Well, miners are packing up and leaving... little to no profit makes miners poor, not fun anymore more for most.

Right now, it's set for a reversal in difficulty next update, according to Bitcoin Wisdom.

There's a saying in Gold mining:


Many are leaving the game like many leave the Gold mining game; miners are now machine tenders for energy companies.

Easy job but not the best paying.

In Gold mining, the advantage is to have a high amount of Gold per yard, in Bitcoin, it's free power.

Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Check out antpool.com, BitmainTech's own pool.

You can solo mine there using their system.

Best of luck.

Safety should have had its own sub-forum long ago.

In Gold mining, your mine site still has to be "federally safe" and has to be part of your mine plan before you are allowed even mine.

If you own a mine, or mining claim, you'll know what a mining plan is and how important the safety aspect of it is.

It's sad to see someone's hard labor and investment go up in smoke...

Don't rule out sabotage, that's a lot of income, making a "poor" government jealous.

None the less, for those that are safety aware, here's the wiring section of my mining plan in a few words:

-Build an auto-kill switch system.
-When it comes to wiring, ALWAYS your largest gauge wire.
-Anything with Bitcoin mining should be 14 gauge minimum over 15 feet but 12 gauge is most desirable in any application and any length.
-The longer the extensions, the more you pay on delivery fees and the harder/expensive it gets to find large gauge extensions.
-I buy mine from Zoro, they sell good quality, large gauge, long extensions; good for USA and Canada. 
-Keep PSU wires separate or as far from each other as possible.
-Use white wires when possible since it doesn't attract heat like black does.
-Monitor cable heat by hand throughout the day, report unusual hot-spots.
-Make sure that if you have light coming in that it cannot cause hot-spots to wires or machines. (A Running Black PSU in the sun is ticking bomb)
-Use white foam cores to cover black areas from the sun if miners can become exposed to harmful sunlight.
-If PSU wires are too wimpy, buy larger ones, those should definitely be 16ga to begin with.
-Overpower PSU - Works less but costs a bit more, always at least 100W over maximum recommended, 150 is ideal, 200 is best, 250 is overkill.
-Overpowering PSU also reduces the overall power tension in the system since it works less for the same work.
-The best cooling is outside air because it's free and plenty but that may not work in areas where the outside temp is too high; IE: Florida
-Keep mine's temperature around 35 degrees; miners are their own dehumidifier, very dry conditions increase fire hazard too.
-Make sure your home's wiring is modern, meaning, newer than 1975 (Not 100% sure on the year).  If not, get it modernized.
-Make sure there is someone that can keep an eye on your mine if you leave for extended periods of time and train/pay them.
-Stack machines no more than 3 high for 1U's and do not stack 3U's at all.

Just because it's "computer mining" still makes it, mining.  Same offline rules apply here too, that is, shit's gonna break, your suppliers will screw you over, you're gonna swear a lot but you'll enjoy what you're doing.  There is a little saying in the Gold mining world we tell rookies.


I think your problem was a lack of an automatic kill-switch system.  Another type of miner that arose from Gold mining are "the hacks"... guys that do everything right all the way but hacks the last mile and loses everything. #ToddHoffman (A disgrace to Gold Miners)

Well, I hope new miners will read this thread before getting into Bitcoin mining, lots of good electrical and general safety comments in this thread.  Should be made a sticky in the Getting Started forum.

You won't be able to and should not overclock with a CX500M PSU... return for store credit if you can.

Other solution is, you buy new wires... the same ones they have on modular 650's, they have two connections per wire.

However, I find that too much feed for 500's though...

I would not recommend it, heck, I wouldn't even recommend using 500W PSU on an S3 at all...  I use 650 Watt'ers...

If you want to overclock definitely then you should get a stronger PSU, I think running 500's on S3's is just pushing it for nothing.

On the flip side, I run 2 S1's (The Previous Model) with 550W's and 2 with 650W's; The 650w powered ones make more coin than the 550 ones.

More power feed, the more power the S3 can use and the more coin it can make for you too; and greater your power bill will be too.

In the last 3 months, I've made about 15% more coin (Conservatively) by using a PSU at least 100 watts more than the Miner's max settings @ OC.

In Bitcoin, coin loves speed... it loves power too, give it both.

My laptop is a state of the art ThinkPad and only puts out a whopping 38MH/s... so if you get more than that, consider yourself lucky.

Keyword: Laptop - A very finite and compact computing environment, faster cards are too big for today's laptops.

To save space, they cram multiple critical components on one card.

I run nearly 200 watts for that little hash power and I can't even play my games nor conduct business properly.

The only way to increase hashrate is changing to a newer video card.

Unfortunately, laptops builders often solder the video card and mobo together; making upgrades completely impossible.

