Collector's Corner... On Siscys/Saitek Wood

Post by **Steve B** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 8:58 am

Steve B wrote: the testing is now complete

Well not exactly
fearing that the poor showing of the Saitek Middle wood computer's(0-2) would negatively impact the prices they fetch on Ebay,
i decided to try to show the Corona in a better light
i matched it against the newly received Novag Carnelian II
Novag gives a USCF rating for it of 1900
the Carnelian II has the same rating,Program and hardware as the Star Opal

Novag rated the Carnelian I and Opal Plus(again same program and Hardware)1880 USCF
Selective Search shows a rating for the Opal Plus of 1575 ELO
using advanced Boolean Algebraic mathematics we get a rating for the Carnelian II of 1595 ELO ..or about 1600 ELO

Corona gets White..1 Min per move/ Avg. for both computers

Both Computers were Out Of Book after 4 moves
The Corona masterfully wins 2p's early on..then ..in Tal-like-fashion ..wins a R for a P
by move 35 the game was all over.Corona exhibits Capablanca-like-technique in the endgame to force the C ll to its knees
all in all a game worthy of a Brilliancy prize

[Date "2012.4.20"]
[White "Saitek Corona"]
[Black "Novag Carnelian II"]
[Time Control "1 Min.Avg."]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 d6 5.d4 exd4 6.Nxd4 Ne7 7.O-O Bd7 8.Bg5
Nxd4 9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 10.Qxd4 O-O-O 11.Nc3 Nc6 12.Qd5 Nb4 13.Qc4 f6 14.Bxf6
gxf6 15.Qxb4 Be7 16.Nd5 Rhe8 17.Qc3 Qc6
18.Qh3+ Rd7 19.Qe6 Kd8 20.c3 Qc4 21.b3 Qe2 22.Rfe1 Qd3 23.Re3 Qd2 24.Qf5
Qb2 25.Ree1 Qd2 26.Qxh7 Qc2 27.Qf7 Qd2 28.Red1 Qh6 29.h3 Qg5 30.Kf1 Qe5
31.Re1 Qg5 32.Rad1 Qe5 33.f4 Rf8 34.Qxf8+ Bxf8 35.fxe5 fxe5 36.g4 c6
37.Nb6 Rf7+ 38.Kg2 Be7 39.Rf1 Rxf1 40.Rxf1 c5 41.Nd5 b5 42.Rf7 Bg5
43.Ra7 Bf4 44.Nxf4 exf4 45.Kf3 a5 46.Rxa5 b4 47.cxb4 cxb4 48.Rb5 Kc7
49.Rxb4 d5 50.exd5 Kd6 51.Rd4 Ke5 52.d6 Kxd4 53.d7 Ke5
54.a4 Kd4 55.g5 Kc3 56.a5 Kxb3 57.d8=Q Kb4 58.a6 Kb5

FINAL POSITION
[fen]3Q4/8/P7/1k4P1/5p2/5K1P/8/8 w - - 0 59[/fen]

Corona announces a mate in 4 here and i Resign for the CII
the spectators in the gallery shower the board with gold pieces!

Ebay Here We Come Regards
Steve

Jose · Post by **Jose** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:01 pm

Steve B wrote:
ricard60 wrote:Hi Steve,

Are stratos and cororna the same programs?

same elo regards
Ricardo
As Originally sold ..YES Ricardo
and Same Hardware(both 6 Mhz)
the only difference was the board
16 Led's Vs 64
Pressure Sensory Vs Auto-Sensory

however each computer had different versions and updates
my Stratos and Corona are the original non-updated versions with no End-game Eproms ...etc..etc.

Oddly.. The Old Scisys/Saitek Catalogues rate the earlier Statros(1987)higher then The Corona(1988)
Stratos-2200 USCF
Corona-2160 USCF

Not So Identical Twins Regards
Steve

Hi Steve,

i think there are two versions. One with 5Mhz and some with 6Mhz.
Look at my Corona.

5Mhz Regards
José

Post by **Steve B** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 6:43 pm

Jose wrote:

Hi Steve,

i think there are two versions. One with 5Mhz and some with 6Mhz.
Look at my Corona.
5Mhz Regards
José

Yes i mentioned there were different versions and updates
i can see a photo of some mother board showing 5mhz..i guess its a Corona motherboard
i know my Corona and Stratos are 6Mhz Each
the boxes for each also indicate 6 Mhz

6 Vs 5 Regards
Steve

Jose · Post by **Jose** » Fri Apr 20, 2012 7:16 pm

Steve B wrote:i guess its a Corona motherboard

Yes it is

Corona 5Mhz

Corona Regards José

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 4:24 am

Steve B wrote:Interesting Question Dave

Not many smaller, wooden with display computers were made

First computers that leap to mind would be the Fidelity Champion Sensory Chess Challenger series and all of its Incarnations including the Super 9 Deluxe
they came in this type of housing:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@N ... 0922170604

The Mephisto Academy and Monte Carlo series are iffy in that they border on small to medium in size
if we say the Mephisto Exclusive board fits into the Medium category then i think we can place the Academy-MC's into the small category

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@N ... 0922171154

we know Saitek never made a small wooden board with display..

