[Review] Avalon 6 Miner - Winter Mining - Notlist3d - Also FAQ and Help

[HagssFIN]

Yes looks like both sockets have been overheating due to poor contact of the pins. This will have been made worse by the Daily plugging and unplugging. I would look for a way to have the Miner plus permanently connected and an additional plug / socket arrangement for the swapping.

One thing that is strange is that the problem has only occurred on the 3 Gnd connections and not the 12V. This may indicate that the PSU Gnd wires have been made up with a different batch of socket crimps that the 12V ones?


Rich

Yeah think of the unplugging and re plugging as fucking.

Thus the name for the plug and jack.  As male or female.

With repeated fucking most female sockets get loose.

The male pins do not suffer as much from repetious fucking just like real life.

Crude analogy but easy to remember.

  This is the best explanation in technical stuff that I've ever heard

[1714258338]

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[philipma1957]

Yes looks like both sockets have been overheating due to poor contact of the pins. This will have been made worse by the Daily plugging and unplugging. I would look for a way to have the Miner plus permanently connected and an additional plug / socket arrangement for the swapping.

One thing that is strange is that the problem has only occurred on the 3 Gnd connections and not the 12V. This may indicate that the PSU Gnd wires have been made up with a different batch of socket crimps that the 12V ones?


Rich

Yeah think of the unplugging and re plugging as fucking.

Thus the name for the plug and jack.  As male or female.

With repeated fucking most female sockets get loose.

The male pins do not suffer as much from repetious fucking just like real life.

Crude analogy but easy to remember.

  This is the best explanation in technical stuff that I've ever heard

Thanks I thought it was pretty good myself

[Mikestang]

Lol, a very illusrative example, I guess I just figured that plugs like this would be designed to be plugged and unplugged repeatedly.  I've had the miner for like 2 weeks and didn't run it all the time, so maybe I plugged/unplugged it like 10 times.  I would think a device would be expected to be plugged and unplugged 10 times in its lifetime.  I guess the cable just wasn't up to snuff, probably the wires are too thin.  I just checked and they are only 18 ga., so yea, too thin.

Does anyone have a source for stuff that I can make my own wires?  I guess the hardest part to source would be the connector on the psu side since I don't think those are industry standard like pci-e (or is the psu side of the pci-e cable an industry standard?).

I'm going to contact Block C today and hopefully they can facilitate an inspection and any necessary repairs.  Of course I would cover the cost if deemed that warranty wouldn't cover it.

[RichBC]

Does anyone have a source for stuff that I can make my own wires?  I guess the hardest part to source would be the connector on the psu side since I don't think those are industry standard like pci-e (or is the psu side of the pci-e cable an industry standard?).

I bought some ready made cable assemblies from J4bberwock. Good price & quality, drop him a PM.


Rich

[philipma1957]

Lol, a very illusrative example, I guess I just figured that plugs like this would be designed to be plugged and unplugged repeatedly.  I've had the miner for like 2 weeks and didn't run it all the time, so maybe I plugged/unplugged it like 10 times.  I would think a device would be expected to be plugged and unplugged 10 times in its lifetime.  I guess the cable just wasn't up to snuff, probably the wires are too thin.  I just checked and they are only 18 ga., so yea, too thin.

Does anyone have a source for stuff that I can make my own wires?  I guess the hardest part to source would be the connector on the psu side since I don't think those are industry standard like pci-e (or is the psu side of the pci-e cable an industry standard?).

I'm going to contact Block C today and hopefully they can facilitate an inspection and any necessary repairs.  Of course I would cover the cost if deemed that warranty wouldn't cover it.

sidehack may be able to help with cables

[Mikestang]

Thanks, guys.  Sidehack is so busy with projects I do not want to bother him about some simple cables.  J4bberwock seems mia from the forum, but HolyBitcoin resells his stuff so I will order some new cables from him.   He's got some good deals on server psus, too, so I may as well upgrade my power supplies while I'm at it, I have a 240v outlet unused where my miner is so I could go that route.  I'll put the OCZs on ebay, they'd still be good for regular ol' computer use.

I sent Block C a message, I'll update this thread as things develop.

[borisg26]

Hi

  I have some, not working  Avalon 6 blades , with expired warranties, anyone knows if Avalon in China or USA offers service repairs for these blades.

Thanks

I would guess they would sell you another blade, but don't know on repairs.  Have not heard of repairs, just paying for new blades.   But contact BlockC and see what they say - http://www.blockc.co/#contact

Out of curiosity did you over volt them?  Or what caused the problems.

Blade never was over volt, physically they don't have any burn or lines parts, BlockC doesn't carry  after-warranties, any help on repair tips.
Thanks

[tlhIlwI]

Here's a picture of it, what do you guys think?

