Collector's Corner...On The Fidelity Playmatic S

[Steve B]

The Playmatic S is sometimes referred to as the Sensory 9 "Deluxe" due to the fact that it is basically a Sensory Chess Challenger 9...in wood
indeed the Playmatic S's manual's cover page has a dual title
Sensory 9...Playmatic S
"Deluxe" is the term generally used to denote a computer which is housed in Wood instead of the same computer which was released in plastic

The Playmatic takes all of the Fidelity modules and does not have a Printer port..it had no display screen
all of the functions ,levels and options are exactly the same as the SC9 except that the Playmatic is Auto-Sensory(64 LED's) not Pressure Sensory
other minor differences include...
ON/OFF switch for the Playmatic allowing the computer to remain plugged in
ON/OFF switch for the module-allows user to engage module or ignore it while keeping module plugged in
does not run on batteries
selecting the options is performed by activating squares with the pieces rather then pressing the squares as in the SC9


Larry has educated us that the normal Sensory 9 was released in two versions..A and B

a few ways to determine which version one has is as follows:
set the computer to level 1
make the move 1.h4
if it replies with either 1.e5 or 1.d5 it is version A
If it replies 1.b6 it is version B
if the serial number starts with 32xxxx it is version B

The SC9A ran at 1.6 Mhz with the SC9B at 2 Mhz

The Playmatic S ran at 3.1 Mhz so we basically have a Sensory 9 Deluxe on Steroids.. at 2x the speed of an SC9A and 1.5x the speed of an SC9B
the Wiki shows an ELO for it of 1720 ..higher then the SC9 due to the faster clock speed

I was curious to see which version of the SC9 program i had in my Playmatic S so i made the move
1.h4 and in about 7 seconds it replied with 1.e5
the regular SC9 A replies with 1.e5 in about 14 seconds

Hence it is a SC9A Playmatic S





I Wonder if Fidelity ever released a Playmatic SC9B Regards?
Steve

[Larry]

[fen]5k2/8/5K2/5R2/8/8/8/8[/fen]

Steve, in a spare moment you might like to set up the Playmatic with
the above position, and check the time for a simple mate-in-3, starting
with *any* rook move. The SC9A takes well over a minute...!, about
73 or so seconds. You'd think this position could be solved in a heartbeat.
The SC9A had a bug...in a K+B+N versus k position it would declare
a draw each time it was on the move. You have to press 'clear' to keep
playing. The SC9B did not have this bug.
So, while you've got the Playmatic out, perhaps the following position,
as an example, white to move:
[fen]8/8/8/8/6K1/3N3B/8/7k[/fen]
A simple enough mate-in-4 that is not beyond the capability of the SC9,
therefore the Playmatic will solve it in probably under a minute. See if the
Playmatic keeps insisting on a draw?
regards,
Larry
PS, just to edit my post, we never got the Playmatic down here. I think
I mentioned once before that we were at the mercy of the whims of
Australia's only chess comp importer, so until I took an interest in chess
comps, I had never heard of *many* models, including Playmatic.

[Steve B]

I thought it might be interesting to play a Game pitting the Playmatic against one of its slower running siblings
i chose the SC9B
Selective Search rates the SC9 1528(not clear which version)
Playmatic was armed with the CB16 module and had the dark pieces
SC9B came packing the CB9 module


In The Game
Both computers were Out Of Book at move 11
The much weaker SC9B played a surprisingly strong game
pushing the C pawn to promotion forcing the Playmatic to give up a minor piece at move 68
not long after however it blunders away the win allowing the PS to win back a p
on move 84 SC9B blunders horribly tossing away the draw...
at first PS intends to play the correct winning move 84..Rg3 but sadly elects to blunder right back leaving the game a dead draw

