A case study in entry-level mining

[LogicalUnit]

Hi, guys! I'm relatively new to the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency, but after doing the necessary research, I believe that it will play an important role in the future of commerce. After my first Bitcoin payment to a premium newsgroup site, I decided that Bitcoin was worth an investment. So in this thread, I'm going to do a blow-by-blow summary of my first foray into Bitcoin mining. I'll go through everything I learned and ultimately whether or not my investment was a successful one. So without further ado, let's get started.

Previously Owned
-Raspberry Pi Model B @ AUD$55.00 from littlebirdelectronics.com
-2x Australian USB Power Supply @ AUD$9.49 each from eBay.com.au
-Micro USB cable @ AUD$1.48 from eBay.com.au
-4GB MicroSD card, with Micro to Standard SD adapter @ AUD$6.59 from eBay.com.au
-International to Australian power plug adapter @ AUD$1.00 from eBay.com.au (Not needed)
-Old Hewlett-Packard laptop with Windows XP (used for signing offline transactions in Armory)
-Corsair USB stick (used for signing)
-8 port power board/surge protector @ AUD$30.00 from eBay.com.au

2013-05-28
-Bought 13 BTC through Australia/New Zealand Bitcoin seller Bit Innovate @ AUD$1,894.15 via cash deposit at Commonwealth Bank. Received BTC in my wallet within minutes.
-Spent 13 BTC on 5x ASICMiner USB Block Erupters @ BTC 2.6 each through MineForeman's International Group Buy Order 1
-Bought cheap USB 2.0 hub @ AUD$5.66 from eBay.com.au. (Not compatible)

2013-05-31
-Placed proxy order with arklan to buy Anker 10-port USB 3.0 Hub and Arctic Breeze USB-powered Fan from Amazon.com @ USD$100 via PayPal.com (Not compatible. Sold to arklan)

At this stage, I have bought two USB hubs. A cheap USB 2.0 from eBay, and a more expensive USB 3.0 from Amazon. I'll let you know which work. The Anker one does NOT work. I'll let you know if the eBay one works. Neither works. The eBay one only outputs 500mA @ 5V, and the Amazon one is USB 3.0, which is not compatible with RPi. I'm going with the D-Link DUB-H7 instead.

The plan is to run MinePeon and cgminer 3.2.0 3.2.1 on the RPi to drive the 5 USB Erupters, which should hash at about 1,650MH/s. My home is fully networked, so I'm going to place the rig in the patch panel cupboard in the hallway.

I am aware that difficulty is rising -- but I am predicting that the value of BTC will go up as more people adopt it.

UPDATES

2013-06-04
-It turns out the Anker USB 3.0 hubs definitely do NOT work with Raspberry Pi. An alternative has been mentioned, but before I do another proxy-purchase from Amazon, I want to see if the cheap eBay one works (It doesn't). Chalk up a loss of USD$100 for me. I have recouped this loss.

2013-06-05
-Bought a USB 2.0 hub, the D-Link DUB-H7, that is known to work with up to six USB Erupters (3A current) on the Raspberry Pi @ AUD$79.00 from eStore.com.au
-Bought Raspberry Pi case @ AUD$9.95 from eBay.com.au
-arklan has bought the incompatible Anker USB 3.0 hub from me @ BTC 0.835. Thanks!!
-Bought Arctic Breeze USB fan @ AUD$17.99 from eBay.com.au

2013-06-06
-I have migrated from the Bitcoin-qt client to Armory. I have set up an offline wallet on an old laptop I had lying around. I'm testing the setup now. The setup works. My BTC are safe!

2013-06-08
-USB Erupters are en route from New Zealand. Thanks, Neil!

2013-06-11
-USB Erupters ARRIVED from New Zealand!! Still waiting on the USB hub. USB hub en route.
-Downloaded MinePeon-2013-06-11.zip

2013-06-12
-Used Win32DiskImager to setup SD card with MinePeon for RPi. Very easy, as my laptop has an SD card slot. Just waiting on the USB hub now.

