Novag Citrine thoughts

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CRoberson
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Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by CRoberson »

I've read a review or two and I rather hot to buy one.
Who has one that can tell me more.

My primary use will be at a chess club connected to my laptop.
I'll be running weak engines for beginners.
Steve B
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by Steve B »

Hi Charles
there are a great many posts dealing with the Citrine but not so many here
here is a very good thread from the Hiarcs forum
take your time and read through it
it will give you a very good flavor as to the capabilities of the computer:
http://hiarcs.net/forums/viewtopic.php? ... ht=citrine

Researching Regards
Steve
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sje
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by sje »

I've always liked the Novag chess computers; I once had a Super Constellation and I currently own a Super VIP and an Emerald Classic.

Have the programs changed much over the years? The LCD interface and command set look the same as they did long ago.
Steve B
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by Steve B »

sje wrote:I've always liked the Novag chess computers; I once had a Super Constellation and I currently own a Super VIP and an Emerald Classic.

Have the programs changed much over the years? The LCD interface and command set look the same as they did long ago.
hi Steve
well the Novag programs were all by Dave Kittinger then and now
i guess the program has been improved slightly over the years

the strongest Novag in recent years would be the Star Sapphire/Star Diamond
both are about 2200 Elo
the Star Sapphire is a PDA handheld type of device while the Star Diamond housing is similiar to the Emerald Classic
Star Sapphire:

Image

nice to see authors of strong PC Engines remembering their old dedicated computers again

Back to the Future Regards
Steve
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sje
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by sje »

Steve B wrote:the strongest Novag in recent years would be the Star Sapphire/Star Diamond
both are about 2200 Elo
the Star Sapphire is a PDA handheld type of device while the Star Diamond housing is similiar to the Emerald Classic
Star Sapphire
It was back around 1986 or so that I bought a Novag "Super Connie" and it took only a few games to convince me that my days of chess playing superiority over dedicated units had come to an end.

Yet I am surprised that the past twenty years have seen relatively modest increases in playing strength. My guess is that the surviving manufacturers decided that to most users price was a greater consideration than strength and that conclusion accounts for today's offerings.

My interest in a Novag Citrine is mostly because it has a serial (USB maybe) interface and (apparently) can be controlled over that interface. I don't care too much about the pieces; I'd have to run it over a link without the pieces as my cats would undoubtedly decide that the chessmen, like any other loose objects, are more kitty toys just for them.
CRoberson
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by CRoberson »

Steve,

Here are some you tube videos of the Citrine and PC usage.
However, the Citrine is an auto sensory board instead of pressure sensory.
You may need the pieces. I am planning to get one myself.
Some are conneting to PC wirelessly. The cats won't trips the cables.



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sje
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by sje »

Thanks for the links. Those and some other videos were quite informative.

It looks like a regular RS-232 serial link. I've got an adaptor that will map that to USB so it will run on a Mac. It looks like I'd have to write my own interface software, though.
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sje
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by sje »

Steve B wrote:here is a very good thread from the Hiarcs forum
take your time and read through it
it will give you a very good flavor as to the capabilities of the computer:
http://hiarcs.net/forums/viewtopic.php? ... ht=citrine
Interesting, but most of those posts are over a year old. Apparently there have been a number of revisions (bugfixes) to the Citrine over time and the current models are quite decent. It looks like a good buy if the performance (ca. 2050 elo) is acceptable.

The processor is a Hitachi H8/300 running at 20 MHz with 56 KB ROM and only 3 KB RAM on chip. The CPU is RISC, has sixteen 16 bit registers and executes an instruction almost every cycle. It looks the opening book uses nearly 40% of the ROM. With each move using (say) six bytes, there's only room for a 512 entry move stack. Probably quite a bit less as the board and will take up space along with several ply indexed variables. (The claim is that it can reach 18 ply deep in a search.)

I like the idea of having a 33rd piece that's used to adjust settings.

But for setting up positions and general analysis, I'd think that the DGT piece recognition set and board is more appropriate even if you have to supply a program as it has none of its own.
Steve B
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by Steve B »

sje wrote:
But for setting up positions and general analysis, I'd think that the DGT piece recognition set and board is more appropriate even if you have to supply a program as it has none of its own.

well the DGT board will set up positions more quickly but the price of course is almost double that of Le Citrine
the Citrine was first released here in the states in Dec 06 so the computer is almost 2 years old now
perhaps you would be more interested in Novags latest offering which is due out now at any minute(this is spin talk for perhaps in the next year)
the Novag 2Robot
will only play at around 1700-1800 Elo but it will drive your cats wild when it moves the pieces on its own and you leave the room:
http://www.perfectchessbynovag.com/index_flash.html


Feline Fury Regards
Steve
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sje
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Re: Novag Citrine thoughts

Post by sje »

Steve B wrote: well the DGT board will set up positions more quickly but the price of course is almost double that of Le Citrine
the Citrine was first released here in the states in Dec 06 so the computer is almost 2 years old now
perhaps you would be more interested in Novags latest offering which is due out now at any minute(this is spin talk for perhaps in the next year)
the Novag 2Robot
will only play at around 1700-1800 Elo but it will drive your cats wild when it moves the pieces on its own and you leave the room:
http://www.perfectchessbynovag.com/index_flash.html
Yes, I saw some Novag 2Robot YouTube video. I'll think I'll wait a while and see what the long term reliability of the unit might be. Also, the machine apparently lacks any kind of a serial interface.