GekkoScience 2Pac/Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[vh]

I'm having some issues with a 2Pac, wondering if anyone has any ideas...

Was working fine; PC rebooted unexpectedly, and now I cannot get cgminer to recognize it. (have tried multiple PCs, fresh installs, etc.)
-Green light stays illuminated
-Windows recognizes device - shows in devices and printers
-when i run cgminer.exe -n, it finds device, and lists as GekkoScience 2PAC Bitcoin Miner
-when cgminer.exe is run either via batch or just launching the executable - always states 'No devices found'  (cgminer build is confirmed working with other 2Pacs)
-have verified and re-installed winUSB driver via zadig 2.3
-checked with mutimeter - pulling 0.02a, 5v, 0.217w

any ideas or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
CJ

Hi, just to clarify! You have 3 Sticks, 2 are working in the same Computer and with the same Cgminer (VH's) version, but 1 stick is not working? is that so?

There were 2 devices running on this machine at one point, one of those devices is no longer being used.  The single stick that I have currently was running on this PC without issue prior.
Thanks,
CJ

For some reason sounds like the chip is not getting enough power to run anymore.
Move around the PC and try a port on a different controller or use a powered hub (recommended).

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[vh]

Let me do a newbie question, please sorry if it's a too dumb question.

Would it be possible to change the firmware ( or something else ) of the 2Pac GekkoScience to mine with a different algorithm? Like Scrypt?

For firmware, not likely, the 2pac is an ASIC. Meaning its designed specifically for a single algorithm and this is hard coded into the hardware during manufacturing. They could release another version of the 2pac with different a algorithm but the one you already have will remain as is.

No. That is not how firmware works and there is nothing else you can change on the 2PAC to change its algorithm.

Yes and yes.  These Bitcoin ASICs are application specific to Bitcoins.   

Long answer:

Logically bitcoin hashing involves a double SHA256: SHA(SHA(x)).

But most application specific one does a: SHA(m [+ s] + MODIFIEDSHA(w + n)) and checks for leading zero then returns n.
  m=pool created midstate,
  s=driver created partial sha (chip specific),
  w=driver created leaftover from x,
  n=chip created nonce

Which results in logically a SHA(SHA(x)) at the pool.

Short answer:

They are hard wired and not programmable in any way.

[cjsummers82]

For some reason sounds like the chip is not getting enough power to run anymore.
Move around the PC and try a port on a different controller or use a powered hub (recommended).

[/quote]

I have tried all the ports, on multiple computers, and with a powered hub....with same results.  :-(

[rockmoney]

I'm having some issues with a 2Pac, wondering if anyone has any ideas...

Was working fine; PC rebooted unexpectedly, and now I cannot get cgminer to recognize it. (have tried multiple PCs, fresh installs, etc.)
-Green light stays illuminated
-Windows recognizes device - shows in devices and printers
-when i run cgminer.exe -n, it finds device, and lists as GekkoScience 2PAC Bitcoin Miner
-when cgminer.exe is run either via batch or just launching the executable - always states 'No devices found'  (cgminer build is confirmed working with other 2Pacs)
-have verified and re-installed winUSB driver via zadig 2.3
-checked with mutimeter - pulling 0.02a, 5v, 0.217w

any ideas or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
CJ

Hi, just to clarify! You have 3 Sticks, 2 are working in the same Computer and with the same Cgminer (VH's) version, but 1 stick is not working? is that so?

There were 2 devices running on this machine at one point, one of those devices is no longer being used.  The single stick that I have currently was running on this PC without issue prior.
Thanks,
CJ

For some reason sounds like the chip is not getting enough power to run anymore.
Move around the PC and try a port on a different controller or use a powered hub (recommended).

A little background info for more detail.. CJ is my cousin. I was recently in Indianapolis to take care of my ill Grandfather who was on hospice. I am very experienced with these (and the original COMPACS) for those who don't know me.

While I was there, I ordered two 2PAC's from sidehack while there & set everything up for him. We ordered 2 USB Y splitter cables, used a decent powered USB hub, had a 120mm box fan that provided excessive cooling, & were running both sticks at 200MHz with no problems for several weeks.

