This is a picture of the micro-controller which I will use for control of the solar hot water heater. The micro-controller is programmed from a standard computer and the program remains resident on the arduino after that. It operates on a 7-12 volt source. There is a hall switch in the linear actuator which pulses every time the actuator shaft turns. I will have to characterize the number of degrees per pulse as the actuator moves through its travel. I still need to investigate how to most inexpensively control the motor. I have purchased a motor control that accepts a PWM input, however, I think that is way overkill and expensive.
I have a 24 volt linear actuator but I hope I can operate it at 12 volts. My plan is to trickle charge a 12 volt alarm battery and operate electronics and motors off of it. Adding batteries unnecessarily complicates things.
I have been pondering what to do if the machine looses power and therefore looses time. There is lots of potential for havoc if the tracker is slightly misaligned with respect to the sun because of the intense concentration of light. I am currently thinking about having a wake up routine where the machine would wake up, determine what attitude it was in and then go to a "safe" position where it would not be affected by the sun until it was enabled by throwing a switch. An alarm could indicate a loss of power.
That is all I have for today.
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