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Kevin Karney
March 2022
Page 21
Page 21
A collection of three letters: John Wilson reports on the theft of a Gunning heliochronometer from Belvoir Castle. Irene Brightmer investigates whether the maker of her 1812 slate dial, Griffith Dafydd, is the same person as Griffith Davies FRS, maker of a prize-winning 1820 dial. Kevin Karney provides a correction on the naming of his 'spider dial'.
Dials: Heliochronometer, Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout
December 2021
Page 10
Page 10
Details the gnomonic design of the large vertical declining Fleet Street dial using Python-based graphics and established trigonometric routines. The model enabled flexible design adjustments, accounting for physical realities like the wall's step and the final highly accurate laser survey data, ultimately producing the precise instruction graphics for the painter.
Construction Projects, Dials: Vertical, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout
December 2021
Page 30
Page 30
Details the design and CAD-CAM manufacture of a complex hendecagonal hectemoros horizontal sundial for a Golden Wedding anniversary gift. The process used Python graphics (Nodebox) and water-jet cutting to create a bronze plate indicating GMT, sunrise, and sunset, featuring custom algorithms for precise font skewing.
DIY Sundial Projects, Dials: Horizontal, Mathematics of Dialling, Sundial Design & Layout
September 2019
Page 33
Page 33
This letter comments on the study of the shortest day, noting that Claudius Ptolemy wrote about the 'Inequality in the Days' around 150 AD in "The Almagest". Ptolemy correctly identified the two causes—the Solar Anomaly (Eccentricity Effect) and the variation in Meridian crossing (Obliquity Effect)—demonstrating extraordinary precision in calculating the Equation of Time effects.
How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling, Equation of Time
December 2019
Page 2
Page 2
This article details the complex restoration of a large, venerable painted stone sundial near Prestatyn. After initial miscalculations, detailed analysis confirmed its 18th-century origin and correct design latitude. Scientific paint analysis suggested an original smalt blue and gilded finish. The sundial was subsequently restored, repainted, gilded, and reinstalled, canted correctly for its location.
Dials: Vertical, Historical Dials, Restoration projects, Sundial Design & Layout
December 2019
Page 38
Page 38
An expansion on the study of sunrise and sunset times, providing systematic calculations across all latitudes. Using a two-step iterative calculation, the author compares the symmetrical results found in Solar Time against the asymmetrical results in Standard Time, demonstrating how the Equation of Time (EoT) dramatically perturbs the earliest and latest sunrise/sunset days across various latitudes.
Equation of Time, How Sundials Work, Mathematics of Dialling
September 2017
Page 14
Page 14
A poem, edited by Kevin Karney, that was read at the 2017 BSS Conference in Oxford. It details how RAF ground staff stationed at Kalyan airfield, India, during 1945, relieved their boredom and homesickness by constructing a makeshift sundial (a 'mound' with a pole gnomon and painted components) outside the Mess.
Construction Projects, DIY Sundial Projects
December 2017
Page 21
Page 21
A detailed report on the BSS one-day meeting, summarising talks on topics including the Fort Belan sundial, DIY heliochronometers, multi-centre delineation, promotion via social media, the astronomical Culpeper dial, the Gnomonical Universal Nomograph (GUN), and the mechanical generation of the Equation of Time using equation clocks.
Dials: Heliochronometer, Equation of Time, Historical Dials, The BSS and Members
March 2014
Page 14
Page 14
This article describes the Solar Chronograph II, a large equinoctial dial sculpture by Grant Calvin at the University of Western Sydney. The user tells time by lining up so their head shadow eclipses the star-shaped nodus, then turns to look at the nodus which brilliantly eclipses the sun. The design is intended as an educational tool promoting passive solar energy management and sustainable building design.
Construction Projects, Dials: Equatorial, How Sundials Work, Sundial Design & Layout
June 2014
Page 21
Page 21
Describes the sundial located at The Rectory, Croft-on-Tees, the home of Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson). The extant dial, although corroded, is believed to be signed by Thomas Agar of York and features a substantial gnomon supported by unique pyramid supporters.
Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout
December 2014
Page 27
Page 27
A summary of the Newbury BSS meeting, covering diverse topics including David Brown's talk on commission pitfalls and Kevin Karney's push for mean time dials incorporating the Equation of Time. Frank King reported on historical dials at the Bodleian Library. Attendees viewed the Druid helical mean-time dial at Bayford House Care Home.
Equation of Time, Historical Dials, Sundial Design & Layout, The BSS and Members
September 2011
Page 7
Page 7
This review covers 'The Ancient Sundials of Scotland' by Dennis Cowan, describing it as a beautiful picture book illustrating Scottish dials like Obelisk, Lectern, Multi-faceted, Mercat Cross, Globe, Church, and House Dials. The book highlights Scotland's unique 17th & 18th-century dial traditions, influenced by the Calvinist world and the Netherlands.
December 2009
Page 5
Page 5
The first letter describes an innovative focusing sphere lens made of lucite and copper sulphate, designed for use in a sundial. The second letter confirms that Samuel Turner, a diallist, was also the sculptor of his own tombstone which features a direct west dial.
Dials: Unusual, How Sundials Work, Historical Dials
December 2006
Page 180
Page 180
This multi-author report details the British Sundial Society's visit to Nürnberg, exploring historical sundials on sites like St Lawrence church (1502), the Fembo House, and various multi-faced dials in Rothenberg. The trip also included visits to St Rochus Cemetery, where gravestones of famous dial makers feature classical diptych dials.
Dials: Multi Faced, Dials: Portable, Historical Dials, The BSS and Members