Novag Sapphire2 Chess Computer.

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Monsieur Plastique
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Post by Monsieur Plastique »

Yes, had the exact same problem with mine on the tournament 40 in 2 level. Ended up returning it for a refund, as the store did not have any replacement units.
Chess is like painting the Mona Lisa whilst walking through a minefield.
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Monsieur Plastique wrote:Yes, had the exact same problem with mine on the tournament 40 in 2 level. Ended up returning it for a refund, as the store did not have any replacement units.
Strange
the SSDF managed to play 484 games at 40/2 rating the Sap II 2007
I never experienced this problem
i always use an adaptor and never batteries so i wonder if this has anything to do with it locking up?
if not it must be an anomaly is some units

242 Sapphire II 2007 33 -31 484 62% 1923


Pot Luck Regards
Steve
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Monsieur Plastique
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Post by Monsieur Plastique »

Interesting theory Steve. As you know, I am a battery boy and avoid adapters where possible. I never ran the Sapphire on an adapter, mainly because of my historically bad experiences with Novags run using adapters. From the mid 90s onwards, the Australian distributer ceased to import official Novag adapters and only offered a generic brand. I "lost" both a Turquoise and Amber to these generic adapters, so have only ever used batteries in Novag machines ever since.

Of course, a properly designed power supply should not have issues with batteries. After all, Saitek managed it with the Master Chess and it has similar CPU grunt to a Sapphire II. But yes, if Novag did not design the power supply and regulation properly, this would definitely have caused freezing.

Then again, of all the brands, again in my experience Novag has been the most unreliable. But, all the unreliable units I have ever owned ran off these generic adapters. My Star Opal units, however, are all flawless, run only off batteries and the only issue I have had with those is a recalcitrant c5 square.
Chess is like painting the Mona Lisa whilst walking through a minefield.
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Cyberchess
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Post by Cyberchess »

This is a perplexing issue. None of my Novag units either included an AC adapter or had an option to purchase one from my supplier. The dealer advised that a “good multi-adapter” with voltage and tip polarity properly set should be used. Since, as I’m sure everyone here is aware, these inexpensive multi-adapters suffer from various degrees of imprecision, I therefore use a DMM to set the proper voltage (9 volts), rather than the plug setting.

Any type of 40/2 time control lockup issue would have gone undetected because I prefer the SD 90 time control when playing my dedicated units. They get plenty of extra calculation time since I am always engaged in office work, chores, etc. during a game.

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John
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Cyberchess wrote:This is a perplexing issue. None of my Novag units either included an AC adapter or had an option to purchase one from my supplier.
Thats also Odd
firstly..none of the large Novag wooden boards run on batteries
and most of the portables run on both batteries/Adaptor power
i have about 1/2 a dozen Novag Adapters ..sold by Novag
Art. No.1012
in their boxes with the Novag Logo on them
they come with a double plug and they fit almost every Novag computer that takes an adapter

Stranger and Stranger Regards
Steve
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Cyberchess
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Post by Cyberchess »

Steve, I’m aware of these being available through Novag. My understanding was that since the plastic units could be operated solely on batteries, no pricey Novag adapter was included with these units to keep costs competitive.

:wink: Nikola Tesla would have preferred that they go wireless anyway.

:? Static lockup shakes regards…

John
Larry
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Post by Larry »

Regarding power adaptors in general, I trust them as far as I
can kick them. I've got a few Fidelity Electronics adaptors that
give about 13 volts when not under load. I'm not game to plug
them into my machines.
Do yourself a favor if you are into chess computers for the long
term. Buy a multimeter! Use only regulated adaptors, they are the
ones that will return the same output voltage under load or not.
L
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

7Chessfan7 wrote:One major programming flaw of the Sapphire2 (and probably the Sapphire as well) is the failure by Novag to include a feature where you can play the Black pieces from the bottom of the Novag UECB. In order to play the Black pieces from the bottom of the Novag UECB with the Sapphire2 connected to it, you either have to sit on the opposite side of the board or physically rotate the UECB so that the name Novag is upside down, which is frustrating.
By "UECB" are you referring to the Universal Chess board or the Limited Edition Electronic Chess board?
with the UCB you can easily play black from bottom
the manual even covers this
Fairly certain you can with the ECB as well but i havent used it in quite a while so i would have to check that


ECB or UCB Regards
Steve
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

7Chessfan7 wrote:Hello Steve. I was referring to the Novag Universal Electronic Chess Board. When the Sapphire2 is connected to the UECB, you can't play the black pieces from the bottom of the board because, incredibly, Novag failed to program a ''top of the board'' feature into the Sapphire2 which most chess computers (such as Saitek and Mephisto chess computers) have. When playing a game against the Sapphire2 on the UECB, you have to either physically rotate the UECB so that the Novag name is upside down, or sit on the other side of the chess board rather than rotating it. Nowhere in the Sapphire2 Owner's Manual does it list any feature for playing the Black pieces from the bottom of the UECB when the Sapphire2 is connected to it. The Novag Limited Edition Universal Chess Board is sadly a major disappointment from Novag since it lacks any LED lights.
Page 5 in the manual for the UCB tells you how to play black from bottom

set the pieces up with black on bottom
press new game
lift the Black King and set it down
press GO
the Computer will play white moving down the board

UCB Regards
Steve
Cubeman
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Post by Cubeman »

One way around the adaptor problem that I discovered was to buy a rechargeable 9 volt battery, those small rectangular shape with the + & - terminals at one end. Find the right size plug end and make sure you connect the center and outside parts to the correct polarity. I used a "9V" Nickel Metal Hydride rechargeable that was really 7.2V (due to the fact that it is made up from 6x1.2V cells) and found that I could get a few hours for a game before it went flat. I use to try a set of 4 "aaa" recharge batteries but found the voltage was too low when you only get 4.8V combined when you need 6V to get reliable performance.
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