Frequently Asked Questions

Many of the questions I get are answered by information in the ReadMe file for each driver. Please check there first! Other common questions I've had are:

I'm having trouble downloading your files
The file should appear in whatever folder is set in the browser as the location for downloads. I have tried to make my downloads work reliably but sometimes some browsers don't like them. Try using a different browser or PC and see if that makes a difference. If the downloads keep timing out try to run them when you have nothing streaming on your network.
Another possibility is that the files are downloading correctly but are then being deleted by your anti-virus program. Check the logs for that program.

I'm having trouble installing your files
My setup program is a bit unusual as it includes both 32 and 64 bit drivers and, because of how Fritz works, these might need to be installed into the main system folders. To install them correctly I also need to run a program at the end. Anti-virus programs sometimes think this is too suspicious, but the only time I've had issues is when the user has Norton security installed. Try disabling Norton and see if that helps.
If you are worried about the safety of my installation try uploading it to an online checker such as Virus Total:
Virus Total

I have installed your driver(s). How do I swap between boards or go back to DGT Rabbit?
See the ReadMe file for your driver. For Fritz you need to run the DLLfritz.exe program (called "Fritz-CB eBoard" in your Start menu or desktop). For the other GUIs you need to run the DLLmanager.exe program (e.g. "Arena eBoard") in the same directory as the GUI program.

My BLE board won't connnect. What can I do?
If you use a phone app check that connects to the board OK. Then check that there isn't another device, such as your mobile phone, connecting to your board when you try my driver as BLE only allows one connection at a time. Make sure the board is NOT paired in the Windows Bluetooth screen. Bluetooth is different to BLE and having a connection there might interfere with the BLE connection. Also check that the Advanced search for devices is Disabled in the Windows 11 Bluetooth discovery options. Check if my ComPort program can see the board - open the program and go to the BLE tab. Check if BLEscout can see and connect to the board:
BLEscout

I'm having trouble with my Linux PC
If you are using Linux then you almost certainly know more about it than me. I've learnt just enough to get the boards working on my Linux Mint PC but that's all.
Check my ReadMe file to make sure you have any required libraries loaded. Also check you have udev rules set up if you need them. My Linux Engines download has some examples. There are some Linux users in the forums so try asking on TalkChess, Schachcomputer.info or the Chess.com Equipment forum.

Will you be adapting your programs to run on Apple Macs?
No. The purpose of my drivers is to replace the DGT Rabbit driver. Since DGT never released Rabbit on the Mac there are no GUIs that use it so there is no real point.
I don't use Apple products but I believe all programs to be used on Macs need to be approved by Apple. In addition I have heard that some of the development libraries I would need are licensed by Apple. So I would need to buy the licenses, do all the work and still might find that Apple don't approve my programs.

Does your driver work on Android?
No. Just like the Mac, there are no GUIs on Android that could use my driver. Even the engine version would be harder to install now due to the security restrictions introduced in Android. You are better off using one of the GUIs that supports the board directly.

Can I use your driver in HIARCS?
Not really. My driver relies on the DGT interface and it doesn't look like HIARCS want to implement that. The best you can do is to use the UCI/Winboard engine version of my program in an engine vs engine match but that is far from ideal as you can't take back moves etc. But at least you can use you eBoard to play games against HIARCS.

Can I use your drivers to access Chess.com or Lichess?
No. My drivers rely on a chess GUI to load and control them and these is no PC based GUI that I'm aware of that can interface directly with either Chess.com or Lichess.

Can you write a driver for a board not currently supported?
It's really only practical to write a driver for a board if I actually have one of those boards. When I first started I did try to write the Millennium driver without a board and when I finally had access to one I found my software wasn't very good. I also wrote the drivers for the Novag Citrine and Saitek boards without having one but those projects took months. It doesn't help that, being in New Zealand, my time zone is different so I have to send a prototype, wait for somebody to test it and report the results. At best that takes a day on each small change. I'm really not interested in doing that again.

Can you support other Square Off boards?
In addition to the problem highlighted above (I only have a Square Off Pro board) there is another issue with Square Off. They don't support third party developers and haven't released the API needed to talk to their boards. I was only able to write a driver for the Pro because somebody was able to decode the commands they use for that board, and those seem to be different to those for their other boards. In 2023 Square Off released a firmware update for the Pro that changed the interface and we had to work out for ourselves what the changes were.

How can I use your driver in my programs?
The issue here is that the interface my driver uses is the DGT Rabbit one, and that is copyrighted by DGT. So I can't send it to you, although if you contact DGT they probably will. An alternative would be to look at the code for LucasChess since that is open source and uses the same interface.

Can I have the source code?
No. In addition to the DGT copyright of the interface there are some other complications. I use Lazarus Pascal and some libraries, but have amended several of the source files in these to make them work better for me. And a couple of those libraries are also copyrighted. So technically and legally there would be issues for me in distributing the source.
Another factor is that if I did it would then be possible for people to release forks of my drivers with different amendments and I'd start getting questions like "I'm using your driver, but the one amended by XXXX, and I'm having trouble with...".

Can I make a donation?
That's a great offer, but I do this for fun. Now that I'm reasonably well known the board manfacturers are very helpful, often sending me boards to test with, so I don't have many expenses to cover. However, if you do want to make a donation it would be really good if you could make one to your local cancer charity in memory of my late wife, Joy.