GekkoScience Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[VirosaGITS]

then it required zlib.dll, so i'm not sure if its just W8 sucking and not having that dll by default.

zlib1.dll, I think?  It should be included with cgminer and bfgminer - probably missing from the custom cgminer binaries package that novak prepared.  Should be an easy fix on their end

Have fun!

Correct, nice catch;

zlib1.dll 5,20 MB (5 457 642 bytes)

Maybe bundle it with the windows binaries if that's "legal"?
This would make it even more plug and play. Or at least add the zlib1.dll url bellow the windows binaries?

[1715376582]

1715376582

[1715376582]

1715376582

[1715376582]

1715376582

[Mikestang]

then it required zlib.dll, so i'm not sure if its just W8 sucking and not having that dll by default.

zlib1.dll, I think?  It should be included with cgminer and bfgminer - probably missing from the custom cgminer binaries package that novak prepared.  Should be an easy fix on their end

Have fun!

Correct, nice catch;

zlib1.dll 5,20 MB (5 457 642 bytes)

Maybe bundle it with the windows binaries if that's "legal"?
This would make it even more plug and play. Or at least add the zlib1.dll url bellow the windows binaries?

Download cgminer from ck's official link and you can take the zlib1.dll from that package.  It's only 83k on my system, I'm not sure why yours is almost 10x larger at 5200k.

[VirosaGITS]

then it required zlib.dll, so i'm not sure if its just W8 sucking and not having that dll by default.

zlib1.dll, I think?  It should be included with cgminer and bfgminer - probably missing from the custom cgminer binaries package that novak prepared.  Should be an easy fix on their end

Have fun!

Correct, nice catch;

zlib1.dll 5,20 MB (5 457 642 bytes)

Maybe bundle it with the windows binaries if that's "legal"?
This would make it even more plug and play. Or at least add the zlib1.dll url bellow the windows binaries?

Download cgminer from ck's official link and you can take the zlib1.dll from that package.  It's only 83k on my system, I'm not sure why yours is almost 10x larger at 5200k.

I really don't know either, but it works, are you sure 83k isint just the packed size? Regardless, it would be a nice addition to put in the win32 binaries obtainable through OP's post in the guide section.

Might save some people's trouble, even though they would never know the trouble we went through for them

[notlist3d]

S5 run up to 80C before shutting down. The temp sensor is on the cool side of the PCB, so I imagine the chips are actually a fair bit warmer. Measuring the heatsink on the Compac will probably get a more accurate temp measure than the S5 does, and if it's well below 80C you should be fine. Could also measure the backside of the PCB right behind the chip.

Thank you!  I appreciate your time on it.   I feel better hearing 80C.   I will look at temp sensors and see best I can find.

But I have to say these sticks do go up to 16GH nicely with a Y splitter.  One does data other just gets power.   

[VirosaGITS]

S5 run up to 80C before shutting down. The temp sensor is on the cool side of the PCB, so I imagine the chips are actually a fair bit warmer. Measuring the heatsink on the Compac will probably get a more accurate temp measure than the S5 does, and if it's well below 80C you should be fine. Could also measure the backside of the PCB right behind the chip.

Thank you!  I appreciate your time on it.   I feel better hearing 80C.   I will look at temp sensors and see best I can find.

But I have to say these sticks do go up to 16GH nicely with a Y splitter.  One does data other just gets power.  

I just saw your initial question now. The recommendation i received, i believe quoted from Bitmain or maybe Dogie's guide is under 70C for best hashrate, under 60C for best lifetime.

So i would not recommend running them much above 70C but if it peak there during peak heat during the day, it's probably not a big deal. For the S5. For the compac, mine @150mh read 50C at the back of the PCB. I imagine putting a USB fan on it would let me overclock by quite a bit.

[philipma1957]

Freq 350 does 19gh with a fan needs 1.9amps needs a fan

I did run at 400 and got 22gh but was pulling over 2.1 amps or just about ten watts a stick.

I was afraid to run them 24/7/365 just too warm.

I run my twenty at 125 with gentle fan speeds.

Cool to the touch stable at 6.85 gh.

[powrslave]

Is it possible to mine litecoin with this?

[VirosaGITS]

Is it possible to mine litecoin with this?

No. Its a SHA256d ASIC usb Stick. It doesn't do Scrypt.

[philipma1957]

Is it possible to mine litecoin with this?

no these mine sha-256

[Meech]

My 4 Compcac "Cube".

   

I was waiting on parts but finally found a cooling solution (thanks to fullzero) who posted his creation.
I'm using an Enermax T.B. Silence 120mm fan but may change it.
Found a great 7 port usb 3.0 hub that works with the Pi and Linux.  It claims 70w 14a across all 7 ports (2a per port) and has a built in psu.  
It's a Superbpag (yes, I know, love the name) but it's on Amazon and price has dropped in the last week.
I will have to check if it produces what it says it does once I receive my meter and then I will toy with voltage settings.