A few weeks later, my Grandfather passed & I returned home. I left 1 of the 2PACS with my cousin (and it was running fine before I left), & took the other with me. After a few days of being home, the stick began acting up as he described. I spent over an hour on the phone with him in an attempt to help get it running, but nothing worked. Told him to order a USB multimeter so we could have a more accurate reading of the electrical specs than his old circuit tester provided us with while I was there setting them up.

He shipped the stick to me earlier today (just outside Philadelphia, PA), & I will attempt to get it working. I will update once I receive the stick, but wanted to rule out the possibility of user error (even though my cousin is in IT & a whiz with computers) before reaching out to sidehack for warranty repair.

Thanks for all of the help in the meantime (my cousin was having some trouble believing me when telling him about how willing this community is to help one another, so it's great he got to see for himself)!  

2017 JUNE 12 UPDATE:
I received the 2PAC from my cousin in the mail today. Using a USB 'Y' cable to supply sufficient power, a regular/standard USB multi-meter, & a 35W powered USB multi-meter (to add or decrease power). Along with several other things I tried to get it hashing, I used different versions of CGMiner. Here are some of the results:

     

To view full-size, larger photos, view album here: http://imgur.com/a/UeM7v

[hariskar]

I would like to make some some newbie questions:
I just got USB-Stick Miner bitshopper GekkoScience 2Pac, I setup cgminer 4.10.0, (compiled it with icarus) and started mining.
Without changing anything the hash rate is far below expected: in slushpool it is from about 100Mh/s till about 1Gh/s, usually about 300-600Mh/s.
I have connected it to a usb port on my PC (till the hub I ordered is here). Is that responsible for low hash rate?
What I see in cgminer is:

Code:

Block: c10a02e5...  Diff:679G  Started: [18:47:13.951]  Best share: 557
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 [U]SB management [P]ool management [S]ettings [D]isplay options [Q]uit
 0: AMU GS-10013:                         | 1.504G / 554.8Mh/s WU: 7.0/m

Is it OK? Shouldn't I see some frequency? How can I alter frequency?
When I try to start cgminer with

Code:

sudo ./cgminer -o stratum+tcp://eu.stratum.slushpool.com:3333 -u ME --gekko-compac-freq 200 --gekko-2pac-freq 150

I get

Code:

./cgminer: --gekko-compac-freq: unrecognized option

Thank you!

[sidehack]

Read the first post.

[cashsogood]

Hi All,

I have bought the GekkoScience 2PAC usb miner, but it cannot be recognized by cgminer. It always showing as inactive. How to config cgminer to make it active? Pls advise. Thanks.

I am running it on Raspberry Pi 3.

Thanks.

[Biodom]

Hi All,

I have bought the GekkoScience 2PAC usb miner, but it cannot be recognized by cgminer. It always showing as inactive. How to config cgminer to make it active? Pls advise. Thanks.

I am running it on Raspberry Pi 3.

Thanks.

Two possiblities (init or power)
For init, follow post #1 (Q/A section);
heck, here is the code:

Code:

cd ~/git/vthoang/cgminer/
sudo usermod -G plugdev -a `whoami`
sudo cp 01-cgminer.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo reboot

For power, try adding the following:

Code:

--gekko-2pac-freq 75

this is instead of default, which is 100, I believe.
I don't think that rasp pi 3 has enough power in USB connectors to run at default, but I could be wrong.
Most people use USB powered hubs like Superbpag (it is another $35, unfortunately).
Also, sometimes if above did not work or if it shows as a zombie, replug it "live".

[tykom]

RPi3 will run at least one 2Pac @ 100MHz.  I ran one for a couple days with no issues.  Powered the pi with a 2.1A supply.

[Unelin]

Hello
I have installed a Raspberry Pi freshly and I also kept up the instructions (is very well written thank you). 
Unfortunately, the stick but not correctly recognized, I have only about 1Mh / s
Under "USB management -> List all know devices" I get the Miner correctly displayed
Bus 1 Device 19 ID: 10c4: ea60 bitshopperde 2Pac BM1384 Bitcoin Miner active
In the survey, however, only
0: AMU GS-10013: | 2.001G / 593.2Mh / s WU: 9.6 / m
The topic has already been done but unfortunately only with see above  
I do not know which I should still make
*** HELP ***

[vh]

There is no reason what-so-ever for the words AMU to show up in your question if you follow the instruction in the OP of this thread.
Toss out or set aside the cgminer binaries you have.  Re-read the first post.

