GekkoScience Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[zOU]

Has to be USB 2 for RPi

See there for tests (with block erupters, so you'll have to calculate how many compac sticks it'll support as they're using more power)

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=253749.0

I'd say it would have to be USB 3 as they deliver up to 900mA/port versus 500mA f USB 2....

And the stick uses from 550mA to 800mA.

That being said I currently run 2 @ 750mA on a DUB-H7 USB2...

So I confuse myself :p

[hedgy73]

Anybody have an opinion on Orico 10 port/3A vs Orico 9 ports/2.5A (this one says hot swappable, but 10 ports does not say it) or Etekcity 10 ports/2.5A?
Or any other (better) in the same $12-$25 category.
Or, maybe Anker is better at $35, although it is USB 3.0
Does it have to be USB 2.0 or could be USB 3.0, if I eventually might use Pi as well.

Thanks, much obliged.

I'm still quite confused too. From what I think though is that the Raspberry Pi's doesnt like many USB 3.0 powered hubs, but USB 3.0 provides the extra power required to run these sticks overclocked. I've got an Anker 60w USB 3.0 powered hub on order I'll let everyone know if it works once I've had a chance to test it.

I'm running 2 sticks via USB 2.0 ports on the front of a pc @ 150Mhz (stock speed) and they've been running perfectly for about 24 hours now although you could fry an egg on the heatsinks .

I would however like to run them overclocked via a Pi and hub and add more sticks with cooling too.

[zOU]

Mine are running @210Mhs/750mA on the switch mentionned attached to a RPi.

Not rock stable as I have one that stops hashing every so often, but I've yet to figure out why (not always same stick or port or time or duration).

I'm waiting to receive the 4 more I ordered to experiment/troubleshoot.

[notlist3d]

Anybody have an opinion on Orico 10 port/3A vs Orico 9 ports/2.5A (this one says hot swappable, but 10 ports does not say it) or Etekcity 10 ports/2.5A?
Or any other (better) in the same $12-$25 category.
Or, maybe Anker is better at $35, although it is USB 3.0
Does it have to be USB 2.0 or could be USB 3.0, if I eventually might use Pi as well.

Thanks, much obliged.

I'm still quite confused too. From what I think though is that the Raspberry Pi's doesnt like many USB 3.0 powered hubs, but USB 3.0 provides the extra power required to run these sticks overclocked. I've got an Anker 60w USB 3.0 powered hub on order I'll let everyone know if it works once I've had a chance to test it.

I'm running 2 sticks via USB 2.0 ports on the front of a pc @ 150Mhz (stock speed) and they've been running perfectly for about 24 hours now although you could fry an egg on the heatsinks .

I would however like to run them overclocked via a Pi and hub and add more sticks with cooling too.

The PI does not like 3.0 at all.   You are doing much easier to go with usb 2.0.   You might adjust voltage and see if that lowers heat a little bit.

Or you can add a fan, even a regular PC fan will help compared to passive cooling.   That is what I used for cooling mine down.

[zOU]

Hehe, i'm cooling mine with a 80mm fan.

[Biodom]

Anybody have an opinion on Orico 10 port/3A vs Orico 9 ports/2.5A (this one says hot swappable, but 10 ports does not say it) or Etekcity 10 ports/2.5A?
Or any other (better) in the same $12-$25 category.
Or, maybe Anker is better at $35, although it is USB 3.0
Does it have to be USB 2.0 or could be USB 3.0, if I eventually might use Pi as well.

Thanks, much obliged.

I'm still quite confused too. From what I think though is that the Raspberry Pi's doesnt like many USB 3.0 powered hubs, but USB 3.0 provides the extra power required to run these sticks overclocked. I've got an Anker 60w USB 3.0 powered hub on order I'll let everyone know if it works once I've had a chance to test it.

I'm running 2 sticks via USB 2.0 ports on the front of a pc @ 150Mhz (stock speed) and they've been running perfectly for about 24 hours now although you could fry an egg on the heatsinks .

I would however like to run them overclocked via a Pi and hub and add more sticks with cooling too.

