Doktor A, the creator this and other steampunk toys must be a mad genius living in the wrong time period. You can see his work currently on display at Gallery1988.

Just arrange cards in a semi circle in front of the device, place the planchard in the center of the cards, then set dial A to the spirit you wish to contact. Set dial B to the time since death if known. After that, you fully wind the patented clockwork mechanism. Next, you sit in a circle around the device and join hands. Once the spirit is contacted start asking questions using Morse code via the tap key mounted on top of the case.

What to do if a spirit gets loose? You’re on your own I guess.

[Nerdcore]