Things have definitely become odd.

I did install the USB drivers (sorry for not mentioning that-d'oh!).

To try to eliminate variables I left the pool address as the Fabulous Panda one.

Now when trying FPGA/ASIC with -S all I get:


 [2013-07-13 21:03:12] Started bfgminer 3.1.1
 [2013-07-13 21:03:12] Loaded configuration file /Users/wlwesq/Library/Application Support/MacMiner/bfgurls.conf
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Probing for an alive pool
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Testing pool http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Pool 1 slow/down or URL or credentials invalid
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:13] Pool 2 slow/down or URL or credentials invalid
 [2013-07-13 21:03:14] JSON-RPC call failed: {
   "data": null,
   "code": -32601,
   "message": "Method not found"
}
 [2013-07-13 21:03:14] Testing pool 0 stratum stratum+tcp://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:14] Switching pool 0 http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332 to stratum+tcp://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Stratum authorisation success for pool 0
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Pool 0 http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332 alive
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Network difficulty changed to 26.2M (187.3Th/s)
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] New block: ...1a89d821 #246445 diff 26.2M (187.3Th/s)
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Stratum from pool 0 detected new block
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] benchmarking all sha256 algorithms ...
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] 0 gpu miner threads started
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] "c"        : benchmarking algorithm ...
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] 2 cpu miner threads started, using SHA256 'fastauto' algorithm.
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] "c"        : algorithm runs at 0.76946 MH/s
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] "cryptopp" : benchmarking algorithm ...
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] "cryptopp" : algorithm runs at 0.85099 MH/s
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] "cryptopp" : is fastest algorithm at 0.85099 MH/s
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:15] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:03:20] API running in IP access mode on port 4028
 [2013-07-13 21:03:23] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:03:50] Pool 0 is hiding block contents from us
 [2013-07-13 21:03:50] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:03:54] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:03:59] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:04:08] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:04:11] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:04:15] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:04:16] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:04:22] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update

Interestingly, the LEDs on the USB devices go out as if they are working, but it feels in the laptop like the CPU is being used for mining as the fan spins up and the bottom of the laptop grows hot.

If I go with -S /dev/cu.SLAB_USBtoUART I get this:

ol 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:16] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:18] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:07:24] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:39] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:44] New best share: 6
 [2013-07-13 21:07:44] Accepted 2746b8fe ICA 0  pool 0 Diff 6/3
 [2013-07-13 21:07:53] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:55] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:07:55] Rejected 27d3770c ICA 0  pool 0 Diff 6/3
 [2013-07-13 21:08:00] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:08:08] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:08:24] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:08:24] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:25] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:08:38] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:08:55] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:08:55] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:55] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:55] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:08:56] Accepted 36b4ec77 ICA 0  pool 0 Diff 4/4
 [2013-07-13 21:08:57] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:08:59] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:06] New block: ...cf03a904 #246447 diff 26.2M (187.3Th/s)
 [2013-07-13 21:09:06] Stratum from pool 0 detected new block
 [2013-07-13 21:09:16] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:20] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:20] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:25] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:09:26] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:26] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:26] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:29] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:32] Accepted 26cdd33b ICA 0  pool 0 Diff 6/4
 [2013-07-13 21:09:35] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:47] New best share: 16
 [2013-07-13 21:09:47] Accepted 0fe376b6 ICA 0  pool 0 Diff 16/4
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] Testing pool http://212.227.137.53:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] Stratum connect failed to pool 1: Failed connect to 212.227.137.53:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-13 21:09:56] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:57] HTTP request failed: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:57] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-13 21:09:57] Stratum connect failed to pool 2: Failed connect to 176.31.208.222:9332; Connection refused
 [2013-07-13 21:09:59] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update


The speed indicator in the FPGA/ASIC window goes anywhere from 35 Mhs to 469 Mhs, almost like it's working, but I can't tell for sure. It's bouncing all over by the second.

Thanks!

Anonymailer, could you take a look at this thread:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=255065.msg2715334#msg2715334

I have tried to post here before for a couple of days but the damn forum software keeps giving me error messages (and I expect another one when I try to post this time!!!!)

Thanks!

It's not an IP address issue, it's somehow tied to the user account.

I've run into this error (even when trying to reply to this thread!) from two different computers in two different locations with different IP addresses.

It's frustrating as hell. 

Hopefully the forum will let me post........

1CyPfGYc1d4VGzW23UYm8dADfVnwhzam8N

Thanks!

Running the 1.4.0 beta client on my MacBook Pro (10.8.4) as a standalone java runtime app with two ASIC USB miners.

It's the only miner I can get to work on my system. MacMiner's CPU miner is fine, but all other miners croak and give me errors.

So, I'm happy as a clam so far. Thanks!

[Yes, I know there's an official MacMiner thread, but this system isn't letting me post there for some reason.]

Need some big help here because I have reached the point that I don't know what the hell I'm doing.

