Which solar photodetectors to track the sun?

[Ulysse31]

Hello everyone, I have to make a plotter, heliostat to follow the sun but I wonder which photo detector I need to use.
Photo diode, photo resistance, .... ???
I am thinking of using a photo detector and I will compare the electrical quantity obtained by this one with a reference electrical quantity.
In addition, to make tests on the illumination of the sun, you recommend a luxmeter with caliber.
I specify, I am in Lisbon and the sun is strong.

Thank you in advance

[Obelix]

Hello,

The simplest will be the best !!
For my part I use very simple LED's .....
It is cheap, easy to supply and simple to use. The green ones are the best .....

Obelix

[Ulysse31]

I do not see how with simple LEDs, I will detect the brightness of the sun. If it's ironic ah ahhh very funny

[Obelix]

I do not see how with simple LEDs, I will detect the brightness of the sun. If it's ironic ah ahhh very funny

Hello,

But not of irony simply a small experiment easy to carry out:
-Take a LED and a classic multimeter.
-Connect the multimeter to the "legs" of the diode and expose the whole to the sun!
You should have about 2 to 3 Volts under an intensity of a few microamps under the reciprocity theorem.

Give it a try and you will see!
Otherwise a link for direct application:
http://www.redrok.com/main.htm
Towards the middle of the page

Obelix

[Ulysse31]

Thank you for the information, I did not know that a led in full sun can self power.

In my case, the electrical information that I will recover at the output of my sensor, I will have to amplify it, linearize it ... to be able to inject it into a PLC converter the fx2n 8Ad so in my opinion the solution with the led not the tip top. Photoresistor is the solution often used for solar trackers (see: internet). I would like to know that it photo resistance rather of CdS type?
For the luxmeter, which one should you take to get the brightness of the sun?

[Leo Maximus]

I remembered an article about an electronic sundial in the American magazine Popular Electronics. I can scan the article if necessary. It can give ideas.
It dates from the last century but electronics, especially analog, have changed little since. I can scan the article, I was a subscriber and it was a very serious applied electronics magazine.

[Leo Maximus]

Three links with uses of LDR:

http://www.astrosurf.com/soleilradio/Au ... ecteur.pdf
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/andre.homep ... re_01.html
http://www.dudus-company.com/SOLAIRE/poursuite.htm from a diagram by Elektor

With some circuits, I would be curious to see what happens at sunset as at sunrise ...