Saturday, November 13, 2010

Comments on v2.4

It's great to be testing outside and today is a nice milestone. So, it's a good time for some frank pros and cons.

PRO:
- It works! (In a just barely kind of way).
- The motors are wonderfully cheap.
- The approach of supporting the mirror weight at a center point so you can use tiny motors to position is still potentially viable.
- There are plenty of opportunities for reducing costs via mass production.

CON:
- There's no software to speak of. The time lapse test was done with a fixed movement over a short time around solar noon.
- The linkages just stink. I mean really.
- The seasonal axis needs a brace, a motor, and a new linkage.
- The support point is still made by carpentry rather than a buy-and-assemble system. I have a system ready to try but it is untested.
- It needs some custom (cheap) motor controllers, AND a feedback system for the motors
- I'm really moving slowly on the project.

All in all, it is riddled with flaws but I'm pretty happy with it.

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