How to Install BFG Miner on your new Raspberry Pi - A Step by Step Guide

[DrGuns4Hands]

These are the instructions for installing BFG Miner on the Raspberry Pi OS (Raspbian “wheezy”)

I would first like to thank the people who in various places have helped with laying out the steps for CGMiner, which with some tweaks worked for BFG
The link to CGMiner's steps can be found here http://techblog.sethleedy.name/?p=24276


You will need to first download the Linux Zip Archive from https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=78192.0. This thread is always updated with both the newest test, and newest stable versions(I would recommend sticking with the stable version unless you are very experienced.


Now that you have the zip file lets get started with the fun stuff Open the Terminal and get ready to punch some code. this isn't the quickest equipment so wait until the next open terminal line appears before continuing through the steps.

1 sudo aptitude update
2 sudo aptitude install autoconf libtool libncurses-dev yasm curl libcurl4-openssl-dev libjansson-dev pkg-config libudev-dev

3a sudo aptitude install libusb-dev      (needed in BFG Miner for ZTEX & X6500 FPGAs board support)(Skip if you don't have/won't be getting one of these boards)

Additional package required for bfgminer-3.3.0:

3b apt-get install uthash-dev

To enable opencl:sensors, apt-get install libsensors4-dev
To enable getwork proxy, apt-get instal libmicrohttpd-dev
To enable stratum proxy, apt-get instal libevent-dev
To enable ztex / x6500, apt-get install libusb-1.0-0-dev

Navigate to where you saved the zip file (I will use the current BFGminer stable version for an example)

4 unzip bfgminer-2.8.3
5 cd bfgminer-2.8.3
6 ./autogen.sh unnecessary
7 ./configure
8 make

If you have not yet hooked up your FPGA to the Pi, now is the time. If you are planning on hooking up multiple FPGA's it is highly recommended to use an externally powered USB Hub.

Step 9 is to determine if the OS recognizes your FPGA and needs to be done from the home location

8 cd (to return to home)
9 ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

your FPGA's should show up as ttyUSB0, ttyUSB1, etc. Any number is fine as long as there are as many of them as you have units.

If they do not show up here is a link to a thread about that issue. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=65879.msg915045#msg915045

run BFGMiner the usual way.(sudo ./bfgminer from the bfgminer installed directory) If you do not use sudo it won't save your configuration properly when you go to settings and write config.

Editted: corrections, Stream-Lined, & Tested on Raspberry Pi, all to save you time. ENJOY!

Final Note: I have had 2 Raspberry Pi's burn out with BFL ASIC's. It seems the USB ports just can't handle the I/O. First I had crashes of the mining software, so I forced the Pi to reset itself twice daily which worked as a stop gap, but eventually they fell apart under the weight of the problem. Got a low powered amd apu and motherboard and have been running for months with it just sitting on a table, no maintenance required. At this time I would not recommend purchasing a Raspberry Pi as a control device for ASIC's.

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[Luke-Jr]

For normal usage, Debian has replaced apt-get with aptitude a few releases ago. Also, both tools can take any number of packages on the same command. So,

Code:

sudo aptitude update
sudo aptitude install autoconf libtool libncurses-dev yasm curl libcurl4-openssl-dev libjansson-dev libudev-dev libusb-dev

Note that libusb-dev is required for not just Ztex, but also X6500 FPGAs.

Steps 13-17 are all performed by the autogen.sh script, so just run that to automate it

You don't need to use "make install" (and I'm not sure it actually installs the bitstreams sensible) if you want to run BFGMiner from the source code directory; you can just do:

Code:

./bfgminer

[vitruvio]

Thank you, stored in Bookmarks, I own the Rpi, just need the ASIC.

Regards

[Phraust]

Just wanted to say this is an awesome little bit of help.

I'm not running a Pi, I'm using a DockStar, but it's very similar and it's been so long since I've installed a clean OS it really came in handy.

Some notes:

I am using ArchLinux, so most of the steps are very similar.  However, when I tried running autogen.sh, I was getting errors that were fixed by installing pkg-config (which is in the base-devel package, which I believe this is in build-essential in other distros).

Thanks a ton for putting this together for us!

[bitcoindaddy]

Thanks for the guide, it was very helpful.  Can you tell me if you had to snip the 5V line on the USB cable from the powered USB hub to keep the power from flowing back into the Raspberry Pi?

I tried connecting a powered up to the pi but without power and the pi instantly reset, but is fine after booting with it connected. I haven't tried running it powered yet as I've heard bad things about that.

[DrGuns4Hands]

I'm using a powered USB hub and the only thing I noticed is that power will flow backwards from the hub so to do a restart you give the sudo halt command to shut down the Pi. Then you disconnect the Power and unplug the USB Hub then re-plugging them in will let it boot right up. I don't believe mine will start up with the USB plugged in without the additional Power line feeding the hub. The raspberry pi was a minimalist design and wasn't made to handle much power draw by peripherals. This is the USB Hub I am using and I've had 0 issues http://www.amazon.com/10-Port-USB-2-0-Hub/dp/B00475WJEY/ref=sr_1_13?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1352091861&sr=1-13&keywords=usb+hub

[mightycount]

Awesome stuff, thanks!

