Delta Fans -- AFB1212HHE-4L15

Recently I installed Delta Fans AFB1212HHE-4L15 Fan as the second fan on two Antminer S1 systems. These are 120mm x 120mm x 38mm fans drawing 0.70A at 12VDC and move ~130CFM. These are PWM fans with 4-wires and 4-pins.  For more details, see Delta Fans website and look for AFB1212HHE-TP02 (same fan, 4-wires, no plug).

I used M4x55mm screws to attach a safety guard and the fan to chassis. I used a nut between the fan and chassis to provide spacing between the fan blades and the chassis screw heads. I shaved two key strips off the plug to fit the fan header.

The S1 manages the fan speed as appropriate, but only one fan speed is reported on the miner status page. Ambient air temperature is 70.5F (21.4C), and the S1 reports 42C/42C.

I bought my fans through Amazon.  See http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JQPOO98/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (Delta Electronics AFB1212HHE-PWM 120x120x38 MM Cooling Fan, 2900 RPM, 130CFM, 47dBA, 12VDC, 3 and 4-pin TAC Output + PWM).

Saint Jude Thaddeus -- Patron Saint of Lost Causes

 

Since the beginning of 2014, Litecoin has declined from US$25 to less than US$5.

Mining revenue does not cover the fixed and variable costs of mining.

The pool hash rate has declined. The network hash rate is declining.

Large mining operators are mining and immediately dumping Litecoin for Bitcoin to cover costs which creates unrelenting downward price pressure on Litecoin.

Litecoin offers little differentiation compared to Bitcoin.

Is this an unstoppable death spiral?

Litecoin is sinking rapidly ... losing money on each coin mined... NOT making it up with volume.  What's happening?

Why has Litcoin's price plunged from the low US$30s to less than US$8.00 in less than six months?

Perhaps there is room for only one crypto currency in the world?

 

Litecoin prices continue to slip. Does mining make sense any longer? Can the fixed cost of a rig be recovered?  Can the variable cost of power be recovered?

A superficial search with Google finds Bit-, Lite-, Tag-, Doge-, Vert-, Peer-, Master-, Name-, Aurora-, and Prime-coin. Cyptocurrenicies are commoditized, that is, there is little differentiation among them, e.g., rice, beans, pork bellys.

Is there enough interest or room in the cryptocurrency marketspace for all of these -coin variants?  Most likely, not.  Most of them will be poorly subscribed and conversion to other currencies will be problematic. Their growth and profit potential is already circumscribed.

How many cryptocurrencies will survive the consolidation of the marketspace?  One? Two? Bitcoin and Litecoin? Most likely nothing else will survive. The bubble euphoria has passed. There are not enough new customers (suckers) to fuel the bubble.

Bitcoin and Litecoin's strength has been the lack of a central administration or control point. But that is also their weakness. Consider the Tesla brand of electric cars. Tesla promotes and vigorously protects the brand and its image. It immediately counters every criticism and threat. Bitcoin and Litecoin have been overwhelmed by events and attacks. It will take years or forever for the brands to come back.

I realize that cryptocurrencies are speculative, but they have become high risk and very low reward -- very unattractive.  A passively managed index fund, e.g., Vanguard S&P 500, easily out performs Bitcoin or Litecoin over a five year horizon.

Now, I know that many of us are disappointed at the outlook. Do I wish the outlook was growth and profit? Of course. I wish a lot of things. I wish we had outdoor air-conditioning. I wish camel poop tasted like spicy hummus. But guess what? It doesn't.

Litecoinpool is a well designed and managed operation.

However, the Litecoin notion seems to be a Ponzi scheme. The rewards accrue only to the early investor, miners or buyers.

Litecoin prices have slipped from the mid $20s to ~$11. Litecoin convertibility is clumsy. Litecoin conversion to Bitcoin is merely from one Ponzi scheme to another.

The euphoria of the cryptocurrency bubble is gone. Analysis, skepticism and exposure are pervasive.

To use a well worn cliche, it's time to make money the old fashioned way... to earn it. Mining doesn't make anything... it doesn't earn anything.

I'm disappointed that Bitcoin, Litecoin and other cyptocurrencies have succumbed to common sense. I, for one, hoped for more, but hope is neither a plan nor a strategy.

The potential rewards are exceeded by cost of the equipment and power used. The value of Litecoin is trending toward worthlessness. The equipment and power might be better spent searching for cancer cures, SETI, clean water, etc.