The real Enhanced Compass

[Grey Roger]

Here's the Enhanced Compass in PoTC:


I must have achieved the required minlevel because I've been able to buy one:


As well as showing North, the compass can tell me the time of day. If the compass is bright and shiny, it's daytime; if the compass is dull and not shiny, it's nighttime. But in good weather it can do better than that because it's actually a sundial. The compass is only there so it can be lined up correctly - you turn the whole thing round until the needle is on the "N", then the sundial is aligned so that the shadow from the pointer will fall on the correct part of the hour scale. The sundial also needs to be tilted at the correct angle. This one is set up to be accurate for 55 degrees latitude; if you're further south than that, you tip up the dial according to the curved scale on the right of the rim.

All of which means the Enhanced Compass needs to also function as a basic clock, at least during daylight hours.

 

[LarryHookins]

That's pretty cool! How big is it?

 

[Grey Roger]

4" diameter.

The three studs round the edge are short threaded legs. The sundial base ideally needs to be set level, so if it's being put onto an uneven surface, the legs can be extended or retracted a bit to compensate.

 

[Pieter Boelen]

That is indeed pretty darn cool, @Grey Roger!

I bought something similar myself a few years back when in Portsmouth; also with a sundial on it.
Yours looks a bit more fancy though.

It is probably possible to update the PotC game code to have it work as a clock during daytime only.
Shouldn't be too difficult, I imagine.