonix.... £????

 

[eddie]

The one in the video......
Less than £10 in materials plus panels.....
Alden Pheonix.... £????

Oh yes, but not everyone has the technical ability, and not everyone has a budget.
Plus it looks Soooooooooo cute on the roof when it goes up and searches for the Sun

 

[Duck Truck]

We saw a guy in France who had one mounted on an automatic satelite dish mount
Not sure how it worked but it tracked the sun during the day.

I suppose if you accept that in a morning you need to rotate it towards the sun then it will do the rest of the day on it's own
The real trick is making the system able to be mounted safely on a roof so it can be lowered before you move off and raised at your next destination

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[hilldweller]

The real trick is making the system able to be mounted safely on a roof so it can be lowered before you move off and raised at your next destination

And of course the real answer is, if possible, just throw another panel on.

 

[Antique]

I believe @Duck Truck it doesn't actually 'track' the sun. Rather it knows what day and time it is and thus where the sun will be at that time.
But I may be wrong ( Dec 1986 was the last time I seem to remember )

 

[DuxDeluxe]

Get Elon Musk to design one with his famous collapsing Solar City business; they need the work. The only trouble is, it will creak and rattle, it will be late both in production and in delivery, takes months for spares and service and will only produce 2/3 of the promised power. However, he would sell thousands as all the fanboy sheeple will buy one ‘cos it is cool.........

I liked the original posts and the idea. Hats off to people who do this sort of thing it makes the world an interesting place