<p>This unit was a poor tracker in my opinion. Wattsun thought so also. The one thing it did better than an old zomeworks was go back to east at the end of the day. It was on a 4' pole and could not carry 125 square feet ++ of panels like the AZ series. They are 6" and 8" poles. The AZ series is the best I have seen/installed for residential, and still in support.</p>
<p>I looked for the info I thought I could find easily. Looks like it is hidden in another file. </p>
<p>There is only so much you can do with this unit. Have you compared the harvest both ways? I doubt it is much different. This time of year my AZ 125's turn about 240 degrees with the sun. I wish I could store it all........</p>
<p>Richard (RIP) at Homepower had one like you are asking about, and he did not like it much I remember. Too bad they are out of business. I think one can search their archives?? Maybe someone else will remember the model?</p>
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<pre><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Dave Angelini Offgrid Solar
"we go where powerlines don't"
<a href="http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/" target="_blank">http://members.sti.net/offgridsolar/</a>
e-mail <a href="mailto:offgridsolar@sti.net">offgridsolar@sti.net</a>
text 209 813 0060</span></strong></pre>
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<p>On Wed, 22 Jul 2020 14:53:44 -0700, William Miller <william@millersolar.com> wrote:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Friends:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>So far it looks like I have stumped all of you on identifying these trackers. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>These trackers are trying to work. The electronics and motors are operable. Unlike the diagram below, these trackers do not have an inclined axis to allow the tracking to sweep from east to west with the panels inclined to compensate for latitude and season. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>The trackers spun around their mounting poles and I simply want to know how to orient the axis so I can put them back to work:</span></p>
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<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">A.<span style="font: 7.0pt;"> </span></span></span><span>If I orient the axis N-S the tracker would track east to west with no tilt towards the south. </span></p>
<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent: -.25in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2;"><span><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">B.<span style="font: 7.0pt;"> </span></span></span><span>If I orient the axis E-W the tracker would alter tilt angle as the day progressed, but never facing other than due south.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>This all seems strange, but maybe I just don't have my mind wrapped around the concept as applies to these units. Maybe these mounts were modified in the ancient past when they were installed. The original installer is no longer on this planet so he can't be asked.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>I created a web site to post all of the photos so anyone who is curious can look at full sized images. The web site is <a href="https://millersolar.com/MillerSolar/case_studies/26-Mystery_tracker/Mystery_Tracker.html">here</a>.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>Thanks everyone for trying to help. This is a real head scratcher.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span>William</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span>805-438-5600</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">From:</span></strong><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> RE-wrenches [mailto:<a href="mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org</a>] <strong>On Behalf Of </strong><a href="mailto:larry@starlightsolar.com">larry@starlightsolar.com</a><br /><strong>Sent:</strong> Wednesday, July 22, 2020 9:53 AM<br /><strong>To:</strong> RE-wrenches<br /><strong>Subject:</strong> Re: [RE-wrenches] Tracker manual needed</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">William,</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">This type of mount is a polar axis type and should be aligned with the pivot N-S. The actuator can then swing the array E-W. The attached photo is an example of how the mount was used in the C-band antenna days. (1980's for the young folks)</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">It's hard to tell but it looks like the elevation bolt is missing that connects the azimuth bar to the pole mount cap. Can you supply a better photo of the mount? </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Set the elevation angle to latitude for best all year performance. Elevation can also be seasonally adjusted for more gain. </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">There are 3 types of sensors most commonly used in this style of linear actuator. Hall effect, reed switch or a 10 turn potentiometer. </p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.5pt;"><br />Larry Crutcher<br />Starlight Solar Power Systems</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">On Jul 22, 2020, at 8:33 AM, William Miller <<a href="mailto:william@millersolar.com">william@millersolar.com</a>> wrote:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">Dave:</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12.0pt;">The trackers appear to work. I am not clear on what direction to orient them. Do you know?</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal">William Miller</p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.millersolar.com">www.millersolar.com</a></p>
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