GekkoScience Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[philipma1957]

The y-cable for plenty of power in the setup below.  easy freq 300


these need a fan or they get too warm and crash




the y-cables allow me to clock safely to freq 300 not bad

[1714966873]

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[1714966873]

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[1714966873]

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[notlist3d]

Your stick is going out today, and probably delivered tomorrow given the proximity.

Dang I was hoping with proximity I would get today.  But not today so hopefully tomorrow.

Once I get that I should be able to show a production model with RPI.  I have a hub working now.  It is kinda a mess but cut the red wire to prevent feedback on pi on powered hub, and ended up using a unpowered hub between that hub and RPI.   This is not a elegant hub setup but it works with RPI good as far as reviewer stick.

[bmoscato]

Your stick is going out today, and probably delivered tomorrow given the proximity.

Dang I was hoping with proximity I would get today.  But not today so hopefully tomorrow.

Once I get that I should be able to show a production model with RPI.  I have a hub working now.  It is kinda a mess but cut the red wire to prevent feedback on pi on powered hub, and ended up using a unpowered hub between that hub and RPI.   This is not a elegant hub setup but it works with RPI good as far as reviewer stick.

That's funny, I've been checking the mail everyday like a child looking for Christmas presents. I'm in NY, so, not sure how long ground is from MO.

[notlist3d]

Your stick is going out today, and probably delivered tomorrow given the proximity.

Dang I was hoping with proximity I would get today.  But not today so hopefully tomorrow.

Once I get that I should be able to show a production model with RPI.  I have a hub working now.  It is kinda a mess but cut the red wire to prevent feedback on pi on powered hub, and ended up using a unpowered hub between that hub and RPI.   This is not a elegant hub setup but it works with RPI good as far as reviewer stick.

That's funny, I've been checking the mail everyday like a child looking for Christmas presents. I'm in NY, so, not sure how long ground is from MO.

I know the feeling!  I am excited for a new toy to play with.  It wish the mailbox had a camera it would go from a happily hope face to sad in about 3 seconds seeing only letters and junk.

The good news is my RPI setup seems to be working well.  I think I'm ready to test it if  it work with icarus should be plug/play.  But if I need to do compac I will need to compile that.

[edonkey]

Novak, did you get a chance to finish testing the updated sources that support both the U2 and Compac?

[Blackbird0]

Novak, did you get a chance to finish testing the updated sources that support both the U2 and Compac?

I ran Compac on the CGMiner-gekko, and U2 on standard BFG. Simultaneously, with the USB limit scan option on CG.

[philipma1957]

still getting quirky stuff on windows 10 build.

Will run a few more test setups on it tomorrow.

[sidehack]

I wouldn't recommend Windows 10 for anything mining-related, or anything where any kind of privacy or security is required. Windows 10 is basically a GUI wrapped around malware. No offense to Win10 users but I don't think either Novak or I have any interest in putting together a Win10 box to test anything, and certainly not anything that requires a network connection.

[edonkey]

I wouldn't recommend Windows 10 for anything mining-related, or anything where any kind of privacy or security is required. Windows 10 is basically a GUI wrapped around malware. No offense to Win10 users but I don't think either Novak or I have any interest in putting together a Win10 box to test anything, and certainly not anything that requires a network connection.

As a Mac guy, I wouldn't recommend Windows for anything. Badda boom!

Sorry, couldn't resist

Seriously though, any Linux platform (including Raspberry Pi's) will easily work better than Windows. Simpler to set up, very stable, and Pi's are a dirt cheap controller alternative to Windows.

[notlist3d]

I wouldn't recommend Windows 10 for anything mining-related, or anything where any kind of privacy or security is required. Windows 10 is basically a GUI wrapped around malware. No offense to Win10 users but I don't think either Novak or I have any interest in putting together a Win10 box to test anything, and certainly not anything that requires a network connection.

As a Mac guy, I wouldn't recommend Windows for anything. Badda boom!

