DGT Board: reviews sought

[Jeremy Bernstein]

NIC is having a sale on Bluetooth DGT boards at the moment -- I am sorely tempted. Anyone here using one, loving it, hating it?

Thanks
jb

[hyatt]

Not sure which version is current, but I have one that is a couple of years old. My main gripe is no output on the board itself. That is, it senses pieces perfectly, but you can't display moves on the board by flashing lights or anything. Other than that, it does work great.

[kingliveson]

How is the drivers situation for non-Windows users? I could definitely use one.

[hyatt]

How is the drivers situation for non-Windows users? I could definitely use one.

I have a RS232 version. I wrote a driver for Linux. Not sure about the bluetooth version and what is available for that. In general, bluetooth on linux works just fine, but talking to the DGT might be an issue... No clue about the apple world at all.

[Jeremy Bernstein]

How is the drivers situation for non-Windows users? I could definitely use one.

I have a RS232 version. I wrote a driver for Linux. Not sure about the bluetooth version and what is available for that. In general, bluetooth on linux works just fine, but talking to the DGT might be an issue... No clue about the apple world at all.

Apple & Bluetooth is like PB&J. Anyhow, I placed my order today! We'll see if Bluetooth DGT on OSX via Parallels to Win7 works after the new year...

jb

[hyatt]

Connecting to bluetooth is not the problem. The problem is in the interface between what the board sends, and how it gets delivered to the chess program, and vice-versa. The RS232 interface was anything but clean. No idea about the bluetooth version...

I've yet to find a bluetooth device that doesn't work with linux, but we are talking phones, mice, cameras, even my wife's car, etc. A chess board is not exactly mainstream and I have no idea if any driver will talk to it rationally...

[Jeremy Bernstein]

Connecting to bluetooth is not the problem. The problem is in the interface between what the board sends, and how it gets delivered to the chess program, and vice-versa. The RS232 interface was anything but clean. No idea about the bluetooth version...

I've yet to find a bluetooth device that doesn't work with linux, but we are talking phones, mice, cameras, even my wife's car, etc. A chess board is not exactly mainstream and I have no idea if any driver will talk to it rationally...

Just a follow-up -- my board arrived today. 2 annoying small "rips" in the resin coating, so I'm contemplating sending it back for a replacement, but maybe that's just par for the course (gotta check with DGT). At least it's on g8 and not on a dark square. Bluetooth and USB work flawlessly on my Windows 7 virtual machine (in Parallels), after a little bit of setup. Tested in Fritz, Chessbase, Dasher and BlitzIn (with WoodIn). So I'm happy to report that I'm happy.

[Jeremy Bernstein]

Connecting to bluetooth is not the problem. The problem is in the interface between what the board sends, and how it gets delivered to the chess program, and vice-versa. The RS232 interface was anything but clean. No idea about the bluetooth version...

I've yet to find a bluetooth device that doesn't work with linux, but we are talking phones, mice, cameras, even my wife's car, etc. A chess board is not exactly mainstream and I have no idea if any driver will talk to it rationally...

Just a follow-up -- my board arrived today. 2 annoying small "rips" in the resin coating, so I'm contemplating sending it back for a replacement, but maybe that's just par for the course (gotta check with DGT). At least it's on g8 and not on a dark square. Bluetooth and USB work flawlessly on my Windows 7 virtual machine (in Parallels), after a little bit of setup. Tested in Fritz, Chessbase, Dasher and BlitzIn (with WoodIn). So I'm happy to report that I'm happy.

So... I'm having a problem in ChessBase 11 where, every time that I close and reopen the DGT driver, CB simply crashes. If I open the driver once and start using the board, everything works great. If I close a window (closing the DGT driver) and open a new board and re-open the driver, crasho. Anyone else seeing this or similar?

It looks like I'll be swapping this particular board out due to the cosmetic resin rips, so that's something to look forward to, but I doubt that the specific hardware has anything to do with this.

Still happy, but I don't feel like futzing.

EDIT: after de- and re-installing the drivers from the website (not from the CD), all appears stable, no crashing.

jb