Godwit
Design a real sundial for your place, then print it or cut it.
Get in touch
Email support@khangazun.com. The link opens a message with a quick checklist: please include what happened, what you expected, whether you use Mac or Android, the Godwit version, and the dial type, place and size of the design.
Common questions
Which kind of dial should I make?
A horizontal dial lies flat on a pedestal or the ground and works anywhere. A wall dial goes on a wall facing any direction (a wall facing the pole gets little sun). A reclining dial sits on a sloping surface. An equatorial dial is a ring or plate parallel to the equator, read on one face in summer and the other in winter. A polar dial is parallel to Earth's axis, with parallel hour lines. An analemmatic dial is laid out on the ground, and a person standing on the date scale is the gnomon.
Why must the dial be made for my place?
The hour lines depend on the latitude, and on the longitude when the dial is corrected to clock time. A dial made for somewhere more than about 50 km north or south reads wrong. Pick your town from the list, or type the latitude and longitude.
Why does my sundial differ from my clock?
A sundial shows solar time. Godwit corrects the lines for your longitude, so the remaining difference is the equation of time (up to about 16 minutes either way through the year) and one hour during summer time. The guide and the PDF include the equation of time table; an analemma on the dial builds it in.
How do I find which way my wall faces?
Use Find the Wall's Direction: on a sunny day, note the time when sunlight just reaches the wall (or just leaves it), enter it, and Godwit works out the bearing. No compass is needed, and a compass would be off by the local magnetic declination anyway.
How do I set the dial up?
Make… shows a setting-up guide, also printed on the PDF's last page: level the dial, turn the noon line to true north at the moment of solar noon Godwit gives for your place, and fix the gnomon on the substyle line with its style at the angle on the template.
How do I print at true size?
In Make…, pick A4 or Letter and save the PDF. Print at 100 % or “Actual size”, not “Fit to page”, and measure the 100 mm check line before you cut or engrave. Large dials are tiled over several pages with dashed glue strips and page labels. The PDF, SVG and DXF files need Godwit Unlock.
What is in the free version, and what does Godwit Unlock add?
Free: horizontal dials and walls facing due south or north, hour lines for any place, the shadow and 3D views, picture export and three saved designs. Godwit Unlock is a single purchase (USD 9.99, or your local price) and adds reclining, equatorial, polar and analemmatic dials, walls facing any direction, date lines, your own dates and analemmas, the true-size PDF, SVG, DXF and gnomon template, and unlimited designs. There is no subscription.
How do I restore my purchase on Mac?
Open Settings (⌘,) ▸ Godwit Unlock, or click any padlocked item, and choose Restore Purchase while signed in with the Apple Account that made the purchase.
How do I restore my purchase on Android?
Open Settings ▸ Godwit Unlock, or tap any padlocked item, and choose Restore Purchase while signed in to the Google account that made the purchase in Google Play.
Do my designs sync between devices?
No. Godwit keeps your designs on the device. Save a .godwit file and open it with Import… on another device. There is no account and no network access.
Where does the city list come from?
From GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), built into the app. Godwit never asks for your location.