Hacking KNC Titan / Jupiter / Neptune miners back to life. Why not?

[TXSteve]

no they aren't shorted to ground, they both have resistance -- what's that mean?

[lightfoot]

no they aren't shorted to ground, they both have resistance -- what's that mean?

If it's over a k of resistance that means you send the board in :-) Interesting. Tell me about the whole process. Like:

You wake up
You eat cereal for breakfast, it takes like wood shavings
You plug the bad cube into a power supply
You turn on the supply
You turn off the supply
You plug it into the Titan controller
You turn on the supply
You realize you forgot to plug the titan controller into the power supply
You feel stupid
You get therapy
You feel better....

That sort of thing.

[Sweminer777]

Could anyoone, Make Adump of a Full KNC image to flash BBB, i found a 4gb once , cant find it anymore.

Preferable 1.01 or 1.6 but i need a full image dump , if anyone could help me thanks .

[Tupsu]

Could anyoone, Make Adump of a Full KNC image to flash BBB, i found a 4gb once , cant find it anymore.

Preferable 1.01 or 1.6 but i need a full image dump , if anyone could help me thanks .

http://www.kncminer.com/support/neptune-setup-and-firmware

[Sweminer777]

Could anyoone, Make Adump of a Full KNC image to flash BBB, i found a 4gb once , cant find it anymore.

Preferable 1.01 or 1.6 but i need a full image dump , if anyone could help me thanks .

http://www.kncminer.com/support/neptune-setup-and-firmware

Yeah, already tried, IN SSH it refuses permission as DEV.
also tried the  http://ssh.vyper.kafit.se/wp/wp-content/uploads/knc.gz . This is a 1gb Image for 0.96-1 downgrade.

Worked one some BBB, others it just dont work.

[Sweminer777]

got it working, found the other image. ty

[alain84]

please any one help me with this problem in my kncminer titan, read from the bottom


 emailr from kncminer

I have done all the steps that you have marked me , and continues to give the same ruling, the screen always remains in spimux and even lets the web interface does not recognize any cube, and every 5 minutes the raspberry pi restarts , I checked all you have recommended me some other advice?


Enviado desde Outlook


De: Anna (kncminer) <support@kncminer.zendesk.com>
Enviado: miércoles, 11 de mayo de 2016 12:59

Asunto: [kncminer] Re: please help me
 
##- Please type your reply above this line -##
Your request (44769) has been solved. To reopen this request, reply to this email.

Anna (kncminer)
May 11, 14:59

Hi,

Please try following:
Please could you make sure you have the latest firmware installed, then go to the system page of the web interface and click on the reset button to reset the system configuration. This will completely wipe all configuration data and re-write it. You will need to enter an admin user account and password again on first boot up after the reset, as well as your pool details.

Once the pool details have been entered and saved, click on restart miner and the miner should then detect all cubes correctly and begin hashing.

Let me know if you have any further issues.

Best regards  |
Med vänlig hälsning

Anna

Kncminer
www.kncminer.com
Office: +46 8559 253 20


Apr 22, 14:32

the network is fine, let me THROUGH access the web and pi miner, but not detect cubes, i tried several times reformat sd an switch the router switch psu, switch cable data and anything function, the pi miner is fine, always lcd say kncminer spimux and the cgminer no devices found, i tried with one cube, 2 cubes, 3 cubes, 0 cubes and nothing, other solution?
Thanks and regards

Attachment(s)
Captura de pantalla 2016-04-22 14.27.45.png
Captura de pantalla 2016-04-22 14.28.00.png
Anna (kncminer)
Apr 21, 15:09

Hello,

Apologies for delayed reply.
There might be some problem with network. Try to connect it to another switch/router.
Also clear cache in your browser and do force restart with Fn+F5

