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Precision Sundials, LLC



Bill Gottesman, Managing Member Telephone: (802) 864-3714

100 Overlake Park Fax: (802) 862-6597

Burlington, VT 05401 email: bill@

Schmoyer Sunquest Owner’s Manual

Thank you for buying this truly exceptional sundial, designed in 1958 by industrial designer Richard Schmoyer of Landisville, Pennsylvania, and recently machined by Precision Sundials from his original sandcasting patterns. He designed this sundial to tell genuine clock time directly, accounting for the user’s longitude, latitude, the date, and daylight saving time. Less than 200 were made, yet this dial enjoyed acclaim in such publications as Scientific American and several notable textbooks of sundial design. Very few are known to exist today. He designed two bases for the Sunquest, both of which are included with your dial. The unusual shape of the (shadow casting) gnomon automatically compensates for the effect that the seasons have on telling time by the sun. The sun runs fast (compared to a clock) in the fall, and slow in the winter, for example. Older globes used to display this information with a large graphic figure 8, called the Analemma, over the Pacific Ocean, for those who remember.

Setup

Unless Precision Sundials set the dial up for you prior to delivery, you will need to set up for your location. Please fill in the following data. You can look it up on a map, or via .

Longitude Latitude Time Zone Longitude

(EST=75, CST=90, MST=105, PST=120)

Set your latitude on the scale at the bottom of the dial. In this example the latitude is set for 44.5 degrees.

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Adjust the Solar Noon indicator for your longitude by loosening (and later tightening) the screws shown in the picture to the right. For some locations it may even be necessary to shift the screws to adjacent holes. In this example solar noon is set for 8 minutes before 12:00. Solar noon is the time that the sun is exactly south on September 1st, and is calculated as follows: (Your Longitude – Time Zone Longitude) x 4. This is the number of minutes after Noon (or before if the value is negative) to set the indicator. Example: Burlington Vermont longitude is 73.2, and is in the eastern time zone (75 degrees). (73.2 – 75) x 4 = -7.2 minutes. So in Burlington, Vermont, the Solar Noon indicator should be set to 7.2 minutes before noon. Each mark on the sundial’s time scale corresponds to 5 minutes

Set the dial for Standard Time (STD, late October to early April), or Daylight Saving Time (DST, early April to Late October) by loosening the wing nuts and sliding the scale to the STD mark or the DST mark as shown.

Dial set to Standard Time (STD) Dial set to Daylight Saving Time (DST)

When installing the sundial on the pedestal or other site of your choosing, be certain the surface is level. See “Using your Schmoyer Sunquest” below, and turn the dial until it reads the same time as your watch (be certain your watch is set to the correct time). It is now properly aligned and ready for use.

Pedestal recommendations can be found on the last page.

Using your Schmoyer Sunquest

To read the time, simply turn the central piece (called the gnomon) to that the correct side faces the sun, and casts a thin slit on the dial’s time scale. In the figure below, the date is August 11, so the blue side faces the sun. The slit of light shows the time to be 9:15, and should be accurate to 5 minutes or better if the dial is set up properly. Remember to reset the scale, as discussed on the previous page, when resetting your clocks for Daylight Saving or Standard Time.

Near the Solstices (late June and late December) the dial requires an additional adjustment. For most of the year, as indicated in red text, the gnomon is set on the red mark by June 1/July 15.

But from June 2 to July 14 (and from December 2 to January 14) the gnomon must be adjusted to the proper date. In this photo, the gnomon is set for June 17/July 26.

Possibilities for Pedestals

A suggested height for a pedestal for the Schmoyer Sunquest is 24 to 28 inches. The dial has a footprint of 5½ inches for the small square base, and 12.25 inches for the larger round base. Regardless of the pedestal’s orientation, the dial must point north. The following pedestals are the proper size for the small base only. To accommodate the larger base, the pedestal, whether round or square, should have a width of 13 to 14 inches at the top.

Three possible sources for mail order pedestals are as follows. We do not have direct experience with these vendors, but their pedestals are the right size, and the vendors claim that they are suitable for outdoor use.

Christianne

120 N. Main St.

Port Chester, NY 10573

(800) 486-3569



Christianne’s L-77KK is a 28” tall light gray fiberglass Doric Column with a 12” square top. It retails in the $300 range.

The Garden Gate

5122 Morningside Dr.

Houston, TX 7705

(713) 528-2654



The Garden Gate sells Chilstone, a cast stone product made in England. The C6300 is 25” tall with a 12.4” square top. The C4330 is 24.8” tall with a 12.1” square top. The C4900 is 23.5” tall with a 10.8” square top. I do not know color or price.

Fletcher Granite makes a granite pedestal made of stackable components. The pieces needed for the Schmoyer dial are three 12”x 12”x 8” column blocks, and one 14”x 14”x 4” top. Each piece weighs about 60 lbs, and all four cost about $600 altogether. I have personally used this pedestal, and it works fine for both the small and the large base.

Fletcher Granite Company, Inc.

275 Groton Road (Route #40)

North Chelmsford, Ma. - 01863

(800) 253-8168, (978) 251-4031



-Bill Gottesman

Jan, 2005

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