The best thing you can do is purchase external video cards but at that rate, look at Bitmain's U3 

Sorry but laptop technology is mainly for extensive business use, and general gaming, not industrial use or expert gaming.

You might get a much higher hashrate on a AlienWare, which are gaming centric laptops.

Happy (mini) Hashing!

PS: Following the Pioneer trail (CPU Mining) is what makes great new miners
PPS: I also said I'd only ever mine with a CPU but now have 6TH/s, it's an addictive hobby...

I never heard of anyone mining a U2 directly with a Pi lol

A Pi is a memory control card, you use one for miners that don't have built in miner software; it's not meant to power a Bitcoin miner.

The best way to set those up is to get a regular USB hub and a fan, MinerSource.net has awesome ones

You'd use a Pi for miners like RockMiners, a USB miner can be set up with a program like EZMiner (or whatever the name is).

Miners that have their own power supply, require very little power from the Pi...

So try it with a good quality USB hub and see what happens!

Hope this helps and happy hashing

Just goes to show ya... you have to think of everything.

Cubes should have been turned off long ago.

A simple auto-shutoff (Thermostat) system would have saved your mine and part of your home; Costs $100 for a really good one.

There is still money to be made in mining, not only in Bitcoin mining, there's AltCoins too if you want to test your luck.

New miners need to realize that they have to make their hardware profit other ways than just mining.

They also have to realize that they will have to have a regular income.

Don't get into mining then sell all you coin to pay bills; that's the problem with the industry forcing a constant selling pressure.

Miners who leave the game are players who give up on pretty much any game they can't easily win at or whine themselves to victory. #MMOG's

It's no longer an easy game for most since the price and rewards are so low, it's a smart player's game.

Those who do good have free power, very close to or pay the power out of their own pocket and save the coin for future interest.

I got in mining a few months before Mt. Gox crashed and still mine profitably but I have a mining plan.

I also come from Gold mining so my experience on the field serves me well virtually.

For most new miners, I don't recommend it because they have zero relatable experience then complain when price tanks or hardware fails.

Experienced miners can adapt easily because they know what can happen and made provisions for such disasters.

(Look at the person's who's entire mine went up in smoke, he'll keep mining)

Smart miners see it coming and adapt before it does; you have to be at the helm daily and be don't waste time.

If you want to mine for fun then that's the way to look at it... if you're looking for profit, anything above $0.05 power is not really profitable with today's price; well, not by my standards.

I started with $2,500 about 2 years ago and my mine now makes BTC0.5 per week, growing monthly...

Pretty good ROI, all my hardware re-investment now pays for itself.

However, I don't just sit on my ass either, I work hard and constantly look for new opportunities; that's what mining is

The best recommendation I can give you is learn about Gold mining, look at the first season of Gold Rush: Alaska - You can expect similar problems.

It's that Gold Miner life experiences that serves me best in Bitcoin mining.

As long as you realize how much of an asset a Bitcoin miner is, an asset YOU control, you'll do fine...

After all, not many devices you can buy that you can plug in the wall and it starts making money for you 

I'd be willing to help, if you're looking for a partner.

I'm Federally incorporated in Canada, where our laws are rather lax and no authority argues for long with me.

We also operate one of the largest independent mines in the country running on 80% free power.

We're also in the works of registering with FinTRAC, the Canadian version of FinCEN, the regulatory body for another project.

Would be easy for me to add your pool to our services requiring MSB licensing.

You got mail, check it out of interested, I don't comment on here often, very busy, too much pessimism.

Peace Out

Saw that article this morning, that's huge but looks too good to be true.  

Does anyone own any of their machines??  I mean a person, with reputation I guess is where I'm getting at.

I smell a scam, 1.6 HexaHash (The stage after Peta) is way too high for this stage in the game.

It would be like the entire network going from being powered exclusively by an overclocked S1 AntMiner to a Spondoolies Jackson nearly overnight.

It could theoretically kill the network, Bitcoin mining altogether and those guys would be the only mining company in existence.

No one would buy, there would be a massive sell-off on launch day or shortly after.

This is basically what Bitcoin was meant to be against, large central firms and let's not forget the imminent risk of a 51% attack.

Except in this case it would be a 150% attack, imagine that...  just like imagine the network gaining 6 times its power at a flick of a switch.

They'd literally own the network...  times six over.

If it does go on, the foundation would likely step in.

Even at 0.15 joules per GH/s, the cost to run those in Germany would be too great; expect high prices from the get go.

Smells like a trap, I'll keep buying HW, my instinct rarely fails me.

Well, if they were able to transmute quantum computing and cryptography together, they'd be on to something.

Just one of those impulse buys I'll pass onto the bigger risk takers I guess.

Too many red flags, not enough concrete for me... still will be interesting to see what unfolds.

