Collector's Corner..On Collecting Dedicated Chess Computers

[Carl Bicknell]

It's a plastic version of the Tasc R30 but only running at half the speed with a small board.

How can it be worth so much??

[IanO]

It's a plastic version of the Tasc R30 but only running at half the speed with a small board.

How can it be worth so much??

Copying my reply from another thread:

One thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500/TASC R30 valuable: they were the only De Koning engines. If one were collecting the Big Six programmers (Spracklen, Kittinger, Morsch, Schroeder, de Koning, Lang), every other programmer had dozens of dedicated models to choose from, many at the middle-end so you didn't have to bust your budget. But De Koning came late to the party and only programmed for those three high end machines. Not even our hero Ruud Martin has included him in the stable of engines emulated on the Revelation.

And the last thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500 valuable, they have an expiration date so working ones are in dwindling supply. They used a cheap ASIC technology for a logic chip that only has a twenty-year nominal lifespan, making the R30 the only good long-lasting investment.

(I topped out about half the final price in this auction. sigh)

[Carl Bicknell]

It's a plastic version of the Tasc R30 but only running at half the speed with a small board.

How can it be worth so much??

Copying my reply from another thread:


And the last thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500 valuable, they have an expiration date so working ones are in dwindling supply. They used a cheap ASIC technology for a logic chip that only has a twenty-year nominal lifespan, making the R30 the only good long-lasting investment.

er....in my mind this makes the Montreux LESS valuable.
I bid up to $1000, I'm so glad I didn't win, now knowing I would have had a ticking time-bomb to play with.

[xchessg]

And the last thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500 valuable, they have an expiration date so working ones are in dwindling supply. They used a cheap ASIC technology for a logic chip that only has a twenty-year nominal lifespan, making the R30 the only good long-lasting investment.

(I topped out about half the final price in this auction. sigh)

Hi,

I now quite a few collectors, and never heard anyone complaining about Montreux/RISC "expiring", when powered and used in a correct way . I guess with a few hours at most turned un on a yearly basis, that twenty year nominal lifespan is somthing one can get old with...

For half the final price you should be able to obtain a RISC 2500, however.

don't let hope expire

Xavier

[Steve B]

It's a plastic version of the Tasc R30 but only running at half the speed with a small board.

How can it be worth so much??

Copying my reply from another thread:


And the last thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500 valuable, they have an expiration date so working ones are in dwindling supply. They used a cheap ASIC technology for a logic chip that only has a twenty-year nominal lifespan, making the R30 the only good long-lasting investment.

er....in my mind this makes the Montreux LESS valuable.
I bid up to $1000, I'm so glad I didn't win, now knowing I would have had a ticking time-bomb to play with.

Well I'm not so sure about this 20 year death sentence
I did hear about problem's with the logic chips but my Risc 2500 (2MB) is still working fine and I have it now for over 22 Years(was released in 1992)
my Montreux is still going strong and I have that for almost 20 years(released in 1995)

I keep hearing the same thing about all Eproms..sooner or later they will all self erase themselves..haven't had that happen yet either and some of my computers are over 30 Years old now

hopefully they will all last until the day after I die

Fingers Crossed Regards
Steve
P.S.
http://hiarcs.net/forums/viewtopic.php?p=68114#68114

[Steve B]

This auction gets me dizzy just looking at it

what ..did the seller take the photo through a mirror or something?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Excalibur-Phant ... 19f9412372


Dyslexic Regards
Steve

[Steve B]

One thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500/TASC R30 valuable: they were the only De Koning engines. If one were collecting the Big Six programmers (Spracklen, Kittinger, Morsch, Schroeder, de Koning, Lang), every other programmer had dozens of dedicated models to choose from, many at the middle-end so you didn't have to bust your budget. But De Koning came late to the party and only programmed for those three high end machines. Not even our hero Ruud Martin has included him in the stable of engines emulated on the Revelation.

And the last thing that makes Montreux/RISC 2500 valuable, they have an expiration date so working ones are in dwindling supply. They used a cheap ASIC technology for a logic chip that only has a twenty-year nominal lifespan, making the R30 the only good long-lasting investment.

Actually i am starting to think the Montreux is a rare computer
not for the reasons you mentioned but for the fact that i dont see it actually being sold for more then a year.. resulting in a very small supply today
the 2500 and R30 are expensive computers but they are not rare
(the R/40 is of course quite rare)
both appear with some regularity on Ebay ,were sold for several years after their release and many collectors own them
the Montreux seems different..
not as many collectors own one and i have been able to find only one 1995 Saitek/Mephisto brochure advertising the Montreux
by 1996 it was no longer advertised for sale
also unusual is that they used the same exact housing for the never released Turbo-Star 2600 which appears in ads in 1994
the TS was supposed to have 512kb Ram and a Schroeder program ..i think perhaps Saitek scraped the extra Ram and released the Montreux(128kb) in this housing instead
this coupled with the fact that the Montreux is seldomly seen for sale on Ebay leads me to believe the Montreux was not on the market for very long making the supply severely limited
if anyone in our listening area can provide any evidence that the Montreux was advertised for sale AFTER 1995 it would be greatly appreciated

i am considering filing an application on the Montreux's behalf for induction into the "Ultra Rare"Collection...an honor bestowed upon very few computers and auxiliary items(modules,printers,boxes..etc..etc..)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@ ... 923814103/



Montreux Moment Regards
Steve

[Queegmeister]

How much is a mephisto Munchen board worth with no module or power

I am looking at one offered.

thanks
Dr. Q

[Steve B]

How much is a mephisto Munchen board worth with no module or power

I am looking at one offered.

thanks
Dr. Q

Hi Dr.Q

i would be willing to pay the following prices for each of the three Mephisto boards
this assumes they all have their original pieces:

Modular-$100-$150
Exclusive-$200-$250
Munchen-$300-$350

the power supplies for all 3 boards are not hard to find( unlike the power supply for the TM)

Board To Tears Regards
Steve

[Queegmeister]

thanks there is one for sale but he wants

$681.55
Buy It Now
+ US $48.68
shipping

What about a bavaria

also there was a Munchen that did not sell with MMVI for 800 dollars recently - Again the pricing is not good i think - maybe ok ??

