New (& cheaper) DGT e-board

a) Totally agree, it's a disgrace. Thick, clumsy and inelegant pieces, while the pawns are too small and too light. This is pure speculation, but could it be that they're using a cheap species of wood which quickly would start bending were they to be made to more slender specifications? Having seen this happening a lot with inexpensive versions of Ronbo710's favourite, the Chavet, it wouldn't surprise me at all if this was the case.
b) Which makes it even worse ...
c) The DGT 2010 is way better than the older model (which emitted an almighty and loud thwack/clack), but I totally agree. It's not rocket science, and other makers have managed to eliminate it.
d) I have to confess that this has never been much of an issue for me.
e) Isn't this a bit like computer software and hardware in general? While there undoubtedly once was an enormous development cost, most new versions are just minor tweaks of the previous one.

DGT is great for tournament organizers, because they save loads of time inputting games. That's another reason why it's so odd why no one has come up with a low cost version ...

I made an electronic chessboard (actually several) and I want to make a video demo of it.  The board supports natural movements like the DGT eboard but uses cheap plastic chessmen.

The goal of my  board is for USCF OTB tournament use (record PGN and live broadcast), so I did not work on online chess interface.

Below is my demo plan:

(demonstrate different movement methods slide/pickup/change mind while maintaining touch) 
1. d4 e5

2. d5 e4

(demonstrate knockover by knocking  over the board and resetting to prior position)

(demonstrate different capturing methods)
3. f4 exf3ep (move, capture)
4. Qd4 c5
5. dxc6ep (remove both, place) Ne7
6. Qxg7 (move adjacent, remove) Bxg7 (capture, move)

(demonstrate promotion)
7. cxb7 fxg2
8. bxc8=Q fxh1=Q->N
9. Qxb8 Ng3 (note promotion change)

(demonstrate castling)
10. Nc3 OO (king first)
11. Be3 Rxb8
12. OOO (rook first)

(explain illegal moves are allowed unless players notice)
(demonstrate auto illegal move undo)
13. Nxe2+ (Rxd7, this is illegal, black points out check and white undo) Bxe2

I think the above covers most of the features of the board in the least amount of moves.  I welcome your suggestions.

Thanks in advance!

Oh, I forgot to add a demo for running the board on battery w/o computer; then later downloading its PGN games to computer.  I'll add that.

If I get some time today, I'll add a feature so the board can write PGN to USB thumb drives; then players only need to plug in thumb drives while playing to get PGN games.

hook, line, and sinker... excuse me... is anyone really buying this?

I apologize in advance to everyone else.  :-)

Here's a pic of one of the boards I'll demo.

This one is an induction underlay board.  The top board can be anything except metal (so a wooden chessboard works too).  I would have posted pics earlier except, as you can see, the board takes up my entire desk so I normally don't have it out (plus lots of wires to mess with).  I've set everything up yesterday, and came up with the demo plan.

I'll demo it against the DGT board next to it.  There are some things my board can do that the DGT cannot, for example, this DGT board is bluetooth version and scans at 10Hz, which can miss very fast moves; my induction board (which is the slowest) can easily scan at 20Hz.  Of course, I can promote multiple queens at $1 each, while the DGT board queens are expensive to buy.  Oh what else?  Yes, my board allows better tournament rules support: in DGT if you make illegal move the PGN is broken up, my board has the intelligence to automatically resolve many beginner type mistakes IFF the players notice (it was intended for young scholastic players)

@mgx9600 oh thats cool!!!

Check for patents is my advice. There will be a reason (besides links with FIDE) that nobody has jumped into this market. It may only be that the market is too small, but there are plenty of manufacturers of chess clocks and several manufacturers of chess boards and pieces at different levels of quality and price.

If the patents aren't a problem, are expired or can be licensed go for it! I'd love to see competition.