Plus the latest machines from proven, which are still on pre-order, is at 0.22 joules per GH/s (Aire) or 0.58 (SP30) then 0.69 (S4)

Many don't even believe the Aire yet and won't until they've been shipped.

Could be an attempt by the elite for everyone to sell off their Bitcoin so it remains in the hands of radio guided idiots like the Wanklevoss twins.

Lots of speculation can arise from this.

I'd be curious to know what the highest bid is...

Is it on Flippa?  That's likely where I'd go to get the most bang for my buck if I was in this situtation.

Existing Business go for a lot of money, even premium domains.

I Might even join in on this party, always looking to expand business.

Ever thought of incorporating in another country?  Or partnering with an existing, foreign company?

Incorporating in another country is about $1,000 and a partnership costs nothing.

Just saying, there's loopholes to every rule.

I just don't think you should give up that easily.

#HarrietTubmanSecretUndergroundRailroad

OMG!

Those things are so awesome!

Yikes, pretty expensive, will stick to S series for now.

Everyone will say that the pool they mine at is the best *COUGH* ECLIPSEMC *COUGH*.

There is no BEST pool per-se, they are all rather similar in payout.

Most is personal preference.

Some pools however, seem to pay more or less than others.

I mine at EclipseMC because I find it has the best stats listing.

Plus you can mine either DGM or PPS.

I change pools on a regular so here is how I can break them down; so make your own conclusion.

GHash.io - Has amazing highs and deadly lows.  Attracts all newbies because of the sheer power available and amount of blocks found, avoid it.
F2Pool - Pays PPS and pays to your wallet daily, regardless.  Good pool if that is what you want precisely, I dislike daily payouts forced.
Eligius.st - Capped PPS has good and bad days, never really made profit mining here.
BTCGuild - PPL15S - Probably the best overall pool.  It's neat if you want to join groups on a scoreboard.  I rarely mine there.
BitMinter - PPL10S - A classic, lovely pool, Doc Haribo's in my opinion, the best pool operator, amazing stats.  I mine here when on occasion.
Slush - Score - It's like the oldest mining pool.  I don't find score to be a fair payout method unless you can pool hop like a boss then the pay is bitchin'
EclipseMC - PPS & DGM - This is where I mine most of the time.  I love being able to switch from DGM to PPS in a couple clicks and stats are really nice, well laid out and practical.
OzCoin - Getting more and more popular because of the additional rewards. I rarely mine there.

Payout methods is a different thing.  To keep it simple, PPS is for those who want a steady payout since no matter what happens, you're paid the same rate.  PPLNS allows miners to add more of a luck factor to the game since many miners enjoy the gambling aspect of Bitcoin mining.  You run getting payouts that are larger than PPS but then you can get payouts that would be below also.  In my experience, if you do PPS, it's as close to having a "hashing job" as it gets.  Going PPLNS is more like random luck.  Problem with PPLNS is you need things to at least level out over time and if it doesn't, you get fucked and everyone's telling you that it will equal out over time, you brush it off then realize you lost a few $100 compared to if you would have bailed out days ago.

Well, do your own math, I do and I know you can lose a lot by not bailing from a falling PPLNS pool who's luck is too negative to even recuperate.

In today's times, most new miners are better off at a PPS pool, so you're getting your power's investment's worth.  No pool I was going at would compare.   I been saying it for a long time, Bitcoin mining will go back to a mostly PPS based system.  I predicted Discus Fish Obliterating GHash last February and I'll now predict some pools switching over to this payout method in 2015.

PS: If I didn't list it, it's because the pool is either just too awful for me to even say I mined there or you cannot mine there at all.
PPS: Smaller pools usually have better overall payouts but bad luck can screw you up pretty bad to a point it becomes an actual loss.
PPS: You should expect around 0.0125 a day per TH/s (10/19/2014)

Welcome to the industry!

Ok, I'll say it again...

The more new miners come in, the more my position in mining is secure because new miners have a life expectancy of 3 months before they're entirely broke.   Then they bitch about everything but their own management skills.  Now only that, they are inredibly stupid, they know 1% ofa 100% segment and think it's enough to get by.

I been mining Gold for years and I spent a lot of money before I made any... See where I'm going?

Plus if you knew history, you'd understand the term: Miner Extortion... and you'd also know it's only temporary.

To those saying mining's a scam, I look at my wallet and thank the $2,500 investment I made last year and now pays for itself.

That same investment pays for solar power, whatever power bill, re-investment cost (1th/s per mo.) and can save some coin.

In the end, I'll have a solar powered farm if I get out of mining.

All from a $2,500 investment a year ago. 

To me, that's a pretty good fucking investment but I know wtf I'm doing and crunch numbers daily.

I will do that deal any day and twice on Sunday.

