原创 Size matters

I don’t know what it is about them, but I am quite keen on using antique analogue meters as part of my hobby projects. I guess I just love the Steampunk genre, plus these meters add a certain "robustness" to one's designs.

I pick these meters up at Hamfests and electronic flea markets whilst on my travels. Until now, the largest meters I've run across have been 4.5" in diameter (that's the diameter of the external bezel). Two examples flaunting their yummy scrummy new faceplates are shown below.

On the left we have the "Magnificence Magnitude" meter for my Phrankly Phenomenal Ultra-Macho Prognostication Engine; on the right we see the "Hours" meter for my Vetinari Clock project.

Now, it has to be said that 4.5 inches is nothing to be ashamed of on the antique analogue meter front. I would be proud to show my Magnificence Magnitude meter to anyone. On the other hand, it also cannot be denied that size does matter, and people do tend to look at you with more respect if you can show them something of a scope and grandeur they've not seen before.

Here we see a man who has not been blessed in the meter department.

 

A few months ago, following one of my earlier columns, a reader called Ian who hails from the Unfinished Continent (Australia) emailed me to boast that he had an exceptionally large-sized unit that he wasn't using. (This immediately brought to mind my father, who bequeathed his legendary virility to me when he found he had no further use for it, but we digress …)

As I recall, Ian actually said something like "I have a really big meter sitting on the workbench in my basement, and I'm never going to use it myself, so would you like it for one of your hobby projects?" Well, of course I could not pass on such an opportunity, so I enthusiastically acquiesced.

Unfortunately, this is a rather heavy beast, so we decided to ship it by the most cost-effective form of snail-mail (I paid for the postage, of course). I think it actually came by ship -- possibly even a canoe, based on the amount of time it took -- but I'm currently performing my Happy Dance (avert your gaze if you wish to preserve your sanity) because this beauty just rolled through the door.

 

In this case, on the left we see the "Hours" meter for my Vetinari Clock; on the right we have my new meter, whose 8" diameter results in a definite sense of presence. I can only imagine how impressive this will look once it's been cleaned up and equipped with a new faceplate appropriate to the task at hand, whatever that task may be.

Personally, I've never seen a meter this big. I didn’t even know they existed. Perhaps it was intended for use by short-sighted operators of nuclear power plants, or maybe its increased size results in increased accuracy (or do I mean precision? I always get those two mixed up).

I've committed to myself that I'm going to finish all of my existing projects before starting any new ones, but I can definitely see this beauty forming the centerpiece for a future "Vetinari Clock on Steroids"-type project that includes things like the solstices and the equinoxes.

How about including the current Galactic Rotation time? If we round things a bit, it takes our solar system about 220 million years to complete a single orbit around the galaxy. If we assume that our solar system has existed for 4.6 billion years, then we can easily calculate the current rotation time, and an 8" diameter meter will make it much easier to represent a full-scale deflection (FSD) corresponding to 220 million years.

Or perhaps you have a different idea as to what information we might present on this meter. If so, now would be a really good time to share your thoughts.