2013-06-13
-DUB-H7 ARRIVED from Sydney. I now have all the hardware I need to start mining!!
-The cheapo eBay USB hub arrived. Loss of AUD$5.66
-IT'S UP AND RUNNING!!
-Bought mains power consumption metre (essentially a kill-a-watt) @ AUD$21.90 from eBay. Not strictly necessary, but I want to know how much power the rig consumes so I can report it to you!

cgminer 3.2.1 did a reasonably good job of automatically detecting the new hardware, but I did have to plug/unplug some of the USB sticks a couple of times. I'm still waiting on my Arctic Breeze fan.

2013-06-14
-Raspberry Pi case arrived. I will construct it when the fan gets here.

2013-06-17
-Arctic Breeze USB fan arrived.

2013-07-08
-Milestone: Mined my first bitcoin!!
-Paid out 0.78 BTC from 50btc.com
-Paid out 0.2421 BTC from eclipsemc.com (includes a few hours of GPU mining)
-Created account at coinlenders.com
-Created account at Inputs.io
-Purchased a 25.5% APR, 30-day Certificate of Deposit from coinlenders @ 1.005 BTC.

2013-08-03
-After a few issues of instability, I have upgraded my RPi to Minepeon 0.2.2 which includes cgminer 3.3.1. This process was easy as I had a spare SD card. I just imaged the card with the latest Minepeon, swapped it in, and reset my pool settings. Very little downtime.

2013-08-06
-Milestone: First certificate of deposit matured: profit of 0.01893852
-Paid out 0.74716263 from 50BTC
-Paid out 0.07313466 from eclipse mining consortium
-I am consolidating my position while I consider my next move. . . .

I have noticed that 50BTC has been somewhat unreliable, and the downtime has cost me some BTC. If someone wants to recommend an alternative pool, I'm open to suggestions

2013-08-11
-Today I used the power metre to measure the current draw of the USB fan, and it's only about 10mA. It can happily sit beside 6 USB Erupters in the DUB-H7. I forgot to convert to Wattage. The fan draws 10mA @ 250V, which is about 500mA @ 5V. I cannot confirm that it will work beside 6 erupters in this configuration.
-Bought a USB wifi dongle for the RPi @ AUD$16.95

2013-08-16
-The wifi dongle arrived today and I used sudo wicd-curses to set up my connection. This allows me to move the rig away from the network hub. Annoyingly, it couldn't connect to my wireless-n network, only my wireless-g. Not a huge deal, but if anyone knows why this might be, please let me know.
-Bought a 2.8 inch LCD Sys Info device @ USD$33.98 to display my rig's status.
-Bought another powered USB 2.0 hub to power the LCD @ AUD$27.10 Supplier couldn't deliver this item so my money was refunded.

2013-08-25
-Ordered a second DUB-H7 from eBay. This one comes from Israel, of all places. I bought it because it cost half the price of the Australian ones. The plan is to buy 7 more Block Erupters and mine at 4.0GH/s. Hopefully it will arrive within 2 weeks.

2013-09-03
-DUB-H7 arrived from Israel
-Placed order for 5 more USB Block Erupters @ 0.95 BTC total
-Paid out 0.42 BTC from eclipsemc

2013-09-04
-Second order of five USB block erupters ARRIVED! Thanks, Leo!
-Installed and configured Minepeon 0.2.3a
-Installed LCDstats screen

2013-09-10
-Reverted to MinePeon 0.2.2 due to stability issues

2013-09-11
-Bought two more DUB-H7 hubs from eStore.com.au (they are on backorder)
-Bought another USB fan from eBay

2013-09-23
-Paid out approx 0.29 BTC from Eclipsemc

2013-09-24
-Two DUB-H7 units ARRIVED

2013-09-27
-Placed order with julz for three Blue (Red?) Fury ASICs @ 0.87 BTC each plus 0.1 BTC shipping. Spent 2.71 BTC

2013-10-14
-Switched to MinePeon 0.2.4 PR1

2013-11-04
-Set up three Blue Fury ASICs. Now mining at 10.3 GH/s.

