for some reason i thought this was going to be difficult, but it couldn't have been easier.
i tried the 6v power supply i had purchased from kensclockclinic for my stromberg master clock but it did not stir the slumbering beast. i found a 12v power supply in the garage and hooked it up: we had lift-off!
i reached out to tinker dwight, who walked me through ohm's law to figure out how to set the variable resistor on the left.
amperes times resistance is equal to the voltage... I * R = E
which can be moved around to resistance equals voltage/amperes... R = E / I
desired amperes for the clock is .22, so 12v / .22 = 54.5 ohms
i put a wire between the two power terminals and used my fluke voltmeter to dial in 55 ohms across the contacts using the sliding resistor on the left.
i then cleaned the contacts, escape wheel surfaces and other parts that interact when running, and it's been running ever since:
p.s.: love that they call it a 'transmitter' instead of a master clock:
p.p.s.: the pendulum assembly weighs in at 11 lbs