Dear Bill,
Sunclocks are genuine. Some people are very
enthusiastic about them, others are not. You
have almost certainly seen a Sunclocks dial
without realising it.
They have an interesting business model...
If you want a sundial you are given several
options:
1. Buy a full set of instructions and
design drawings for your location
and numerous suggestions for how
to implement a design. Very cheap.
2. Hand these drawings to a local
workshop.
3. Use a trusted distributor.
What they don't like is people selling-on
a design for one location to someone in a
different location.
I have had this trouble locally here in
Cambridge, U.K. A local group decided to
commission a sundial and one of their
number found a used set of drawings (for
Birmingham) for sale, bought them and handed
them to the parks department of the local
authority. The parks department didn't
understand the instructions for determining
north and didn't understand much else besides.
Unsurprisingly, the result is a non-dial.
That's a good example of...
The seller doesn't know what he is selling
The buyer doesn't know what he is buying
Money changes hands
Both parties are happy
Apart from the Sunclocks proprietor, only
interested bystanders like me are in the
slightest bit bothered by seeing a nonsense
sundial whenever I walk in that park.
It is a genuine business and, if properly
used, you can end up with an interesting
analemmatic sundial.
You won't be able to e-mail the proprietor.
He doesn't do e-mail.
Frank
Frank H. King
Cambridge, U.K.
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