It's staying at 32C @ 200 frequency and with this fan it's running about 54db a foot away so I may change it later or reverse the fan
and see what that does.  Looks like a kaleidoscope shining off the inside walls, pretty cool.  Thanks Sidehack for putting killer led's on
these.

[notlist3d]

My 4 Compcac "Cube".

Thanks for sharing!  Very cool use of the old block erupter cube.

I have been playing wit the Y usb still some to get more speed.   I need to find a nice way to let them sit infront of the fan's.  Looks very nice with usb direct on hub but y cable means I need a new design.

[Meech]

My 4 Compcac "Cube".

Thanks for sharing!  Very cool use of the old block erupter cube.

I have been playing wit the Y usb still some to get more speed.   I need to find a nice way to let them sit infront of the fan's.  Looks very nice with usb direct on hub but y cable means I need a new design.

Thanks.  A good adhesive will mount the Y cables to just about anything.  I used 1559 from my work but just think what you want to do and mount them.

[sidehack]

If I make another one I'll probably dim those down just a smidge.

But that's a pretty sexy Cube you got there, boss. I have something like eight empty Cube shells laying around somewhere I might have to build something into just for kicks.

[VirosaGITS]

If I make another one I'll probably dim those down just a smidge.

But that's a pretty sexy Cube you got there, boss. I have something like eight empty Cube shells laying around somewhere I might have to build something into just for kicks.

The leds? They're pretty cool during the day but in the night they flash up the whole living room by its lone self. The stable green led act like a small light source and then when the bluer one turn on its pretty bright like those dimmed light like you keep plugged at night to reach the bathroom safely.

I don't really mind because a bit of electric tape does the trick however.

[sidehack]

I slept with nine of 'em in my room for a weekend when I first got test sticks together and didn't have trouble, which I'm usually pretty sensitive to lights when I'm trying to fall asleep so I figured it'd be no problem. I like the flash, but the green by itself is probably a bit brighter than it needs to be.

[VirosaGITS]

I slept with nine of 'em in my room for a weekend when I first got test sticks together and didn't have trouble, which I'm usually pretty sensitive to lights when I'm trying to fall asleep so I figured it'd be no problem. I like the flash, but the green by itself is probably a bit brighter than it needs to be.

It's not a problem, it doesn't bother me, it was just a bit embarrassing because i have many miners with blinking lights and in the dark, they dont illuminate my living room.

Meanwhile the tiny stick does and its bright enough that from the outside, you can see the reflection on the window, so my neighbor was asking me whats up with the lightshow during the night. It was casual and its not bright enough to bother anyone, it's just enough to be noticeable.

I told him i had one of those modem with some flashy LEDS and we laughed it out.

[philipma1957]

I do like to stand in the garage and watch them blink.

[sidehack]

Truth be told, we are scheming on a version 2 with a new chip sometime in the future which would have software voltage control as well. Also a brickable pod miner I might prototype with BM1384, hopefully within the next few weeks if I can get a break from manufacturing. Novak and I have a game plan for the next couple months that should mean some pretty interesting output.

I'm at the very end of the first half of the batch right now and saving up for parts for the second 500. Hopefully I won't have to open another preorder queue and we can out-of-pocket it instead but that's gonna be pretty tight.

[sloopy]

I bricked one of my compac sticks  
RIP Compac #2
She still has a heartbeat as when sitting idle the green LED pulses slightly, but no more hash.

I want to be clear in saying I do not think this has anything to do with the quality of the product. I think there must have been something I did or it is a fluke. Anyone who was around when I spent weeks trying to get answers out of BITMAIN will know I am not shy about questioning quality and I have no reason to do so with the compac.

Symptom:
I woke up with a high HW count. Pulled all sticks and placed one at a time in the USB power monitoring device which goes between the stick and the hub and #2 was pulling amperage from 1.5 to 2.5 and bouncing around quickly from the low number to the high and all between. Voltage acting crazy as well bouncing from 4.7 to 5.1 and all between.

I checked the screw adjustment for voltage and have it sitting at about the 6 o'clock position relative to the pic in the OP by Novac which should be around .77 ish. I had been running them all at freq 200 while I slept. Nice Arctic Breeze Fan blowing on them almost directly under the AC vent.
Adjusting the voltage screw makes no change at all. It begins doing the herky jerky with volts-amps as described above upon insertion in the hub. Rebooted everything, re-installed everything, but same results. This is a pure hardware fault.

I don't think I pushed it too hard, kept the fan on, but maybe I let it get too hot somehow.
Or, maybe I had the voltage set too high for that low of frequency.
If she sits in the hub idle from a fresh cold boot of everything as soon as she sees power she starts to heat up way too fast, so I am assuming I have a short.

I plan to order more, and if you guys want me to try any tests I have a good meter and know how to use it, or if you want me to send it back to you for evaluation I would be happy to do so. If you want a vid, pics, etc I am happy to do that as well. I know from my own day job I have things sent back to me for evaluation just so I can see what happened for myself and many times it provides information I can use to help people avoid failures. No matter who is at fault we all learn from the experience.