The PI does not like 3.0 at all.   You are doing much easier to go with usb 2.0.   You might adjust voltage and see if that lowers heat a little bit.

Or you can add a fan, even a regular PC fan will help compared to passive cooling.   That is what I used for cooling mine down.

what do you think about Anker for sticks (it is powerful at 60W and 5A, but usb 3.0).
If I will be getting Anker, I figure, I just stick a non-powered usb 2 (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-4-Port-Individual-Switches-HB-UMLS/dp/B00BWF5U0M) into it, then pi into that. Will it work?
Alternatively, I can just connect that nonpowered stick into PC and Pi into it and have Anker setup just for sticks.
Will Pi work then

[hedgy73]

Anybody have an opinion on Orico 10 port/3A vs Orico 9 ports/2.5A (this one says hot swappable, but 10 ports does not say it) or Etekcity 10 ports/2.5A?
Or any other (better) in the same $12-$25 category.
Or, maybe Anker is better at $35, although it is USB 3.0
Does it have to be USB 2.0 or could be USB 3.0, if I eventually might use Pi as well.

Thanks, much obliged.

I'm still quite confused too. From what I think though is that the Raspberry Pi's doesnt like many USB 3.0 powered hubs, but USB 3.0 provides the extra power required to run these sticks overclocked. I've got an Anker 60w USB 3.0 powered hub on order I'll let everyone know if it works once I've had a chance to test it.

I'm running 2 sticks via USB 2.0 ports on the front of a pc @ 150Mhz (stock speed) and they've been running perfectly for about 24 hours now although you could fry an egg on the heatsinks .

I would however like to run them overclocked via a Pi and hub and add more sticks with cooling too.

The PI does not like 3.0 at all.   You are doing much easier to go with usb 2.0.   You might adjust voltage and see if that lowers heat a little bit.

Or you can add a fan, even a regular PC fan will help compared to passive cooling.   That is what I used for cooling mine down.

Tbh I ordered the USB 3.0 hub and it had been dispatched before I read about the issues so I'll try when it arrives if it doesn't work I'll send it back and get a USB 2.0 instead.

Thanks for the voltage suggestion, I'll have a play with the voltage to see if I can reduce the heat as my digital USB voltage meter arrived today .

[zOU]

Alternatively, I can just connect that nonpowered stick into PC and Pi into it and have Anker setup just for sticks.
Will Pi work then

You mean:
Plug unpowered hub in PC (as a regular hub)
Then plug the RPI in the hub as you would a printer or memory key ?


You'll need a USB A male to USB A male cable and you will probably get pretty unexpected behaviour

[Biodom]

Interesting...I remember on S1 thread everyone was so helpful.

I will repeat my two questions one more time:

1. Is it better to run these sticks on USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 powered hubs? I already have candidates to order in each case.

2. can someone provide a simple setup for using rasp pi in conjuction with these sticks.
All i need to know what to order, i will try to figure out software by myself.
BTW, Pi connects to its own power source, then to computer via usb or to router directly?
then you connect USB 2.0 hub to pi and stick sticks into the hub?

[irritant]

Interesting...I remember on S1 thread everyone was so helpful.

I will repeat my two questions one more time:

1. Is it better to run these sticks on USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 powered hubs? I already have candidates to order in each case.

2. can someone provide a simple setup for using rasp pi in conjuction with these sticks.
All i need to know what to order, i will try to figure out software by myself.
BTW, Pi connects to its own power source, then to computer via usb or to router directly?
then you connect USB 2.0 hub to pi and stick sticks into the hub?

2. rpi uses its own ethernet connection.
(to make things more confusing, they also support PoE, than it does not require its own power source, you need a router that supports it tho, lets not get into that)

[Jake36]

Interesting...I remember on S1 thread everyone was so helpful.

I will repeat my two questions one more time:

1. Is it better to run these sticks on USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 powered hubs? I already have candidates to order in each case.

2. can someone provide a simple setup for using rasp pi in conjuction with these sticks.
All i need to know what to order, i will try to figure out software by myself.
BTW, Pi connects to its own power source, then to computer via usb or to router directly?
then you connect USB 2.0 hub to pi and stick sticks into the hub?

