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Using wood is nice because it allows for a certain amount of flexibility in the rig. Different types of panels are easily mounted. Some of our panels, for instance, have aluminum frames with predrilled holes, which we attached simply by drilling through the oak and fastened with carriage bolts. The other panels only have small plastic frames that were mounted with screws and neoprene washers, pinching the edges of these frames in several spots.

With the wood in place, mount and wire your panels. Next, attach an end of a piece of 1/8" cable to a hole at an end of 1b using a cable eye and two clamps. Mount your hand winch to a comfortable spot at the base of the pole. With the array turned fully to the side where the cable connection is up in the air, cut the cable at the winch and connect it properly to the winch spool.

Now connect another cable to the hole in the other end of lb in the same fashion as above, and crank the winch turning the array fully to the other direction. Place a lag bolt into the pole above the winch at about shoulder height, cut the cable dangling from the side of lb now high in the air, and put a loop in the end so that it may slip over the lag bolt. When the array is fully turned with the winch, the cable loop in the lag bolt will keep the array snug so that even strong winds won't swing it around.

Place lag bolts at several other positions down the pole so that the loop on the loose cable may be changed from one to another, effectively locking the winch on these positions throughout the day. Be careful not to overtighten the rig with the winch—just a little tension works fine.

Back at the top of the pole, attach at least three guy wires to the top pole pivot with two clamps each. Run these to stabs driven deeply into the ground (at least three feet), and put turn buckles into the guy wires near the ground so they may be tightened occasionally.

Finally you must protect the rig against lightning strikes. Drive your 8' copper or galvanized ground rod into the ground at the base of the pole. Bolt a large copper wire (I used 3/0 copper and I wouldn't suggest less than 1/0 copper) to the spine (2a), and run this down and attach the other end to the ground rod. This is a separate ground from your system ground and should take direct hits right into the ground away from the system. We also have a system ground connected to the negative side at the battery, have fused disconnects coming from the panels on the positive leg, and have a low voltage lightning arrester before the fuse. This is an adequate ground. Some installations run multiple ground rods from the array frame in every direction, but this strikes me (sorry) as a bit of overkill. The rod's ultimate purpose is to discharge an occasional and unwanted direct hit, not to provide the ultimate encouragement and opportunity for every passing thunderhead by saying, "Hey, look at this great discharge spot over here!"

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