This is not advice on what you should do, and I can't say for certain without seeing it in person, but if that were my A6 and the condition is what it appears to be (not very bad), then I would have already cleaned out the plug on the miner with some denatured alcohol, started it back up on a better supply, and monitored it carefully for a few days.

And yes, don't plug/unplug these more than necessary.  I wasn't able to find a datasheet that specifies how many connect/disconnect cycles the parts can reliably handle, but I would guess it to be in the 20 to 100 range and will vary depending on the quality of the parts used.

EDIT: I found the mechanical specification on another Molex datasheet:

Code:

Mate connectors 25 cycles for tin 
plated and 200 cycles for gold 
plated connectors at a maximum 
rate of 10 cycles per minute.

Knock-offs will have their own specifications.

[Mikestang]

This is not advice on what you should do, and I can't say for certain without seeing it in person, but if that were my A6 and the condition is what it appears to be (not very bad), then I would have already cleaned out the plug on the miner with some denatured alcohol, started it back up on a better supply, and monitored it carefully for a few days.

Good info on the plug/unplug cycles, looks like the el-cheapo cables aren't rated to be replugged very often at all, only 25 cycles (I assume 1 cycle = plug + unplug).  I do wonder, though, under what conditions you'd be plugging/unplugging 10 times per minute.

The condition definitely does not appear very bad, but it's a mix of my OCD and bank account that I'm unsure about firing it up again.  I ordered some 16ga. pci-e cables to use with my S5 and the OCZ psu's, and at the same time I ordered a 1200watt HP psu from HolyBitcoin - yea I couldn't resist a new psu before sending it away to be hosted.  Figured that could be a month or more (or less, who knows) and I'll always find some use for the psu, so why not.

After I hear from Block C I'll know if I should try the new psu when it arrives or wait to have the unit professionally inspected.  I will clean out the plug anyway in the mean time.

started it back up on a better supply, and monitored it carefully for a few days.

What would constitute "monitored"?  As it was I would only run it when I was home and I checked on it almost every hour feeling air flow, feeling pci-e connectors for excess heat, stuff like that, which is another reason I was really surprised to find the melted plug.

[tlhIlwI]

Good info on the plug/unplug cycles, looks like the el-cheapo cables aren't rated to be replugged very often at all, only 25 cycles (I assume 1 cycle = plug + unplug).

Actually those numbers were for the tin version of the good Molex ones... I would expect even less from cheap ones sourced from who knows where.

These connections were designed for installed applications where they wouldn't be plugged/unplugged a lot.  Mechanical strength after plugging/unplugging was not a significant design consideration.

[adaseb]

You can very easily fix both the PSU and Miner yourself.

Parts shouldn't cost any more than $10 to put new pins on the PSU with a new plug and for a new Molex ATX PCIe plug for the miner.

[tlhIlwI]

You can very easily fix both the PSU and Miner yourself.

Parts shouldn't cost any more than $10 to put new pins on the PSU with a new plug and for a new Molex ATX PCIe plug for the miner.

The miner end may be tricky for him to repair since the plug is almost certainly a through hole component and it looks like it is located under the heatsink.  It isn't impossible to do, but it isn't for the uninitiated either.  As long as the pins are clean of residue and the cable plugs in to being snapped secure, I would avoid replacing the plug on the miner.  Disclaimer: this is based on a photo and my opinion may be different if I was looking directly at it.

The PSU end is repairable with some basic skill, but if it is his first time I would recommend having someone with experience do it with the proper crimping tool (these connectors are used so close to their rated maximum that they really need to be done perfectly).  All of the PSU ends need replacing if he is going to use the PSU again since they've been through the same mechanical stress that is the probable cause of this failure.

[philipma1957]

You can very easily fix both the PSU and Miner yourself.

Parts shouldn't cost any more than $10 to put new pins on the PSU with a new plug and for a new Molex ATX PCIe plug for the miner.

The miner end may be tricky for him to repair since the plug is almost certainly a through hole component and it looks like it is located under the heatsink.  It isn't impossible to do, but it isn't for the uninitiated either.  As long as the pins are clean of residue and the cable plugs in to being snapped secure, I would avoid replacing the plug on the miner.  Disclaimer: this is based on a photo and my opinion may be different if I was looking directly at it.

The PSU end is repairable with some basic skill, but if it is his first time I would recommend having someone with experience do it with the proper crimping tool (these connectors are used so close to their rated maximum that they really need to be done perfectly).  All of the PSU ends need replacing if he is going to use the PSU again since they've been through the same mechanical stress that is the probable cause of this failure.

I am 95% sure a new psu with good cables and problem is gone.  and of course do not plug and unplug  much at all.


I think I have a photo of the board  let me look

new replacement board


cap popped from over volt
 

[notlist3d]

You can very easily fix both the PSU and Miner yourself.

