Author: Dick Schneiders
Date: 16:15:22 08/31/05
I received the prize for winning (guessing correctly) Steve's Summer Giveaway Contest #4 today, the CXG Advanced Star Chess computer. It is a very impressive little handheld computer. It is the exact same size and physical appearance of the very basic Fidelity Mini Chess Challenger, model 6107, that I won on eBay a couple of weeks ago. Fidelity and CXG (Newcrest Technology) had a working arrangement in the mid 1980's. However, the capabilities of this CXG are far beyond the look-alike MCC. I have only skimmed the manual and played a few games, but here are some of the features that I was surprised to find on such a small and modest looking handheld chess computer, especially for the time period. Hint function that will show you the best move and also what the computer is thinking. Variable playing styles - You can choose between Normal, Attacking, Very Aggressive, and Positional styles for the computer to use against you. The manual states that this is the very first computer to ever have a feature like this. Time clocks for both players - the computer has no display, but by using a system of lights, it will tell you how much time either side has remaining. Anticipated line of play for up to 6 half moves. Position evaluation User programmable opening library - the manual states that this is the 2nd compter ever developed that has this feature. Game save library - you can save more than one game in the memory of the computer for recall later. This is limited to only 240 half moves, and can only be used if you don't use the programmable opening library. Custom position mode that all of our more modern and more expensive computers have, but few of the early ones did. I am certain that I missed some features, but this is an impressive list. Many thanks to Steve for finally coming up with a question that even I knew the answer to. :-) Steve, I do have a couple of questions about this computer. Do you know the approximate ELO it is rated at? What did it cost when new? The adapter that it needs is a positive tip. Will my Fidelity adapters work ok? The numbers shown on the computer for the adapter are: 9.0 DC, 10 MA and max power 0.3 Watts. I don't know what those numbers mean when compared to my Fidelity adapters that are typically 8.5 VAC and 1.5 Amp. I knew that I should have stayed awake in my electrical engineering course. :-( Thanks, Steve, for these interesting contests. Handheld Heaven Regards, Dick Schneiders
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