I want to add new info about my mysterious "Made in Germany" Elite A/S.
It should be noted that the first "original" Elite A/S were produced with 3 MHz!
Information that I've only found before on
http://www.blitzchess.fr/fr/jeuxdes7fam ... y/eliteas/, until I just found this:
In MAME 0.234 2021-07-28 I found this:
"New working clones
...
Fidelity Electronics Elite A/S Challenger (original program) [Berger]"
And in CB-EMU:
"GAME: feas
Fidelity Elite A/S Challenger (
Original, 3 MHz) (Fidelity Electronics 1983)
...
**** :MESSINFO: ****
0.220 [hap, Berger]
Elite A/S Challenger (original program), Fidelity Electronics, 1983"
My Elite A/S is running at 3 MHz and I have verified that the firmware is the same as
the one hap/Berger added.
So I'm certain I have an Elite A/S 3 MHz with S/N 762655 and "(original program)".
I still have doubts of the Elite A/S 764666 (
http://chesseval.com/WoodBoard/EAS.htm).
How could it be a Pre-Budapest when it's serial number is much higher than the 3 Budapest
with 763741, 763807 and 763842?
Maybe if the owner of it could open it and take photos of the components inside,
we could get a better understanding.
Anyone know how the owner of
http://chesseval.com is?
I hope one day we can decode and understand the Fidelity German serial numbers!
Maybe they are not even consecutive?
I started the guessing game here with my Elite A/S and the German numbers I've found:
762655
76 : Made in Germany
2 : Year 1982
655: Production number
The Elite A/S is placed in the
http://www.chesscomputeruk.com/html/timeline.html at the same time as the Savant Royale -
January 1983 - so it can very well be produced in the end of 1982.
The Elite A/S was included in the Fidelity brochure from march 1983 (
https://www.schaakcomputers.nl/hein_vel ... php?id=655), so production may have started in the end of 1982.
Then I opened the machine and looked at the production dates of the ICs...
Hmm... 8331! There was e.g. a component stamped to have been manufactured week 31 1983.
So my theory was just a guess, and I was wrong.
I hope this will be an inspiration for others that are more clever than me to continue this thread in Yoyo's memory.
Thank you for your attention.
PS
I learned one thing: My Elite A/S doesn't have Reed elements, but rather Hall Effects sensors!
That's positive, and maybe the reason it's still working perfectly!
Are all Elite A/S with Hall sensors, or only the German ones?