Solar tracker
About the Solar tracker PCB
Solar tracker is an open source PCB design by joe-skb7, published on GitHub under the GPL-3.0 license. It is a 2-layer board measuring 135.9 × 47 mm, with 26 components from 18 distinct parts.
Other key parts include the LM324. By type, the board carries 6 connectors, 6 diodes, 6 resistors, 4 transistors, 1 IC and 1 capacitor.
It belongs with the power & battery designs in this gallery.
From the project
PCB for simple analog solar tracker
This project contains solar tracker PCB I made for my dad's project.
I used KiCAD 4.0.7 for this PCB, but it should open fine in different versions, as I keep -cache.lib file in this repo.
Original schematic can be found in doc/scheme.jpg. Things that I changed: properly terminated unused OPAMP parts added limit switches connection
LDR1 and LDR2 photo-resistors yield signal which is used to determine in which direction PV unit (solar panel) should be rotated, i.e. in which direction we have more light radiation.
Main components on the Solar tracker
Solar tracker bill of materials (BOM)
26 components, 18 distinct parts.
| Qty | Part | Footprint | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LM324 | DIP-14_W7.62mm | U1 |
| 2 | TIP41C | TO-220-3_Vertical | Q1, Q2 |
| 2 | TIP42C | TO-220-3_Vertical | Q3, Q4 |
| 1 | LDR1 | JST_XH_B02B-XH-A_1x02_P2.50mm_Vertical | J1 |
| 1 | LDR2 | JST_XH_B02B-XH-A_1x02_P2.50mm_Vertical | J2 |
| 1 | Motor | TerminalBlock_Phoenix_MKDS-1,5-2_1x02_P5.00mm_Horizontal | J3 |
| 1 | Power_9V | TerminalBlock_Phoenix_MKDS-1,5-2_1x02_P5.00mm_Horizontal | J4 |
| 1 | FWD_Limit | TerminalBlock_Phoenix_MKDS-1,5-2_1x02_P5.00mm_Horizontal | J5 |
| 1 | REV_Limit | TerminalBlock_Phoenix_MKDS-1,5-2_1x02_P5.00mm_Horizontal | J6 |
| 1 | 100k | Potentiometer_Bourns_3266W_Vertical | RV1 |
| 1 | 10k | Potentiometer_Bourns_3266W_Vertical | RV2 |
| 4 | 1N5402 | D_DO-201AD_P15.24mm_Horizontal | D1, D2, D3, D4 |
| 2 | 1N5402 | D_DO-201AD_P5.08mm_Vertical_KathodeUp | D5, D6 |
| 1 | 100n | C_Disc_D5.0mm_W2.5mm_P5.00mm | C1 |
| 1 | 15k | R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P10.16mm_Horizontal | R1 |
| 1 | 47k | R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P10.16mm_Horizontal | R2 |
| 2 | 470k | R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P10.16mm_Horizontal | R3, R4 |
| 2 | 0R | R_Axial_DIN0207_L6.3mm_D2.5mm_P10.16mm_Horizontal | R10, R11 |
Solar tracker design files
The KiCad project lives in the joe-skb7/solar-tracker-pcb repository on GitHub; these links point at the commit this page was built from.
- Layoutsolar-tracker.kicad_pcb
Solar tracker: common questions
How big is the Solar tracker PCB?
The Solar tracker measures 135.9 × 47 mm, has 2 copper layers and is 1.6 mm thick.
How many components are on the Solar tracker?
26 components, from 18 distinct parts. The full bill of materials is listed on this page.
Where can I download the Solar tracker design files?
From the joe-skb7/solar-tracker-pcb repository on GitHub, which has the KiCad layout; the links under Design files point to each one.
Can I use the Solar tracker design in my own project?
Yes, under the terms of its GPL-3.0 license, which joe-skb7 chose for the repository.
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