[Date "2012.4.26"]
[White "Fidelity SC9B"]
[Black "Playmatic S"]
[Time Control "1 Min.AVG."]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4 3.g3 c5 4.Bg2 Nc6 5.d3 e5 6.O-O Nf6 7.e3 Be7 8.exd4
exd4 9.Bf4 O-O 10.Ne5 Nxe5 11.Bxe5 Nd7 12.Bf4 g5 13.Bd2 Ne5 14.Qe2 Nc6
15.Na3 Bf5 16.Rae1 Re8 17.Bd5 Bf6 18.Qh5 Re7 19.Rxe7 Qxe7 20.Bxc6 bxc6
21.Re1 Qd8 22.Qf3 Bd7 23.Re4 Be6 24.Ba5 Qe7 25.Re1 Rb8 26.b3 Rc8 27.Bd2
Kh8 28.Nc2 a6 29.Qh5 Rd8 30.f4 gxf4 31.Bxf4 Rg8 32.Qf3 Rc8 33.Qe4 Bg7
34.b4 cxb4 35.Nxd4 Qd7 36.Be5 Bh3 37.Bxg7+ Kxg7 38.c5 Qd5 39.Qxd5 cxd5
40.c6 Kf6 41.Kf2 Bg4 42.Kg2 h5 43.Kf2 Rc7 44.Rb1 a5 45.Rc1 Be6 46.Nb5
Rc8 47.c7 Ra8 48.Nd6 Bc8 49.Ne8+ Ke5 50.Re1+ Kd4 51.Nd6 Bg4 52.Rc1 Bc8
53.Ke2 f5 54.Nb5+ Ke5 55.Rc6 f4 56.d4+ Ke4 57.gxf4 Kxf4 58.Rf6+ Kg5
59.Rd6 Bb7 60.Kd3 a4 61.Rb6 Bc8 62.Rb8 Bf5+ 63.Ke3 Ra6 64.Rg8+ Kh6
65.Rf8 Bg4 66.Rh8+ Kg5 67.c8=Q Bxc8 68.Rxc8 Re6+ 69.Kd3 Rf6 70.Rc5 Rf3+
71.Ke2 Rh3 72.a3 bxa3 73.Rxd5+ Kg4 74.Rd7 Rxh2+ 75.Kd3 a2 76.Rg7+ Kh3
77.Rg1 Rg2 78.Ra1 h4 79.Nc3 Kg4 80.Nxa2 h3 81.Nc3 h2 82.Re1 Rg1 83.Re4+
Kh3 84.Re3+ Kh4 85.Re4+ Kg5 86.Re5+ Kg6 87.Re6+ Kf7 88.Rh6 h1=Q 89.Rxh1
Rxh1 90.Nxa4 Ke6 *

Final Position
[fen]8/8/4k3/8/N2P4/3K4/8/7r w - - 0 91[/fen]

I called it a draw here
it is a EGTB draw
even if white managed to promote its remaining p for blacks R white would not have sufficient material to mate



Up Next...
Playmatic Vs.the Legendary Elite Champion
i have #17 and # 399
both acquired from other collectors in trade
#17 is from Australia (with Aussie plug)and has a blank plaque(about 10% of the 500 Champions were released to retailers with a blank plaque)

Land Of Oz Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

[fen]8/8/8/8/2R5/2K5/8/2k5 w - - 0 1 [/fen]

Steve, in a spare moment you might like to set up the Playmatic with
the above position, and check the time for a simple mate-in-3, starting
with *any* rook move. The SC9A takes well over a minute...!,about
73 or so seconds.

Playmatic plays 1.Rd4 in 35 Seconds and announces the mate in 3
just about the right amount of time given it is running at 2x the speed of the SC9A

[fen]k7/8/B3N3/1K6/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 1[/fen]
A simple enough mate-in-4 that is not beyond the capability of the SC9,
therefore the Playmatic will solve it in probably under a minute. See if the
Playmatic keeps insisting on a draw?