Best regards  |
Med vänlig hälsning

Anna

Kncminer
www.kncminer.com
Office: +46 8559 253 20


Mar 12, 15:37

Good morning , my titan remains on the screen that puts kncminer spimux , let me THROUGH access the web , I trying to make a recovery and after making has the same fault , I changed the version to other older and does not work, that I can do , I tried disconnected all cubes and nothing on the web does not allow me to access the advanced settings nor any connected cube appears although they are working, not mine , I can do

]

[alain84]

hello steve, i tried disconnect all cubes, but the board present same error, in the lcd display kncspimux, i tried reflash and present same error, i tried downgrade and present same error,
the error in cgminer  say, devices not found,  whith one cube or two otr three or for connected same error, look like the board is broken in any place or anything else.

[lightfoot]

hello steve, i tried disconnect all cubes, but the board present same error, in the lcd display kncspimux, i tried reflash and present same error, i tried downgrade and present same error,
the error in cgminer  say, devices not found,  whith one cube or two otr three or for connected same error, look like the board is broken in any place or anything else.

Ok. Questions:

1) Are you running the latest 2.00 Titan code from KNC? If not run it.
2) What does the light on the controller board do? It should flash white for a few seconds, then go off, then turn on green if you are running 2.00 code. If it flashes white quickly, then turns off then flashes white again the controller has a shorted FPGA. If no lights at all the FPGA and TMS chips may be bad.

The gold standard test is to ssh into the titan controller with username pi password whatevertheadminpasswordis, then type

io-pwr init

And watch the light. If it comes on green and there are no errors in your ssh session you're good. If you get errors, post them.

C

[alain84]

1) Are you running the latest 2.00 Titan code from KNC? If not run it.

YES, version is 2.0 titan code from knc

2) What does the light on the controller board do? It should flash white for a few seconds, then go off, then turn on green if you are running 2.00 code. If it flashes white quickly, then turns off then flashes white again the controller has a shorted FPGA. If no lights at all the FPGA and TMS chips may be bad.

The gold standard test is to ssh into the titan controller with username pi password whatevertheadminpasswordis, then type

io-pwr init

And watch the light. If it comes on green and there are no errors in your ssh session you're good. If you get errors, post them.


After io-pwr init , the light is turn green+red, look like yellow for 30 seconds  and  cgminer say-----   TPS65217 ok. Modificitarion A, Revision 1.2------the system is going down for reboot now! (console)

And the board reset, and big  led is green  and three small led green,but in lcd display say kncminer spimux and not recognized none cubes, and restar every five minutes

[lightfoot]

Hm. Try removing the LCD display and see what happens. Maybe it's shorting out the SPI bus.

If not the controller board probably has a shot fpga. Can KNC repair it under warranty? Edit: Yes, I think shorted FPGA if nothing else is connected and it reboots without the LCD.

C

1) Are you running the latest 2.00 Titan code from KNC? If not run it.

YES, version is 2.0 titan code from knc

2) What does the light on the controller board do? It should flash white for a few seconds, then go off, then turn on green if you are running 2.00 code. If it flashes white quickly, then turns off then flashes white again the controller has a shorted FPGA. If no lights at all the FPGA and TMS chips may be bad.

The gold standard test is to ssh into the titan controller with username pi password whatevertheadminpasswordis, then type

io-pwr init

And watch the light. If it comes on green and there are no errors in your ssh session you're good. If you get errors, post them.


After io-pwr init , the light is turn green+red, look like yellow for 30 seconds  and  cgminer say-----   TPS65217 ok. Modificitarion A, Revision 1.2------the system is going down for reboot now! (console)

And the board reset, and big  led is green  and three small led green,but in lcd display say kncminer spimux and not recognized none cubes, and restar every five minutes

[lightfoot]

In the meantime got TXSteve's board in, very different failure.

When you plug it into the controller board the board boots and runs, but can't communicate with any of the cubes on the control spi connection. The cube doesn't short out the FPGA, what I am wondering is if the problem is in the LM75 or EEProm chips. Reason being with power off the SPIs to the power supplies are off (so that isn't it) and the only thing alive is the LM75 and Eeprom.

