Or just run a stratum proxy on the laptop and keep miners on their own switch. There's probably a lot of ways to do that, but it's not really necessary to discuss here.

I don't know if there'll be an update to cgminer proper, that's between vh and ck. VH's code so far compiles cgminer with --enable-gekko like Novak's, but vh's code is better. There is no code "for the chip so it talks to cgminer correctly"; the chip is a fixed hardware implemention so it only knows one way to talk. The code is so cgminer knows how to talk to the chip correctly - or more specifically, chips plural.

For anyone running Novak's cgminer for old Compacs, I'm going to recommend using VH's new cgminer instead because it should do the job better. Novak's was a rehash of U3 Icarus driver (and BM1382 chips), but VH's code is designed a lot more specifically for the BM1384. It'll run even a single-chip Compac more smoothly than Novak's did.

Novak's original cgminer is only good for 1 chip. It'll drive the new stick, but you'll see a lot of HW errors - it's actually duplicate shares because both chips are hashing on the same work.

VH's code is able to dole out work to both chips, and improves the power rampup which is necessary for chips in a string. By the time they're launched, the updated code should be compatible with an arbitrary number of chips, meaning it'll work with the 1-chip Compac, the 2-chip 2Pac and the 20-chip pod.

I will be sending review units to Philipma1957 and a couple other folks. I'll make sure vh's latest functional code is available to reviewers.

GENERAL SALES ARE CLOSED - If you only want a few, talk to a reseller because if you email me I probably won't even respond.

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To anyone who buys from a reseller, that person is your first point of contact for any support issues because that person got your money, not me, and the markup you paid means the seller owes you good customer service. So don't ask me for support requests unless you bought from me directly. Or check here - 2Pac Support Thread

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GekkoScience is currently working on a variety of miner projects. The biggest news is, I have access to Bitfury's new 16nm mining ASIC and will be designing a family of miners around it. I say "family" because I'm looking at a 2-chip USB stick, an 11-chip "pod" (40-100W standalone) and a 33-chip board (~220W, adjustable up or down) designed to fit on S1/3/5 heatsinks.

In order to help raise money for development on these projects, I'm working on some simpler products that follow along after the BM1384 Compac project from last year. Because BM1384 can undervolt down to about S7 stock power (0.25J/GH chip-level) and they're easy to work with, these "fundraiser" projects will keep using them. The plan is to build a 2-chip USB stick and an 8-chip "pod".

The pod miner I expect to have a 35W hashrate about 88GH, with a peak 70W hashrate of 120GH. When I have them prototyped and ready I'll have more info for you.

The USB stick, let's call it the 2Pac, will have about the same baseline hashrate and efficiency as the original Compac but per-hashrate efficiency increases quite a bit as you crank it up, and cooling should be more effective. That is to say, if all you want is a 2.5W stickminer it's no better than the original, but it's quite a bit more overclockable.

Freq	GH	Vcore	Power	J/GH
100	11.00	1.26	3.67	0.33
125	13.75	1.26	4.48	0.33
150	16.50	1.26	5.27	0.32
175	19.25	1.26	6.12	0.32
200	22.00	1.32	7.43	0.34
225	24.75	1.36	8.73	0.35
250	27.50	1.40	10.11	0.37
275	30.25	1.46	12.25	0.40
300	33.00	1.50	13.98	0.42

A driver with baseline functionality has already been developed, and by deployment should be both backward-compatible with the original Compac and forward-compatible with the pod.

Since this is a fundraiser for better things, I'm actually putting up 3 different ways for people to pitch in.

1BURGERAXHH6Yi6LRybRJK7ybEm5m5HwTr
This is the general donation address for GekkoScience projects. Bitcoins put in here will go to prototypes, parts and the occasional hot sandwich.


12PACBUYyFhRyhRB4qB9Z5Z8M6E3p8gpmt
This is the general sales address for the 2Pac. It'll be used to buy materials to manufacture the 2Pacs, and the surplus will be funneled straight into BF16 project development. I also accept PayPal payments at sales@gekkoscience.com


12pAcLoAN9yhTbSbPwCiJFeDkw8zMAxYyH
This is a new thing I'm trying out. This is a 2Pac Loan address, and and coins here will be used for 2Pac manufacture, the profits therefrom going into BF16 development. Once the BF16 projects are rolling and turning a profit, all the coins paid into this address will be paid back to the sender's address.



MacEntyre has stock for EU sales through his website bitshopper.de
valkir is arranging a Canada group buy in an adjacent thread.
Eyeboot.com will be stocking for the Asian market, and also sells some beefy USB hubs.

2Pac sticks are $30 apiece for any quantity. For the sake of simplicity, I'll charge a flat $10 on shipping for all US orders. If you're interested in purchasing, PM me here or email sales@gekkoscience.com with quantity, shipping address and desired payment method.

I've gotten samples, and just received a tracking number for more samples to be delivered next week. I've gotten pricing brackets for 1 to 500K chips.

Yes, that's the idea. The final goal for BF16 design is a 33-chip board designed specifically to mount on S1/3/5 chassis. I'll make sure it's compatible with S3 housings too. The thing will be USB-connected, so it might take a header adapter or something to still plug into the boards inside the case but I'll make sure it's possible. S1 and S5, being fairly open, should have no trouble.