2. Pi to the router with cat 5 or cat 6 cable, usb 2.0 hub to the pi, and sticks in the hub. That's the easiest set-up, if you got room to set it up by the router or an easy path to run the cat cable.

[hurricandave]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1JM2KX2792
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=612390.0

[hedgy73]

Interesting...I remember on S1 thread everyone was so helpful.

I think thats because there were many more people buying and setting up S1s than there are these sticks. Plus S1s were very easy to set up. These are still pretty new and people are finding out what works and what doesn't.

I will repeat my two questions one more time:

1. Is it better to run these sticks on USB 2.0 or USB 3.0 powered hubs? I already have candidates to order in each case.

From what I understand Raspberry Pis will not work with USB 3.0 so you need a 2.0. Problem is even the good ones will struggle with a few of these sticks overclocked.

Another answer here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1173963.msg12898156#msg12898156

2. can someone provide a simple setup for using rasp pi in conjuction with these sticks.
All i need to know what to order, i will try to figure out software by myself.
BTW, Pi connects to its own power source, then to computer via usb or to router directly?
then you connect USB 2.0 hub to pi and stick sticks into the hub?

I had a reply with links when I asked the same question: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1173963.msg12893784#msg12893784

Raspberry Pi acts as controller so it connects directly to hub to control your sticks. No need to have Pi connected to a pc.

I'm not exactly sure how to set it up as I haven't done it myself. When I do I'll make notes and share .

Crazyguy is selling Raspberry Pi's with pre-installed software to run these sticks: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=612390.0

Thanks hurricandave for the link .

Or you can download image compiled by edonkey as mentioned in the first post of this thread ( I'm downloading it now ):

I have not yet tested it but edonkey was nice enough to upload a custom minera image with cgminer-gekko enabled as a custom miner.  You can set the frequency under manual options as: --compac-freq 150.  Link:
https://dbtbmm05cubzd.cloudfront.net/cryptocurrency/mods/minera_compac_mod.zip

Thanks edonkey

[hedgy73]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1JM2KX2792
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=612390.0

That looks like a decent hub 12v x 5A .

Thanks for the link, sending crazyguy a message now .

[hedgy73]

I wonder if the reason Raspberry Pi's dont like powered USB 3.0 hubs is because all Pi's use USB 2.0?

[zOU]

I wonder if the reason Raspberry Pi's dont like powered USB 3.0 hubs is because all Pi's use USB 2.0?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/usb/README.md

DEVICES WITH KNOWN ISSUES

1. Interoperability between the Raspberry Pi and USB3.0 hubs
There is an issue with USB3.0 hubs in conjunction with the use of Full- or Low-speed devices (most mice, most keyboards) and the Raspberry Pi. A bug in most USB3.0 hub hardware means that the Raspberry Pi cannot talk to Full- or Low-speed devices connected to a USB3.0 hub.

USB2.0 high-speed devices, including USB2.0 hubs, operate correctly when connected via a USB3.0 hub.

Avoid connecting Low- or Full-speed devices into a USB3.0 hub. As a workaround, plug a USB2.0 hub into the downstream port of the USB3.0 hub and connect the low-speed device, or use a USB2.0 hub between the Pi and the USB3.0 hub, then plug low-speed devices into the USB2.0 hub.

[hedgy73]

I wonder if the reason Raspberry Pi's dont like powered USB 3.0 hubs is because all Pi's use USB 2.0?

https://www.raspberrypi.org/documentation/hardware/raspberrypi/usb/README.md

DEVICES WITH KNOWN ISSUES

1. Interoperability between the Raspberry Pi and USB3.0 hubs
There is an issue with USB3.0 hubs in conjunction with the use of Full- or Low-speed devices (most mice, most keyboards) and the Raspberry Pi. A bug in most USB3.0 hub hardware means that the Raspberry Pi cannot talk to Full- or Low-speed devices connected to a USB3.0 hub.