[kidgorgeous]

I was having trouble getting my raspberry pi to recognize my BFL's. After some fiddling and alot of reading, it came down to running:

Code:

$sudo usermod <username> -a -G dialout

.

[zxyzxy]

will this work on hackberry or other similar  alternatives?

[Martin666]

Did you get it to work on your hackberry ?

[Berni]

Did you get it to work on your hackberry ?

I installed Debian Wheezy on my hackberry with cgminer 2.9.4.
cpu-mining is successfull, USB-Miner i can't test, because i'm waiting for my bASICs.
I hope it works fine 

[techman05]

For this do I have to designate the devices if I have multiple or will bfg miner see them and use them as needed for mining? Right now I'm planning to install an eroupter if I can get my hands on one after my coins settle and hopefully be able to run it alongside a butterfly labs asic device once I get it. I'm hoping I can run both on startup with whatever pools I want.

Both will be on a powered hub

Thanks

[TheSpiral]

For this do I have to designate the devices if I have multiple or will bfg miner see them and use them as needed for mining? Right now I'm planning to install an eroupter if I can get my hands on one after my coins settle and hopefully be able to run it alongside a butterfly labs asic device once I get it. I'm hoping I can run both on startup with whatever pools I want.

Both will be on a powered hub

Thanks

It should recognize them. I got a few erupters and they run just fine. From the readme:

ASIC/FPGA mining boards (BitForce, Icarus, ModMiner, X6500, ZTEX) only options:

--scan-serial|-S <arg> Serial port to probe for mining devices

To use ASICs or FPGAs, you will need to be sure the user BFGMiner is running as
has appropriate permissions. This varies by operating system.
On Gentoo: sudo usermod <username> -a -G uucp
On Ubuntu: sudo usermod <username> -a -G dialout
Note that on GNU/Linux systems, you will usually need to login again before
group changes take effect.

By default, BFGMiner will scan for autodetected devices unless at least one -S
is specified for that driver. If you specify -S and still want BFGMiner to scan,
you must also use "-S auto". If you want to prevent BFGMiner from scanning
without specifying a device, you can use "-S noauto". Note that presently,
autodetection only works on Linux, and might only detect one device depending
on the version of udev being used. If you want to scan all serial ports, you
can use "-S all"; note that this may write data to non-mining devices which may
then behave in unexpected ways!

On Linux, <arg> is usually of the format /dev/ttyUSBn
On Mac OS X, <arg> is usually of the format /dev/cu.usb*
On Windows, <arg> is usually of the format \\.\COMn
(where n = the correct device number for the device)

The official supplied binaries are compiled with support for all ASICs/FPGAs.
To force the code to only attempt detection with a specific driver,
prepend the argument with the driver name followed by a colon.
For example, "icarus:/dev/ttyUSB0" or "bitforce:\\.\COM5"
or using the short name: "ica:/dev/ttyUSB0" or "bfl:\\.\COM5"

Some FPGAs do not have non-volatile storage for their bitstreams and must be
programmed every power cycle, including first use. To use these devices, you
must download the BFGMiner source archive (bfgminer-x.y.z.zip) and copy the
"bitstreams" directory into your BFGMiner application directory.

See README.ASIC and README.FPGA for more information regarding these.

I just ran bfgminer with "-S all" and it was just fine.

[village.idiot]

I'm hoping this will get me mining on the Pi with my ASIC.
I really appreciate the well written Guide.  Even I could follow it.
With an exception...
I got to 6 ./autogen.sh
and got back...
Getting submodules...
fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

I did see the post from Phraust,
but don't understand what it means I should do.
Unfortunately, I don't speak Linux.

Someone please guide me a little.

Edit: forgot to mention - I'm using 2013-09-10-wheezy-raspbian and bfgminer-3.2.1

[Luke-Jr]

I'm hoping this will get me mining on the Pi with my ASIC.
I really appreciate the well written Guide.  Even I could follow it.
With an exception...
I got to 6 ./autogen.sh
and got back...
Getting submodules...
fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

I did see the post from Phraust,
but don't understand what it means I should do.
Unfortunately, I don't speak Linux.

Someone please guide me a little.

Edit: forgot to mention - I'm using 2013-09-10-wheezy-raspbian and bfgminer-3.2.1

Skip autogen, it's not supposed to be used with zips.

[village.idiot]

Thanks Luke.
That go me a step farther.
Now I got
configure: error: Could not find HASH_ITER - please install uthash-dev 1.9.2+

tried
install uthash-dev 1.9.2+
but, of course, that didn't work.

Don'cha just hate newbies

[Luke-Jr]

Thanks Luke.
That go me a step farther.
Now I got
configure: error: Could not find HASH_ITER - please install uthash-dev 1.9.2+

tried
install uthash-dev 1.9.2+
but, of course, that didn't work.

Don'cha just hate newbies

sudo aptitude install uthash-dev

[village.idiot]

IT'S WORKING!!

Luke, you're my hero!  I wanna have your baby. Uh, wait.  Think I'll just send you some bitcoin.
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you
Thank you

[birkomester]

Ty for the guide, it worked!!!c

[rallasnackbar]

I know this is an old post. But i just cant get this to work, and searching googe dosnt help me either.

at 9 ls -l /dev/ttyUSB*

i get this return

ls: cannot access /dev/ttyUSB*: No such file or directory