I'll probably do something like a 2Pac for every S5 board sent in, or a pod for every 2 or 4 boards. Once I settle on something I'll make sure it's in the Group Buy thread details.

Yeah, there's details in a post about two pages back. I haven't gotten around to setting up an official Group Buy thread but I'll try and do that tomorrow. Fridays are good days for odds-and-ends work.

I will probably be doing an S5 board exchange thing where folks can cash in those PCBs for sticks or pods. Be a good way to make sure I stay in chips. The 2Pac run will probably be limited, but if sales of the pod are good I'll probably kepe making those. The 2Pac will be superseded by the BF16 stick anyway, but the old-chip pod will be a nice "bargain" pod versus the higher entry cost (and accordingly better specs) of the BF16 pod.

I've got a photo of the 2Pac test setup posted. The 2-chip BF16 test board is still a work in progress, nothing worth photographing yet.

Chips tomorrow - is that the Merry Christmas sample chips you're sending so I can prototype pods? Sweet.

I'm really looking forward to having more news for you all.

Bitfury is probably only dealing with me based on reputation. In order to make good on their promise to support community endeavors, they offered to work with pretty much the only person who still had community endeavors planned, and the general approval of the community itself. I have no doubt I've been given a special exception, which is pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm kicking myself for deciding to pod with BM1385. I made that choice something like 3 weeks ago. If I'd stuck with 1384 I could have that pod PCB on the way alongside the 2Pac and be testing everything all at once. And not have wasted money on pod PCBs for an unused design. Oh well, get to it when I get to it.

And this is why I don't take in money for products that haven't been successfully prototyped yet, because things can change.

So, Punin sent me a "Merry Christmas" email today offering to send me more samples, enough to build a few more sticks and about half a dozen pods. What a nice guy.

I also am having second thoughts about the BM1385 pod.

The chip specs of the BM1385 are pretty good. Top-clock efficiency is on par with BM1384's best-case efficiency. Estimated specs for the 10x1385 pod are 250GH at 60W DC. That's not bad; a 20x1384 pod would see about 190GH from the same power draw. That 20x1384 pod would have no legroom for undervolting, and you'd only get about 250GH if you pushed it to 100W (versus about 350GH from a 10x1385).

Pros for the 1385 are obvious - better efficiency, higher hashrate.
Cons abound - 0.4mm pin pitch sucks to work with. S7 chip harvesting requires hot air and an acetone bath just to expose the chips. It'll also mean more software dev time for VH to figure the chips out.

Cons for 1384 basically invert pros of 1385 - worse efficiency, lower hashrate.
Pros, however, are numerous - chips will be cheaper to source in bulk, and are easier to harvest. I'll already be doing that for the 2Pac anyway, and have streamlined the process after 2000 Compacs. VH's multi-chip 1384 code is only a few steps from being generalized to n>=1 chips and he's planning on doing that anyway, so by the time 2Pac drivers are rolled out they'd probably already work with the pod natively. I can build off the existing 1385 layout, changing on the chip field and support components, meaning design time will take about 1 day total. That leaves a lot of time for BF16 work.

So, who would be dreadfully upset if I rolled the 1385 pod back to 1384? Since most folks didn't even know I was working on a 1385 pod until a few days ago I'm guessing it's probably okay.

I used to expect 300 cables per week from a cable minion, but with the tools I have now I can do that in one day. I might need a cable minion if I'm already stretched thin, but for that particular need I could probably fill quota just in spare time.

I'll definitely be finding at least one minion to help assemble sticks, and eventually pods. That's for darn sure still a tedious and time-consuming job.

That actually makes me think, you wouldn't get temperature data since it uses different data lines but I bet you could drive an S5 board with a USB/UART adapter using vh's new code. That's basically what the stick is, is a 2-chip version of an S5 board.

Seeing as I make cables already, it wouldn't be difficult to keep a stock of something like 8" or whatever would work best.

Yes, there will be hundreds available. The specs are per miner.

Info on the offerings:

2PAC - 2x BM1384 USB Stick Miner
  similar formfactor as original Compac stickminer, but with 2x mining ASICs in string topology
  increased efficiency per hashrate
  better overclocking potential
  same manual adjustable core voltage
  same flashy LEDs

AMITA V3 - 10x BM1385 USB-connected Pod Miner
  forward-compatible tower-able formfactor with upcoming BF16 pod
  standard 80mm case fan cooling
  automatic fan control with overtemp shutdown
  USB connection to controller (B and mini)
  power from barrel or PCIe (second PCIe allows daisychaining)
  manual adjustable core voltage
  overclocking potential ~400GH
  slightly fancier flashy LED

Right now the pod is still a concept waiting to be prototyped. The 2Pac is a proven design with functional code waiting for a final PCB layout verification before imminent mass-production.

Reckon those have a switch to select CC or CV? Looks like CV mode would be fine.

Somewhere on github there exists a cgminer fork with Compac support built right into the Icarus driver. That was sorta VH's "skills test" before working on developing drivers for new stuff, and I think it runs a bit smoother than Novak's original setup. I don't know if he plans to integrage the new 2-chip Compac code into that or not, or just scrap it - we're going to test how well the 2-chip code works by default on an original single-chip stick one of these days.

Someone did put together a Minera image with cgminer-gekko built right in but the link is buried about 90 pages back and might be broken anyway since that was a year ago.