2013-12-20
-Sold all 10 Block Erutpers for 0.35 BTC

2014-02-12
-Set up five Red Fury ASICs. Now mining at 17.6 GH/s.

2014-03-25
-At this point I have been running MinePeon 0.2.4.4 for over three weeks, and stability of the Raspberry Pi is superb. Not a single reboot needed (except for switching miner)
-Cgminer restarts approximately once per day, but recovers quickly.
-Bfgminer performance gradually deteriorates over time. (Could this be a heat issue?)
-BTCguild is my preferred pool. Excellent reliability.

2014-04-08
-Ordered a Bitmain Antminer S1 for 0.893 BTC.

2014-04-10
-Ordered a Corsair CX600M modular power supply unit for AUD$118 on ebay.com.au

2014-04-17
-Antminer S1 and PSU arrived today. Set up and working!

2014-04-23
-Sold off Blue/Red Fury ASICs and two DUB-H7 hubs on ebay. Recouped AUD$136.50

2014-07-16
-Bought 3 BTC for AUD$2100

2014-09-16
-Achieved Return On Investment with Antminer S1

2014-10-01
-Switched off Antminer S1 due to complaint (and electricity costs)

Item	Expenditure (AUD)
13 BTC	$1900
Raspberry Pi (Model B)	$55
Surge Protector	$30
Fans	$25
SD card	$7
DLink DUB-H7 x4	$300
Miscellaneous Components	$50
Corsair PSU	$118
Total:	$2500

(table markup is a bit broken)

Current Hashrate: 180 GH/s

[1714689312]

1714689312

[LogicalUnit]

PREPARATIONS
Now that I've ordered the components of my mining platform, there are a few other things I had to learn and research. Firstly, Bitcoin security. Although my PC has BitDefender on it, my Bitcoin-qt client isn't especially secure. The solution? Offline wallets. Here's what I had to do.

• Obtain an old HP dv1029ap laptop from my undergraduate university days (circa 2004)
• Obtain a USB memory stick
• Format the laptop and install Windows XP 32-bit from OS CD
• Complete format the USB stick
• Install Service Pack 3 (from USB stick)
• Install MSVC runtime redistributable 2008 (from USB)
• Install USB printer drivers (from CD)
• Install Armory 32-bit
• Install Armory 64-bit on my Windows 7 PC
• Create a new wallet on the laptop
• Print and test a paper backup of the wallet
• Export a "watching-only" copy of the wallet to USB
• Import the watching-only wallet to my online PC
• Use the offline laptop to sign transactions for the online PC

MINING POOL
I need to choose a mining pool for my setup. Currently I'm looking at Eclipse Mining Corsortium, but I'm open to recommendations!

MINING
Getting things up and running was simplicity itself. Here are the steps:

• Use Win32DiskImager to install the latest MinePeon image on the SD card
• Insert the SD card into the RPi, connect network cable, apply power through USB power adapter and micro USB cable
• Wait for it to boot. Screen is optional
• Get MinePeon's IP address from router. This step requires knowledge of your network hardware
• Point a web browser to the MinePeon's IP address, and enter the mining pool details
• Use putty or another SSH client to connect to the RPi. User minepeon Pass peon
• Use sudo screen -r to bring up cgminer
• Connect the USB hub to the RPi
• Insert USB Block Erupters one at a time. If they're not detected, unplug/plug
• Voila!

Things are up and running! First problem though is heat. The USB sticks are quite hot to the touch, and my USB fan hasn't arrived yet. Hopefully it gets here soon, because I am getting a few hardware errors.

LESSONS LEARNED
I thought I'd include this section for the benefit of anyone else interested in entry-level mining.

