> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Cameron [SMTP:quozl@US.NETREK.ORG]
> Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 1999 8:59 AM
> To:   PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU
> Subject:      Re: SV: Re: Weird, Wacky, Zany PIC applications
>
> Michael Rigby-Jones wrote:
> > I think you'll find that lack of operation during the night is a
> > standard "feature" of sundials ... Then again it's not like you're
> > going to have one in the bedroom.
>
> Not such a bad idea.
>
> The PIC would have to supply the artificial sun.  The scaling would have
> to change to 24 hours for 180 degrees instead of just 12 hours.  I would
> put the sun, a 12V dichroic lamp, on a track in a semicircle around the
> bedside sundial.  It would have to whip back to starting point every
> day; maybe during a favourite television show when nobody is looking.
>
> At least this way the device will work when it is cloudy or rainy.  And
> you won't have to suffer through all these extra calculations for the
> tilt of the planet.
>
> The loss of angular resolution might be a problem, but that could be
> countered with a digital LED display.
>
> --
>
        Excellent, can we make it solar powered as well? <g> Hmm...how about
the light staying fixed and the sundial rotating?  At least you could use it
as a bedside lamp then, without having to move your bed halfway through a
good book ....

        Mike Rigby-Jones