GekkoScience 2Pac/Compac BM1384 Stickminer Official Support Thread

[bitmunkey]

im using the stock screws, being a copper base... the stock screws were strong enough to tap the holes.
im  running them at 250mhz still, but its alot more stable and drawing alot less from the usb hub (probably why its stable now)

once i get a few days out of the stick stable.. ill ramp up the voltage a little and try 275.  i seem to have lost the silicone lottery a little, as this stick needs more volts that others have mentioned to get is stable

at least i now have the cooling to keep the voltage under control

will post updates as and when they arrive

ps, might use the old cooler on the back of the stick using some of those thick heat pads you usually get on gfx card ram   just need to find longer screws with the same thread

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[sidehack]

Sweet project. I plan on keeping the same physical dimensions (though screws may need to be moved depending on chip specifics) for all future sticks. The NewPac heatsink is identical to the 2Pac's. Any gear built for one should keep working on any newer build without a lot of changes.

The screws are M3 thread, shouldn't be too hard to track down. If you get in a bind on long screws, I have a whole case of about 50mm length bought for R808 assembly before that project shut down.

[bitmunkey]

i will keep updates flowing on this sidehack..

as for what scryptr posted.. this has made my head go all silly.

I remember back when i had my old socket 478 P4, with a 200w TEC and a custom water loop (taken from a fish tank and a aircon exchange radiator)

now, i want to get myself a 2nd 2pac if i can get one cheap enough in UK (as i might possibly kill it)
i will get a 15x30mm TEC (about 30w), powered by an old laptop charger i have laying about.

pop an old heatpipe cooler on the top of that, and the stock 2pac cooler on the back. seal it all up with silicone glue to stop condensation.

will probably need to use tension clips to hold it together, as the TEC will block the bolts :/

will remove the 5v feed from the USB port and solder in a 5v 4A charger instead that i have so i dont have to worry about not enough power getting to the unit.

once thats all done, i can crank up the voltage, and see how far it will go hahahah.

not practical, but going to be bloody fun anyway.... i miss the oldskool computer setups.. this will be fun ^_^

once i have a TEC and a new 2pac, ill make a new post with my step by step journey.

[bitmunkey]

ok, small update.
found the TEC, a nice 15x30mm unit that can displace 17.8W of heat. the 2pac at 1.55v will be about 14w of heat (a guesstimate)
this TEC will fit nicely between the original mounting bolt -the center bolt. so mounting shall be easy.

Have a 2mm copper plate to put on the chip side of the TEC to spread the heat too.

Dont think ill bother with a back side cooler as the TEC will pump enough cooling to the chips anyway.

this is going to be totally impractical and go against the reason of having a 2pac (silent, power efficient mining), but its gonna be fun lol.

[sidehack]

Behold, the RockMiner U10 USB stick miner which is definitely not a knockoff.


image taken from "the manufacturer"s website

If you happen to see these for sale anywhere, make sure you politely piss all over the seller for distributing what is branded as a unique device but is in fact a relabeled duplicate of my 2Pac. They copied the board exactly (at least the visible layers), and even the product photo on the website appears to be a painted PCB with my green-stick parts photoshopped over top of it. You can see green reflections in metal surfaces. I have received exactly zero credit for this product and only became aware of it today when 419mining spotted an Amazon listing for it.

Hopefully they don't steal anything else of mine anytime soon. I like getting paid for doing work and so do the Gekko assembly minions.

[irritant]

i wouldn't link them if i was you , after reading i understand they are stealing your design, but after scanning only the headline i was like "yay new product" , ok i only read the first word "behold"  and almost ordered one, ok i know my bad, just saying i wouldnt advertise their url, or make it non-clickable or idk something noob-friendly

[sidehack]

The "behold" is sarcastic, because it's not new at all. If it was new it would be in its own thread but it belongs here because it's a 2Pac with a new coat of paint.

I edited the post to fix the image tag (filesize was too large) and make truth more apparent.

[kipper01]

The screws are M3 thread, shouldn't be too hard to track down. If you get in a bind on long screws, I have a whole case of about 50mm length bought for R808 assembly before that project shut down.

