Assembly Instruction Mysticum V3 - miclangschach.de

© 2010 to 2013 by Michael Lang and Guido Marquardt 1 of 27

Assembly Instruction Mysticum Chess Computer Version 3.1e

27.03.2013

blaubaer‘s Mysticum II Achim’s Mysticum

Dirk‘s „Suitcase“ Mysticum Bernhard’s Mys ticum I Mysticum is a chess computer designed on PC basis b y Guido Marquardt. With Mysticum it is possible to play against standardize d chess engines in UCI format as well as in Winboard format and against em ulations of old chess computers. For chess computer duels it can be slowe d down to a degree, that it is a comparable opponent of old chess computers with a comparable strength. It’s also possible to play evaluation gam es against some specific chess engines, which have the ability to do so. Mys ticum adjusts to your playing strength and calculates your ELO value.


The chess computer Mysticum is a design of Guido Ma rquardt. Every chess computer aficionado is allowed to build his own Mys ticum! Here you can find a short description of Mysticum i n German*: http://miclangschach.de/index.php?n=Main.Mysticum Guido says: „To copy Mysticum for private applicati on is allowed explicitly“ – and this is what’s all about in this forum: http://www.miclangschach.de/forum/index.php After board registration you can download all neces sary documents for the assembly and the operation of your Mysticum chess c omputer from the thread „Bedienungsanleitung – Technische Unterlagen“ (in G erman) and “Technical Documentation in English” within the Mysticum secti on. Since 2010 a Mysticum weekend workshop is offered o nce a year – here you could get information on the workshop content: http://www.miclangschach.de/index.php?n=Main.Workshop Will you join us next time? Guido: „Perhaps we can support each other and distr ibute the work according one’s skills among each other!“ This is the mission of this nice project. Thanks Guido! * For the time being all other documents and inform ation about Mysticum besides this instruction is provided in German lang uage. In the forum you can post your input in English and you’ll get an Englis h response! Copyright remarks: The copyright of this document as well as of the do cuments „Mysticum Doku Teil 1 bis Teil 9“, is by Michael Lang and Guido Ma rquardt. The copyright of the Mysticum operation instruction is by Guido Marquard t. Commercial advertisement, marketing with profit intention and marketing through commercial companies is strictly forbidden. The cop yright of the pictures is by Michael Lang or it is separately indicated. The cop yright on mentioned names and software is by the respective copyright owner.


Now it’s getting interesting, at least for chess co mputer playing home constructors! The technical documentation of the Mysticum assembly is structured as follows:

- this assembly instruction - Mysticum Doku Teil 1: Orientierung der Reed-Kontakt -Matrix im

Schachbrett (Orientation of the reed matrix within the chess board) - Mysticum Doku Teil 2: Orientierung der LED-Matrix i m Schachbrett

(Orientation of the LED matrix within the chess boa rd) - Mysticum Doku Teil 3: IOW56-Portbelegung (IOW56 por t assignment) - Mysticum Doku Teil 4: Prinzipbild (Basic structure of Mysticum) - Mysticum Doku Teil 5: Stückliste (Bill of material) - Mysticum Doku Teil 6.1: Schaltplan IOW56-Platine (I OW56 circuit

diagram) - Mysticum Doku Teil 6.2: Schaltplan LED-Matrix 81LED (81 LED matrix

circuit diagram) - Mysticum Doku Teil 6.2: Schaltplan LED-Matrix (LED matrix circuit

diagram) - Mysticum Doku Teil 6.3: Schaltplan Reed-Matrix (ree d matrix circuit

diagram) - Mysticum Doku Teil 6.4: Schaltplan LCD-Bedieneinhei t (LCD operation

unit circuit diagram) - Mysticum Doku Teil 7: Anschlussbelegung Modularplat ine (pin

assignment modular board) - Mysticum Doku Teil 8: Anschlussleiste LCD-Modul (pi n assignment LCD

module) - Mysticum Doku Teil 9: Verbindungsleitung LCD-Modul (connecting cable

LCD module) Furthermore I would like to refer to the operating instruction of Guido Marquardt (only in German up to now). Obtain all necessary parts according to the bill of material! Mysticum Doku Teil 4 shows the basic structure of Mysticum with it its components. These 6 components need their space within the housing. Therefore this assembly instruction consists of 7 parts.

