Pewatronic Grandmaster...

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CHVL
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Location: Los Altos, CA
Full Name: Maurice M Ohayon
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Pewatronic Grandmaster...

Unread post by CHVL » Sun Jan 21, 2018 9:30 pm

On German eBay:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/Exklusiver-Scha ... SwYp9aBPgE
I don't collect these "new"computers, but I have some from Ruud, Steve UK, Berger.
In these new ones, I consider Millenium, founded by Werner and Hegener, as the only remaining company of the great period of Dedicated Chess Computers. Millenium is still there and stronger than ever... the other traditional Companies have disappeared since a while, unfortunately.
In my opinion, Ruud Martin is one of the best of the new generation of makers of Dedicated Chess Computers: he has competence and passion. Before him , there was several great people, engineers of great talent to propose enhancing capabilities for old Chess Computers: Bucke, Braid, Schaetzle & Bsteh. All of them, they were contributing to maintain and improve the Dedicated Chess Computer interest during the past 20 years.
Going back to the Pewatronic, I wonder if one of you could enlighten us by his own experience with this computer?

Still ready to believe,

Maurice

Fluppio
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Re: Pewatronic Grandmaster...

Unread post by Fluppio » Mon Jan 22, 2018 1:59 pm

Hello Maurice,

I have done a short article about the PeWa GM in my blog.

https://chess-computer.blogspot.de/2017 ... aster.html

My opinion after one year: plus and minus

Thumbs up for the wooden design. Mr. Waldburger is a carpenter, so this is a really nice work. I like the yellow led's which are blinking very smooth from darker to lighter yellow. The touchpad is a matter of taste. I like it, as it is easy to handle and new for a dedicated. Updates via wlan and the use of a powerbank for playing f.e. in the garden are positive too.

Thumbs down for only two engines within. Stockfish 8 and an engine called Madchess. SF8 is too strong for any other chess computer and the Madchess plays like it's name. Totally weird. I often insisted to Mr. Waldburger and his programmer to bring in interesting engines, but they only want open source engines. We wrote to him to make contact to Jon Stanback (Ex-Zarkov) or the Colossus Chess programmer or Ed Schröder or Crafty or...or......but nothing....I'm still waiting if in 2018 something happens.

In 2017 several cosmetic updates were done and actually it's a Raspberry 3 with 1200MHz inside.

Hope this helps.

Patience regards
Peter

CHVL
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Re: Pewatronic Grandmaster...

Unread post by CHVL » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:46 pm

Hi Peter,

Thanks for the prompt answer.
Your blog contains a lot of answers to my questions on the Grand Master.
I recognize that I am not a fan of chess engines. Maybe because they don't give any chance to win. They desperate me to learn from my errors: I have a sense of ineluctability with them. My only wish is to see one of my brightest old chess computers defeating them. But, also there, these chess engines don't offer any hopes: they are irremediably the best.
I recognize that my interest for the machines of Ruud and others is that their emulations offer the possibility to show that, with some more microprocessor power and memory, the old programs can go higher. I use also them when I want to be sure that, in a difficult game position, I have seen all the solutions and that I don't miss something.
As long as the chess programs were confined in the chess boards, they were limited in their power. With the pc, their strength was completely unleashed with a result that playing them is no more a game as the issue is so certain for the majority of us and the majority of our old chess computers in our collections. Nowadays, with the miniaturization, the chess engines can be hosted in a wood board without sacrificing their power.
Too bad player to be a fan of chess engines,

Maurice

Egbert
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Re: Pewatronic Grandmaster...

Unread post by Egbert » Tue Jan 23, 2018 3:20 am

Hello, Maurice,

exactly this is my passion... - emulations of our old chess computers on the Revelation II. It is simply great pleasure to see and test how individual programs benefit from the performance boost on the probably best chess computer of all time. I would also like to thank Ruud for this fantastic work. And Ruud is currently highly motivated to provide further emulations for the Revelation II or the Reflection module: -)

Imagine a match between Scisys Mark 5.0 with an emulation speed of 36 MHz (6502) and a Novag Robot Adversary with about 40 MHz (Z80). Which programme would benefit more? Or against a Mephisto II in 1802.... Tester Heart What more do you want?

Best regards
Egbert

CHVL
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Re: Pewatronic Grandmaster...

Unread post by CHVL » Tue Jan 23, 2018 11:45 am

Hello Egbert,

Okay, I agree the great talent of Ruud is to have developed essentially emulations of the original programs with different microprocessor speeds and different amount of memory. With this understanding, we must give credit to the pioneers in this field: to the German Fidelity company modifying the boards to give us new improved versions of the US Fidelity boards (EAS, Elite Private Line, Granite, Elite S etc...), to Schaetzle & Bsteh for the Turbo Kit TK20, to Bucke for the Champion Elite Travemunde with Program X, theV11 and others, to SteveUK for the ARB, Conchess, EAS, EAG and the new V11, to Josu, to Berger, to yoyochess and so many others that the passion has driven to push the old programs above their limits (I cannot be exhaustive... sorry :().
However, it remains that our old computers are interesting to play because they are still in our human being ranges. Emulations are only there to show us that they are maybe under-powered giving us a chance to play them and to learn from them.
Sure, it's only my view and I admit that it could be other interests in stronger programs or chess engines. I am staying with my own limits: only what it is still giving some pleasure to play. It is why I collect only machines not modified, but I remain still interested by the modified ones as long that it is the hardware and not the software.
After second thoughts, a new topic on this could be of great interest.

Maurice

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