Novag Citrine thoughts

[bob]

I have one and i am not particularly excited about it. You probably remember the electronic board I built back in the late 70's when Dave Cahlander was building one for chess 4.x?? I prefer my 1970's version to the DGT even though the DGT uses RFID to identify the specific piece type. It lacks any sort of "output" mechanism (I used small incandescent lights under the squares on mine) which is a real draw-back for using it to play games. Too bad, really as it is thin (about 1/2") and looks nice... if it just had a decent LED under each square...

I've seen that DGT also sells a chess clock which can be attached to the board, and which can display the computer's moves in algebraic notation on an LCD display. I don't have a DGT board or clock myself, so I have no idea how well it works in practice.

Tord

I have a DGT clock and it has no way to display a move, so I am not sure what that is about unless they have a newer version. The version I have is about as cheap-feeling as one could imagine...

[Tord Romstad]

I have one and i am not particularly excited about it. You probably remember the electronic board I built back in the late 70's when Dave Cahlander was building one for chess 4.x?? I prefer my 1970's version to the DGT even though the DGT uses RFID to identify the specific piece type. It lacks any sort of "output" mechanism (I used small incandescent lights under the squares on mine) which is a real draw-back for using it to play games. Too bad, really as it is thin (about 1/2") and looks nice... if it just had a decent LED under each square...

I've seen that DGT also sells a chess clock which can be attached to the board, and which can display the computer's moves in algebraic notation on an LCD display. I don't have a DGT board or clock myself, so I have no idea how well it works in practice.

I have a DGT clock and it has no way to display a move, so I am not sure what that is about unless they have a newer version. The version I have is about as cheap-feeling as one could imagine...

They sell several clocks, and according to a FAQ I found on the DGT web site, only the DGT XL has this functionality. I suppose it's their most expensive model.

Tord

[AdminX]

I have one and i am not particularly excited about it. You probably remember the electronic board I built back in the late 70's when Dave Cahlander was building one for chess 4.x?? I prefer my 1970's version to the DGT even though the DGT uses RFID to identify the specific piece type. It lacks any sort of "output" mechanism (I used small incandescent lights under the squares on mine) which is a real draw-back for using it to play games. Too bad, really as it is thin (about 1/2") and looks nice... if it just had a decent LED under each square...

I've seen that DGT also sells a chess clock which can be attached to the board, and which can display the computer's moves in algebraic notation on an LCD display. I don't have a DGT board or clock myself, so I have no idea how well it works in practice.

I have a DGT clock and it has no way to display a move, so I am not sure what that is about unless they have a newer version. The version I have is about as cheap-feeling as one could imagine...

They sell several clocks, and according to a FAQ I found on the DGT web site, only the DGT XL has this functionality. I suppose it's their most expensive model.

Tord

Yes this is true, I have both the DGT Chessboard and DGT XL Clock. The clock can display moves.

[sje]

You probably remember the electronic board I built back in the late 70's when Dave Cahlander was building one for chess 4.x??

Wasn't it Dave who modified a traditional mechanical chess clock by adding some solenoids and sensors to allow both manual access and computer control? I seem to recall such being used in one of the Chess 4.x vs David Levy matches.

Back around the same time I recall an article in _Byte_ about an experimenter who built a one-of-a-kind, full size *peg* sensory board with piece recognition.

I've thought about building by own RFID board. The main difficulty is the cost of the RFID sensors; I can't find any for under US$20 each and that's US$1,280 for a board's worth.

[sje]

http://www.chessusa.com/Merchant2/graph ... 83-N01.jpg


A nice photograph with a royal mix-up.

[sje]

I should be getting my Citrine early next week from Our Sponsor and will report when it arrives.

Its 33rd piece is used for function selection. Novag has shaped it as a simple cylinder. I would have designed it to be in the form of a court jester in analogy with the 53rd card of a poker deck being a joker.

[mephisto]

Hi Steve
The following link shows my modyfied Novag Citrine.
http://legrandecitrine.blogspot.com/
The nice thing about the Citrine is that it connects very easly to my tablet PC which enables me to use my UCI ches engines (Zappa, Hiarcs & Rybka) via the excellent Arena Chess program.
Regards
Bryan

[sje]

A very nice modification. I especially like the repositioning of the LCD display in a front drawer.

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I've asked FICS for an account to be used exclusively with the Citrine. Hopefully everything will be running before the end of his month.

[bob]

You probably remember the electronic board I built back in the late 70's when Dave Cahlander was building one for chess 4.x??

Wasn't it Dave who modified a traditional mechanical chess clock by adding some solenoids and sensors to allow both manual access and computer control? I seem to recall such being used in one of the Chess 4.x vs David Levy matches.

Back around the same time I recall an article in _Byte_ about an experimenter who built a one-of-a-kind, full size *peg* sensory board with piece recognition.

I've thought about building by own RFID board. The main difficulty is the cost of the RFID sensors; I can't find any for under US$20 each and that's US$1,280 for a board's worth.

I never saw a clock that was other than what I did. I simply rigged up two micro-switches internally to my old clock so that the electronic board logic could determine when the opponent had completed a move or when the human operator had completed the move so the flashing lights could be turned off. In the first 4.x match against levy, dave used a gigantic industrial-strength robot to move the pieces and press the clock. Levy said it was intimidating. When chess 4.x resigned, it "released" the robotic hand (a 150 pound gadget) and let it swing on its bearings, sort of a "virtual handshake". Levy almost messed up his shorts when that happened. The video was funny.

[CRoberson]

Hi Steve
The following link shows my modyfied Novag Citrine.
http://legrandecitrine.blogspot.com/
The nice thing about the Citrine is that it connects very easly to my tablet PC which enables me to use my UCI ches engines (Zappa, Hiarcs & Rybka) via the excellent Arena Chess program.
Regards
Bryan

It looks good, but the LEDs from each square are missing. I guess you
use the the LCD for that. I think I like the LEDs.