(See [ Ссылка ] for proof-of-concept scaled-up version)
This is the final version of my own-design solar tracker with its unique lift & twist, drop & reverse twist mechanism. Full description with photos here: [ Ссылка ].
Make sure you watch to the end when the drop & return twist happens.
In this final version, I'm using aluminium tubes because the acrylic ones I used in the prototype shattered in some 50mph winds we had.
It's a single-axis tracker, following the sun from dawn to dusk, and has three 6V 10W solar panels that I use for charging 18650 lithium ion batteries and, via a usb connector that came with the solar panels, pretty much any device.
The motor is one of those cheap 30rpm N20 motors, geared down via a 90:1 gearbox, giving approximately 1 rev every 3 mins. It's surprising how much torque that combo delivers!
If you're curious, see the following link for the on-after-dusk, battery-driven circuit (that's powered from those solar panels):
[ Ссылка ]
Is it scalable? Well, it could be but as it's only a single axis tracker, it's really only good at this scale for hobbyists. Great to take with you when you're camping.
I use the charged 18650 batteries to power LED lamps for all my house lighting. It doesn't save much money but it does stop around 10kg of CO2 getting into the atmosphere per year.
How It Works - Summary
During the day, the motor gets its power from the motor-driver solar panel (MDSP). When it's not shaded by the main panels it causes the whole solar panel mount to lift and twist. As it does so, the MDSP becomes shaded by the main ones. Without power, the lift & twist stops.
When the sun has moved across the sky enough so that the MDSP isn't in shade any more, the motor once again fires up and does some more lifting and twisting. The lifting happens because the plate attached to the motor pulls on a cord which is attached to the bottom of the inner alluminium tube. As it lifts, the inner tube is forced to twist by the guide pin which follows a helical groove in the outer tube.
The motor rotates in one direction only and for one complete revolution of the plate, the inner alluminium tube will go up and down once. (The overall effect is like the way a cam shaft allows a piston to go up and down.)
When the solar panels have reached the top of their travel, they'll have twisted to point at the setting sun. At dusk, there'll be no power generated by the MDSP so instead the power to drive the motor comes from a battery (that's charged during the day). A neat little circuit (based on the TP4056 charging board for the battery) detects that there's no power being generated by the main solar panels and then provides that battery power to the motor, causing it to continue rotating the plate.
As the solar panels have already reached the top of their travel, further rotation of the plate relaxes the cord allowing the panel mount to drop and twist under its own weight. Once the plate has completed a half revolution after dusk, the solar panels will be pointing to the direction of sunrise. When they've reached the bottom of their travel, a cunningly placed microswitch is activated by a screw head on the plate, preventing battery power from reaching the motor, so everything stops.
When the sun comes up the next day, power comes once more from the MDSP and the lifting and twisting starts all over again.