You have any cases of fans left from the project?  I'd like to purchase 20 fans or so if you have them for my R808's

[bitmunkey]

Sidehack, are your 2pac sticks always green?
only reason i ask is... you know i told you about the $150+ 2pacs being sold in the UK, well they are all black ones.
they also have the gekkoscience logo. :/ another copy methinks?

[HagssFIN]

Sidehack, are your 2pac sticks always green?
only reason i ask is... you know i told you about the $150+ 2pacs being sold in the UK, well they are all black ones.
they also have the gekkoscience logo. :/ another copy methinks?

Those black ones are the EU versions, made by sidehack himself. I have one.

It should also say bitshopper.de, which is the EU reseller.

https://www.bitshopper.de/shop/sha-256-miner-en/gekkoscience-2pac/?lang=en

[sidehack]

What you told me is that someone in UK was selling NewPacs. Completely different, and they only exist in green. Europe's 2Pacs are supposed to be black, and should name both GekkoScience and bitshopper.de on the back.

[MacEntyre]

Sidehack, are your 2pac sticks always green?
only reason i ask is... you know i told you about the $150+ 2pacs being sold in the UK, well they are all black ones.
they also have the gekkoscience logo. :/ another copy methinks?

WOW. What a ugly scam!

Btw. 2Pacs are official GekkoScience built ones. Also the ones sold in UK, FR, ES, IT, etc. The are black and carry the additional bitshopper.de label plus my WEEE Reg.no.
Everything else is a scam.

[bitmunkey]

sometimes i hate being in europe.. if i was a yank, i could get a 2pac for $40 (35euro)... but if i want to get one from a legit euro seller, it is 80euros. ($90).. life isnt fair

[sidehack]

Just wait a minute. I'm working out details with bitshopper (the only authorized/legit Euro seller) to stock some NewPacs over there. They might cost in the same neighborhood but can run between three and five times the hashrate.

[bitmunkey]

lol, calm down sidehack.. was only in jest..
you're doing an awesome job with these newpac/2pac sticks.. just a lil moan about europes pricing, not what your doing. ^_^
please dont think it was aimed at you.

(PS, the TEC cooled 2pac is already in progress. just waiting on a few parts)

[sidehack]

I didn't think it was aimed at anyone. I was just letting you know that NewPacs would be in your neighborhood soon so if you were looking at buying something you should wait a bit for the better one.

[bitmunkey]

duly noted sir sidehacks.
ill use my 2Pac to rig up the mounting plates and tune the cooler... then once the newpac is in my neck of the woods, i can transplant it to the new stick.

 

[MacEntyre]

sometimes i hate being in europe.. if i was a yank, i could get a 2pac for $40 (35euro)... but if i want to get one from a legit euro seller, it is 80euros. ($90).. life isnt fair

I am getting sick repeating this again and again: NOBODY CAN LEGALLY SELL IT IN EU FOR 40$ if not making a HUGE LOSS. LEGALLY means fulfilling of ALL legal requirements.

Transportation, Customs, Import VAT, WEEE Registration and warranty, EMC testing and certification for CE mark, warranty for packaging regulation, ...

Of course you can import a 2Pac yourself (and declare it as chewing gum in customs). If you are lucky you get it for $40 + transportation without all this crap I mentioned before.

And they plan to add more regulations over the next years instead of less. And for what? For the sake of BIG corp. who can easily fulfill all these ridiculous regulations.
Go and say thanks to your local EU delegate.

 

[bitmunkey]

come on mac, you saw what i said after this.
it wasnt a dig at you or sidehack. it was all aimed at the sales and legal bullshit that raises costs of everything in the EU.

there is much much love for sidehack and people like urself supporting and distributing this awesome toy ^_^

[n_p]

Forgive me for this being slightly off-topic, but I wanted to pose this question to the people actually using these.

I have been running three 2Pacs for over eighteen months, and have made a grand total of 0.00 (in any fiat or cryptocurrency). Why? I have been ripped off by three different mining pools (I guess I am not doing a job at selecting one).

So (with the full realization that these were negative return devices the day that I obtained them - let alone eighteen months later with absolutely nothing from them), I am wondering if someone can recommend a reliable pool where if I keep the relatively small total of 60 GHz hashing 24/7, I will eventually see some (small) payout.

Thank you in advance.