Just like chess clocks, there are many e-boards out there.  I suspect that the high-end market is very small (in chess clock too) so we don't see many products.  For exmaple, there are many $10-$50 e-boards (just like there are many $10-$30 chess clocks); but very few expensive e-boards (just like very few > $100 chess clocks).

You can build something that plays well with off-the-shelf parts.  The demo e-board below cost about $310 in materials.  Judge for yourself how it stacks up against DGT.

Main video:

https://youtu.be/0Y8NTp1wk2s

PIP video (play it @4:31 into main video):

https://youtu.be/5INOclybRwA

Hmm....  DGT started to sell board included pieces at $390 on Amazon, and board + pieces + DGT Pi at $649.

What do you chess guys think about that?

https://www.amazon.com/DGT-SMART-Plastic-weighted-pieces/dp/B078X9RNB7/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1516277610&sr=8-1&keywords=dgt+smart+board

Do you want us to tell you what this DGT e-board's value is to you?  That'd be kind of difficult.

To me, I think it is a good deal at $390.  Buy it, and your chess game immediately improves because it lets you record casual OTB games.

But then again, it is a lot more expensive than a $20 DIY e-board like the one I demonstrated.

Oh, I don't think the Pi computer is a good deal at all.  You can get equal or better features just using your phone, tablet, or laptop.

According to DGT, the Smart Board will be available again in mid-February.

Here's one (the first to come up on a quick search) -

https://www.youngexplorers.com/itemdy00.aspx?T1=Y153001&srccode=NXCYC6&utm_source=google&utm_medium=comparison&utm_campaign=datafeed&source=pla&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIl6uW7a3k2AIVEpd-Ch2OZgyqEAQYAyABEgIdv_D_BwE

For $40, you get a chess computer!

If you just want an e-board, then you can get the e-baord this is based on for $10 -

https://en.chessbase.com/post/how-to-build-your-own-usb-electronic-che-board

But none of the above e-boards have what I'd call natural movements.

I've also made several e-boards with much more natural movements (just move the pieces without having to press or do anything weird) than the above ones; the cheapest one costed just $30 in materials; I'll demo it when I get some time.

After building so many different e-boards, I have gained some understanding of the different types of sensors used in them likes costs and materials, etc.  If you get together with a few firends and split the costs, you can build your own magnetic sensor e-boards for about $20 each.

You keep on making these statements.

Are you planning on sharing this information?  Or are you trying to sell your homemade boards?

If you make a demonstration videos of your homemade e-board I suggest using one board in the video, yours!  Why demonstrate the DGT board?  Make a separate video to demonstrate issues with the DGT boards if that is what you are trying to do.

If you are going to share the knowledge you have gained from building these e-boards provide a parts list with the demonstration video and some information on how to build it.  Make a new topic for each board you demo, unless it is a continuation of the same board.

The last board you demoed cost $300 to build (based on your own statement), plus the time to build, and I might add an unfinished product with exposed wiring and unclear software support.  Not a very good argument as a better option than the DGT Smart Board -- a working and finished product for $400 that works with many software products.

If you are going to make an argument of how a better and cheaper board can be made, demo just that board, and show how it can work with commercial software products. 

I am more interested in the DGT boards because of the ability to play online. Playing against human is way better than against the computer/engines. I like to computer/engines to analyze my games against humans.

@kenardi, my advice to you is to stop trolling.  None of your posts have any value at all.  Why waste your time?

can't take a few constructive comments?  no problem boss!  good luck fishing!

ANYONE BUYING THIS?  IF SO, TRY THIS:

Main video: (start this video at 6:45)

https://youtu.be/0Y8NTp1wk2s

PIP video (Start this video at 2:16)

https://youtu.be/5INOclybRwA

Now watch how perfectly the PIP video matches the pieces moving on the DGT board in the Main video... much better then the sporadic delays and timing when matched with the homemade demonstration board in the Main video.  At least for the short time that it actually worked.  Stops right before Ng8-Ne7 ...

hmmmm.... not suspicious at all, not even a little bit.  (sense any sarcasm?)