I acquired one of the lovely ASIC USB devices. I've installed MacMiner, fired up bfgminer and don't seem to be doing anything after configuring and hitting start. So, I went to the FPGA/ASIC miner, configured it with my bitguild.com info, hit start, and this is what I get for output:


 [2013-07-12 10:45:49] Started bfgminer 3.1.1
 [2013-07-12 10:45:49] Loaded configuration file /Users/wilson/Library/Application Support/MacMiner/bfgurls.conf
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Probing for an alive pool
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Testing pool http://stratum.btcguild.com:3333
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Testing pool http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Testing pool http://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] HTTP request failed: Empty reply from server
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] HTTP request failed: Empty reply from server
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] JSON-RPC call failed: {
   "data": null,
   "code": -32601,
   "message": "Method not found"
}
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] JSON-RPC call failed: {
   "data": null,
   "code": -32601,
   "message": "Method not found"
}
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Stratum authorisation success for pool 0
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Pool 0 http://stratum.btcguild.com:3333 alive
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Testing pool 2 stratum stratum+tcp://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:50] Testing pool 1 stratum stratum+tcp://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Switching pool 2 http://176.31.208.222:9332 to stratum+tcp://176.31.208.222:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Switching pool 1 http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332 to stratum+tcp://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] benchmarking all sha256 algorithms ...
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] 0 gpu miner threads started
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] "c"        : benchmarking algorithm ...
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] 4 cpu miner threads started, using SHA256 'fastauto' algorithm.
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] "c"        : algorithm runs at 0.41721 MH/s
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] "cryptopp" : benchmarking algorithm ...
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Network difficulty changed to 26.2M (187.3Th/s)
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] "cryptopp" : algorithm runs at 0.59353 MH/s
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] "cryptopp" : is fastest algorithm at 0.59353 MH/s
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] New block: ...793fb5472aa9a6b0 diff 26.2M (187.3Th/s)
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Stratum authorisation success for pool 1
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Pool 1 http://pool.fabulouspanda.co.uk:9332 alive
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Stratum authorisation success for pool 2
 [2013-07-12 10:45:51] Pool 2 http://176.31.208.222:9332 alive
 [2013-07-12 10:45:52] Closing socket for stratum pool 1
 [2013-07-12 10:45:52] Closing socket for stratum pool 2
 [2013-07-12 10:45:56] API running in IP access mode on port 4028
 [2013-07-12 10:46:19] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:46:19] Pool 0 is hiding block contents from us
 [2013-07-12 10:46:49] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:47:19] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:47:49] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:48:19] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:48:49] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:49:19] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:49:49] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:50:19] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update
 [2013-07-12 10:50:49] Stratum from pool 0 requested work update

It *says* it's running some 1-2 Mhs, but I don't think it's actually crunching on anything real.

Can someone help a poor lost soul out?     

Oh yeah, I'm running OS X 10.8.4 and MacMiner 1.4.2 (1402). 

Many thanks!

I don't know if now is the time to buy or not. People debate whether "now" is the time to buy gold, silver, or AAPL for that matter.

I like what the chap who founded Vanguard Investments said: When you buy stock (or gold, silver, BTC, whatever), you're betting that you're smarter than the guy who sold it to you.

The corollary is that the guy selling it to you thinks he's smarter than you are by getting out of the market "now."

It's all a gamble, but if you can dollar cost average by buying the same dollar amount each week regardless of price, you can ride out the short term fluctuations in the market.

There are an awful lot of people involved in mining, so I'd venture that some of those people think mining could be profitable. There are a number of BTC mining calculators out there (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=bitcoin+mining+calculator) that can give you a rough idea of how long it will take to recover your investment in hardware and the electricity you'll use.

The group at Ars Technica ran an experiment using a dedicated miner given to them by Butterfly Labs (one of very few ever seen in the wild). They made about $700 worth of BTC in two weeks. That's some nice money, but realistically very, very few people are going to see those kinds of returns.

That being said, I'm at least putting my $ where my mouth is; I'm waiting for two of the ASIC USB devices to show up. Running 660 megahashes ought to bring me a little coin (pun intended). But I'm not quitting my day job, that's for sure.

Thanks for the insights and info. The question that comes to mind is whether the decreasing rate of returns is going to make BTC and other crypto-currencies fall in value. The reason I wonder about this is that if the returns on mining efforts decline, more people might decide to abandon the whole thing, leaving the fixed number of BTC in people's hands. But, then again (I'm thinking out loud here), as people fall away from the mining then the returns might improve. Perhaps this really is a market in action.

Maybe the best way to get started in BTC is to develop a faster mining rig, take advance cash-on-the-barrelhead orders, and enjoy the money coming in while you ship the products out. Too bad I'm not a computer engineer. 

Just a couple random thoughts. If it's too late for mining, there are an awful lot of people out there scrambling after the Butterfly Labs and ASIC Miner USB devices. Many people seem to have a different opinion on that point.

Not sure what you mean by alt-coins...you mean Litecoin for example? (Yeah, I'm definitely a newbie.) Would be glad to hear which of the alt-coins people suggest.

Zero so far, but I hope to start making some progress as soon as a package arrives. 

And the thing seems to have eaten my post. Oh well, no big deal.

New to Bitcoin mining, ordered two of the ASIC USB miners from a chap on ebay. Kinda hate to pay a premium for them, but it's the quickest way for me to get them and get started.

I'm not likely to post much here, I'm much more of a reader in forum settings.

Hope all in the U.S. and affiliated with it are enjoying the July 4 holiday. I hope all in the rest of the world are having a great day too.

WLW