It Does
after i decline the draw offer ..Playmatic takes 53 seconds to announce a mate in 4 and plays 1.kb6

This Playmatic is without a doubt a SC9A Regards
Steve

[Larry]

In the game SC9/Playmatic you introduced us to the SC9B and then
went on to describe it as SC9A in the following paragraph. Which SC9
was it? Thanks for setting up the positions, yes the timing for the mate
in three was about right for the clockspeed.
You got an Elite Champion from Australia? How long ago? Can you
remember his name? It was'nt Jonathon (JonP)that used to post here, was
it?
jealous regards,
Larry

[Steve B]

In the game SC9/Playmatic you introduced us to the SC9B and then
went on to describe it as SC9A in the following paragraph. Which SC9
was it? Thanks for setting up the positions, yes the timing for the mate
in three was about right for the clockspeed.
You got an Elite Champion from Australia? How long ago? Can you
remember his name? It was'nt Jonathon (JonP)that used to post here, was
it?
jealous regards,
Larry

Good Catch Larry
the Playmatic played the SC9B
my bad
i am glad someone is at least reading these posts

Yes ..Elite Champion #17 is from the Land Down Under
I Dont recall exactly when i acquired it but it has to be at least 10 years ago
and ..no ..it wans't Jonathon ..but your close...
Very Close Regards
Steve

[Larry]

..no ..it wans't Jonathon ..but your close...
Very Close Regards
Steve

It was Jonathon's brother, Cameron Parle!!
However, I must excuse him, because I was'nt a collector ten years back.
Larry

[Steve B]

..no ..it wans't Jonathon ..but your close...
Very Close Regards
Steve

It was Jonathon's brother, Cameron Parle!!
However, I must excuse him, because I was'nt a collector ten years back.
Larry

your good Larry..very very good
i also got one of my two Decorator Challengers from Cameron
also with Aussie plug
it works fine but it did not come with a full set of pieces and the board has some scratches but i was still quite happy to get it
Vegemite Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

Just a pet peeve i have a need to get off my chest

Fidelity was the first and only major manufacturer of chess computers that offered a voice feature
we are all familiar with that cold metallic voice advising us to "Select your level"
in addition to the voice most Fidelity computers offered an acoustic beep as well as the voice

Over the years i am noticing a strange anomaly
one computers voice no longer works while the beep does and in another the voice works but the beep no longer does
in a third neither voice or beep work any longer
the others were OK(when last i checked)
now can i ask why on earth would one sound feature work and not the other? why is that exactly?
these computers all have only one speaker and i checked all of the leads and connections etc etc

i would imagine they would either both work or both not work
my guess is there is some sort of chip for the voice and a separate chip for the beep and when one fails it doesn't effect the other
make any sense?
now ..generally the first thing i do when i play an old Fidelity is to turn the voice OFF but keep the beep ON
Still it leaves me ..
Speechless Regards
Steve

[Larry]

these computers all have only one speaker and i checked all of the leads and connections etc etc

i would imagine they would either both work or both not work
my guess is there is some sort of chip for the voice and a separate chip for the beep and when one fails it doesn't effect the other
make any sense?
now ..generally the first thing i do when i play an old Fidelity is to turn the voice OFF but keep the beep ON

I'm not a technician's bootlace, and can only speak from my own
limited experience with these problems. The voice would be generated
by a separate chip as you say, and this would supposedly mean separate
wires to the speaker. With these machines being over 30 years old, dried
out solder joints is to be suspected first off. Of course there must be
two wires for the voice and a separate two for the beep. Any of the four
soldered joints can fail, and at either end, so there are eight soldered
joints to be melted before trying the machine again. I'm guessing the
voice chip is not a push fit, but is soldered in place, so these joints would
be melted too. I'd say this is what a technician would do, and if he got
a good result he would no doubt tell you that he spent over an hour on
the repair job, not the fifteen minutes he actually spent.
Opening up a Fidelity voice champion tends to be like getting into
Fort Knox. I had to do it to mend an led that was intermittent. However,
I can tell you that if I strike the same problem with mine, I will not waste
money getting some so called electronics expert to do what I can easily
enough do myself.
If you are not familiar with taking a Champion apart, first pull the
plastic legs off (they are stuck on with glue), then you will see the
plastic lugs which when pulled back let you pull the playing surface out
from the front of the wooden frame. It will hopefully come far enough
out for you to reach into the speaker with a soldering iron and melt any
soldered joints you can see. With luck, this will do the trick. If not, you
will quickly figure out how to get the back right away from the wood,
and can melt the solder joints at the other end. The mainboard can be
pulled away from the playing surface revealing all the chips, and there
are plenty of them. Fifteen minutes with a soldering iron melting joints,
all the while being extra careful not to let the solder cross two joints,
might get a good result. The feeling is gratifying when this happens,
frustrating when it does'nt.
Presumably you've never absent mindedly put a wrong power adaptor
on any of the problem machines, so they have never been overloaded.