We're closing applications early due to, well, we seen enough, in a positive way.

All applicants so far are all worthy contenders, most are highly skilled in their fields.

No sense getting too picky and price range is pretty close across the board.

It's never easy to just pick one out of a bunch so it's easier to pick one out of 5 than 1 out of 20.

No further applications will be accepted as of October 17th, 2014 00:01

Those who been accepted for debriefing, make sure you add project manager on Skype.

Thanks to all those who've applied.

Good luck to those in debriefing!

Hello BTC Talk devs!

Looking to have a custom AltCoin built.

We'd be looking at Dynamic PoS, based on PeerCoin, but the payout curve changes over time (depending on x factor), as the name implies, dynamically.

We will provide the webpage and all required external infrastructure components as needed.

Developer will need to setup a mining pool, that can be modified by an admin based on variables.

Block explorer widget, compatible with PhP coding.

Wallet should be good for PC, MAC & Linux.

Post your quote here; we pay in any currency, any method.

Chosen developer will be given complete write up, all important points have been listed here.

Chosen developer owns expertise in creating AltCoin and be comfortable tampering with open source codes.

We'll cover fees needed to complete project, such as hosting.

Anticipated Start Date: Oct 31st, 2014 at latest.
          -New Anticipated Start Date: Oct 21st, 2014 (If all goes according to plan)
Interviews so Far: 4
Bids so Far: 7
Debriefing: November 17, 2014

Good luck!

-Best Offer Right Now - $1,000 (Outside Source) (With Site, $800 Without)
-Best Offer Right Now - $500 (Outside Source) (With or Without Site, lack of exp)
-Best Offer Right Now - $750 (Forum Friend) (Site Being Discussed)

Note: Will pay extra for website built with our own modern, high tech, WP Theme. 

Edit: Added some important timeline dates and offers.

Your power prices are your downfall right now.

Right now, you can expect around BTC0.015 per TH/s (10/10/2014).

I no longer mine at BTC Guild because their TH/s to Miners ratio isn't right for me.

I also didn't like the lengthy PPLNS clip to load and since my internet can be shotty, I lose the clip entirely and you lose a lot that way.

Maybe try out Discus Fish (F2Pool), there's a reason why they are #1 right now... and I predicted this a long time ago too.

PPS is making a come back since blocks are taking too long in proportion to time to obtain.

However, PPS is as "Jobish" as Bitcoin Mining can get, gambling factor is removed for a "pay rate" instead.

That's why you get in hardware mining, so you have control over your op, go try things out whilst the price is low; don't test when price is high!

Keep in mind, you are paid in Bitcoin, not in cash.

Your pay is dependent on the price of Bitcoin, or, whatever people are wiling to pay for it.

I still run mine despite a gross strain but still make good coin, I have 8 running and make a half decent amount of coin.

If you run them free them it's no big deal, if the price of Bitcoin was $10,000 then you wouldn't be asking this question

I run them because I think they look bad-a$$ and they heat my basement, which means I save on heat =D

NOTE: Keep in mind, you are paid in Bitcoin when you mine Bitcoin, you get cash when you trade your coin.

Of course I still buy hardware but I am smarter than most miners... I come from Gold Mining, my secret advantage

Right now, someone who owes me a lot of cash that cannot pay me back in one shot, mines for me until debt is paid... Hint Hint?!?!

I did the same in Gold Mining...  put those deadbeats to work for free.

In the meantime, I buy mining hardware and solar on a 1:1 ratio; meaning I buy 1 Watt of Power per 1 GH/s.

I don't sell coin under $500, period, don't need to.

By the time the debt is paid, I'll have a solar plant able to run my mine for a few days without sun.

Most first world countries have government programs for businesses/companies to increase power efficiency or get a portion of it paid back.

You can also claim power as business expense and should!!

I mean, if you're too lazy to do your homework, learn some history then don't mine for profit, mining is a privilege, an opportunity, not a right.

Today, 99% of new miners will fail at profitable Bitcoin mining; your best bet is to mine an AltCoin and hope it gains 100x its Bitcoin value.

This way you mien for nothing but at least you know and have a chance at the "Overnight Superstar Altcoin" and make tones of cash from it.

Bitcoin mining seems to have a knack at luring lazy clueless people who just want money and do nothing for it; go read asic builder pages lol

On the other hand, we're in the the Great Bitcoin Rush, that in itself is humbling enough to want to mine at a loss no?

Price would have to go down to $100 for me to stop mining, when it gets too low, I put my chance on another coin and hold it.

I'll buy hardware until manufacturers are fed up of selling to me.  Right now, nothing of real value to buy with Bitcoin.

That's a HUGE solo miner.

Hard to get specifics but logic would state this player can no longer play with current power rate / BTC price.