I'll try pulling those chips this week and see if it still shorts out the SPI bus. Weird.

[lightfoot]

that sounds better than overheated chip and melted solder, wonder what caused the slightly bowed board

Factory maybe? Didn't seem too bad actually, as I said I'll try pulling the low order chips this week and see what's up. It is different though.

[Sweminer777]

Analyzing start-up log... sed: /var/log/initc.log: No such file or directory error code =
grep: /var/log/initc.log: No such file or directory Starting ASIC boards test...
InitA started in ASIC TEST MODE
BBB S/N: A335BNLT0A604013910873
LM75 OK. Temperature = 28.5°C
TPS65217 OK. Modification A, revision 1.1
Testing ASIC board #0... No board found
Testing ASIC board #1... No board found
Testing ASIC board #2... No board found
Testing ASIC board #3... error code = -12
Testing ASIC board #4... error code = -12
Testing ASIC board #5... error code = -12
Restarting mining...


What is this error?, Dies shows up,, cuve nr 4 and 5, hashes like normal.cube 3 dont hash.

what can it be?

[psycodad]

New Titan owner here - so please forgive if any of my questions are completely stupid.

I have two cubes with pretty coloured pci-E connectors (can't decide if this is still dark yellow or already brown  ) and I would like to replace them.

I have found the following part from Digikey and am wondering if that's the right connector or if there is a better one from DK or some other electronics warehouse:

WM1353-ND

Is it recommended to use some special solder for the pci-E connectors (i.e. lead-free with higher temperature) or can I take the my preferred day-to-day leaded solder?

Speaking of pci-E connectors, I have read rumours here that there is a second one on the PCB but not populated. Since I haven't opened any of the cubes I wonder if somebody can tell me if that second connector exists and simply can be populated and used to circumvent the single pci-E bottleneck?

Since I have to take the whole thing apart to replace the pci-E connector, I would also like to add the DCDC heatsinks from this video. Does anybody know where to get these?

As I have to re-apply the thermal grease and need to order that too: What thermal conductivity should it have at minimum? And any estimates on how many gram per cube I will need?

And finally: Is there a good source for 16AWG Y-splitters or do you guys make these all yourself? I realize the Mini-Fit connectors from Molex are only rated for 18-24AWG but I guess squeezing two 16AWG into such a crimp pin is just a question of enthusiasm - or are there better rated crimp pins than these:

WM2501CT-ND
WM2500CT-ND

Thanks for any tips, hints and links in advance.

[Tupsu]

....

Since I have to take the whole thing apart to replace the pci-E connector, I would also like to add the DCDC heatsinks from this video. Does anybody know where to get these?
...

http://www.enzotechnology.com/where_to_buy.htm

http://www.aquatuning.de/luftkuehlung/passivkuehler/7045/enzotech-ram-kuehler-bmr-c1-high-profile-passiv

[lightfoot]

Rosin core solder. I would highly recommend alloying the solder or using chip-quick to get the old ports off, the high temp ROHS solder used coupled with a lack of preheating coupled with the massive heat sink of the +12 and ground planes will make removal complex otherwise.

Only one socket. Older boards like Jupiters and some Neptunes had two pads.

Run it at 60-70mh tops. Don't go for 80 and you won't break the board so much.

C

New Titan owner here - so please forgive if any of my questions are completely stupid.

I have two cubes with pretty coloured pci-E connectors (can't decide if this is still dark yellow or already brown  ) and I would like to replace them.

I have found the following part from Digikey and am wondering if that's the right connector or if there is a better one from DK or some other electronics warehouse:

WM1353-ND

Is it recommended to use some special solder for the pci-E connectors (i.e. lead-free with higher temperature) or can I take the my preferred day-to-day leaded solder?

