Another Mephisto Berlin Question

This forum is for general discussions and questions, including Collectors Corner and anything to do with Computer chess.

Moderators: Harvey Williamson, Steve B, Watchman

Forum rules
This textbox is used to restore diagrams posted with the fen tag before the upgrade.
User avatar
Bryan Whitby
Senior Member
Posts: 1001
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:57 pm
Location: England

Another Mephisto Berlin Question

Post by Bryan Whitby »

I have recently acquired a Mephisto Berlin which has been upgraded with two London 68000 EPROMS.

Under the LCD window is printed 68 020 but on the EPROM cover it simply says Mehisto Berlin.

I thought that the basic Berlin should have 68 000 printed on it not 68 020?

Confused regards
Bryan
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Re: Another Mephisto Berlin Question

Post by Steve B »

Chessmaster Ireland wrote:I have recently acquired a Mephisto Berlin which has been upgraded with two London 68000 EPROMS.

Under the LCD window is printed 68 020 but on the EPROM cover it simply says Mehisto Berlin.

I thought that the basic Berlin should have 68 000 printed on it not 68 020?

Confused regards
Bryan
Thats right
the Berlin with the London Update should look like this:

Image

of course there is also the Berlin Pro with the London Update as well
however the eproms for that should be labeled ..London Program...Berlin Professional

Modified Regards
Steve
Last edited by Steve B on Wed Sep 02, 2015 11:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Post by Larry »

But he says under the LCD window is printed 68020. That makes
it a Berlin Pro, no? I can only guess it's a BP with a 68000 eprom
fitted.
Seems strange, because I understood that the only difference
between Berlin and BP was the clock speed.
L
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Post by Steve B »

Larry wrote:But he says under the LCD window is printed 68020. That makes
it a Berlin Pro, no? I can only guess it's a BP with a 68000 eprom
fitted.
Seems strange, because I understood that the only difference
between Berlin and BP was the clock speed.
L
No
his eproms are not labeled correctly for the BPro London
there are very large differences between the Berlin and BPro
For starters .the BP is running on the 68020 not the 68000 processor
many other significant differences

BP Oil Regards
Steve
User avatar
spacious_mind
Senior Member
Posts: 4000
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:20 pm
Location: Alabama
Contact:

Post by spacious_mind »

The Berlin Professional would normally say Professional in the top right corner:

MEPHISTO BERLIN PROFESSIONAL

Image

The London should look as follows:

MEPHISTO BERLIN PROFESSIONAL LONDON

Image

Berlin looks as follows:

MEPHISTO BERLIN

Image

If it only says Berlin in the top right corner then perhaps someone only put the 68020 sticker below the LCD?

Best regards
Nick
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote: The London should look as follows:

MEPHISTO BERLIN PROFESSIONAL LONDON


Image
Nick

that "London"sticker you have there for the Berlin Pro London is not an official sticker by Mephisto
someone just made a sticker up for it..perhaps a retailer selling it with the London update..or just the previous owner
Mephisto never released any computer with the London update so it could never have appeared on their housing
both my Berlin London and Berlin Pro London do not have this sticker

Not Exactly Regards
Steve
User avatar
spacious_mind
Senior Member
Posts: 4000
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:20 pm
Location: Alabama
Contact:

Post by spacious_mind »

Steve B wrote:
spacious_mind wrote: The London should look as follows:

MEPHISTO BERLIN PROFESSIONAL LONDON


Image
Nick

that sticker you have there for the Berlin Pro London is not an official sticker
someone just made a sticker up for it..perhaps a retailer sellling it with the London update
Mephisto never released any computer with the London update

Not Exactly Regards
Steve
Perhaps I should have been more clear, I am not talking about the sticker Steve I am talking about the top right corner where it shows Berlin Professional. The London sticker is useful to differentiate. Looks good too :)
Nick
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote:
Perhaps I should have been more clear, I am not talking about the sticker Steve I am talking about the top right corner where it shows Berlin Professional. The London sticker is useful to differentiate. Looks good too :)

Ahhhh OK
Sticker Shock Regards
Steve
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Re: Another Mephisto Berlin Question

Post by Larry »

Chessmaster Ireland wrote:I have recently acquired a Mephisto Berlin which has been upgraded with two London 68000 EPROMS.