I invested in a good soldering iron some years back, one with adjustable
temperature and in a cradle, just to do jobs like this. I've also got a kit
made up with resin cored solder, a flux pen, tweezers, snips, conductive
fluid, and some other stuff. Down here if you take a broken chess comp
along to a technician's workshop and ask if they can fix it, they just look
at it as if it's a black snake. They want the easy bucks fixing PC's.
Hope this post was worth reading. I typed it while munching breakfast.
best of luck,
Larry

[Steve B]

Thanks for that detailed reply Larry
now at least i understand what is happenning when one sound function works fine and the other dosen't
i usually don't open a chess computer unless i am forced to
this usually means something on the level of a dead reed switch which is preventing the computer from playing a full game
for something as unimportant as the sound i wouldn't open it
however ill keep your post as a reference when needed



Good Stuff Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

The Legendary Elite Champion needs no introduction
only 500 were released for sale
Each owners name was engraved on a Bronze plaque mounted into the front base of the computer
it read:
ELITE
CUSTOM CRAFTED FOR
OWNERS NAME(the name was engraved in script)

every owner received an "official" Certificate of Authenticity" with the original signatures of Sid Samole and Ron Nelson , documenting the owners name and serial number of the computer
as if this was not enough,each owner also
received a Quality Inspection Report with 25 original signatures of the employees who personally worked on the complete Production Line of that exact Elite Champion

The EliteC was an upgrade of the Fidelity Champion Sensory Chess Challenger and was significantly different in several ways:

Special hand polished Burled Walnut Wood Housing (instead of just a Walnut Wood Housing)
4 Mhz clock speed
Different opening book containing 4000 moves
64 Great Games feature Removed
Scrolling Display showing..move anticipated,search depth and position score(in Hexadecimal format)

Selective Search rated it at 1608 ELO
Lets see how Elite C #17 does in a game against the slower running , but higher rated Playmatic S...

In The Game
PS had black and the CB16 Module locked and loaded
Elite C had the Thermal Printer attached to record the game
both computer are Out Of Book at move 17!
EliteC pushes its E pawn way too far and loses it quickly
this enables the PS to establish two powerful center P's which steam roll down the board sucking in a minor piece to stop them
up a Piece for a P the Playmatic coasts through the endgame for the win


[Date "2012.4.28"]
[White "Elite Champion #17"]
[Black "Playmatic S"]
[Time Control "1 Min.Avg"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3
d6 9.h3 Na5 10.Bc2 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2 cxd4
13.cxd4 Bb7 14.Nf1 Rac8 15.Re2 d5 16.dxe5 Nxe4 17.Ng3 f5 18.Be3 Nxg3
19.fxg3 Bc5 20.Bd4 Nc4 21.Rb1 Bxd4+ 22.Nxd4 Qb6 23.Kh1 g6 24.e6 Nd6
25.e7 Rf7 26.Qd2 Ne4 27.Bxe4 fxe4 28.Qb4 Qc7 29.Rc2 Qxe7 30.Qxe7 Rxe7
31.Rxc8+ Bxc8 32.Rc1 Bb7 33.Kg1 e3 34.Kf1 Re4 35.Ne2 Kf7 36.Rc3 Re7
37.g4 Kf6 38.b3 b4 39.Rc5 Ke5 40.Ra5 Re6 41.g5 Rb6 42.Rc5 Bc6 43.Ke1 Ke4
44.g3 Bd7 45.Rc7 Rd6 46.Nf4 d4 47.Rb7 a5 48.Ra7 d3 49.Kd1 e2+ 50.Nxe2
dxe2+ 51.Kxe2 Bxh3 52.Rxa5 Bg4+ 53.Ke1 Kf3 54.Rc5 Kxg3 55.Rc1 Rd5 56.Kf1
Rxg5 57.Kg1 Rh5 58.Rf1 Bf3 59.Rxf3+ *

