Spilhaus Space Clock For Sale

This is a rare Spilhaus Space Clock designed by Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus and produced under license by Edmund Scientific from 1964 until the early 1970s.

This is the fabulous Spilhaus Space Clock.  It was designed by Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus, Dean of Technnology, University of Minnesota (from 1949 to 1967).  Dr. Spilhaus was the inventor of the bathythermograph, an invention which contributed substantially to America's submarine warfare success in WW II.  Dr. Spilhaus had many areas of interest including oceanography and meteorology.  The lower left dial shows regular time; the lower right dial is a 24 hour clock which shows the time in various major cities around the world.  The large Space Dial of the Spilhaus Space Clock presents a variety of important celestial information.  From the large space dial you can read these 15 up-to-the minute facts:

                                                                1. The Horizon And The Visible Heavens
                                                                2. The Sun's Position In The Sky.
                                                                3. The Moon's Position In The Sky
                                                                4. Position Of The Stars
                                                                5. Relative Position Of Sun, Moon, And Stars
                                                                6. A Perpetual Calendar Showing The Current Month And Day
                                                                7. Solar Time Of Sun, Moon, And Stars At Meridian
                                                                8. Sidereal Or Star Time.
                                                                9. Current Phase Of The Moon
                                                                10. Time Of Daily Sunrise And Sunset
                                                                11. Mean Time Of Moon Rise And Moon Set
                                                                12. Mean Time Of Star Rise And Star Set
                                                                13. Current Time Of High Or Low Tide
                                                                14. Current Stage Of The Tide
                                                                15. Mean Solar Time At The clock's Location

This clock is in good running condition and keeps accurate time. I have two other Spilhaus clocks and a prototype (NOT FOR SALE!). I have run this clock next to my other ones for three years and it is keeping perfect time. This clock is the lighted Model #1202, serial number B2559, and the lights work. The button in back that turns the light on was missing. This "button" was a 2" long piece of acrylic housed in a hexagonal aluminum tube and was glued to the push switch. I replaced it with a wooden dowel that works perfectly. It can be seen in the lower right of the picture of the ID information. The veneer on the back cover has a small piece missing, see picture below.

The cabinet is nice but there are a couple of small scratches on the left side (as you face the front of the clock). These are not really noticeable unless you are looking at them up close. There is scuffing on the base on the right side. When the clock is sitting on a shelf or mantel, you really don't see the sides. There is one scuff visible on the front (on the left edge) to the left of the small time clock - it can be seen above the date in the picture of the front and can also be seen in the detail picture of the time clock. The brass is very nice but starting to age a little over the top - I did not polish it since some people like this look. You can polish it if you prefer bright brass.

I have replaced two of the original nylon gears (the two small gears on the left in the picture) with delrin replacements made by Micro Precision Parts Manufacturing, a company that can make all of the gears for this clock: http://www.precisionmicromachining.com/index.html. The other gears are the original nylon and are not cracked or broken - see pictures below.

There is a crack in the plastic clock face at the 8:30 position. I posted three photos, including one from inside the case, showing this. The crack does not stand out too much when the clock sits on my mantel, especially when viewing the clock from a little distance across the room.

This clock comes with an original user's manual, but unfortunately someone took a hole-punch to the cover. This doesn't affect readability though.

I have tried to describe this clock as accurately as possible. It is a very nice clock, probably nicer than average, and is nicer than many that have come up for sale on ebay in the past year. My description might make it sound less than it really is.

This will be packaged according to the directions given on the Sands Mechanical Museum's website at http://www.sandsmuseum.com/misc/spillhaus/repair/spilhausrepair.html The package is 15 pounds, 15" X 20" X 25" and you can get a quote for shipping via the U.S Post Office, UPS, or FEDEX

Updated October 7, 2011