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

[LaserHorse]

I don't know what you are using for init there are a few ways around it, if your using something oldish like SystemV (it has the /etc/init.d file structure) I have used this method a few times with limited success;-

http://askubuntu.com/questions/257808/how-can-i-use-init-d-or-some-other-method-to-run-a-screen-script-on-boot-up/

Thanks for the link - appears Raspbian is still using sysvinit.  Will give this a try.

Learning more about Arch - looks pretty mean & lean, can see why you use it 

[LaserHorse]

I'm totally in love with this project! Will be adapting it for BFL Jalapenos.

That would be nice!  I have some ideas for incorporating the RPi+LCD with the enclosure I'd like to try.

[xgtele]

How many USB Block Erupters one Raspberry Pi can handle? 10, 20, 100??

[SpAcEDeViL]

Hy,

i read only "connecting to cgminer..." on my LCD.

The Miner is running, but there dont connect? Or is this a error in PiMiner?

[LaserHorse]

i read only "connecting to cgminer..." on my LCD.

The Miner is running, but there dont connect? Or is this a error in PiMiner?

Hmm … can you check to ensure the contents of cgminer.conf have copied correctly with no formatting errors?

If so, then please try the following:

    • Confirm cgminer is running with:
       ps aux | grep cgminer

You should see a multi-line response, including at least one line beginning w "root" - example
If not, then try starting cgminer again (PiMiner scripts should find it automatically after a few moments.)

If you've confirmed cgminer *is* running, then you can try:

    • Manually shutting down processes and then restarting them.
    • Reboot the Pi, and wait for auto-start to begin & connect.

If none of the above resolves the issue, confirm that you've followed all steps in the tutorial, then let me know what model RPi and OS(Raspbian, Occidentalis) you're using, and we'll go from there.

fyi - I'll be adding a FAQ/troubleshooting page to the tutorial soon which will cover the above steps.

How many USB Block Erupters one Raspberry Pi can handle? 10, 20, 100??

I believe the theoretical limit of 127 devices - have yet to verify this myself tho

[notlist3d]

I believe the theoretical limit of 127 devices - have yet to verify this myself tho

What is the highest that someone has proved?  I would LOVE to see a pic of large amount using this.

[alexrossi]

I believe the theoretical limit of 127 devices - have yet to verify this myself tho

What is the highest that someone has proved?  I would LOVE to see a pic of large amount using this.

I've read something about this, rpi can handle with a decent percentage of hw errors 40 block erupters, over 40 CPU load is always on 100% and hw errors % increase

[SpAcEDeViL]

i read only "connecting to cgminer..." on my LCD.

The Miner is running, but there dont connect? Or is this a error in PiMiner?

Hmm … can you check to ensure the contents of cgminer.conf have copied correctly with no formatting errors?

If so, then please try the following:

    • Confirm cgminer is running with:
       ps aux | grep cgminer

You should see a multi-line response, including at least one line beginning w "root" - example
If not, then try starting cgminer again (PiMiner scripts should find it automatically after a few moments.)

If you've confirmed cgminer *is* running, then you can try:

    • Manually shutting down processes and then restarting them.
    • Reboot the Pi, and wait for auto-start to begin & connect.

If none of the above resolves the issue, confirm that you've followed all steps in the tutorial, then let me know what model RPi and OS(Raspbian, Occidentalis) you're using, and we'll go from there.

fyi - I'll be adding a FAQ/troubleshooting page to the tutorial soon which will cover the above steps.

How many USB Block Erupters one Raspberry Pi can handle? 10, 20, 100??

I believe the theoretical limit of 127 devices - have yet to verify this myself tho

Hy,

yes i have used that tut. from adafruit. The Miner is up and running good.

I can connect to the api from my windows computer with CGWatcher.

I use Raspbian.

When PiMiner starts boot or by restart it show the IP address from the raspberry, and then comes "connecting to cgminer ... " thats all.

When i push up or down i become on one display the actual prices. Hi and Lo. ...

So i thing the PiMiner becomes so API connect or dont connect to them?

[Stale]

I believe the theoretical limit of 127 devices - have yet to verify this myself tho

What is the highest that someone has proved?  I would LOVE to see a pic of large amount using this.

I've read something about this, rpi can handle with a decent percentage of hw errors 40 block erupters, over 40 CPU load is always on 100% and hw errors % increase

On a related note, can anyone chime in on how stable the RasPi is as a mining platform? I've heard that the RasPi has some stability issues (especially when dealing with USB), though I've never actually used one myself.

