PiMiner - DIY mining controller/monitor with Raspberry Pi [v1.1]

[phrog]

Note: this is not the latest version of cgminer, at the time of this writing, the current version (3.3.1) has issues communicating with Block Erupter USB on Raspbian

FYI, I also experienced issues with Block Erupter USB's on Raspbain. However I was successful at building and running cgminer from git (3.3.1) after dist-upgrading Raspbain from wheesy to jessie.  

[LaserHorse]

FYI, I also experienced issues with Block Erupter USB's on Raspbain. However I was successful at building and running cgminer from git (3.3.1) after dist-upgrading Raspbain from wheesy to jessie.  

Thnx - good to know!  I'll update the tutorial once jessie is considered stable.

[33Warlord]

Thanks for the great project, LaserHorse.

My Pi Miner has been running great for the past week with 9 Erupters.   But, I'm having a problem adding more Erupters to it and hope that someone may be able to share some guidance.  

When trying to add 6 additional Erupters (for a total of 15), I discovered that it will only "see" 13 total.  i.e., typing "ls /dev/*USB*" only lists ttyUSB0 - ttyUSB12, even though there are 15 Erupters installed.

A few notes:

• I built a second RPi Miner, with a newly imaged SD-card, and ran into the exact same issue.
• The 15 Erupters were installed across 3 DLink DUB-H7 hubs, 5 in each hub.  So I don't think its power related.
• These 3 hubs feed into a 4th hub which is connected to the RPi.
• I'm using Raspbian, and followed the build process specified in your project walk-through.
• The 2 Erupters that it wont see are running fine on a separate RPi miner.  So it doesn't appear to be a hardware problem with those Erupters.

Any recommendations for troubleshooting this?   Is there a default max number of USB serial devices that are enumerated in Raspbian?

[Rotorgeek]

Laserhorse,
Can a backup pool be put in the .conf? I added a pool while mining and hit 'S' and 'W' but it didn't change anything. What about other options can be added, like difficulty?

[LaserHorse]

Laserhorse,
Can a backup pool be put in the .conf? I added a pool while mining and hit 'S' and 'W' but it didn't change anything. What about other options can be added, like difficulty?

yup - add'l pools can be added to the conf file like so:

Code:

"pools" : [
        {
                "url" : "FIRST POOL ADDRESS:PORT",
                "user" : "WORKER NAME",
                "pass" : "PASSWORD"
        },
        {
                "url" : "SECOND POOL ADDRESS:PORT",
                "user" : "WORKER NAME",
                "pass" : "PASSWORD"
        },
]

And yes - you can add a pool or make other changes from within cgminer:
hit "S" to go to settings,
then "W" to write the config file
and save it by entering the following location: "/home/pi/cgminer.conf"
and enter "y" confirm that you wish to overwrite the preexisting file.

Thanks for the great project, LaserHorse.

My Pi Miner has been running great for the past week with 9 Erupters.   But, I'm having a problem adding more Erupters to it and hope that someone may be able to share some guidance.  

When trying to add 6 additional Erupters (for a total of 15), I discovered that it will only "see" 13 total.  i.e., typing "ls /dev/*USB*" only lists ttyUSB0 - ttyUSB12, even though there are 15 Erupters installed.

A few notes:

• I built a second RPi Miner, with a newly imaged SD-card, and ran into the exact same issue.
• The 15 Erupters were installed across 3 DLink DUB-H7 hubs, 5 in each hub.  So I don't think its power related.
• These 3 hubs feed into a 4th hub which is connected to the RPi.
• I'm using Raspbian, and followed the build process specified in your project walk-through.
• The 2 Erupters that it wont see are running fine on a separate RPi miner.  So it doesn't appear to be a hardware problem with those Erupters.

Any recommendations for troubleshooting this?   Is there a default max number of USB serial devices that are enumerated in Raspbian?

hmm … so the hubs are *not* connected in a series/chain, correct?
I haven't tested with more than six erupters myself, so you have me at a bit of a loss here.  
Shot in the dark, but have you tried specifying ttyUSB13 & ttyUSB14 even though they don't show with ls?

[33Warlord]

hmm … so the hubs are *not* connected in a series/chain, correct?
I haven't tested with more than six erupters myself, so you have me at a bit of a loss here.  
Shot in the dark, but have you tried specifying ttyUSB13 & ttyUSB14 even though they don't show with ls?

Thanks for the ideas and feedback.

To answer your question - you are correct, the hubs are not in series, but rather connected in a hub/spoke style.  (RPi -> Hub1. Then Hub1 connects to Hub2, 3 and 4 directly.)

I did not try specifying ttyUSB13 & 14, although that is a great suggestion.  

I'll try it in a few days when I get back in town, and post my results back here.

