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Axetracka Sensors
Axetracka instructions
Terms & conditions
SunTech Panels
Some FAQ's
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AxeTracka SDA Dual Axis Solar Sensors
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A BASIC RUNDOWN ON OPERATION;
The sda sensor, dual axis, has one main toggle switch to switch from Auto-track to manual tracking. .
Left on Auto it will happily chase the sun without concern. The manual tracking was put there because of the amount of times I have been asked to include it.
I designed the new circuit board so that when switched to manual track it cuts power to the PIC controler and will not operate again until you switch back to Auto track.
On manual tracking the two buttons closest to the switch end are east/west, the north/south tracking is of course the next two momentery switches. never press more than one button at a time.
Sleep and Power-saver mode; is all automatic and can only be adjusted within the program.
When darkness falls the east drive will turn on and allow 2 minutes runtime to get the tracker parked back to east. After the two minutes are up it will check the light levels and if dark enough it will automatically shut down the micochip until there is enough light the next day to switch it all back on again. The wake up time can vary from 15 to 50 minutes after sunrise.
NOTE; if you wish to buy these sensors you must time how long it takes for your tracker to run from full west axis back to full east. If it takes longer than two minutes of none stop runing I will need to add another loop within program. So please check that befor ordering ok.
Setting up is quiet simple. You have 6 wires, one will have a fuse fitted, this of course is Possitive battery supply. The remainders will all be clearly marked as east/west and North/South Motor wires.
They will be supplied with aprox 1 mtr of battery cable, and aprox 600mm motor cables.
I recomend when setting up that you leave the north/south actuator disconected until your east/west sensor has located and locked onto the suns possition, then reconect the north/south. I only suggest this methode, and is not realy a must-do, it simply saves the sensors trying to do two things at once.
MANUAL TRACKING; is simple. simply flick the toggle switch to manual and press the aprop button. The location of the momentary switches may vary from what is shown below, but until I find a happy-spot for each one I will include a diagram. Needless to say your sensors switches and possitions may vary from what is shown.
When using manual tracking, Never depress more than one tracking button at a time. You can infact depress one north or south, and, one east or west, at the same time. But NEVER depress both north/south at once, or both east/west at once.
Simply put, it's best to stick to the one at a time rule ok.
I was going to have the manual tracking working within the microchip program, but decided to seperate the two circuits. Reason being that the MT would mostly only be used in very cloudy weather, or if the chip was not responding. SO I decided on a devided circuit.
If you don't like the idea,,, Tuff luck ok. Live with it..!
And smile Damn it...!
PREAVIOUS BUYERS PLEASE NOTE; your sensors may have the switches and LED indicators possitioned differantly to what is shown below. But this is how they will be configured from this point on. Sorry if it confusses anyone. Confused myself to be honest.
Smile Damn it....!
Which wire goes where?
If your SDA controler has just 3 switches , not 5, see lower down the page.
All wires are still the same.
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Below is the newer SDA Sensor Control Box with just two Manual Tracking switches.
Apart from the the MT switches the sensor is wired and works exactly the same as the Above SDA Controler
NOTE; as of March 09 the new sensors will have the Light Sensor on the same box as the LED solar sensor. This will lesson the risk of accidently activating the auto parking when setting up. But just in case you do, all you need do is switch them off, count to five and start again.
A couple things which may confuse you when setting up the SDA sensors;
The most common problem can be the accidental activating of the auto park feature. You will see a small LDR, looks like a miniature solar cell, on the edge of the box lid. If you happen to cover it with your hand while power is connected, the tracker will suddenly head back to east. it's always best to leave the power OFF until read to walk away, then turn the power on when all chance of covering the LDR has gone.
Should you accidentally activate the auto park, you can do two things; Firstly, just walk away and when the initial 2.5 minutes of east drive has expired it will automatically sense it is still daylight and resume normal tracking after 3 minutes. Alternately, you can simply flick the main switch from auto to manual, wait 5 seconds, then flick back to auto tracking. It's a bit like rebooting your computer. Keep the reboot thought in your head if the sensors seems to have died. reboot and see if it comes back to life.
You can test if the auto parking and sleep feature is working. Simply cover the LDR with your hand, and if you make it dark enough to trick the sensor into thinking it is night time, it will head back east. Allow it to return all the way, then keep your finger over the LDR sensor for approximately 2.5 minutes and you will hear the relay click "OFF" About 70 to 100 minutes later it will check to see if its still dark or not. Once it discovers it is in fact day time the tracker will resume normal tracking.
If you do the above test, but remove your finger from the LDR sensor before you hear the relay click, it will reactivate after just 2.5minutes have expired. NOTE;, if it does not reactivate as stated above, the sun may simply be too far west for the sensors to see the sun. So it is best to do this test around 10 or 11 AM.
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I will clean up and add to this page when health and time permit. If you need to know more just email dave@campatracka.com.
And yes, it is available in 12v or 24v max rated at 10amps surg or around 7 to 8A loading.
To order, simply email for now ok. Will add them into the shopping cart when time allows me.
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