Kala Brass Pocket Sundial | Sun Watch Tells The True Solar Time Anywhere in The World | Precision Made in Austria

This little timepiece is also a celestial compass. When this sundial is set properly to your latitude and month of the year the little dot of sunlight appears on the equator showing the time at your location for your latitude & longitude wherever you are on earth & the gnomon points true north at the North Star the current orientation of the equator & the earth are obvious. True Genius and definitely the best most impressive pocket sundial/compass I’ve ever used. All you need is your current latitude and month to use this amazing sundial & it is quite accurate. Truly Amazing!

I chose to read Fair and Foul, Project Gene Assist Book 1 because I was very much attracted by the premise – a brilliant female programmer, Juliane Faris, determined to change the world through technological advancement but blinded by her ambition to create a legacy by participating in highly risky and uncontrolled experimentation. The procedure to which she willingly submits grants her unprecedented knowledge and control over her mind, it at will to the internet, making her brain a supercomputer. This is not without side effects which threaten her very sanity. It’s clear from the premise that the author has a real gift for seeing and imagining future technology.The testy relationship at the outset between Juliane and her mentor, Alan (couldn’t find a last name), a superstar scientist, is all too real – he takes advantage of her work without giving her credit. She has guts and does stand up to him. She and Alan both work for ACI, a private-public partnership think tank devoted to research and development, established by Louis Evans, Sr. When Juliane meets Louis, Jr., reportedly a playboy with no interest in his father’s creation, she quickly finds he is neither dumb or disinterested. He has a quick mind and is determined to take ACI to even greater heights of discovery. When Juliane falls for Louis and engages in an affair, she thinks her future is rosy. But there are two caveats a scientist should always remember: don’t antagonize your mentor and don’t date the boss’s son!I found Alan’s character two dimensional – loathsome, self-centered, egotistical – and some of the other characters weren’t much better. Juliane’s research assistant was the exception. Chad was delightfully and humorously all too human and I wish he hadn’t disappeared half way through the book.I am not the most tech-gifted reader, but there were parts of this book that had me confused. It was especially frustrating when some of the descriptions of the laboratory work did not ring true, even for a computer lab. I spent several decades running my own lab, so more background work in running a research operation might have grounded the story to a better degree. The science itself is occasionally confusing, and experimenting on oneself – and without controls – is such a negative for me that I had to make an effort to suspend belief. But that’s what one does with science fiction.There are editing gaps – an explosion that apparently occurs in Juliane’s lab to which there is a reference but no description, before the explosion in the foreign factory producing one of Juliane’s products. Color me confused.I suspect there are a lots of sci fi fans out there who will dig into this book with great enjoyment, and Ms. Potts has received some strongly positive reviews. While there were parts of Fair and Foul I found interesting and compelling, it was a difficult read for me personally.

For the money, one gets good value. However, this is not a "precision" instrument one would expect from German engineering. It is accurate enough as an education and conversational piece, and serves to teach the basic mechanics and principles on solar timekeeping. The instructions that accompany this sundial are rudimentary and requires a working knowledge of sundial principles. In other words, if one is not versed in the basic principles, then this instrument may prove too challenging. There are on-line videos that fill in the knowledge gaps, and thus makes it easier to set-up.The biggest drawback is the center window on which one sets the month/date, difficult to read/interpret and is not marked precisely and leaves room for user error. Likewise the lattitude gradations on the out ring and "pointer" which carries the suspension loop. As to postive attributes, it is solidly constructed, has the right amount of heft and feel, and is, well, fun to play around with. I used it to instruct my sons on the equation of time, celestial mechanics, and the concepts of central meridian and mean solar time versus "watch" time.

Pretty neat, but I can’t read it because the paint is all rubbed off. Disappointing. Quality control might be an issue. Not a $56 item. Maybe a $20 item. But then again maybe I got a bad one. I’ll be sending back.

Made well. The hinges are all tight. I wouldnt call it precision crafted but its as precise as i could imagine a pocket sundial should be. Update: I bought this item in Feb 2017. I have'nt really done anything to abuse it so it's still nice and shiny. Tells relatively accurate winter time. The only problem i have with this device is it depends on you knowing your latitude. I planned on throwing it in my haversack with my other small misc navigational and chronographic instruments for camping. If i leave my neighborhood i have to reset it. So i made a science class sextant. Problem solved. I can now use Polaris to determine my latitude. I usw it constantly when i lose my phone so i'm not late for work.

I have a number of sundials that actually tell time accurately (not just decorations). This one is definitely my favorite. The inscriptions are clear. It adjusts for latitude and (to some extent) the equation of time. All I need to worry about is the longitudinal correction. For a reasonably small dial, it is accurate. And it never needs batteries! Of course, I am not about to give up on my atomic watch, but there is just something amazing about telling time via the sun.

It's bigger than I thought but I love it! It's going in my survival bag with a 50 year key chain calender, and nocturnal Stardial. The only problem I have with it is I wish it wasn't so faded, so I can read what it has on it... Guess I'll just have to use that metal staining stuff...

The sunwatch works quite well. My time readings are within +/- 2 minutes of local clock time after applying correction for DST, longitude offset from timezone center and the equation of time.The only disadvantage is the overall size. Reading and setup would be much easier if the diameter was 4 to 6 inches.