DOES ANYONE HAVE A FAIR DEAL THAT I COULD BUY ? I would like a Munchen or Bavaria with a module power etc....

trying to not get RIPPED off reqards
Dr. Q

[spacious_mind]

thanks there is one for sale but he wants

$681.55
Buy It Now
+ US $48.68
shipping

What about a bavaria

also there was a Munchen that did not sell with MMVI for 800 dollars recently - Again the pricing is not good i think - maybe ok ??

DOES ANYONE HAVE A FAIR DEAL THAT I COULD BUY ? I would like a Munchen or Bavaria with a module power etc....

trying to not get RIPPED off reqards
Dr. Q

Hi Queeg,

Here is a list from Jose's site which he used to keep with Ebay Auctions. The prices are in Euro so you would have to multiply by about 1.30. The exchange rate is less at the moment but typically it is in the 1.30+ range. Plus you would have to add about $75-$80 shipping.

794 München 09.01.07 D 33 Ü - + + + N 406,50
1097 München 01.04.07 D 15 Ü - + + - N 307,00
1771 München 17.11.07 D 11 Ü - + + - N 276,99
2092 München 01.04.08 E 0 Ü - + + - N 649,00
2128 München 20.04.08 D 21 Ü - + + - N 334,33
2148 München 24.04.08 D 27 Ü - - + - N 262,00
2157 München 28.04.08 D 0 Ü - + + - N 349,00
2237 München 16.06.08 D 28 Ü - + + - N 284,00
2414 München 17.10.08 D 2 Ü - + + - N 199,00
2523 München 02.03.09 D 18 Ü - + + - N 500,00
1505 München (Eigenbau) 05.08.07 D 6 Ü - + + + N 647,91
1882 München (Eigenbau) 22.12.07 D 5 Ü - + + + N 616,89
1658 München + Alukoffer 05.10.07 NL 0 Ü - + + - N 500,00
1927 München Eigenbau 21.01.08 D 27 Ü - + + - N 610,00
570 München S 18.11.06 NL 0 Z - + + - N 260,00
2379 München S 12.10.08 D 17 Z - + + - N 278,00

http://www.elpeon.com/index.php?page=5&mod=mephisto

As you can see the range varies from a low of Euro 199 in 2008 and Euro 649 in 2008. We are now in 2014 so I doubt you would get much change left from $500 nowadays. With original box you might even get more.

So the Ebay listed price is not far out if it were in good condition.

Steve has more than he probably needs so of course he wouldn't pay more than he showed

Best regards,

[vonderlasa]

Thanks for information Steve and Nick. I bit the bullet and bought the MMII on eBay that has gone unbid on for a few auctions, possibly because of only ~25 feedback results. I paid $275 with shipping. Hopefully it works; at least the display was on in the photos.
Richard

[BlackSails911]

Thanks for information Steve and Nick. I bit the bullet and bought the MMII on eBay that has gone unbid on for a few auctions, possibly because of only ~25 feedback results. I paid $275 with shipping. Hopefully it works; at least the display was on in the photos.
Richard

I saw that one... it was pretty beat up looking. But the price was right.

On another note I bought two Exclusives with modules on Ebay, an MM IV and a Vancouver. The Vancouver runs great but, the MMIV was apparently a first generation Exclusive and I'm running into a problem that I cannot resolve. The a8 square stopped working the other day, the board could not register Ra8 x a7 for instance. I had a friend take it apart today, what a pain. Apparently they were hand made with some odd design choices (for instance ordinary rubber bands to act as springs inside). He is an electrical engineer and he made it to the circuit board which had already had a few reed switches replaced. The switch in question was fine so I am not sure what the problem could be. It is indeed a 6 volt board, as somebody (xchess maybe?) had mentioned on here in a previous post. So the board is essentially useless, unless somebody has an idea. The machine cannot tell that rook has left the square, or is even on a8. I could start the game without a rook on a8 and the game would work for awhile. Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Roger

[Queegmeister]

I see many computers i want on german ebay but they will not come on my USA ebay even though the seller says he will ship to america

I even used ebay item number and seller ID and will not show.

what am i doing wrong regards
dr. Q

[Steve B]

I see many computers i want on german ebay but they will not come on my USA ebay even though the seller says he will ship to america

I even used ebay item number and seller ID and will not show.

what am i doing wrong regards
dr. Q

Hi Dr.Q
You can still bid on Germany Ebay computers even if they do not appear on Ebay USA..LOG onto German Ebay with your normal nickname and password

you mention you see MANY schachcomputers you are interested in
as your collection increases you should keep in mind that aside from money...Patience.. is the most important element to building a well diversified and valuable collection.. at a cost that will not bankrupt you
most computers appear over and over again...

Lay In Wait Regards
Steve