1. Chess Board 2. IO Warrior56 Board with LED Driver ICs 3. LCD Operating Unit with six Push-Buttons 4. PC and Software Installation 5. USB Stick with Mysticum Software and Chess Engin es 6. USB Bluetooth Dongle 7. Chess Computer Housing


1. Chess board Each chess board field carries one LED (or four LEDs within the 81 LED variant) as well as one reed. The reed closes, when there is a chess piece with a magnet in its foot on the field; the reed opens, when the chess piece leaves the field. The LEDs indicate, that there is something ongoing on the field. The 64 LEDs (or 81 LEDs) as well as the 64 reeds are arranged in a matrix. It’s important to keep the right orientation of the respective matrix within the chess board according to the Mysticum documentation part 1 and 2. If this is not the case, your Mysticum doesn’t working properly. Mysticum documentation part 6.2 and part 6.3 show the circuit diagram of the chess board. The diodes within the reed matrix are necessary to avoid shorts between the ports of the interface board when two or more reeds close at the same time; without diodes a secure identification of the switching reeds is not possible. Ribbon cable with 10 leads (8 of them are connected) connects the respective matrix rows (1 to 8) and matrix lines (A to H) of the chess board with the respective ports of the IOW56 pcb and accordingly with the led driver ICs (see Mysticum docs part 3 and part 6.1). For this you can use female connectors (picture 1, lower right) which can be clamped on the ribbon cable and male connectors (picture 1, lower left) which have to be soldered into the IOW56 pcb or terminal strips (picture 1, upper section) which can be separated into suitable pieces and used as male or female connectors.

Picture 1: Connector types For the assembly of the electronic chess board there are two basic possibilities: Modification of a Mephisto Modular-, Exclusive- or München Board If you want to use the Modular Board for Mysticum you have to modify it. In addition to the 24 existing leads you need another 8 leads. Furthermore you need to cut pcb tracks at defined locations of the pcb of the Modular Board and at other locations you need to solder new connections onto the pcb. The following pictures show the modification in detail:


Picture 2:Location of the components on the Modular Board pcb; Linie = line, Reihe = row, Diode = diode, Anode = anode

Picture 3: Final result of the modified Modular Boa rd pcb

Picture 4: Modification of the Modular Board pcb wi th new connections (green lines) and cuts (blue lines); modifications of row 1 and 2 are show n; row 3 to 8 have to be modified accordingly


Picture 5: Modification of the Modular Board pcb in detail - H1 to E2 - with new connections (green lines) and cuts (blue lines)

Picture 6: Modification of the Modular Board pcb in detail - D1 to A2 - with new connections (green lines) and cuts (blue lines) The small blue lines show the locations where the tracks have to be cut with a sharp needle or knife. The long green lines show new connections which can be done with wire wrap or silver wire. At 1 and 2 (see picture 4 and 5) the leads of the ribbon cable have to be soldered. I only show the modification of row 1 and 2. Row 3 to 8 have to be modified accordingly. 1 and 2 are connected with the LED's cathodes of row 1 and row 2 on the pcb. Picture 7 shows the description of the connector's leads in the middle at the right of the Modular board pcb:


Picure 7: Description of the connector's leads of t he Modular Board pcb; Linie = line, Reihe = row, Kathode = cathode, Anode = anode, Diode = diod e, Lötseite = solder side The leads have to be connected to the adequate terminals of the IOW56 and of the LED driver ICs according to the circuit diagram; use ribbon cable and connectors (see picture 1). The wiring structure of the Exclusive and München Board is similar to the Modular Board, the modification is basically the same as described above. Assembly of a new electronic chess board For a new electronic chess board you should buy a ready-made wooden chess board as the basis. Only if you are a carpenter or a brilliant hobbyist you should build the chess board from scratch. Veneering is very complicate - you need specific tools and a lot of experience to gain good quality. With a 50cmx50cm chess board you have enough space to mount the electronic components; you can also use a 40cmx40cm chess board. For the 3mm LED assembly you need 3mm drill holes (or 5mm drill holes for bigger chess boards and 5mm LED) in the lower right corner of each chess field or at the four corners of the chess field with the 81 LED variant. Drilling is easier with the 81 LED variant, because you do not need to mark the holes before drilling (see picture 9a). Put the LEDs into the drill holes and bend their leads as needed. The LEDs are connected according to Mysticum Doku Teil 2 and Teil 6.2 within the matrix. For the LED connection I use hook-up wire which can be aligned very good; it's stiff, but you can bend it as you like. Hot melt fixes all components and the wire onto the chess board. Ribbon cable is soldered to the matrix to connect the matrix with the IOW56 (see picture 8 and 9). Now mount the reeds into the chess board, bend the leads, attach a diode according to Mysticum Doku Teil 1 and Teil 6.3, use hook-up wire to solder the matrix and connect the ribbon cable. You can mount the reeds upright to the chess board into a 3mm drill hole in the middle of the chess field. 4mm wood should remain at the top of the chess board. Bend the reed's leads very, very carefully, the gla ss body is very sensitive and breaks fast; in a short moment t he reed will be useless. It’s also possible to mount the reeds horizontally, but the reeds have to be mounted


outside the middle of the chess field within a milled slot with 4mm wood remaining at the top of the chess board. Outside the middle of the chess field the reeds switch much better (see picture 9 and 9b). Afterwards fix all components with hot melt (see picture 8 and 9).

