GekkoScience 2Pac/Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[sidehack]

Is it possible to restore that WU scaling in the code?

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[vh]

Nothing straightforward.   With the device giving out higher quality nonces, share validation and acceptance is just less frequent.   I'll poke around to see what's available to adjust.

[vh]

I got the kernel panic again. Here is the output that was dumped to the terminal if anyone is curious.

Code:

sudo ./cgminer/cgminer -o stratum+tcp://us-east.stratum.slushpool.com:3333 -u lanegg.worker1 -p x --suggest-diff 32 --gekko-2pac-freq 225
...

Remove sudo, and grant access for the device to the user using step in the Q&A section in the first post.

It won't resolve the problem, but it might allow the system to survive whatever is triggering it.

[vh]

Nothing straightforward.   With the device giving out higher quality nonces, share validation and acceptance is just less frequent.   I'll poke around to see what's available to adjust.

nvm.   I found it.   Let me make sure it behaves correctly for a little while and will commit it shortly after.

[ppetrovic68]

If you intend to stay at 250MHz, you can turn the potentiometer lightly clockwise until the HW error on that stick stop increasing.

That fixed the HW errors. They are now 0 after running for about 10 minutes. I also backed the throttle down to 225MHz. I have a little USB fan cooling the devices but right after I posted my first reply I got a seg fault that crashed Raspbian and had to hard reboot it ('reboot' command wouldn't actually reboot it, it would just hang). I am not sure if they are related but since I had the devices hashing all night @ 100MHz without issue it seems too coincidental to not be the cause. I'll keep an eye on it for sure.

try turning it to 12o'clock.

I definitely don't have 20 year old eyes anymore but it looks like the dial on the pot has two flat sides. Are you saying I should turn it nearly half way? Clock or counter clock-wise? Is there a way to check what the actual wattage being pulled is (like in the USB management)? I didn't see it on a cursory glance but maybe its something that can be calculated?

Thanks for the support guys!

Checkout Biodom's post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1764803.msg17678108#msg17678108 on where to measure the voltage.

You can use one of these guys to measure power-draw



Search ebay/aliexpress for "usb voltmeter amperemeter/ammeter"

Edit: Forgot to mention, vcore of about 1.5V should get you close or slightly above 300Mhz but you'll need proper cooling, that's for sure. These guys get very hot.

[valkir]

Quick question guys.

When I connect my 2pac directly to a usb of my PC, I can see it and mine. When I use my hub, I cant see them.
Im using this hub.
https://www.eyeboot.com/19-port-20a-usb-hub.html

Would like to work with it since I got 2 compac and 1 2pac to run.

Thanks

[vh]

Can you elaborate on - can't see?

From cgminer with errors or not recognized by the os?

[Biodom]

Quick question guys.

When I connect my 2pac directly to a usb of my PC, I can see it and mine. When I use my hub, I cant see them.
Im using this hub.
https://www.eyeboot.com/19-port-20a-usb-hub.html

Would like to work with it since I got 2 compac and 1 2pac to run.

Thanks

I could be wrong, but looks like that hub only provides 0.5A/slot, which should allow 2.5W max.
A glance at page one table shows the use of 3.67W (0.73 A draw) at 2Pac shipping freq of 100 mhz.
Try running at freq 50, perhaps, or use Y-cable(s)?
Not to talk hubs, but Superbpag provides up to 2.4A draw/slot.

[valkir]

Can you elaborate on - can't see?

From cgminer with errors or not recognized by the os?

It just said on cgminer, waiting for usb to be plugged. When I go in USB management, I see 0 usb devices , 0 enabled, 0 disabled, 0 zombie. 

Strange

[lanegg]

Checkout Biodom's post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1764803.msg17678108#msg17678108 on where to measure the voltage.

Do you mean reading the voltage with a multimeter at those soldier points?

You can use one of these guys to measure power-draw

http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/zIEAAOSwAvJW88aD/s-l225.jpg

Search ebay/aliexpress for "usb voltmeter amperemeter/ammeter"

Edit: Forgot to mention, vcore of about 1.5V should get you close or slightly above 300Mhz but you'll need proper cooling, that's for sure. These guys get very hot.

Thanks for the tip on the USB meter, got one in the mail.

Which raises an interesting question (at least to me). If I have my chips clocked at 225MHz via the command line, but I have the vcore set at 1.50 via the potentiometer, how much wattage is actually being pulled? Is it the full 10.18 as referenced in vh's OP? If that is the case then what would be the advantage of keeping the vcore at 1.50 but the clock at 225MHz? Stability? Seems it would be smarter to scale back to get as close to 8.71 vcore without causing HW errors, correct?