• Don't go it alone. If you don't understand and have tried searching, ask questions on this forum. Most of us will be happy to help you.
• Don't reinvent the wheel. You may have a great idea for a custom mining setup, but this is fraught with complications you may never resolve. Much better to clone a setup that is known to work.
• Don't forget about power. This overhead can kill a mining operation, particularly a GPU-based one. The Raspberry Pi consumes about 2.5W, and the 5 Eruptors consume the same again.
• Do remember you're not psychic. You won't buy BTC or hardware at the absolute lowest prices.
• Do be realistic about your return. Mining BTC is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It's risky, and will take some time. I'll be happy if I get my investment back in 6 months to 1 year.
• Do be confident. If you really want to get into mining, you'll have to ignore the nay-sayers who bemoan rising difficulty and hardware that will become obsolete.
• Do be wary of scams. Buy your BTC and hardware through a reputable vendor
• DO IT!! You gotta start somewhere, which means taking a risk and making the investment.

[kinitex]

Better hope those asic shipments continue to be delayed for another couple months if you have any hopes of recouping your investment within the year.

[freedomno1]

Curious so will also watch this thread best of luck to you 

[mokahless]

This will make an interesting read 5-10 years from now.

[bcpokey]

I feel kind of bad reading this thread, mostly because this is a seemingly well-intentioned, rational human being, who most likely would be just the right type to reach out to folks across the aisle; and yet they are destined for a miserable experience from everything I've read.

Bought BTC at a bad point, which was used to pay, with a fairly large markup, for a product that is already overpriced, right on the cusp of a time that will literally obliterate any feasibility of use for that product.

So, while I can say I'm pretty certain of how your investment will go, I do hope that it won't sour you on the bitcoin experience overall.  Enjoy the hobbyist side of patching all this stuff together at least.

[LogicalUnit]

Here are the AMUs. Yes, I paid a premium for them -- but guess what? They're actually here. I'm SUPER impressed by MineForeman aka Neil's professionalism and attention to detail. He went the extra mile to get these here quickly and safely. Many thanks.

[bcpokey]

I've always liked MineForeman since he joined up. He's been a stand-up guy.

[BitcoinBarrel]

Hey congrats on your success so far in only a couple months. Everything aside, you have a good amount of BTC PLUS a nice Mining setup. 

[MWNinja]

For the USB hub you need to get the DLINK DUB-H7. It can power your Pi, plus 5 USB erupters and still have room to power a fan. 

[LogicalUnit]

For the USB hub you need to get the DLINK DUB-H7. It can power your Pi, plus 5 USB erupters and still have room to power a fan.  

Yep, I've got one on order.

EDIT: It's been shipped.

[Crypt_Current]

Fun thread.  After my Jaly's arrive (very soon) and I've mined sufficient capital, I plan to invest in Erupters as well.  Thanks for the step by step!

[counter]

Truly great idea I can't wait to see how this turns out.  Hopefully I can learn something, all the best.

[ThatDGuy]

This is a really awesome thread and I hope you keep up with it.  Your transparency about personal progress is great to read and I'm sure would be an excellent resource for new miners.

[LogicalUnit]

IT'S UP AND RUNNING!!

EDIT:

Better photo

[LogicalUnit]

cgminer 3.2.1 stats



EDIT:

Better cgminer 3.2.1 stats (24 hours later)

[LogicalUnit]

So I've been hashing for 24 hours, and everything is running smoothly. The hashrates have reduced slightly overnight. Yesterday they were in the 335.5-336.0 range, and now they're in the 335.0-335.5 range. The tiny divot on the daily graph at midnight is my donation time to Neil. Hardware errors are still high, so I really need the USB fan to arrive soon. Current profitability is 60 mBTC per day. I was hoping for 70, but maybe this will improve when the cooling is installed.

[andrewsg]

Very interesting stuff presented very well. All the best and please keep us updated.

[LaserHorse]

Great documentation & thread idea!

btw - the 2 hi-power ports on the D-Link work as normal data ports as well, no?

[LogicalUnit]

Great documentation & thread idea!

btw - the 2 hi-power ports on the D-Link work as normal data ports as well, no?

Yes, absolutely -- just note the power supply delivers a max of 3A which is enough to power 6 Eruptors. You can use the 7th port to daisy-chain another hub!