Sorry, couldn't resist

Seriously though, any Linux platform (including Raspberry Pi's) will easily work better than Windows. Simpler to set up, very stable, and Pi's are a dirt cheap controller alternative to Windows.

Only thing is get a raspberry compatable usb hub to make your life easy.   I did the homebrew of cutting red wire and have a hub between that and RPI to work.

The RPI really is pretty picky on powered hubs on what it likes.  For most part they say it does not like usb 3.  But usb 2 is a crap shoot on some on if they will work.  And there are lists of usb's that have been tried if you google a bit.

[edonkey]

Only thing is get a raspberry compatable usb hub to make your life easy.   I did the homebrew of cutting red wire and have a hub between that and RPI to work.

The RPI really is pretty picky on powered hubs on what it likes.  For most part they say it does not like usb 3.  But usb 2 is a crap shoot on some on if they will work.  And there are lists of usb's that have been tried if you google a bit.

Interesting. Sorry, but I don't agree.

I've used several different USB 2 powered hubs with Pi's with a range of devices from DualMiners to GridSeed 5 chips to the Compac stick. Never had a problem. In some cases I've run these configs for over a year. Super stable.

I've also direct connected devices that don't need power from the USB bus, like a Zeus Thunder X3. No problem for Pi's.

Maybe I've just been lucky in my powered USB 2 hub selection...

[notlist3d]

Only thing is get a raspberry compatable usb hub to make your life easy.   I did the homebrew of cutting red wire and have a hub between that and RPI to work.

The RPI really is pretty picky on powered hubs on what it likes.  For most part they say it does not like usb 3.  But usb 2 is a crap shoot on some on if they will work.  And there are lists of usb's that have been tried if you google a bit.

Interesting. Sorry, but I don't agree.

I've used several different USB 2 powered hubs with Pi's with a range of devices from DualMiners to GridSeed 5 chips to the Compac stick. Never had a problem. In some cases I've run these configs for over a year. Super stable.

I've also direct connected devices that don't need power from the USB bus, like a Zeus Thunder X3. No problem for Pi's.

Maybe I've just been lucky in my powered USB 2 hub selection...

If you google it you will find others with problems with some usb hubs.   Look at everything from feedback issues to just not working.

But I am using all the same brand as far as powered hub.  So It could be the hub's their self but it works with a debian install, and windows so it's odd it has problem with pi.

Out of curiosity anyone else out there running these sticks with a RPI?

[vapourminer]

I wouldn't recommend Windows 10 for anything mining-related, or anything where any kind of privacy or security is required. Windows 10 is basically a GUI wrapped around malware. No offense to Win10 users but I don't think either Novak or I have any interest in putting together a Win10 box to test anything, and certainly not anything that requires a network connection.

heh yup.. but you can disable most, but not all, of the tattletale stuff.

just for the lulz I installed win10 (I have a full disc image backup of win7 to go back) on my HP DM4 notebook.. i5 M450, 4 gigs RAM, intel X25M G2 80 gig SSD

installed novaks cgminer build, zadig and copied zlib1.dll to the cgminer folder. plugged the compac directly into a USB 2 port on it.

ran zadig  (select List All Devices under Options), zadig found this:
COMPAC BM1384 BITCOIN MINER
USB ID 10C4 EA60

installed the zadig 6.1.7600.1685 driver over it. rebooted. ran cgminer --compac-freq 160

fired right up at 160 Mhz on the notebook , and thats stock USB power with the original voltage pot setting.

[philipma1957]

well the w-10 problem is bizzare as I can do 2 sticks at freq 300 perfectly fine great numbers, but after 2 it just does not work correctly. Does not matter if I use 2 or 3 hubs. The stick numbers just drop off.



Not to complain about the sticks.  I am a bit confused as to why I can't run 10 sticks on a windows 7 build with multiple hubs and get correct numbers. The sticks simply hash at low numbers.

