The curious case of piece recognition

[Yarc]

As some of you may have read I received my new MCGE at Christmas and had some strange piece recognition issues with it.

First a black knight would not work; It would not be recognised on any square. Then a particular white Rook on the H8 square would not be recognised, or if so intermittently. However, that same white Rook worked on every other square and all other pieces including the other white Rook worked on H8!!?? There were several other very strange occurrences that I wont go into here, but very bizarre and hair pulling indeed. I just could not find a pattern.

After email conversations with Millennium who were very apologetic and helpful, they sent me a replacement, but the wood was damaged in manufacture. I returned this one and was sent a second replacement, but this was also damaged. Something loose inside (possibly a screw) and a problem with the LED's. I am convinced this was probably dropped in transit as it was checked before shipping.

After all this hassle, the original unit is now working perfectly!? So I started to consider what could have caused this. The clue was with very the first problem I experienced with the black Knight not being recognised, but now working every time. I suspected there must be an external issue.

Apparently, mobile phones will not cause issues unless placed on top of the chess board, so this was not the cause. However, as the piece recognition works by radio waves I thought it could be radio interference causing the strange issues. Remembering we have an electrical power usage meter in the house, but rarely if ever use it, realised this works with a small battery powered transmitter that is located in the electrical meter box outside. It has a sensor clipped to one of the electrical supply supply cables and constantly transmits the power usage to the LCD display. Very recently it stopped transmitting because the batteries had run flat. It's at this point that the MCGE started behaving. It could be coincidence, but I think it's a very probable explanation. I told Millennium about this and they have not had any other reports of such an issue, but considered it a strong possibility.

At this point I don't want to experiment and put new batteries in the transmitter, this might damage the MCGE! I can live without knowing how much electricity I'm using! That's depressing

So if you ever have any strange piece recognition issues it might just be a nearby transmitter that is causing it.

Transmission ended Regards
Ray

[Steve B]

sounds like you found a possible cause
well done
still..i do feel a bit of sympathy for Millennium though
they shipped you three computers all to fix an issue that was basically a very rare situation peculiar to just your situation

Live And Learn Regards
Steve

[Scally]

Hi Ray,

I had read your problems and sympathised with you.

I have had a similar experience to what you now report. On my Revelation II I often place my mobile phone and iPad on the right hand corner without a problem, however once I balanced my mini toshiba click laptop on the right-hand side of the Revelation over the g3/4/5/6 h3/4/5/6 squares and lots of LEDs starting flashing accompanied by a load of beeps. I immediately removed the laptop, with no obvious after effects.


Cheers,

Al.

[Yarc]

sounds like you found a possible cause
well done
still..i do feel a bit of sympathy for Millennium though
they shipped you three computers all to fix an issue that was basically a very rare situation peculiar to just your situation

Live And Learn Regards
Steve

Yes, I think Millennium's support was very good. I certainly had a very strange issue and I cannot be 100% certain the problem has gone, but the MCGE has been working for many days now, so

Feeling hopeful Regards
Ray

[Yarc]

Hi Ray,

I had read your problems and sympathised with you.

Cheers,

Al.

Thanks Al!

Piece recognition is a new experience for me and I very much like it. However, it has come with some extra effort which I was not expecting!

Most of my other machines are press sensory, but I do have three with reed switches.

Despite all my hassles, I am still very glad to own a MCGE. In my emails with Millennium have found out some information which I expect others already know:

The new "TheKing" module will probably be priced at 199EUR or £175
That's a little cheaper than I was expecting, but not saying it's cheap!

There is going to be a new product for the MCGE this year that is to be announced at the Nuremberg Toy Show next week(Wed 31st Jan to Sun 4th Feb). I have no idea what it is, but the chap at Millennium told me he thought it was the most exciting product for chess lovers.

All good things to come Regards
Ray

[Steve B]

There is going to be a new product for the MCGE this year that is to be announced at the Nuremberg Toy Show next week(Wed 31st Jan to Sun 4th Feb). I have no idea what it is, but the chap at Millennium told me he thought it was the most exciting product for chess lovers.

do you recall if he said it will be a new MCGE product OR a New chess computer Product?

Me thinks we might be seeing the...

MCGE Pro Regards
Steve

[Yarc]

There is going to be a new product for the MCGE this year that is to be announced at the Nuremberg Toy Show next week(Wed 31st Jan to Sun 4th Feb). I have no idea what it is, but the chap at Millennium told me he thought it was the most exciting product for chess lovers.

do you recall if he said it will be a new MCGE product OR a New chess computer Product?

Me thinks we might be seeing the...

MCGE Pro Regards
Steve

Hi Steve,

The e-mail I received said "There will be another new product for the Exclusive coming up this year..."

It sounds like an addon product as opposed to a new computer, but I can't be certain. But what addon could it be? If not a new clock module, what functionality would we be very excited about? A robot arm?

Just guessing Regards
Ray

[Scally]

The new "TheKing" module will probably be priced at 199EUR or £175
That's a little cheaper than I was expecting, but not saying it's cheap!