[SamHa1n]

I like pi! half finished.

http://imgur.com/BiIMKJb


Have had 80+ on a single pi.

[LaserHorse]

I like pi! half finished.

http://imgur.com/BiIMKJb


Have had 80+ on a single pi.

... ladies & gentlemen, I believe we have a new pi-hi-score

[jimmy3dita]

I like pi! half finished.

http://imgur.com/BiIMKJb


Have had 80+ on a single pi.

... ladies & gentlemen, I believe we have a new pi-hi-score

I can't ever see the poor little thing... Buried with hashpower

[dc81]

anyone know of a case that will also accommodate the lcd?

also, I made a slight change to PiMinerInfo.py since if you have multiple pools, it doesn't actually know which one you are currently mining on

[33Warlord]

anyone know of a case that will also accommodate the lcd?

The original Adafruit Pi Case works with the LCD if you leave the top off:  http://www.adafruit.com/products/859

Also the new Geauxrobot Compact Enclosure works great with the LCD:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DT5FJEK/ref=oh_details_o03_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1  (This amazon link has my referral ID, but I'm not sure how to get the link without it.)

[tombs]

Where can I buy assembled Adafruit 16x2 LCD display? Thank you.

Drop me a line if you're still looking. I'm selling assembled and tested ones for $45 shipped.

I would be interested in one as I don't have the time to assemble it myself.

[kmtan]

I love this project, is that any more controller available for purchase in china?

[pluMmet]

How would you set up the config file for Eligius?

I'm not to bright all these different hosts and I'm confused
Stratum Host:  stratum.mining.eligius.st Port:  3334 | Getwork Host:  getwork.mining.eligius.st Port: 8337
GBT Host:  gbt.mining.eligius.st Port: 9337

[LaserHorse]

I love this project, is that any more controller available for purchase in china?

hmm - list of distributors is here.  None in China quite yet.

How would you set up the config file for Eligius?

I'm not to bright all these different hosts and I'm confused
Stratum Host:  stratum.mining.eligius.st Port:  3334 | Getwork Host:  getwork.mining.eligius.st Port: 8337
GBT Host:  gbt.mining.eligius.st Port: 9337

Try using this format for the URL:

Code:

http://stratum.mining.eligius.st:3334

[djjacket]

Great Project!

Got mine up and running and thought I'd post a couple pics!

[SpAcEDeViL]

HY,

The PiMiner is very cool!

Can you write a PiMiner Script for a another Display, with more infos?

Like this:


Or this :

Or this:


With info of uptime, a diagramm with mining infos? Or Infos from APIs from BTCGuild?

 

[Xwolf]

Has anyone heard of or tried to get the LCD Plate working with BFGminer using PiMiner?

I am not a code expert so really don't know what I'd be looking at editing PiMiner.py to get it to work.

Cheers,

[SpAcEDeViL]

Hy,

you need to know, how the api from the bfgminer works.

If it works with the same parameters you dont need any changes.

[onryo]

Has anyone heard of or tried to get the LCD Plate working with BFGminer using PiMiner?

I am not a code expert so really don't know what I'd be looking at editing PiMiner.py to get it to work.

Cheers,

# Been running Raspbian, BFGMiner, Adafruit 2x16 LCD and a handful of BE with no problems at all.
# Forgot all about my little setup them until I saw this post.
# The erupters have been hashing away for 2-3 weeks non-stop. HW errors 0.48%. No lockups or issues. Really solid!

git clone https://github.com/luke-jr/bfgminer.git
cd bfgminer
./autogen.sh
./configure
make

# I like to run BFGMiner from the build dir. I don't install.
# BFGMiner's API does not blindly listen to any old crap. We need to enable the api in a way
# that is not going to restict the port.
# There are a few ways to do this but the easyest is to use api-network.

./bfgminer -o http://xxxxx:port -u onryo -p xxx --api-listen --api-network -S erupter:all

# Now your Adafruit is hashing away with your erupters with BFGMiner and your Adafruit is
# working just fine with your erupters.

# Make a nice bfgminer.conf file and save it in lets say ~/.bfgminer/ so you dont lose it.
# I just pull my "play around" gits in a dir called sandbox.

Add this to your /etc/rc.local

cd /home/pi/sandbox/PiMiner
python PiMiner.py &
cd /home/pi/sandbox/bfgminer
./bfgminer --config /home/pi/.bfgminer/bfgminer.conf -S erupter:all

# I don't use nohup for a lot of reasons.

# If you do not want to see "connecting to cgminer" when you start your RPi
# change the line in PiMinerDisplay.py to

self.lcd.message('connecting\nto BFGMiner ...')

# top shows that PiMiner is a CPU hog though. 28%