I can not understand this behavior.  Later today I will demo the issue.  I have run more then 100 sticks (Ice Fury , U2's)  on w-7 with correct numbers.  The stud hubs  were able to do 10 to 14 sticks

easy.

[edonkey]

well the w-10 problem is bizzare as I can do 2 sticks at freq 300 perfectly fine great numbers, but after 2 it just does not work correctly. Does not matter if I use 2 or 3 hubs. The stick numbers just drop off.

Not to complain about the sticks.  I am a bit confused as to why I can't run 10 sticks on a windows 7 build with multiple hubs and get correct numbers. The sticks simply hash at low numbers.

I can not understand this behavior.  Later today I will demo the issue.  I have run more then 100 sticks (Ice Fury , U2's)  on w-7 with correct numbers.  The stud hubs  were able to do 10 to 14 sticks

easy.

You're running Windows under a VM on a Mac, right? Have you tried running on the Mac native instead of a VM?

According to the nwools' tutorial, seems it's fairly easy to build bgfminer on Mac (if there isn't a 5.3 Mac binary already). I ended up going with RPi, so I didn't end up building for Mac.

I still think that the easiest way to go is RPi. Although I'm only running 2 sticks at stock speed (no y splitters yet). I haven't pushed things yet.

[edonkey]

I'm seeing something odd regarding hardware errors. I've got two sticks running at stock 150 speed on two separate powered hubs connected to an RPi.

This is in an air conditioned server closet, with Arctic fans blowing on the sticks. They probably don't need the fans yet, but I had them in place already from a previous stick rig. Power comes from a UPS/PDU.

Typically the hardware errors are very low. But sometimes they blossom suddenly. For example, one unit had a one or two hardware errors after running for over a week. I checked this morning and now it has 40. Same thing happened with the other stick earlier in the week. It went for days maybe a hardware error or 2 total, then I noticed it had 70. After that burst, it's only added 9 hardware errors in the last few days.

The thing is that nothing is changing on my side. The power and temp should very consistent. I've been pointing at the same pool. No software updates.

The only thing I can think of is that the sticks are on the top on a gorilla rack, with some Mac Pro build systems a few feet below them. At night at least one of the build systems fires up and runs full blast for a few hours. Maybe this increases ambient heat enough to cause hardware errors? If so, why aren't both sticks affected at the same time? Also, several days go by without a burst of HW errors, but builds happen every day.

The total percentage of hardware errors to accepts is very low at 0.02%. So from a pragmatic aspect, this really isn't a problem. It's just strange how bursty they hare. I haven't seen that with other hardware before.

[philipma1957]

well the w-10 problem is bizzare as I can do 2 sticks at freq 300 perfectly fine great numbers, but after 2 it just does not work correctly. Does not matter if I use 2 or 3 hubs. The stick numbers just drop off.

Not to complain about the sticks.  I am a bit confused as to why I can't run 10 sticks on a windows 7 build with multiple hubs and get correct numbers. The sticks simply hash at low numbers.

I can not understand this behavior.  Later today I will demo the issue.  I have run more then 100 sticks (Ice Fury , U2's)  on w-7 with correct numbers.  The stud hubs  were able to do 10 to 14 sticks

easy.

You're running Windows under a VM on a Mac, right? Have you tried running on the Mac native instead of a VM?

According to the nwools' tutorial, seems it's fairly easy to build bgfminer on Mac (if there isn't a 5.3 Mac binary already). I ended up going with RPi, so I didn't end up building for Mac.

I still think that the easiest way to go is RPi. Although I'm only running 2 sticks at stock speed (no y splitters yet). I haven't pushed things yet.

yeah that does 7 sticks at about 5.2gh  freq 125.  I am pretty much fine with that setup as it is in a shell.

and I use the mac for a shit ton of other stuff.

but my other win 7 is not in a shell it is a high end pc an i5-4670s 16 gb ram and a 250gb ssd

and it has weird issues basically the same as the w-10 build  but the issues kick in when I get to 6 sticks while the w-10 kicks in at 3 sticks.