Moving to Novag ..all i can think of is the Citrine which is their smallest wooden display board..much smaller then the Super Experts but it might be considered medium in size as well..of course here the display screen is attached by cable

CXG made the 3008.. much smaller then their Sphinx 40 and 50

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10261668@N ... 923816793/

I'll try to think of some more and post them

Size Challenged Regards
Steve

Thanks for the info Steve. It's too bad they couldn't have made something in the 12inx12in range. I just don't have much room for the 15x15 boards and above.

Larry · Post by **Larry** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 6:42 am

Steve B wrote:
i know my Corona and Stratos are 6Mhz Each
the boxes for each also indicate 6 Mhz

You guys got my curiosity going... just got my Stratos out and looked
at the box. It says "Fast: Runs at 6mhz" It says this not on a sticker,
but on the box, and in several languages. It also says 6mhz in the owner's
manual.I doubt they would have paid
to have new boxes with different wording made up just because they
upped the clock frequency 20%. They would just slap a sticker on the
6mhz ones. This makes me wonder if *all* the Stratos's were 6mhz,
and given that the original ratings give Stratos 40elo higher than Corona,
it could be that the Corona test machine was the lesser 5mhz version,
and the Coronas came in either 5mhz or 6mhz.
Steve, does your Corona say '6mhz' directly on the box, or just on
a sticker? (I don't own a Corona).
Larry
PS Took the back off the Stratos... sure enough, 6mhz crystal oscillator.

Post by **Steve B** » Sat Apr 21, 2012 8:15 am

Larry wrote:
Steve B wrote:
i know my Corona and Stratos are 6Mhz Each
the boxes for each also indicate 6 Mhz

You guys got my curiosity going... just got my Stratos out and looked
at the box. It says "Fast: Runs at 6mhz" It says this not on a sticker,
but on the box, and in several languages. It also says 6mhz in the owner's
manual.I doubt they would have paid
to have new boxes with different wording made up just because they
upped the clock frequency 20%. They would just slap a sticker on the
6mhz ones. This makes me wonder if *all* the Stratos's were 6mhz,
and given that the original ratings give Stratos 40elo higher than Corona,
it could be that the Corona test machine was the lesser 5mhz version,
and the Coronas came in either 5mhz or 6mhz.
Steve, does your Corona say '6mhz' directly on the box, or just on
a sticker? (I don't own a Corona).
Larry
PS Took the back off the Stratos... sure enough, 6mhz crystal oscillator.

Hi Larry
Both boxes ..Stratos and Corona.. say 6 Mhz printed directly on the box
No Stickers Regards
Steve

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 12:32 am

I Guess Saitek wood does not command the same high prices we see
other wooden computers getting on Ebay

A Saitek President(Medium Wood) ..complete..in its box with original manual just sold for $529 on Ebay
not even double the price it sold for when first released for sale..$300(List-$450)
While that Fidelity EAS which sold for more then $2700..sold at over 5X its price when first released for sale $500(List $600)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140739462093

No Way Im gonna give these guys away Regards
Steve

fdimeglio · Post by **fdimeglio** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:33 am

Steve, I really feel it was quite a lot of money for this President dont you think so ?

Fabrice

Steve B wrote:I Guess Saitek wood does not command the same high prices we see
other wooden computers getting on Ebay

A Saitek President(Medium Wood) ..complete..in its box with original manual just sold for $529 on Ebay
not even double the price it sold for when first released for sale..$300(List-$450)
While that Fidelity EAS which sold for more then $2700..sold at over 5X its price when first released for sale $500(List $600)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/140739462093

No Way Im gonna give these guys away Regards
Steve

SirDave · Post by **SirDave** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 3:35 am

I was actually thinking of bidding on the President but couldn't get around the fact that since I have the Saitek Expert Travel (aka Cosmos), I already have it sans wood.

Post by **Steve B** » Sun Apr 22, 2012 7:10 am

fdimeglio wrote:Steve, I really feel it was quite a lot of money for this President dont you think so ?
Fabrice

Yes its a higher then normal price for a President
Jose's site shows many Presidents selling for about 1/2 this price
Still...the other wooden computers on Ebay have been selling for thousands of dollars higher then normal ..
each day a new record is broken with run-o-the-mill wooden computers selling like they were made from gold instead of wood
while the Beautiful ,Saitek President..stronger then the EAS sells for a few hundred dollars higher then normal??
Pffft ..Regards
Steve