Speaking of pci-E connectors, I have read rumours here that there is a second one on the PCB but not populated. Since I haven't opened any of the cubes I wonder if somebody can tell me if that second connector exists and simply can be populated and used to circumvent the single pci-E bottleneck?

Since I have to take the whole thing apart to replace the pci-E connector, I would also like to add the DCDC heatsinks from this video. Does anybody know where to get these?

As I have to re-apply the thermal grease and need to order that too: What thermal conductivity should it have at minimum? And any estimates on how many gram per cube I will need?

And finally: Is there a good source for 16AWG Y-splitters or do you guys make these all yourself? I realize the Mini-Fit connectors from Molex are only rated for 18-24AWG but I guess squeezing two 16AWG into such a crimp pin is just a question of enthusiasm - or are there better rated crimp pins than these:

WM2501CT-ND
WM2500CT-ND

Thanks for any tips, hints and links in advance.

[s1gs3gv]

I have a Titan that seems to really like the heat. It runs very reliably 24/7 in ambient Texas summer heat of ~ 90F.
All the dies work at 325/-.0366 on all the cubes except one of the dies, which has to be down clocked to 225 and up volted to 0 to hash, and this die goes up and down every once in a while.  Its been like this since I received it from KNC.

The odd things about this cube with the marginal die is that one of the associated DC/DC converters is missing in the list on the advanced page. The display on the advanced page for this cube looks like this:



I'm reluctant to tinker with it as its been so reliable and especially because LTC mining looks set to become more profitable but I've also been kinda curious just what might be going on.

Any guesses ?

[lightfoot]

Oh that's NEAT! What happened here is you lost a supply on die 4, most likely due to running it hard. However you didn't short the high side FETs, that's nice.

Now when you lose a die you can still run on one supply but only at half speed, say 150mhz for a 300mhz die. The die will hash at 150 happily and the supply will max out at around 40a. But you have it running at 225mhz which is impossible. Except that ohm's law is I=E/R, and if you boost the voltage you can run with less current. So running at 30% higher voltage allows you to run the die at a higher clock while pulling less current through the one remaining supply.

Darn, never thought of that. Weird as hell, but why not. Technically the limit is the Molex plug and since you're running one die slower (though still pulling a lot of power) you may be ok. I would not screw with it, run like hell... :-)

[s1gs3gv]

Oh that's NEAT! What happened here is you lost a supply on die 4, most likely due to running it hard. However you didn't short the high side FETs, that's nice.

Now when you lose a die you can still run on one supply but only at half speed, say 150mhz for a 300mhz die. The die will hash at 150 happily and the supply will max out at around 40a. But you have it running at 225mhz which is impossible. Except that ohm's law is I=E/R, and if you boost the voltage you can run with less current. So running at 30% higher voltage allows you to run the die at a higher clock while pulling less current through the one remaining supply.

Darn, never thought of that. Weird as hell, but why not. Technically the limit is the Molex plug and since you're running one die slower (though still pulling a lot of power) you may be ok. I would not screw with it, run like hell... :-)

Thanks for the insight lightfoot. It came this way from Sweden, it didn't develop this problem because it was run hard.

I remember when I first fired it up and noticed the problem. I talked to Kurt at KNC and told him I was more than a little disappointed that they had shipped me a defective Titan. He said "I don't think you understand what you purchased. We sold you 300 mhs scrypt, not a fully functional machine. If your machine hashes at a minimum of 300 mhs, then we've met our obligation' … I told him I completely understood what KNC had sold me, a piece of shit defective machine, delivered at the last possible moment, and I wanted a good one. At the time, KNC were ducking and dodging bullets from everywhere like crazy and I figured there was nothing to be gained by pursuing a complaint further. However I did succeed in eventually got banned from their forum.

All that said and done,  I'm kinda glad I have one now ;-) Thanks lightfoot for doing your part to keep them 'cooking'.

Are the 'high side FETs' internal to the Ericsson DC/DC module or external to them ?