A new Robot?

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Scally
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Post by Scally »

Chessmaster Ireland wrote:PM sent.
You can see here that the Sharper Image Phantom, it uses black & white pieces instead of the Excalibur black & silver.
https://www.sharperimage.com/si/view/pr ... ess/201560
Thanks very much Brian, I have responded to your PM.

Al.
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Bryan Whitby
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Post by Bryan Whitby »

Steve B wrote:
Scally wrote:Hi Steve,

I’d already emailed the seller who naturally said it was fully working before he sent me it. However I’d already noticed that on the box the pieces look metal or plastic and are white and black, mine are beige and brown wooden pieces with felt bottoms and look like Chess Challenger pieces.

Is it possible for you you to show me the underneath of a piece, I’m thinking that maybe Saitek pieces may work?


Cheers,

Al.
those are definitely NOT the correct pieces
no way the seller was able to play a game with wooden chess challenger pieces with felt bottoms

the correct pieces have the magnet exposed on the bottom of the piece with no felt covering
cant post a photo at the moment
to be honest Al ..the Phantom is a commonly found computer
they appear on Ebay quite often (with the proper pieces)
unless you paid a large sum of money I would keep this Robot as a spare backup and go buy another one on Ebay

Bite The Bullet Regards
Steve
Steve

Both sets of my Phantoms have a smooth aluminium coloured sticker on the base of each piece to contribute to the gliding of the piece when it moves.
The run of the mill Excalibur pieces do have slightly protruding magnets in their base but those wiggle and jump on their sides exactly like Al mentioned when used with the Phantom. This I know as I tried them this morning.

Falling Over Without Having a Drink Regards
Bryan
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Chessmaster Ireland wrote:
Both sets of my Phantoms have a smooth aluminium coloured sticker on the base of each piece to contribute to the gliding of the piece when it moves.
Hi Bryan

just checked my Excalibur PF and Sharper Image Phantom
both sets of pieces have a very thin.. clear.. see-through film covering each exposed magnet..
almost impossible to notice if i wasnt looking for it
no aluminum colored stickers on either set

Squinting Regards
Steve
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Steve B wrote: just checked my Excalibur PF and Sharper Image Phantom
Well i have correct pieces but...
both sets now display the dreaded error message ...

MOT1R Regards
Steve
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Scally
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Post by Scally »

Steve B wrote:
Steve B wrote: just checked my Excalibur PF and Sharper Image Phantom
Well i have correct pieces but...
both sets now display the dreaded error message ...

MOT1R Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

There’s a couple on US eBay around the $80 range at the moment..

Cheers,

Al.
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Scally wrote: Hi Steve,

There’s a couple on US eBay around the $80 range at the moment..

Cheers,

Al.
Yes i know Al
Ive given up on Robotic chess computers
never had any luck with them..

these were all bought brand new .....

3 Novag Adversary's-Motors all kaput..after 2-4 hrs of playing time
2 Novag 2Robots-1 working 1 dead(after 10-15 games)
2 Phantom Forces-both broken-after about 50-75 games each
3 Excalibur Mirages-1 working 2 dead-after about 50-75 games

Amazingly ..the Milton Bradly Phantoms(3 models),Fidelity Phantoms (3 models)and Mephisto Phantom are all still working
This does make some sort of sense as Fidelity bought the rights to the Phantom from MB and Mephisto sold the Phantom by just putting their label on it after aquiring Fidelity..so same hardware on all 7 robots

my guess is that the Mirages and Phantom Forces have about a 2 Yr lifespan and then the motors go bad

even after all this .i would still consider buying the upcoming Square Off Robot(if it is ever really released) but sadly it is not a dedicated chess computer(needing a smart phone connection)..
even then ..i would wait a good two years before buying one .. to see what defects will rear their ugly heads and how the fledgling company deals with them

Robotic Tales From The Crypt Regards
Steve
Last edited by Steve B on Sun Sep 17, 2017 10:25 am, edited 3 times in total.
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Scally
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Post by Scally »

even after all this .i would still consider buying the upcoming Square Off Robot(if it is ever really released) but sadly is not a dedicated chess computer(needing a smart phone connection).. even then ..i would wait a good two years before buying one .. to see what defects will rear their ugly heads and how the fledgling company deals with them

Robotic Tales From The Crypt Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

Correct me if I’ve miss-understood, but I thought you only need the mobile phone as a server App to play other against others so can still play against it yourself without a mobile phone.

