Mystery of Star Diamond

LWSteve · Post by **LWSteve** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 5:15 am

Larry wrote:
LWSteve wrote:
Hot Trail Link #1 (nothing is solved yet just having some fun)

http://www.anacadigital.com/dedicados/s ... iamond.htm

LW
Thanks for the link, LW. It was an interesting read, and shows that
the French bug is by far not the only difference between early and late
SD's. SteveB and probably you, have got the later one. I've got the
early one. Just my luck.
L
PS, SteveB, and LWSteve, could you both please tell me the serial
number on the back of you SD's? Mine is 71045.

Larry,

My 2 serial numbers are...

73,509 (no French bug) (my backup)

700,068 (no French bug) (this is the one I use)

Somebody who has a manual with the processor showing "RISC Processor" on the spec sheet page.
Please look on the last page of your manual and tell me what your copright date is please.

Thanks

LW

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 6:46 am

LWSteve wrote:

My 2 serial numbers are...

73,509 (no French bug) (my backup)

700,068 (no French bug) (this is the one I use)

Somebody who has a manual with the processor showing "RISC Processor" on the spec sheet page.
Please look on the last page of your manual and tell me what your copright date is please.

Thanks

LW

Thanks for the serial numbers, LW. Mine is certainly an early one!

Regarding your question, my manual shows:

"microprocessor SH7020 RISC Processor"

On the last page of the book:
"Copyright 2002 Perfect Technology Ltd Hong Kong"

I assume this is what you are looking for?
L

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:10 am

LWSteve wrote:
The only way to solve this problem (for me) is to have Star Diamond play Star Sapphire. Both my Star Diamonds will play my one Star Sapphire.
(T/C 1 min. avg.) I will then have two games when I'm done. Larry you should also do this. T/C 1 min. avg. response.

This should tell me what I need to know.

LW

Ok, when I get time. In the meantime, I wrongly stated that IMO
Star Sapphire = early Star Diamond.
Fact is.... Star Sapphire = late Star Diamond.
I came to this conclusion on finding that:
1. Star Sapphire does not have the dreaded French bug, nor another
bug noted in a link given to us by LW.
2. Star Sapphire was produced fully six months after Star Diamond,
according to http://www.chesscomputeruk.com/html/timeline.html
L
PS Editing, Star Sapphire owner's manual produced in 2003,
Late Star Diamond manual in 2002.

LWSteve · Post by **LWSteve** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:29 am

Actually Larry,

I need the date of the manual (which should be on the last page) from which these pages come from.

Anybody please help! (See link below)

http://www.chesshouse.com/v/vspfiles/pd ... manual.pdf

LW

Sargon1972 · Post by **Sargon1972** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:37 am

Hello Guys,

Well maybe this will help
This is what Micha Volshow said about it

http://www.schachcomputer.info/forum/f2 ... -4571.html

U can translate it if u want

From Wednesday i have a Star Diamond for sale

complete , original box,manual,black bag

I did buy +- 45 chess computers in 1 deal, so if anyone is interested
Can he ask me the list , i do not sell them all of course

Kr Hans

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:27 am

Hi Hans

love the Jab Micha took at the Hiarcs forum

actually i took a couple of swipes at the .INFO Active lists so i guess we had something like that coming..sooner or later

i think Micha's answer is right and i also am convinced there are no SD's with higher specs as i have posted already
the real clue for me was the total lack of info on a higher spec SD in Selective Search Mag
scanning through over 10 years of issues(from 2002 to present day)
took a few hours

when it comes to hardware issues..the only real proof is to open up the computer and look at the hardware(As Larry suggested to do )
serial numbers,games played against other computers ..etc..etc ..is proof better suited for Software/program issues

Just Open Up The Computer Regards
Steve

ricard60 · Post by **ricard60** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 7:57 pm

Larry wrote:To all you guys who believe you own the later version Star Diamond.
I'm sorry but I'm going to have to pee on your picnic basket.
My Star Diamond has Art#1004 on it, as I said earlier.
My owner's manual says:
microprocessor SH7020
system clock speed (crystal oscillator) 20 mhz

But I just now took the back off my Star Diamond and
to my dismay I found:
microprocessor H8S/2312
crystal oscillator: 25 mhz

In addition to this, my SD has the French bug:
eg. SD Me
1. e4 e6
2. d4 d5
3. starts thinking

Early vesions of citrine also had that bug.

