Avalon ASIC users thread

[Aseras]

Just curious. Does anyone successfully mine on p2pool with his avalon?

I tried the newest firmware and the newest p2pool, but failed totally. Searched but no affirmatory.

The http://p2pool.info/ active user list shows few in range of 66GH/s(stock 3-module)  to 112GH/s(overclocked 4-module).

it doesn't work, well. still  20% DOA.

Even with tweaking timeout to return work quicker with cgminer and stratum tweaks. The new protocol change may make it slightly better.

Also you need ridiculous CPU power to handle 1 avalon.

[ProfMac]

Does anyone have any tips for getting the side panel back on?  I just spent like an hour trying to get all the screws to line up, stay in place, and tighten up.  I still have 3 that screwed in all sideways and I can't get to straighten out.

I had the panel off because the top fan was making a racket.  I put in a cable tie to hold back all the cables away of the fan. There was also an extra nut bouncing around in the case (must have been dropped in during assembly).  Everything's working great now but man those screws are a royal pain.

I put a strip of tape on both sides of the "nuts" or whatever they are to hold them in place, worked great. I tried to do it without first too, it's not fun when the last one falls in..

As a routine matter, I am careful not to press against the threads when I back a screw out of an instrument.  I loosened the screw a half turn, then backed them out by hand.  The nuts did not fall out for me until I tapped one with my finger.  I used a bamboo skewer to hold it in place while I started the screw back in, and turned it by sliding my fingertip sideways so that the slots aligned.

The second time I removed the top, I did knock one loose.  I used two of the skewers like chopsticks and plucked it out of the bottom of the Avalon.

I really like the foam jig idea.  Jigs are great, I always forget to make them.

When re-attaching, I turn every other screw so that it is not loose, then finish all the others.  Then I turn them to where they are just starting to snug.  Then I try to wiggle the  case to anneal the alignment.  Then I tighten it down to snug.  My torque wrench is packed for moving, and I don't know the torque specification anyway, but my step-dad was a mechanic and I worked with lab instruments a long time, so I think I did ok just by "feel."

I think some of the screws were over tightened at the factory.  The lock washers were flattened, and the aluminum plate was severely galled in a few instances.

[bennybong]

For me cgminer doesn't start when I try and add commands. Commands I have tried:

--avalon-auto
--avalon-freq
--avalon-fan

cgminer only seems to work with the default --quiet command

any ideas?

[ProfMac]

For me cgminer doesn't start when I try and add commands. Commands I have tried:

--avalon-auto
--avalon-freq
--avalon-fan

cgminer only seems to work with the default --quiet command

any ideas?

My Avalon is several firmware revisions behind.  I will flash it soon. 

[Kneedle]

Just a quick report that my Batch 1 has been running for over 7 days at 349-357 mhz using the latest 703 firmware and the  --avalon-auto switch. I've upgraded the PSU to a 1200w Cosair  (too tight of a fit, in hindsight)  and the killawatt shows it pulling 710~ watts from the wall.  Temp is set at 50 and the unit has not gone over 51c in the past 7 days. 



Average speed has been 83.25 GHash - nice!

Thanks to Ckolivas!

Kneedle

[demkd]

Just finished modification of my black box
I applied arctic cooling mx-4 on heatsink's bottom of the modules. (~10g used on 3 modules)
Fan1 (replaced with Scythe Glide Stream) and additional fan ran at full speed (~1900 rpm)
PSU external.
Case closed.

Frequency	Fan1	Fan2	Fan3	Temp1	Temp2	Temp3
350	0	2400	2400	28	46	47

HW errors: 1.5%
724W from wall. (~85% load (efficiency level 88%) of Stock 80+ gold rated 750W PSU ENM750EWT-S RG)
And Now temps and fan speed in acceptable range

[bennybong]

I have mine running at 350 (fixed), 20130703 firmware, highest temp is 51  and it is VERY LOUD! It is drawing 728 Watts at the wall.

I'm going to have to find a better place to keep this, under my desk is bit of a distraction!

[Aseras]

For me cgminer doesn't start when I try and add commands. Commands I have tried:

--avalon-auto
--avalon-freq
--avalon-fan

cgminer only seems to work with the default --quiet command

any ideas?

I use this

Paste it in the bottom options box.

--avalon-auto --avalon-freq 300-375 --avalon-options 115200:24:10:36:355

use a newer firmware from here http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/cgminer/avalon/

[bennybong]

For me cgminer doesn't start when I try and add commands. Commands I have tried:

--avalon-auto
--avalon-freq
--avalon-fan

cgminer only seems to work with the default --quiet command

any ideas?

I use this

Paste it in the bottom options box.

--avalon-auto --avalon-freq 300-375 --avalon-options 115200:24:10:36:355

use a newer firmware from here http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/cgminer/avalon/

Works like a charm thanks mate!

I have tried replacing the PSU with this one:

http://ocz.com/consumer/psu/zx-series-850w-1250w-power-supply (850W)

But the Avalon does not power on... any ideas? I just get red and orange light and no fans spins 

[Aseras]

check all your power connections.

check every cable. All the ide like cables make sure they are all seated well and that you didnt bend any pins.