Under the LCD window is printed 68 020 but on the EPROM cover it simply says Mehisto Berlin.

I thought that the basic Berlin should have 68 000 printed on it not 68 020?

Confused regards
Bryan
I'm wondering if this thread has cleared up or added to the confusion.
My Berlin Pro says 68020 on the casing under the display. It says
"berlin professional" on the eprom cover.
On powering up, my BP (non London) says "professional" on the
display, and
the BP London shows the word "London" on the display.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that the BP was being
produced in a time scramble when the company was changing hands,
and the BP was simply a Berlin with the next generation processor.
That info could of course be wrong.
It seems to me that Bryan has a Berlin Pro with a Berlin eprom cover.
Someone has switched eproms and eprom covers and inserted a Berlin (non pro) eprom. The earlier owner might not have been aware of this
situation and sold the unit as a Berlin in good faith. Bryan might like
to contact Richard Lang and ask for a BP eprom.
To confuse matters further, both my Berlin Pros have written on the
dust cover " Mephisto berlin" (note the lower case 'b' in berlin).
from berlin with love...
Larry
PS My BP London has it's "London" sticker on the eprom cover just
under the word "professional"
User avatar
Bryan Whitby
Senior Member
Posts: 1001
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 9:57 pm
Location: England

Post by Bryan Whitby »

Thanks everyone, here are a few photos why I am confused.

Under the 'London' label there is nothing written but when the Berlin arrived, someone had stuck a home made 68 000 sticker over the 68 020 label.

Photo of London EPROMS and photo of the upgrade letter from Countrywide Computers.

Image

Image

Image

Still confused regards
Bryan
IvenGO
Member
Posts: 298
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2011 5:37 am
Location: Moscow, Russia

Post by IvenGO »

Its clearly Berlin 68000 coz BerlinPRO eprom-bay looks different way:

http://www.schach-computer.info/wiki/im ... _EPROM.jpg
Larry
Senior Member
Posts: 2269
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:42 am
Location: Gosford, NSW Australia

Post by Larry »

Assuming that receipt is authentic, it is only two years younger than
the Berlin and four years younger than the BP. All I can suggest is
that the machine is a hybrid, ie, BP outer case and Berlin hardware.
L
PS I was also about to say the BP looks different under the eprom cover.
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Post by Steve B »

Larry wrote:. All I can suggest is
that the machine is a hybrid, ie, BP outer case and Berlin hardware.
I concur
although why someone would stuff the hardware of the B into a BP housing is hard to imagine
perhaps the original B housing was damaged in some way?

Low Income Housing Regards
Steve
User avatar
spacious_mind
Senior Member
Posts: 4000
Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 10:20 pm
Location: Alabama
Contact:

Post by spacious_mind »

Yep the Eprom cover clearly a Berlin. Notice how Berlin Professional writing starts below the letter P of Mephisto and Berlin starts below the I of Mephisto .

The 68020 sticker is still confusing though. I would test it if I were you just to make absolutely sure, because the very simplest explanation would be someone put the wrong eprom cover onto a 68020.

But then again the Odd - Even is what you get with 68000 Langs.

Confusing
Nick
User avatar
Steve B
Site Admin
Posts: 10140
Joined: Sun Jul 29, 2007 10:02 am
Location: New York City USofA
Contact:

Post by Steve B »

spacious_mind wrote:Yep the Eprom cover clearly a Berlin. Notice how Berlin Professional writing starts below the letter P of Mephisto and Berlin starts below the I of Mephisto .

The 68020 sticker is still confusing though. I would test it if I were you just to make absolutely sure, because the very simplest explanation would be someone put the wrong eprom cover onto a 68020.

But then again the Odd - Even is what you get with 68000 Langs.

Confusing
this is the sort of thing that happens more and more these days
computers are sold back and forth on ebay or privately and you have no idea where they have been before or who did what to them
just a fact of life I guess

anyway....
an interesting question
I would imagine that 68k Eproms could not work with a 68020 Processor
same for 030 eproms in a 68k or 020
I have no technical knowledge of that sort of thing
my guess is that if Bryan had 68k eproms in a BPRO that the computer would not even turn on or work
any thoughts on that?

Clueless Regards
Steve
Post Reply