One of my other sticks which is running beautifully at 200MHz at the moment shows a 4.98v 1.06a draw. I can lay my fingers on the ones running and it is slightly warm, but nothing that would even come close to making me move my fingers. The one which broke will burn my finger if I leave it there for more than a few seconds. She is throwing off the heat hard. The hub is cool to the touch everywhere.

I would enjoy hearing any ideas of what I might play with to try and get her back to hashing again, but it isn't anything I am going to cry about either. The first time I adjusted the voltage and used a higher frequency I accepted that I'd taken things in my own hands.

By the way, can you adjust the voltage live? While hashing?

Does the voltage adjustment have a dead zone?


What is a good difficulty to start with at 200MHz? I want to include --suggest-diff in my cgminer.bat and currently have it at 84 which is working, but can you recommend an optimal value? I will read a refresher on difficulty because that is what stick-mining is teaching spoiled miners like me who came after days of needing to use a Pi, everything stand alone with vardiff.

One other item just because I saw a couple of others mention the same thing is my cgminer will not write a conf file. Well, let me clarify, in the menu when cgminer is running you can select a menu option to write a conf. When I do so, it creates the file but it is completely empty.
I have done everything as administrator, from running zadig to cgminer I run as administrator.

[philipma1957]

I bricked one of my compac sticks 
RIP Compac #2
She still has a heartbeat as when sitting idle the green LED pulses slightly, but no more hash.

I want to be clear in saying I do not think this has anything to do with the quality of the product. I think there must have been something I did or it is a fluke. Anyone who was around when I spent weeks trying to get answers out of BITMAIN will know I am not shy about questioning quality and I have no reason to do so with the compac.

Symptom:
I woke up with a high HW count. Pulled all sticks and placed one at a time in the USB power monitoring device which goes between the stick and the hub and #2 was pulling amperage from 1.5 to 2.5 and bouncing around quickly from the low number to the high and all between. Voltage acting crazy as well bouncing from 4.7 to 5.1 and all between.

I checked the screw adjustment for voltage and have it sitting at about the 6 o'clock position relative to the pic in the OP by Novac which should be around .77 ish. I had been running them all at freq 200 while I slept. Nice Arctic Breeze Fan blowing on them almost directly under the AC vent.
Adjusting the voltage screw makes no change at all. It begins doing the herky jerky with volts-amps as described above upon insertion in the hub. Rebooted everything, re-installed everything, but same results. This is a pure hardware fault.

I don't think I pushed it too hard, kept the fan on, but maybe I let it get too hot somehow.
Or, maybe I had the voltage set too high for that low of frequency.
If she sits in the hub idle from a fresh cold boot of everything as soon as she sees power she starts to heat up way too fast, so I am assuming I have a short.

I plan to order more, and if you guys want me to try any tests I have a good meter and know how to use it, or if you want me to send it back to you for evaluation I would be happy to do so. If you want a vid, pics, etc I am happy to do that as well. I know from my own day job I have things sent back to me for evaluation just so I can see what happened for myself and many times it provides information I can use to help people avoid failures. No matter who is at fault we all learn from the experience.

One of my other sticks which is running beautifully at 200MHz at the moment shows a 4.98v 1.06a draw. I can lay my fingers on the ones running and it is slightly warm, but nothing that would even come close to making me move my fingers. The one which broke will burn my finger if I leave it there for more than a few seconds. She is throwing off the heat hard. The hub is cool to the touch everywhere.

I would enjoy hearing any ideas of what I might play with to try and get her back to hashing again, but it isn't anything I am going to cry about either. The first time I adjusted the voltage and used a higher frequency I accepted that I'd taken things in my own hands.

By the way, can you adjust the voltage live? While hashing?

Does the voltage adjustment have a dead zone?

Can you turn it too many times one direction or the other? I don't see that happening, but wanted to confirm.

What is a good difficulty to start with at 200MHz? I want to include --suggest-diff in my cgminer.bat and currently have it at 84 which is working, but can you recommend an optimal value? I will read a refresher on difficulty because that is what stick-mining is teaching spoiled miners like me who came after days of needing to use a Pi, everything stand alone with vardiff.

One other item just because I saw a couple of others mention the same thing is my cgminer will not write a conf file. Well, let me clarify, in the menu when cgminer is running you can select a menu option to write a conf. When I do so, it creates the file but it is completely empty.
I have done everything as administrator, from running zadig to cgminer I run as administrator.

the conf file bug is for all of us and has not been fixed yet.

as for the bricked stick.

let it sit for a day.

power off all sticks.

set freq for 175 try to start just the lone 'dead' stick  make sure it has a fan on it.

if it does not hash but is detected by windows  turn the pot from 6 to 5 o clock  restart and try again


by windows detection see here.