Picture 8: Test board of a 4x4 LED and reed matrix

Picture 9: Orientation of reeds and LEDs


Picture 9a: 81 LED variant with four drill holes pe r chess field

Picture 9b: Milled slots at the bottom side of the chess board to carry the reed contacts

Picture 10: Ribbon cable with soldered male connect or plugs made from terminal strips


Picture 11: Soldered LED and reed matrix underneath the chess board

Picture 12: Dirk's 81 LED Mysticum 2. IO Warrior56 Board with LED Driver ICs The connecting element between electronic chess board and PC is the I(nput)/O(utput) board “I/O Warrior56” sold by the company Code Mercenaries and soldered and modified by you according to the circuit diagram. This I/O board analyzes the signal data coming from the reed matrix in multiplex mode, sends the data to the PC and sends the LED data coming from the PC in multiplex mode to the LED matrix to display a chess move. For a fast assembly of this I/O board you need the “I/O Warrior56 starter kit” from Code Mercenaries. You have to assemble and solder it according to the circuit diagram “IOW56-Platine” (Mysticum Doku Teil 6.1). For a fast assembly you can use terminal strips (see picture 1 at the top) as connectors for the port terminals and ribbon cables; here you need some solder experience. But also male and female connectors as shown in picture 1 at the bottom are possible.


Picture 13: IO Warrior56 Board with LED driver ICs and cable connection

Picture 14: Connection labels of the IO Warrior56 B oard with LED driver ICs

Picture 15: IO Warrior56 Board with LED driver ICs

ribbon cable connection to the LCD module and push-buttons USB cable connection to the Thin Client PC ribbon cable connection to the reed matrix underneath the chess board ribbon cable connec-tion to the LED matrix underneath the chess board

R: Reihe = row L: Linie = line Taster = push-button S/S = start/stop key RE = right key M = menu key RA = up key L = left key RU = down key


If you want the LEDs shine brighter, you can connect pin 13 of the LED driver IC MIC5891 and the pin Vcc of the capacitor C2 to +12V and cut it from +5V (see Mysticum Doku Teil 6.1: Schaltplan IOW56-Platine). You can get +12 V from the internal PC power connector. Attention: The circuit diagram is not yet modified to the +12V alternative! 3. LCD Operating Unit with six Push-Buttons The LCD module as well as the six push-buttons are connected to the IO Warrior56 Board according to the circuit diagram „LCD-Bedieneinheit“ (Mysticum Doku Teil 6.4). You need to prepare a 20 terminal ribbon cable according to Mysticum Doku Teil 9 and solder suitable parts of the terminal strip (picture 1 upper section) as connectors according to picture 16 and 17 to both ends of it. On the IO Warrior56 side of the ribbon cable you divide it starting from the red marked cable part into 1 - 8 - 4 -1 - 6 connector sections, on the LCD module side into 1 - 11 - 1 (female) - 1 - 6 connector sections. One connector is female. All others are male!

Picture 16: IO Warrior56 side of the 20 terminal ri bbon cable – the red marked cable part on the right conducts +5V


Picture 17: LCD module side of the 20 terminal ribb on cable – the red marked cable part on the right conducts +5V – one connector is female After that you solder a 16 terminal connector made from the terminal strip in picture 1 to the LCD module and prepare a 29 terminal connector according to picture 18. Consult Mysticum Doku Teil 6.1, 6.4 and 6.8 for help. Now prepare 6 push-buttons according to picture 19 and 20. After connecting all components only the USB connection to the PC (or thin client or motherboard) is missing.

Picture 18: Connection of the LCD module Alternatively you can solder the 1+11+1+1 terminals on the LCD module side of the ribbon cable directly to the 29 terminal intermediate connector and to the transistor terminal in the middle and save the 1+11+1+1 connectors and avoid too many connectors. Furthermore you can cut the 6 terminal ground connector part and connect it with a cable to the 23 terminal remaining connector; the assembly becames more robust. In addition you can assemble the connector on the LCD side


much more professional: You can locate the components potentiometer, resistor and transistor on the IOW board, but for this you need one cable connection in addition between IOW board and LCD module.