Thanks for the patience, I just want to make sure I understand.

[sidehack]

No seems about it, it's definitely smarter to run the lowest stable power for any given frequency. Every recommendation for tuning overclocking says to do exactly that. Extra power means extra cost and extra heat; extra heat means potentially destroying the miner or reducing its functional lifetime.

[nuanicaj]

No seems about it, it's definitely smarter to run the lowest stable power for any given frequency. Every recommendation for tuning overclocking says to do exactly that. Extra power means extra cost and extra heat; extra heat means potentially destroying the miner or reducing its functional lifetime.

I am running 4 at 200mhz with a usb fan on top of them cooling them off.  no HW errors. 

Matt please send me a replacement of 1 unit and will send out mine tomorrow.

[sidehack]

Dude. You already sent me an email, and sent a forum message saying you sent an email, and the forum sent me an email telling me you sent me a message saying you sent an email. Remember what happened last time you wouldn't stop bothering me? Just send it back and I'll fix it and please stop bothering me about everything forever before I decide never to do business with you again.

[nuanicaj]

Dude. You already sent me an email, and sent a forum message saying you sent an email, and the forum sent me an email telling me you sent me a message saying you sent an email. Remember what happened last time you wouldn't stop bothering me? Just send it back and I'll fix it and please stop bothering me about everything forever before I decide never to do business with you again.

sorry. 

[ppetrovic68]

Checkout Biodom's post https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1764803.msg17678108#msg17678108 on where to measure the voltage.

Do you mean reading the voltage with a multimeter at those soldier points?

That is correct.

You can use one of these guys to measure power-draw



Search ebay/aliexpress for "usb voltmeter amperemeter/ammeter"

Edit: Forgot to mention, vcore of about 1.5V should get you close or slightly above 300Mhz but you'll need proper cooling, that's for sure. These guys get very hot.

Thanks for the tip on the USB meter, got one in the mail.

Which raises an interesting question (at least to me). If I have my chips clocked at 225MHz via the command line, but I have the vcore set at 1.50 via the potentiometer, how much wattage is actually being pulled? Is it the full 10.18 as referenced in vh's OP? If that is the case then what would be the advantage of keeping the vcore at 1.50 but the clock at 225MHz? Stability? Seems it would be smarter to scale back to get as close to 8.71 vcore without causing HW errors, correct?

Thanks for the patience, I just want to make sure I understand.

sidehack already answered and he should know, I guess - he designed and built them Run them at the lowest possible vcore for given frequency that does not give you HWs.

[sidehack]

Ideally all miners could be run at the lowest Vcore that doesn't result in errors, but since nobody these days gives us volt-adjustment ability, and since it seems for some manufacturers even frequency-adjusting ability is going away...

The way I see it, both frequency and voltage adjustment are mandatory features for any good miner. If you want to run a certain hashrate, just calculate what clock rate you need and then adjust the voltage to the minimum stable, that way you know it's the most efficient it can be for that hashrate. Optimizing for a specific power use is a bit trickier because you might have to work with both frequency and voltage together to find the best hashrate for a given wattage, but the tables given (expected power draw for a given frequency and voltage) are a good place to start.

USB power meters are super handy. Every stick gets hooked up to one on my bench and most of the time I can tell not just if there's something wrong with it, but what the problem is, just by looking at the power draw.

[ppetrovic68]

vh, how hard would it be to have "--enable-icarus" and "--enable-gekko" play nicely?

Pull the latest code and have at it.

Still did not try this, but pulled the previous version that fixed "hotplug thread 362 create failed" (4fc8783 i believe) - works great.
Was a bit busy last couple of days and it takes a while to build on Raspi.

And if icarus driver could be tweaked not to accept Compacs and 2Pacs, that would be great

Nope.   

Use the -n flag and --dev flag in cgminer to select the device you want.

Use --enable-gekko to support the Compacs and 2Pacs.

By -n I assume you were talking about -ndevs (list all devices), but you lost me with --dev... Searched high and low and could not find it. Mind pointing me in the right direction?

[Spill]

Hi, I have mine running at 250,   I have a Temp probe in between
the board and heatsync currently its at 54.8 Celsius  is this a good temp?
What temps should it run at?

[sidehack]

The closer to "cold" you run it, the better. The chip will actually use less current for a given hashrate if it stays cooler, and extreme heat is also hard on the parts. That said, 55C is pretty good for 250MHz.

[ppetrovic68]

Hi, I have mine running at 250,   I have a Temp probe in between
the board and heatsync currently its at 54.8 Celsius  is this a good temp?
What temps should it run at?

Are you keeping it in the freezer?