[loshia]

check all your power connections.

check every cable. All the ide like cables make sure they are all seated well and that you didnt bend any pins.

Short green wire to the ground - black Google it for details

[ewibit]

--avalon-auto --avalon-freq 300-375 --avalon-options 115200:24:10:36:355

use a newer firmware from here http://ck.kolivas.org/apps/cgminer/avalon/

now at first time I try
--avalon-auto
without any other options
slowly the frequency is getting more and more
now I am at 321
26m 3s        73020.88
but (batch 1) is it dangerious that the (original-) PSU is to weak and dying?
TIA

[bennybong]

check all your power connections.

check every cable. All the ide like cables make sure they are all seated well and that you didnt bend any pins.

Nope, nothing changes. Have tried the it 3 separate times now. Ah well… will just have to keep it at 355 for now

[Tesla71]

Is there any way to see the live output of cgminer if you telnet into the avalon ? Like on the raspberry with the "screen" command ?

[-ck]

Is there any way to see the live output of cgminer if you telnet into the avalon ? Like on the raspberry with the "screen" command ?

cgminer is not run in a screen session within the avalon, so you cannot bring it up like a Pi. However you can probe the API to get output from it using the cgminer-api command installed on the avalon if you know the various cgminer API commands (see API-README in cgminer source code).

[allinvain]

i've done it more times than i could count... thought i bricked one once but a quick hard reboot solved it all

Isn't rebooting during a flash pretty much the worst possible idea? 

I've done this a million times on server hardware. Never with an ASIC. The downtime in case of an issue and probable lack of being able to return it is what scares me.

All you are flashing is the router really =) nothing else. It should be fine, I doubt it has a very high failure rate... I havent heard of any known flashing failures on avalon, under normal conditions.
But yeah, its just like flashing a mobo, same chances of failing I suppose... which over my PC career seems to be 1% of flashes I do, something breaks =P

It actually happened to me. The reality is that the TPLINK routers in these things are not 100% perfect and some of them will have some minor failures and defects. So, in the rare event that this happens to you I STRONGLY suggest you get yourself a Raspberry Pi as a backup mining device.

Can you explain a bit more on how you'd set this up with the pi?

Sure. I took the lazy way out and installed a linux distro called MinePeon (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=137934.0). As you can tell by it's name it was designed for mining. But you can get any Raspberry Pi compatible (read ARM compatible) linux distro working just as well. As long as you can compile cgminer or bfgminer (with the necessary prerequisite usb libs, etc) you should be good to go.

[mgio]

I'm wondering what mining pools people like to use with their Avalons.

I tried 50BTC but it seems like the hashrate they tell me is significantly lower than what my Avalon reports in CGMiner status (should be getting 84Gh/s or so but it shows me 72-74). I know this is a known issue with them but it seems like the coins I am mining are lower too by the same amount (even after taking into account the fees). I like their interface but I wonder if there are better pools. Or maybe this is typical due to invalid shares or something?

I've tried ozcoin and it works for a little bit but then frequently gets disconnected or the pool goes down or I'm not sure what it going on. Maybe network latency but the average hashrate I get there is very very low.

What pools does everyone else use and what is good for the US?

[Vagnavs]

I just got my unit here. I've tried to connect to it using the steps on the wiki.
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Avalon

I get connection timed out, something like that when connecting to 192.168.0.101.
any help would be greatly appreciated and would pay you a reasonable sum.
Regards,
Brian

[carolstreet444]

I'm wondering what mining pools people like to use with their Avalons.

I tried 50BTC but it seems like the hashrate they tell me is significantly lower than what my Avalon reports in CGMiner status (should be getting 84Gh/s or so but it shows me 72-74). I know this is a known issue with them but it seems like the coins I am mining are lower too by the same amount (even after taking into account the fees). I like their interface but I wonder if there are better pools. Or maybe this is typical due to invalid shares or something?

I've tried ozcoin and it works for a little bit but then frequently gets disconnected or the pool goes down or I'm not sure what it going on. Maybe network latency but the average hashrate I get there is very very low.

What pools does everyone else use and what is good for the US?

Check out eligius. They pay more then 100%., They save all your shares and if you have 5 days with very very bad luck then youll get the payment some days later. (when the pool  got   lucky blocks after a couple of minutes)

Its the best pool i've met so far.

[craslovell]

After flashing to the July update, my HW errors went from 3ish percent to now 30%. I'm thinking I will revert...

How are you calculating this?

The correct formula to calculate HW% (with cgminer fieldnames) is: 100 * HW / (diff1shares + HW)

I can take another look and flash it again. I was doing HW/Accepted. I saw someone else say this was the proper way buried in this thread. The pool was also reporting a significantly lower hashrate with the newest firmware (I know, not always accurate) but with the old one the hashrate is a steady 71GH/s.

I went to July update, down to June, down to May (slight improvement over July and June), and finally back to April.