Picture 19: Push-button with connection cables and connectors

Picture 20: Connectors male and female soldered to the push-button connection cables


Picture 21: LCD operating unit with push-buttons

Picture 22: Blue LCD module

Picture 23: OLED display module (recommended!)


It is recommended to take the blue LCD module or, even better, the expensive OLED display module because of the better display characteristics in comparison to the green LCD module. If you take the OLED display module you can skip the components potentiometer, resistor and transistor in addition, which simplifies the assembly. 4. PC and Software Installation You need a PC with Windows XP (or Vista, 7 or 8) and .net Framework for the operation of the Mysticum chess computer with the Mysticum software. In the easiest alternative you connect the IOW board via USB cable to a existing PC or notebook or you take a used thin client (from eBay). A thin client is a small, flat PC, which is mounted without the housing into a flat Mysticum housing; it produces low noise - this is necessary to play chess in a undisturbed environment. There is no fan that bothers you, but a big heat sink, no hard disc drive but a silent flash drive. It should have 512MB RAM and 512MB flash and minimum 3 USB ports to connect the IO Warrior56, the USB stick, with the Mysticum software and the chess engines and the Bluetooth dongle for the operation with the software "Arena" on a second PC. Furthermore it should have a serial interface plug for the operation with Arena with zero modem cable (instead of Bluetooth connection), keyboard, mouse and monitor plugs for the software installation and to conduct tests. The operating system is Windows XP embedded in most cases; this doesn't need a lot of memory. The thin client should have a height of 4cm max, otherwise the housing ist too high, the chess computer is unhandy and not comfortable to play chess with. To setup the thin client PC you need first to activate the administrator mode. During PC boot you need to push and hold the shift key until the login screen appears. Type in “Administrator” for both, username and password, then unlock the write protection, open the file c:\windows\system32\winlog.cpl (or open winlog in system), type in „Administrator“ once again for username and password and activate autologin; now you don’t need to type in username and password any more when you start the PC! If you want to start the BIOS (push and hold the entf key during boot) to change for example the boot order of the drives and there is a password protection existing try the password „Fireport“. To boot the thin client without keyboard you have to activate "All, But Keyboard" or "No Errors" in the "Halt On“ section of the BIOS. Possibly you have to merge partitions on the flash drive (for example with “Easeus Partition Master). All unneeded software should be deleted. You have to install .NET Framework 2.0, otherwise you cannot run the Mysticum software. Change the pointer of the tmp and temp paths to the USB stick (right click on Computer/Environment Variable/Advanced!); possibly you have to install Win Installer V2 beforehand (if a error message appears). Install the software CPUID to reduce the processor speed (for example to 400 MHz); put the file into the autostart folder, for an automated start at boot or start the file from the Mysticum menu. To copy/clone the complete flash drive including operating system and boot sector to another (bigger) flash drive, you can use Easeus Partition Master (function "Copy Drive") too.


Picture 24: Wyse Thin Client J400 WT941GXL still in its own housing The thin client has to be disassembled and its components are mounted into the Mysticum housing. Pay attention to assure the accessibility of needed PC interface connectors like monitor, keyboard, mouse, the USB ports for the IOW56 board, USB stick, Bluetooth dongle and the serial port for the zero modem cable to connect a second PC with Arena.

Picture 25: Thin client components (motherboard, po wer board, heat sink, USB board) inside the Mysticum housing


Picture 26: Thin client screen with Mysticum and Bl uetooth windows

Picture 27: Mysticum with Intel D945GSEJT half-heig ht motherboard The best practice motherboard for Mysticum is Intel‘s D945GSEJT Half Height board with Atom N270 processor (1,6 GHz speed). With its height of 20mm it matches very well into flat Mysticum housings. If you are able to install the operating system Windows XP on the Z-Drive (Walter made a very detailed instruction) the PC is very compact.

Picture 28: Motherboard D945GSEJT with operating sy stem on Intel’s Z-Drive with white label (picture: © Walter)