Parts shouldn't cost any more than $10 to put new pins on the PSU with a new plug and for a new Molex ATX PCIe plug for the miner.

The miner end may be tricky for him to repair since the plug is almost certainly a through hole component and it looks like it is located under the heatsink.  It isn't impossible to do, but it isn't for the uninitiated either.  As long as the pins are clean of residue and the cable plugs in to being snapped secure, I would avoid replacing the plug on the miner.  Disclaimer: this is based on a photo and my opinion may be different if I was looking directly at it.

The PSU end is repairable with some basic skill, but if it is his first time I would recommend having someone with experience do it with the proper crimping tool (these connectors are used so close to their rated maximum that they really need to be done perfectly).  All of the PSU ends need replacing if he is going to use the PSU again since they've been through the same mechanical stress that is the probable cause of this failure.

On PSU repairing most ATX psu's have decent RMA policy's.  So I'm betting he can get it fixed by sending it in with a RMA.  But I would never trust that brand/model again.

Which he bought dell kits which are pretty well tested by miners.  So he's already headed in right direction on that.   I'm hoping as phil said that will make problem gone, but it is very hard to tell not being able to see it in person.  Like crud in back if it is pushed back or needs cleaned.  I would just make sure to watch for heat when trying it again.  I  would watch very closely when trying to power again on if it feels hot.

[Mikestang]

Replacing the connector on the A6 is beyond my skill level, I can barely solder two wires together.  I like to work on big stuff like cars and trucks.  Even if I could do it I wouldn't want to void the warranty by opening it up.  I'm going to clean up the plug on the A6 and wait to see what Block C says.  I threw out the melted wire, other than that the psu looks and runs 100%.

Was examining my two psu's trying to figure why the one wire melted and I notice that one is a zx series and one is a z series.  I look closer at the pci-e cables and the zx series has 16ga wires and the z series 18ga, there's the problem right there.  Heck, I have a 550w corsair psu for my S1 that used to run, even it has 16ga wires.

So the z series is perm. offline, the zx will run my S5, and my new psu from holybitcoin will run the Avalon once it gets the ok.  That eliminates any further plugging issues.

Mine on.

[Mikestang]

I sent Block C a message, I'll update this thread as things develop.

Block C got back to me and good news, they said the Avalon should not be damaged and I can hook up my new psu when I get it and mine on.  They said the connectors on the Avalon are capable of supporting 1000w per side even though they typically only see about 475w.

My new psu will run off 240v, so I should see a minor improvement in efficiency as well.

[philipma1957]

I sent Block C a message, I'll update this thread as things develop.

Block C got back to me and good news, they said the Avalon should not be damaged and I can hook up my new psu when I get it and mine on.  They said the connectors on the Avalon are capable of supporting 1000w per side even though they typically only see about 475w.

My new psu will run off 240v, so I should see a minor improvement in efficiency as well.

That is good info and I am happy you will be able to run it well.

[notlist3d]

I sent Block C a message, I'll update this thread as things develop.

Block C got back to me and good news, they said the Avalon should not be damaged and I can hook up my new psu when I get it and mine on.  They said the connectors on the Avalon are capable of supporting 1000w per side even though they typically only see about 475w.

My new psu will run off 240v, so I should see a minor improvement in efficiency as well.

That is good info and I am happy you will be able to run it well.

That is really good news.  This is part of the reason I like BlockC, they seem very helpful.  They have turned me into a fan of their customer service.  That is part of the reason I like group buy's from them like phil has done.

[philipma1957]

I sent Block C a message, I'll update this thread as things develop.

Block C got back to me and good news, they said the Avalon should not be damaged and I can hook up my new psu when I get it and mine on.  They said the connectors on the Avalon are capable of supporting 1000w per side even though they typically only see about 475w.

My new psu will run off 240v, so I should see a minor improvement in efficiency as well.

That is good info and I am happy you will be able to run it well.

That is really good news.  This is part of the reason I like BlockC, they seem very helpful.  They have turned me into a fan of their customer service.  That is part of the reason I like group buy's from them like phil has done.

Yeah it is sad that bitmaintech  dropped their service level so much.

I just went to look back at my orders from them

s-1 = 7 of them
s-3 = 13 of them
s-5 = 6 of them
s-7 =19 of them   more then 46 pieces of gear and more then 30k since Dec 2013

Also u2's  3k worth of them    so 33k easy  in 2 ½ years  just not big enough for them.

[Mikestang]

I received my hp server psu from HolyBitcoin and while waiting for a permanent C13 plug end for the power cable I am making, I whipped together a temporary 240v power cable for the psu, good enough to run when I am at home.  The machine only sees 11.9v right now, but it hashes away happily at 3.4TH.  So no damage done, hurray!  I am using the 240 outlet in my laundry room.  It's funny, the little fan on the psu is louder than the sanyo on the A6.