FINAL POSITION
[fen]8/7p/6p1/7r/1p6/1P3Rk1/P7/6K1 w - - 0 59[/fen]
Playmatic S announces a mate in 4 here
0-1

i have always marveled at how truley International the chess computer collecting hobby is(one of the major reasons i enjoy the hobby as much as i do)
here we have a German made Playmatic S defeating an Aussie born Elite Champion #17 with an American made Elite Champion #399 on deck for the next game
Regards From The United Nations
Steve

[Steve B]

The Elite Champion #399( made in the USA) takes the plate ..

In The Game...
PS had white and for this game the CB9 Module
Elite C was tethered to the Thermal Printer and was Out Of Book first on move 14
It seems neither combatant was in the mood for combat with both sides trading pieces right from the get-go
by move 22 each side had only a pair of R's and one minor piece
both computers avoided any jaw dropping blunders to mar an otherwise reasonably played game
a drawn R+P Vs R+P endgame was reached and the point was split


[Date "2012.4.28"]
[White "Playmatic S"]
[Black "Elite Champion #399"]
[Time Control "1 Min.Avg.]
[Result "1/2-1/2]

1.c4 c5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.O-O O-O 7.d4 cxd4 8.Nxd4
Nxd4 9.Qxd4 d6 10.Qd3 a6 11.Bd2 Rb8 12.e4 Be6 13.b3 Qd7 14.Rac1 Rfc8
15.Rfe1 Bh3 16.Bxh3 Qxh3 17.Qf1 Qxf1+ 18.Kxf1 e5 19.a3 b6 20.Rcd1 b5
21.Nd5 Nxd5 22.cxd5 f5 23.Bb4 Bf8 24.f4 exf4 25.gxf4 fxe4 26.Rxe4 Rb7
27.Re6 Rd7 28.Rde1 Kf7 29.R1e2 Rc1+ 30.Kf2 Rb1 31.R6e3 Bh6 32.Rf3 Bg7
33.f5 Bd4+ 34.Kg3 gxf5 35.Kf4 Rd1 36.Kxf5 Bf6 37.Bd2 Rc7 38.Re6 Rxd2
39.Rxf6+ Ke7 40.Re3+ Kd7 41.Rf7+ Kd8 42.Rxc7 Kxc7 43.Re7+ Kb6 44.Ke6
Rxh2 45.Kxd6 Rh3 46.b4 h5 47.Re5 Rxa3 48.Rxh5 Ra4 49.Rh4 a5 50.bxa5+
Kxa5 51.Rh7 Kb6 52.Ke6 Re4+ 53.Kf5 Rd4 54.Ke5 Rd2 55.d6 b4 *

FINAL POSITION
[fen]8/7R/1k1P4/4K3/1p6/8/3r4/8 w - - 0 56[/fen]

I called it a draw here
another EGTB draw with the EliteC showing an Eval of +.22

in this very small sample of 3 games the Playmatic S archives 1 win and 2 draws against much lower competition

Nothing To Write Home About Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

With all of this computer equipment set up on my desk already (two computers, a printer ,adaptors and modules)
i thought i'd play one more game before sequestering everything back into the Subterranean vaults