The successor is the Intel DN2800MT Half Height board with Atom N2800 processor (2x1,86 GHz speed). The software installation is the same as described above, but more simple, as you install the operating system the first time. With the software „CPUID“ und „MoSlo“ the processor speed can be reduced dramatically, so that it is as slow as a 68020 processor at 20 MHz. With some PCs, the processor speed can be reduced in the BIOS. To make CPUID working with the Intel D945GSEJT Half Height board the „Hyperthreading“ entry in the BIOS section has to be switched to „disabled“. Because of problems with slowing down some PCs with MoSlo, Guido decided to write a new version of the Mysticum software, this is V2. With V2 the slow down feature is built-in. With the speed reduction feature it is possible for Mysticum to play with all chess computers at the same level of performance. Besides the Mysticum software you can download from the Mysticum Dropbox lots of chess engines and other supporting software. Dropbox is a net storage; you can apply for an access within the Mysticum forum. 5. USB Sick with Mysticum Software and Chess Engine s If you want to use the Mysticum software you must download it from the Mysticum Dropbox and store it in the “Mysticum” archive on the USB stick. Chess engines have to be stored in the archive “Mysticum\Engine“; the name of the sub archive of the chess engine must be identical with the .exe file of the chess engine. USB sticks with the brands “Transcend“ (4 GB) und “Traxdata“ (8 GB) are suitable for Mysticum. With other USB sticks you could have trouble – the thin client or PC doesn‘t boot. Put the path to Mysticum into the autostart folder of Windows XP; possibly you have to put different paths to different drives (with different drive letters) into the autostart folder, if you want to change the USB sticks afterwards. As already mentioned, the USB stick should be accessible from outside the housing; with the best solution you even do not have to remove the chess pieces from the chess board. If the stick is accessible from outside you can update the Mysticum software and install further chess engines very easy and comfortable. With a second PC you can save all necessary files to the USB stick and put it back to the Mysticum chess computer. In addition you can load stored chess games from the USB stick to a second PC.


Picture 29: USB stick accessible from outside the h ousing 6. USB Bluetooth Dongle If you want to play with your Mysticum against Arena on a second PC you need a zero modem cable or Bluetooth communication. Install the Bluetooth dongle according to its manual and put the path to the software into the autostart folder. On Mysticum you choose “Bluetooth on” and the appropriate com port, in Arena you choose the Novag protocol and the suitable com port.

Picture 30: Bluetooth dongle 7. Chess Computer Housing You have all freedom! Take an existing housing like Mephisto "München“, "Exclusive“ or "Modular" housing, you can build a new housing on your own, you can place an order to a carpenter or you mount the electronics into a small console like the Tasc R30 operator module and connect the chess board via cable. The housing needs drill holes to carry the power supply connector and the on/off switch or push-button. If you want to change the USB stick from outside without opening the housing and removing the chess pieces - this is what I recommend strongly - you need a suitable


drill hole or other access for it. Furthermore you’ve to mount the LCD module and the push-buttons. If you want to have a professional looking housing you have to buy a ready-made one or order it from a carpenter. I would recommend at least to buy a ready-made wooden chess board as the basis for your housing. Also you could buy a picture frame suitable for a wooden chess board. You could attach a wooden bottom plate to it. On the next pages you can see some housing examples:

Picture 31: Guidos original Mysticum (picture: © Gu ido Marquardt)

Picture 32: Guido’s first reproduction Mysticum (pi cture: © Guido Marquardt)


Picture 33: blaubaer‘s first Mysticum with modified Modular board

Picture 34: This chess cassette (similar to a “Meph isto München” board could be the basis for a new Mysticum

Picture 35: Soon the Mysticum design could look lik e this “Tasc R30” according to an idea of Vitali


Picture 36: And here we’ve the “Tasc R30” implement ation for Mysticum from Stefan (picture: © Stefan)

Picture 37: My second Mysticum in Mephisto Exclusiv e style

Picture 38: Thomas‘ Mysticum plays music too (pictu re: © Thomas)


Picture 39: Bernhard‘s first Mysticum (picture: © B ernhard)

Picture 40: Bernhard‘s second Mysticum with self ma de verneer (picture: © Bernhard)

Picture 41: Dirk‘s “suitcase” solution built for Ni ck (picture: © Dirk)


Picture 42: Neptun‘s „Flunder“ (flatfish) with 81 L EDs (picture: © Ansgar)

Picture 43: Stefan’s Mysticum (picture: © Stefan)

Picture 44: Achim‘s Mysticum is the most elegant of all (picture: © Achim)


Picture 45: Walter‘s Mysticum is probably the small est – it fits into a Modular housing (picture: © Walter)

Picture 46: DIY kit of a Mysticum housing made by W aschtl You see, there are lots of possibilities for the design of a Mysticum housing. That’s all so far – I hope that everything is clear now in assembling your Mysticum chess computer. If there are open questions, I fear there are some ;-), please contact the Mysticum board: http://miclangschach.de/forum/index.php Here you can describe and publish your own Mysticum. Have fun with your Mysticum creation! Regards, Michael Lang/blaubaer (mail to: [email protected])


Version history V 3.0e: English translation of the German assembly instruction V 3.0 V 3.1e: Pictures 9a, 9b and 46 added, errors corrected

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Assembly Instruction Mysticum V3 - miclangschach.de