USB2.0 high-speed devices, including USB2.0 hubs, operate correctly when connected via a USB3.0 hub.

Avoid connecting Low- or Full-speed devices into a USB3.0 hub. As a workaround, plug a USB2.0 hub into the downstream port of the USB3.0 hub and connect the low-speed device, or use a USB2.0 hub between the Pi and the USB3.0 hub, then plug low-speed devices into the USB2.0 hub.

I see now thanks very much .

I've just found and ordered a USB 2.0 hub I hope will be ok to run 4, 5 or 6 sticks at stock speed and a fan ( Orico 7 port USB 2.0 60w 12v 5A ):

http://www.amazon.co.uk/ORICO-Charging-Adapter-Support-Android/dp/B00U1FZAF4/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1446985643&sr=1-1&keywords=ORICO+U2BCH7

[Biodom]

Thanks to everyone who answered my hub/pi noob questions (sorry if I forgot a name)
@irritant
@Jake36
@hurricandave
@hedgy73
@zOU

after reading everything, I conclude that you can probably overclock sticks better on USB 3.0 hub, but Pi does not like it.
So, my plan is the following:

a.buy powered Anker USB 3.0 hub (http://www.amazon.com/Anker-10-Port-Transfer-PowerIQ-Charging/dp/B00VDVCQ84)
b.put sticks into that hub (advantage-it is 5A hub PLUS each stick can use 800/900ma)
c. connect it to a simple non-powered USB 2.0 hub, like this one (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-4-Port-Individual-Switches-HB-UMLS/dp/B00BWF5U0M)
d. connect USB 2.0 hub (Sabrent) to raspberry pi.
e. last, but not least, instead of using an ethernet cable to connect Pi to a router (or maybe as an option), use Edimax to connect through Wi-Fi:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MTTJOY

I just think that USB3 is better powered to drive sticks and if a simple usb2 bridge to pi is Ok, then this setup should work.
The fallback if this doesn't work would be to return Anker and get Etekcity USB 2.0 (4A) or 9-10 ports Orico USB 2.0.

[hedgy73]

Thanks to everyone who answered my hub/pi noob questions (sorry if I forgot a name)
@irritant
@Jake36
@hurricandave
@hedgy73
@zOU

after reading everything, I conclude that you can probably overclock sticks better on USB 3.0 hub, but Pi does not like it.
So, my plan is the following:

a.buy powered Anker USB 3.0 hub (http://www.amazon.com/Anker-10-Port-Transfer-PowerIQ-Charging/dp/B00VDVCQ84)
b.put sticks into that hub (advantage-it is 5A hub PLUS each stick can use 800/900ma)
c. connect it to a simple non-powered USB 2.0 hub, like this one (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-4-Port-Individual-Switches-HB-UMLS/dp/B00BWF5U0M)
d. connect USB 2.0 hub (Sabrent) to raspberry pi.
e. last, but not least, instead of using an ethernet cable to connect to router (or maybe as an option), use Edimax to connect through Wi-Fi:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MTTJOY

I just think that USB3 is better powered to drive sticks and if a simple usb2 bridge to pi is Ok, then this setup should work.
The fallback if this doesn't work would be to return Anker and get Etekcity USB 2.0 (4A) or 9-10 ports Orico USB 2.0.

No problem at all, I guess we're all helping each other out here . I'm probably the same as everyone else, its been such a long time ( years ) since I used a usb miner or bfgminer / cgminer I've had to learn it all again .

Thanks for sharing what you intend to do, please keep us informed if it works alright .

[zOU]

@biodom: that's my plan too if the DUB-H7 doesn't support 6 gekkominers

I will use a spare TP Link UH700 for the sticks in that case

(I also have my eyes on this: http://m.ebay.fr/itm/90W-power-20-port-USB2-0-HUB-USB-HUB-Industrial-grade-HUB-for-Bitcoin-mining-/161705822180?nav=WATCHING_ACTIVE)

I just built a standing shelf for my miners today.(made from spare bits...)



Power on the bottom shelf with a PDU
Miners + RPI on the top shelf (2 holes for power cables)