So is it not a dedicated chess computer with extras?

Al.
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Post by Steve B »

Scally wrote:
even after all this .i would still consider buying the upcoming Square Off Robot(if it is ever really released) but sadly is not a dedicated chess computer(needing a smart phone connection).. even then ..i would wait a good two years before buying one .. to see what defects will rear their ugly heads and how the fledgling company deals with them

Robotic Tales From The Crypt Regards
Steve
Hi Steve,

Correct me if I’ve miss-understood, but I thought you only need the mobile phone as a server App to play other against others so can still play against it yourself without a mobile phone.

So is it not a dedicated chess computer with extras?

Al.
that could be my mistake...
i thought you needed the smart phone to play against the Robot because there are no chess engines hardwired in the Robot and you need the Smart phone to load up a chess engine..if you can play against the Robot without the Smart phone then you are exactly right and the Robot is a dedicated chess computer

now all i have to do is wait for you guys to report back over the next 2 years after they manage to release it
When it comes to Robot's....i learned the hard way that ...

Patience Is Everything Regards
Steve
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Steve B
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Post by Steve B »

Steve B wrote:
if you can play against the Robot without the Smart phone then you are exactly right and the Robot is a dedicated chess computer
searched around the net (including the Square Off Site)
seems a smartphone is a crucial and integral part of the Robot
the board itself has no display or function keys and all options (including level select,black from bottom ...etc..etc.)..need to be set with the smartphone app
not clear is if the Robot can even be turned on without a smartphone
also not clear is if any actual chess engine is hardwired in the board
even if it is...unless you use the smartphone app you would wind up playing every game at whatever level is factory set..always as white ..with no info about score,clock times..etc..etc

Whether or not the Square Off Robot meets the definition of a dedicated chess computer is debatable but this is certainly not something I would be interested in

To Each His Own Regards
Steve
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Scally
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Post by Scally »

Hi all,

Does anyone know what chess computer these pieces are from, they are the pieces that were wrongly posted with my Excalibur Phantom Force?

As you can see in the photo with the white pieces, they are slightly smaller and fatter than the Chess Challenger pieces behind ...


Cheers,

Al.

Image

Image
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spacious_mind
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Post by spacious_mind »

Scally wrote:Hi all,

Does anyone know what chess computer these pieces are from, they are the pieces that were wrongly posted with my Excalibur Phantom Force?

As you can see in the photo with the white pieces, they are slightly smaller and fatter than the Chess Challenger pieces behind ...


Cheers,

Al.

Image

Image
The darker looking white pieces look a lot like citrine. Are the lighter pieces behind the darker pieces plastic or wooden, can't exactly tell from the pic.
Nick
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Scally
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Post by Scally »

Hi Nick,

Thanks for that. They are all wooden pieces, the lighter white pieces behind are from a fidelity chess challenger, put there for a camparison.

I don’t know if it works for you, but when I click on the pictures they load up my Flickr pictures which are much bigger & clearer.


Cheers,

Al.
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Post by kalatov »

Yes, look very Citrine-like to me.
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Scally
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Post by Scally »

Hi Guys,

It looks as though we still have a long wait before seeing our Square Off sets:

“Hey backers!
Welcome to another Square Off update! With each passing month the product continues to come together, and we’re feeling more and more excited as we get closer to shipping. After our previous update, we were releasing Purchase Orders to all our vendors and were preparing QC & test plans for raw materials. We are pushing all our vendors to deliver the components to our HK warehouse as soon as possible. As you already know that we have alot of vendors, a delay from even a single vendor can delay the entire production. We have also applied for the Import Export license and are waiting for the certificate, following which we will be able to import all the components to our factory and start the assembly.”


Cheers,

Al
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Looks like they're making progress!

Post by Shaun »

See

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/in ... ts/2068232

'All things come to those who wait' Regards

Shaun
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