36V Tracker
This solar tracking controller will drive a motor to position anything you want to follow the sun on a single axis. It can be used to position solar cells, a reflector to heat water, or anything else. The controller is mounted on the object to be steered with the sensors positioned along the rotational axis. Using most any D.C. motor up to a maximum of 36 VDC @ 1.5 amps, it can easily cause a solar collector, reflector or array to follow the sun through a single axis. Motors suitable for this system can move quite large loads as long as proper gearing or lead screws are used. This can be wired to control relays to move arbitrarily large motors. The controller uses a differential sensing approach and can drive the motor in either direction. There is no "reposition for the morning" electronics, but I intentionally used sensors with a wide field of view. In the morning the "east" sensor will trip and the controller will position to point at the morning sun.
This controller will work with 12V motors, solar panels, and batteries. Actually, they will work with any voltage from about 10V to around 38V. You should not exceed 40V with these. You will need to mount this under glass or plastic to protect it from the weather. A glass or plastic jar upside down works pretty good. Wiring instructions are included. You should use limit switches in your design unless what you are controlling is free to move in a full circle, or they are built into your actuators. Here is a good link on how to wire limit switches:
http://www.sbesolartech.com/limit_switch_wiring.jpg
The controller has enough hysteresis built-in to the design so that it does not oscillate and positions the device smoothly. Hyteresis is tunable in this model. This controller can also be used to steer any device along a single axis to follow a light source. Note that this controller is tuned for sunlight, I use a 3 watt LED light to test it with. If you are planning on using this for something other than tracking the sun, please let me know and I can adjust the sensitivity of your board.
Solid state, no relays to wear out. Controller has indicator LED's to let your know when the sensors have tripped.
These can easily be wired for manual tracking with a couple of switches. I will include instructions on how to do this with your purchase.