Solutions

Available solutions will be presented here with listing, hardware, cost und “how to”. Helpful
Contributions will be posted, with name and the option of a display of Logo, Web- and Contact
Information on the “Contributions” pages without charge. Adaptable ready-to-use combi-
nations of GPS-Receiver and Microcontroller (also commercial) are on the top of the wish-list
and will be presented as desired again without charge. The main categories to access the following
information are <<a.earth’s axis / plumb-line center of earth and <<b. global or local Mean Solar Time /
global or local True Solar Time.

Solution Perspective (Microcontroller plus GPS/Galileo Receiver)

1st Axis (azimuth - along the horizon)

The task is for every start of a Minute of UTC:

<<1a. Start with a GPS-Receivers serial readout of NMEA (ASCII) Sentence $GPRMC (containing
everything needed here) and parse the required Words, that are separated by commas (see page “Tables”).

<<1b. Convert UTC Hour and Minutes into Minutes of Time (= global “Mean Solar Time” as Minutes
of Time).

<<1c. From this add/subtract the Analemma value for this day, this is now global “True Solar Time” (see
page “Tables”).

<<1d. Dividing this by 4 produces the (Time-)Angle in Arc-Degrees corresponding to the global “True
Solar Time” (4 Timeminutes produce 1°-arc of suntravel in a context to the parallel of the earth’s axis).

<<1e. To adapt to the location of the Receiver the Angle computed in step <<1d. is simply to be increase
by easterly geogr. Longitude (read-out of $GPRMC) and reduced by westerly geogr. Longitude. This
angle (in Arc-Degrees) corresponds to the local “True Solar Time”.

This is the “Angular Tracking Radial” in a 360°-in-24-Hour clock-wise circle for the motor to follow the
sun exactly - for rotation around the Parallel of the Earth’s Axis.

This is all that is needed worldwide for a one-axis System or 2-axes-Tracing with mechanically derived
deflection of the 2nd vertical axis (± 47° a year only - as the sun does - ) conceived in one version of my
own one-motor setup www.SunTideTracer.eu.

2nd Axis (vertical)

<<2a. The GPS Date controls an even (“Yearwheel”) circle in a 360° in 1 Year fashion, 30° per Month
on a daily basis to move a linkage for a one motor (gear-reduction) sine-like deflection of the 2nd axis as
in “SunTideTracer” (see “Tables”).

This allows a “Fail Save” Selfadjusting Tracer in both axes with one-motor. The sine-like behaviour
is still managed by linkage. A properly positioned Checking-Tube for the sunlight direction on the module or structure helps a lot in coming close to a Selfinstallation - with a turned-on unit - also on mobile units.

<<2b. Separate Control of the vertical axis with a 2nd motor just needs a sine-like deflection,
delivered by the “Declination” Table: date vs a corresponding value between 23,5° N and 23,5° S,
- again on a System with 1st axis rotation around the parallel of the earth’s axis (see“Tables”).

<<2c. The plumb-line oriented 2-axes version uses “(h) Height or Elevation above the Horizon”.
Ephemeris tools (see page “Contributions”) working inside a microcontroller (obtaining relevant information from a connected GPS/Galileo receiver) can provide these values for the sun - also Azimuth - continuously for given Coordinates, Date and Time with compact sine/cosine formulas existing in C. (See page “Listings”)
 

Additional functions like electric source for the motor (solar/battery/charging logic) circulation
pump switching (and eventual activation of a high precision optical guidance level) by opto-
comparator sunshine detectors asf. could be integrated in the microcontroller setup.
 

*