[cashsogood]

Dear All,

Refer to the Post #488, I am still having the problem.
Here I post the capture screens below for your reference. Pls advise and help.
My 2PAC usb is still not recognized by cgminer. (Running on Raspberr Pi 3)
I wonder if i've bought a defective one.


https://ibb.co/jcdfna
https://ibb.co/iBAt7a

Thanks All.

[Biodom]

^^^^Did you do what i told you to do in my post directly below your "post 488"?
Your second message contains no info on what you did, exactly.
I am not going on some dinky site to check your pic.
Post on imgur or other more reputable sharing site and link here as a pic.

sidehack checks each and every stick before sending out, so it is VERY unlikely that it is broken.

[cashsogood]

^^^^Did you do what i told you to do in my post directly below your "post 488"?
Your second message contains no info on what you did, exactly.
I am not going on some dinky site to check your pic.
Post on imgur or other more reputable sharing site and link here as a pic.

sidehack checks each and every stick before sending out, so it is VERY unlikely that it is broken.

hi Biodom,

I did all the codes you have mentioned, but nothing has fixed. My 2pac usb miner is still inactive.
I have tried to plug the usb on different usb ports, but still not working. But it gets an error message below:
"get GekkoScience detect (1:12) failed to initialise (incorrect device?), resetting failed usb_init"

Pls advise how to solve the problem? Thanks.

Capture Screen:
http://imgur.com/a/FFBzJ
https://i.imgur.com/Rpj00RB.png
https://i.imgur.com/FGjEGNZ.png?1
https://i.imgur.com/Nx5CWWY.png

[sidehack]

Green stick or black stick? Who did you buy it from?

Make sure you're using the most updated version of VH's cgminer driver as detailed in the first post.

Depending on what Pi software you're using, you might need to move some files around to be executing the right cgminer build.

[cashsogood]

Green stick or black stick? Who did you buy it from?

Make sure you're using the most updated version of VH's cgminer driver as detailed in the first post.

Depending on what Pi software you're using, you might need to move some files around to be executing the right cgminer build.

1. I bought it from eyeboot. (bought two sticks);

2. pretty sure i am using the most updated VH's cgminer driver, because one of my 2pac usb stick is running well individually (and followed each steps to build, as well as tried to find solution from all old posts, no solution).  The problem stick is just couldn't be recognized individually and inactive (tried other ports).

3. Rasbperry Pi 3 with Raspbian Jessie with PIXEL (kernal 4.4)

how to check green or black stick?

[sidehack]

If you bought from eyeboot, it's a green stick. Note that the board it's build on is green. The ones in Europe are made with a black board.

Have you tried adjusting the voltage a bit higher and replugging it?

[cashsogood]

If you bought from eyeboot, it's a green stick. Note that the board it's build on is green. The ones in Europe are made with a black board.

Have you tried adjusting the voltage a bit higher and replugging it?

Yes, i also tried to adjust the voltage as mentioned in page 2 but without any luck. I turned to 1/8 clockwise, unplug and wait 2 secs and plug again. I also tried 1/4 turn, unplg and wait 2 secs and plug again.  Nothing has changed, problem still remains. ><


Pls advise and help.

[tykom]

Are you running cgminer with

Code:

--gekko-2pac-freq 100

?  I'm running 3 pi's and that got them started

[Biodom]

If you bought from eyeboot, it's a green stick. Note that the board it's build on is green. The ones in Europe are made with a black board.

Have you tried adjusting the voltage a bit higher and replugging it?

Yes, i also tried to adjust the voltage as mentioned in page 2 but without any luck. I turned to 1/8 clockwise, unplug and wait 2 secs and plug again. I also tried 1/4 turn, unplg and wait 2 secs and plug again.  Nothing has changed, problem still remains. ><


Pls advise and help.

ideally, you measure the voltage with a multimeter, then follow the table in post #1.

how about this: return the voltage adjustment where it was, remove the whole folder (using rm -rf command; see the home dir for the name of it, could be vthoang or git or git/vthoang, I don't remember, and build the whole thing again very carefully (no mistakes).
Reboot once or twice with the problematic stick attached. I was also using Pixel, not sure which kernel since i used whatever default they had on pi website.