In The Game
PS had Black and again for this game the CB9 Module
Elite C was Out Of Book first on move 12, Playmatic S left book on move 14
I decided to play Black from bottom and interestingly the Printer does not print the moves correctly
it does not disable the reverse notation so the moves are printed as if black is moving first ..
for example in this game 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6
is printed as 1.e7e5 e2e4 2.f7f5 d2d3

Elite C comes out of the gate at full speed winning the Exchange for a p
With the Black K still on E8 it has a clear win on move 32.(Qf4)
but instead plays the tame 32.f3 allowing the Playmatic
to Exchange Q's and then finally 0-0 on move 38!
PS wins back the Exchange and the game reduces to a dead draw


[Date "2012.4.29"]
[White "Elite Champion #399"]
[Black "Playmatic S"]
[Time Control "1 Min.Avg."]
[Result 1/2-1/2 ]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 b5 8.Bd3
a6 9.e4 c5 10.e5 cxd4 11.Nxb5 axb5 12.exf6 Qb6 13.fxg7 Bxg7 14.Qc2 h6
15.Qe2 b4 16.Bf4 Bb7 17.O-O Ra5 18.Rfc1 Nc5 19.Ne5 Nxd3 20.Nxd3 Rf5
21.Qg4 Bf6 22.Rc4 b3 23.a3 h5 24.Qg3 h4 25.Qg4 Rfh5 26.Rac1 h3 27.Rb4
Rb5 28.Bc7 Qa6 29.Nc5 Rxc5 30.Rxc5 hxg2 31.Rc1 Bd5 32.f3 Qe2 33.Qf4 Qe3+
34.Qxe3 dxe3 35.Bf4 O-O 36.Bxe3 Bxb2 37.Rb1 Bxa3 38.R4xb3 Bxb3 39.Rxb3
Bd6 40.Rb2 Kh7 41.Rd2 Be5 42.f4 Bg7 43.Kxg2 Rg8 44.Kf3 Rb8 45.h4 Rb4
46.h5 Kh6 47.Rh2 Rb3 48.f5+ Kh7 49.fxe6 Bh6 50.Re2 fxe6 51.Ke4 Bxe3
52.Rxe3 Rxe3+ 53.Kxe3 Kh6 54.Ke4 Kxh5 55.Ke5 Kg5 56.Kxe6 1/2-1/2



FINAL POSITION

[fen]8/8/4K3/6k1/8/8/8/8 w - - 0 56[/fen]
Amusingly while the Playmatic now flashes the blinking triangle indicating a draw ,Elite C does not recognize
the draw and would play on until the cows come home
it even considers itself ahead here by +.17


For the 4 games Playmatic earns a Performance Rating of 1688 close to its Wiki Rating

With the Paris Dedicated Tournament 3 weeks away i must now Whip the Saitek Brute Force module into fighting shape
it has been laying around collecting dust and watching way too much Cable TV
any computer can be used for this years event so long as its ROM is not greater then 32KB

On The Road To Paris Regards
Steve

[Larry]

Over the years i am noticing a strange anomaly
one computers voice no longer works while the beep does and in another the voice works but the beep no longer does
in a third neither voice or beep work any longer
the others were OK(when last i checked)
now can i ask why on earth would one sound feature work and not the other? why is that exactly?
these computers all have only one speaker and i checked all of the leads and connections etc etc

i would imagine they would either both work or both not work
my guess is there is some sort of chip for the voice and a separate chip for the beep and when one fails it doesn't effect the other
make any sense?

On the matter of the speaker, I have a broken down Champion, and
here it is:

I opened it up, and found that there is only one pair of leads to the
speaker. On the mainboard there are no fewer than five chips, including
the CPU, that are push fits. All the rest, including one which says
"Language" are soldered in place. Push fit chips can develop an oxide
problem, the oxide coating forming an insulating surface and breaking
a circuit. The cure is usually to simply pry the chip loose and push it
back in place. You might try this, but of course with all the messing
around maybe it's better to let sleeping dogs lie.
all the best,
Larry