So probably all SD's have the H8S/2312

More opening your SD to see if you get luck and find the SH2070 inside regards

Ricardo

ricard60 · Post by **ricard60** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 8:15 pm

But from the datasheet of the H8S/2312 it is a 32 bit and not a 16 bit

http://am.renesas.com/products/mpumcu/h ... /index.jsp

LWSteve · Post by **LWSteve** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:07 pm

ricard60 wrote:But from the datasheet of the H8S/2312 it is a 32 bit and not a 16 bit

http://am.renesas.com/products/mpumcu/h ... /index.jsp

I haven't even seen a page out of a Star Diamond manual yet that confirms that the processor is a H8S/2312 !!

All Mixed Up, Regards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9d-1d0ltCM

LW

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 2:27 am

ricard60 wrote: Early vesions of citrine also had that bug.

Well at last a bit of good news for me then. My Citrine does not
have the French bug. Are there other ways of checking for an
early Citrine?
L

IvenGO · Post by **IvenGO** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 3:26 am

ricard60 wrote:But from the datasheet of the H8S/2312 it is a 32 bit and not a 16 bit

http://am.renesas.com/products/mpumcu/h ... /index.jsp

Its written at the top of article (Product Overview):

This LSI is a single-chip microcomputer made up of the H8S/2000 CPU with an internal 32-bit architecture as its core, and the peripheral functions required to configure a system.

...but a bit below (General Functions):

High-speed H8S/2000 central processing unit with 16-bit architecture

IvenGO · Post by **IvenGO** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 8:52 am

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 10:17 am

LWSteve wrote:
ricard60 wrote:But from the datasheet of the H8S/2312 it is a 32 bit and not a 16 bit

http://am.renesas.com/products/mpumcu/h ... /index.jsp
I haven't even seen a page out of a Star Diamond manual yet that confirms that the processor is a H8S/2312 !!

All Mixed Up, Regards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9d-1d0ltCM

LW

Time to take the Plunge LW and OPEN up your SD
The 11 screws come off easy
actually there are 12 screws but you dont remove the middle screw which is attached to a compartment on the back
when reassembling..watch out for that black plastic strip which fills the gap in the front of the computer
takes a bit of fiddling to get it to snap back into place

Look at it this way...
in the HIGHLY UNLIKELY event that you have the higher processor
just think what that baby would sell for here or on Ebay?

MEGA BUCKS Regards
Steve

ricard60 · Post by **ricard60** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 12:52 pm

Larry wrote:
ricard60 wrote: Early vesions of citrine also had that bug.

Well at last a bit of good news for me then. My Citrine does not
have the French bug. Are there other ways of checking for an
early Citrine?
L

Early citrine had the UCB chessboards from Novag. Most of them had that bug. Then the newest versions have the board without those UCB letters.

UCB regards
Ricardo

ricard60 · Post by **ricard60** » Sun Aug 11, 2013 1:11 pm

LWSteve wrote:
ricard60 wrote:But from the datasheet of the H8S/2312 it is a 32 bit and not a 16 bit

http://am.renesas.com/products/mpumcu/h ... /index.jsp
I haven't even seen a page out of a Star Diamond manual yet that confirms that the processor is a H8S/2312 !!

All Mixed Up, Regards

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9d-1d0ltCM

LW

If you go to this link you will see that SD has the H8S/2312

http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/in ... ar_Diamond