I can run 4 sticks on the w-7 pc at freq 325  and get full performance …..

Yet I can't so 5 sticks at freq 200 and get full performance.

at 325 you should get about 18 gh  a stick  I do  with 3 sticks or 2 sticks.  let me screen shot 3 sticks at freq 325

at 200 you should get about 11 gh a stick I get more like 9gh  if I run 5 sticks.

3 sticks with good cooling and tons of power

the fan can do 300cfm  ac driven



numbers are pretty good for 3 sticks at freq 331  should about 51gh and is around 48gh for overnight I am fine with this




a really good i5 win-7 system made for mining only:

 cpu is good
 ram is good
 ssd is good

gpu who cares as it is an  intel built in

[Mikestang]

numbers are pretty good for 3 sticks at freq 331  should about 51gh and is around 48gh for overnight I am fine with this

So 3 compacs OC'd equals roughly a U3, that's pretty cool.  Much less power use, much less hardware problems, and made by a member of our community, not some Chinese mining conglomerate.  Can't wait for my 4 to arrive!

[alh]

I have been tinkering with my 3 sticks, and been using bfgminer on a couple of different Windows 7 boxes. I observed a kind of odd behavior that I thought folks might find useful/interesting..

I had assumed it would always be best to have the sticks plugged in prior to starting bfgminer. I have yet to have example where bfgminer discovers anything on it's initial pass at start up. I then have gone through the process of "adding" them after bfgminer was started. I hade to use the \\.\COMxx reference. They would usually add just fine, and they showed up as an AMU.

Without actually realizing what I was trying, I plugged in a 2nd stick while bfgminer was running. I noticed in a couple of seconds, the LED started to flash. I then looked back at the screen, and bfgminer had automagically added a new miner to it's list and started using it. In this case though, it was a "CBM" miner and not an AMU. I then hot-plugged the 3rd miner and it to was detected and added as a CBM.

I then shut it all down, and unplugged the sticks after letting them cool (no fan). I started bfgminer with no sticks and over the course of 10-15 seconds hot-plugged all 3 sticks and I now have 3 CBM miners running at about 10-11GH each.

It appears to me that hot-plugging is actually "better", which I found surprising.

I agree with the overall consensus that these are great little stick miners.

Thanks sidehack and novak!!!

[novak@gekkoscience]

numbers are pretty good for 3 sticks at freq 331  should about 51gh and is around 48gh for overnight I am fine with this

So 3 compacs OC'd equals roughly a U3, that's pretty cool.  Much less power use, much less hardware problems, and made by a member of our community, not some Chinese mining conglomerate.  Can't wait for my 4 to arrive!

Depends on how much you overclock it.  Probably around 350 is a practical max for long term, I had four sticks running at 400MHz over a weekend and they had only two hardware errors and averaged 87.90GH/s, where expected is 88GH/s.  Sometimes though, some of them didn't seem to want to properly start up at such a high frequency.  They never had any trouble starting at 350 or so, however.

Also you're probably not going to run very many sticks at 400MHz unless you have a really beefy hub or one with a whole bunch of extra ports not in use.

It appears to me that hot-plugging is actually "better", which I found surprising.

I've seen odd behavior of cgminer on windows not actually starting to mine at first unless you hotplug as well.  Usually it only does it the first time I plug a stick into my machine.  It seems to be something with the zadig drivers, I'll see if I can figure out why it does that but it's lower priority than some of the other driver improvements.

As far as detecting as an AMU- it gets pretty nasty to differentiate the compac from the U1/2/3 because from a software standpoint the only difference is the extra identifiers we added to our sticks.  If it checks to see if they look like an AMU, they appear identical because bitmain added no such info.  You might ask Luke-Jr if maybe you used a slightly wrong COM identifier or something else that made it come up that way.

--
novak