{"id":1831740,"date":"2024-06-06T11:12:07","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T15:12:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/?p=1831740"},"modified":"2024-06-07T20:02:25","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T00:02:25","slug":"the-geochron-and-how-one-was-restored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/06\/the-geochron-and-how-one-was-restored\/","title":{"rendered":"The Geochron, and How One Was Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The greatest clock (and map) ever made\" width=\"760\" height=\"428\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/z2EUPDSabY0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geochron.com\/about\/what-is-it\/\">Geochron<\/a> has been around since the mid-sixties and I only just learned about it this week. It\u2019s an analog, electromechanical world clock and map. The backlit, translucent map is motorized: it scrolls from left to right to indicate the rotation of the earth. Noon is at the centre of the map. The terminators actually change to reflect the change in seasons, as does the position of the overhead sun, which moves in an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Analemma\">analemma<\/a>: these are <em>physical<\/em> objects behind the map that block the light and are geared to run on an annual cycle. Again: this thing is <em>electromechanical<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mind boggles, and not just at the (current) mid-four-figures price tag\u2014which is to say that <em>they\u2019re still making these things<\/em>. (They also have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.geochron.com\/product\/geochron-digital-atlas-2\/\">a digital version you can plug into a 4K TV<\/a> [<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/o\/ASIN\/B093CFRM3S\/maproom-20\">Amazon<\/a>] which at $500 seems expensive for what it is. But then the Geochron itself always was. These things have never been anything other than executive- or installation-grade luxury goods.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Anyway, Matthew Dockrey of <em>Attoparsec<\/em> managed to lay hands on a used one from the eighties and went through the process of restoring it\u2014replacing worn parts, updating the maps and so forth\u2014and documented it in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=z2EUPDSabY0\">this 21-minute video<\/a>. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.metafilter.com\/204022\/The-greatest-clock-and-map-ever-made\">MetaFilter<\/a>]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Geochron has been around since the mid-sixties and I only just learned about it this week. It\u2019s an analog, electromechanical world clock and map. The backlit, translucent map is motorized: it scrolls from left&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2024\/06\/the-geochron-and-how-one-was-restored\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"link","meta":{"autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[],"autoblue_post_url":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[233],"tags":[1676],"class_list":["post-1831740","post","type-post","status-publish","format-link","hentry","category-unusual-maps","tag-geochron","post_format-post-format-link"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1788123,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2019\/12\/tom-pattersons-map-of-prince-william-sound\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":0},"title":"Tom Patterson&#8217;s Map of Prince William Sound","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"3 December 2019","format":"link","excerpt":"Tom Patterson\u2019s projects are always worthy of note. His latest is a wall map of Alaska\u2019s Prince William Sound\u2014a physical relief map that, Tom warns, will very soon be out of date: Prince William Sound turned out being the most laborious map that I have ever made. The culprit: climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weather and Climate&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prince William Sound","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/patterson-prince-william-sound-1024x814.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/patterson-prince-william-sound-1024x814.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/patterson-prince-william-sound-1024x814.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/patterson-prince-william-sound-1024x814.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1791885,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2021\/10\/map-projection-playground\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":1},"title":"Map Projection Playground","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"12 October 2021","format":"link","excerpt":"A lot of fun can be had at Florian Ledermann\u2019s Map Projection Playground, which loads up nearly a hundred map projections for you to manipulate: controls enable you to change the centre meridian and several other parameters. You can even overlay a simplified Tissot\u2019s indicatrix! [Maps Mania]","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cartography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cartography","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/cartography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5665,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2013\/12\/earth-wind-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":2},"title":"Earth Wind Map","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"23 December 2013","format":"link","excerpt":"Earth Wind Map is a transfixing animated visualization of global wind forecasts, updated every three hours. It would be fine enough to enjoy passively, but you can play with it: click and drag to change the view, select from a variety of map projections and pressure levels. Via io9 and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Weather and Climate&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Weather and Climate","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/weather-and-climate\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5972,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2015\/04\/map-of-canada-changes-depiction-of-arctic-sea-ice\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":3},"title":"Map of Canada Changes Depiction of Arctic Sea Ice","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"17 April 2015","format":"link","excerpt":"The federal government's new map of Canada, part of the Atlas of Canada reference series, came out this week. Among the changes between it and its predecessor (which came out in 2006), one in particular is drawing attention. Ivan Semeniuk in the Globe and Mail: Whereas the older version of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;National Maps&quot;","block_context":{"text":"National Maps","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/national-maps\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1807666,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2022\/06\/kenneth-field-dump-the-map\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":4},"title":"Kenneth Field: &#8216;Dump the Map&#8217;","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"14 June 2022","format":"link","excerpt":"Kenneth Field is not a fan of the new Tube map. Transport for London are doggedly clinging on to Beck\u2019s iconic map, and continue to attempt to crowbar 18 separate lines\/modes and 510 stations onto the map. It\u2019s not just the additional infrastructure, but the additional demands by various stakeholders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Transit&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Transit","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/transit\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1820194,"url":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/2023\/11\/map-of-british-english-dialects\/","url_meta":{"origin":1831740,"position":5},"title":"Map of British English Dialects","author":"Jonathan Crowe","date":"15 November 2023","format":"link","excerpt":"Starkey Comics\u2019s Map of British English Dialects took Ryan ages to research. \u201cThe end result is an image which is, to my knowledge, the most detailed map of British dialects ever made. But it is still very much unfinished, and it always will be.\u201d The rest of his post is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Linguistics&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Linguistics","link":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/category\/linguistics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Map of British English Dialects by Starkey Comics","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.maproomblog.com\/xq\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/starkey-british-dialects-216x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1831740"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1831810,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1831740\/revisions\/1831810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1831740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1831740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.maproomblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1831740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}