Ray

Hmm, that is quite expensive when you consider that 6 new Emulations for the Rev 2 cost me $279 in December (now €299). However being a MCGE owner I expect I’ll buy it. This other imminent news is intriguing .....


Cheers,

Al.

[Yarc]

The new "TheKing" module will probably be priced at 199EUR or £175
That's a little cheaper than I was expecting, but not saying it's cheap!

Ray

Hmm, that is quite expensive when you consider that 6 new Emulations for the Rev 2 cost me $279 in December (now €299). However being a MCGE owner I expect I’ll buy it. This other imminent news is intriguing .....


Cheers,

Al.

Yes, it is expensive. I no doubt will be on bread and water even longer now to get one!

Ray

[Steve B]

Hi Steve,

The e-mail I received said "There will be another new product for the Exclusive coming up this year..."

It sounds like an addon product as opposed to a new computer, but I can't be certain. But what addon could it be? If not a new clock module, what functionality would we be very excited about? A robot arm?

Just guessing Regards
Ray

Well..if not a new chess computer ...then i just hope they remain faithful to the "Dedicated Computer" concept (add-on should be an attachment to the main unit or board or a software upgrade)and not release some smart phone app or some other mobile gadget nonsense where we can operate the computer from 1000 miles away while snorkeling off of the Great Barrier Reef

Keep The Faith Regards
Steve

[woodpusher]

There is going to be a new product for the MCGE this year that is to be announced at the Nuremberg Toy Show next week(Wed 31st Jan to Sun 4th Feb). I have no idea what it is, but the chap at Millennium told me he thought it was the most exciting product for chess lovers.

do you recall if he said it will be a new MCGE product OR a New chess computer Product?

Me thinks we might be seeing the...

MCGE Pro Regards
Steve

Hi Steve,

The e-mail I received said "There will be another new product for the Exclusive coming up this year..."

It sounds like an addon product as opposed to a new computer, but I can't be certain. But what addon could it be? If not a new clock module, what functionality would we be very excited about? A robot arm?

Just guessing Regards
Ray

Just read your interesting post Ray,

I will certainly buy the King upgrade module.

I would like to see a faster unit in a nicer housing like the R30
yes we know it will cost a little more.

Could the new add on allow you to link more than one module to the board?

[Cubeman]

I am going to speculate that a dedicated chess computer will be able to play Chess 960.

[Yarc]

Could the new add on allow you to link more than one module to the board?

I remember asking Millennium if the King engine would be available in the same module as the Chess Genius, but was told this was not possible.

However, a new multi-engine module could be developed. That would be nice, but is that exciting enough to announced at a show?

Like Steve, I would not be excited about a mobile phone app. As soon as I have to start using a mobile phone to play chess on a dedicated machine I might as well put the dedicated machine asside and use a chess engine on my PC.

The announcement is intruiging and will have to wait to find out what the new development is. Mind you, if anyone from Millennium are reading this post they might get some useful ideas.

I'm dedicated to the cause Regards
Ray

[Dave C]

The new "TheKing" module will probably be priced at 199EUR or £175
That's a little cheaper than I was expecting, but not saying it's cheap!

There is going to be a new product for the MCGE this year that is to be announced at the Nuremberg Toy Show next week(Wed 31st Jan to Sun 4th Feb). I have no idea what it is, but the chap at Millennium told me he thought it was the most exciting product for chess lovers.

All good things to come Regards
Ray

Hi Ray,
Very exciting news and thanks for the update. I hope the King program will be in a nice matching wooden housing similar to the TASC.
Maybe the new product will be a compatible larger wooden piece recognition board that will work with either of the modules. Maybe there will be an package option to buy a King module with the larger board.

I can also imagine a plug in unit for the Exclusive that would allow blue tooth communications directly to a PC to record games, conveniently download updates or to play against other people online.

Millennium has injected more excitement into computer chess than we have had in years.

Can't wait...regards,
Dave

[Yarc]

Hi Ray,
Very exciting news and thanks for the update. I hope the King program will be in a nice matching wooden housing similar to the TASC.
Maybe the new product will be a compatible larger wooden piece recognition board that will work with either of the modules. Maybe there will be an package option to buy a King module with the larger board.

I can also imagine a plug in unit for the Exclusive that would allow blue tooth communications directly to a PC to record games, conveniently download updates or to play against other people online.

Millennium has injected more excitement into computer chess than we have had in years.

Can't wait...regards,
Dave

Hi Dave,

Yes it is very exciting time for us, and I think Millennium are a great company. I have had really good service from them and all the new developments are showing that people still like the dedicated machines.

I agree, a new clock module made of wood would (ha ha!) be very nice especially if it gave us the convenience of Bluetooth for transfering games etc.

I am very pleased with the MCGE as it is, but looking forward to the free update that will bring styles of play and endgame improvements, the King engine later in the year and other things...

Regards
Ray