I have a quick question regarding the correct alignment of a HB solar sensor.
Currently I have my sensor pointing towards the midday sun but unfortunately this misses the sunrise (6:20am) right through to about 10:30. Today for example we had a very sunny morning but my solar sensor was only showing 30% and hence reporting a cloudy day. At 10:15 my solar percent started to increase and at 10:50 it was showing 100%.
If i move the sensor more towards the East then i can catch the morning sun but miss the late afternoon sun. :roll:
Would it be better to mount the sensor with the diode pointing directly at the zenith instead? Would this still work efficiently?
I have also considered mounting a small mirror on the North Western side of the sensor aligned in such a way to reflect the sun back onto the sensor.
It really needs to be totally horizontal and pointing vertically as best as you can. But it is believed to be an advantage if you have a translucent bulb or shield over it to get a better early morning and late afternoon response and then get it set correctly at zenith which may be sometime close to 1pm for you - can be plus and minus a bit away from the longest day, esp either side of equinox. Still, it is not an accurate device as the respoinse from the 1-Wire led’s is not perfectly linear. But it gives you a close approximation. Some have used a large electric light bulb or an external globe, removed the internals and mounted the sensor inside. There are some threads sharing different optiions.
[quote author=Breitling link=topic=31063.msg249995#msg249995 date=1207655261]
You will always have some “blind angles” with the Hobby Boards solar sensor. It has a 140