I'd be inclined to order one if they can handle ~40 USB Erupters for 24x7 stably.

[LaserHorse]

yes i have used that tut. from adafruit. The Miner is up and running good.

I can connect to the api from my windows computer with CGWatcher.

I use Raspbian.

When PiMiner starts boot or by restart it show the IP address from the raspberry, and then comes "connecting to cgminer ... " thats all.

When i push up or down i become on one display the actual prices. Hi and Lo. ...

So i thing the PiMiner becomes so API connect or dont connect to them?

Strange, I'm unable to recreate this bug - PiMiner always manages to connect to cgminer for me, tho it can take up to ~30 seconds or so.
Which version of the RPi are you using - Model A or Model B?

I'll check a few more possible causes …

On a related note, can anyone chime in on how stable the RasPi is as a mining platform? I've heard that the RasPi has some stability issues (especially when dealing with USB), though I've never actually used one myself.

I'd be inclined to order one if they can handle ~40 USB Erupters for 24x7 stably.

I've mined for about 2 weeks with with 5 USB Block Erupters, no issues - only stopped as I had to restart the RPi for testing.

[boost75]

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.

[SpAcEDeViL]

Strange, I'm unable to recreate this bug - PiMiner always manages to connect to cgminer for me, tho it can take up to ~30 seconds or so.
Which version of the RPi are you using - Model A or Model B?

I'll check a few more possible causes …

I have Raspi  Model B.

CG Miner 3.1.1

On one screen i become the message
"format
error"

when i push the up or down button.

i use german language config in raspi.

so in Germany we work with comma, for numbers eg. 1.000 in English is 1000 in German and the comma is for *,00 

i dont know if this the right way... but a idea.

[SpAcEDeViL]

Hy,

now its running. But, why? : Here is my old config file

Code:

{
"pools" : [
	{
		"url" : "eu-stratum.btcguild.com:3333",
		"user" : "spacedevil_4",
		"pass" : "egalo"
	}
],

"api-port" : "4028",
"api-listen" : true,
"api-allow" : "W:127.0.0.1, 192.168.0.142",
"expiry" : "120",
"failover-only" : true,
"hotplug" : "5",
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "2",
"scan-time" : "60",
"worktime" : true,
"shares" : "0",
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin",
"icarus-options" : "115200:1:1",
"icarus-timing" : "3.0=100"
}

And the working one:

Code:

{
"pools" : [
	{
		"url" : "eu-stratum.btcguild.com:3333",
		"user" : "spacedevil_4",
		"pass" : "egalo"
	}
]
,
"api-listen" : true,
"api-port" : "4028",
"expiry" : "120",
"failover-only" : true,
"log" : "5",
"no-pool-disable" : true,
"queue" : "2",
"scan-time" : "60",
"worktime" : true,
"shares" : "0",
"kernel-path" : "/usr/local/bin",
"api-allow" : "0/0",
"icarus-options" : "115200:1:1",
"icarus-timing" : "3.0=100"
}

[Rotorgeek]

I'm certainly no expert, but I notice on line 8-9 the comma is in different place. When I had trouble with mine it was formatting errors like that. (I think)

[turtle83]

Code:

"api-allow" : "W:127.0.0.1, 192.168.0.142",

maybe the space between the 2 ips?

cgminer 3.1.1 on my desktop accepted your old config without any fuss...

[agath]

With 40 B.E. CPU occupation is at ~45%, so I think it can handle up to around 60 of them. The problem are USB hubs. For some reason the installed USB controller can't handle very well those hubs made with two cascaded hub internally. And I didn't find any (not expensive) solution to hook more than 20 devices reliably and 40 devices with stability problems. I would be happy to being able to connect 40 to 60 devices, I'm still looking for a serious USB HUB.

[LaserHorse]

now its running. But, why? : Here is my old config file
[…]

comparing the files, I see the following differences:



likely the api-allow address
also cgminer 3.1.1 doesn't use hotplug

[SpAcEDeViL]

now its running. But, why? : Here is my old config file
[…]

comparing the files, I see the following differences:



likely the api-allow address
also cgminer 3.1.1 doesn't use hotplug

Hy, ok, but why i cant not use two IPs... so when i will check the miner over CGWatcher or anything...


Another question : can i change the color on startup to green? And change the glow of the display ?
I am new in this

[LaserHorse]

Hy, ok, but why i cant not use two IPs... so when i will check the miner over CGWatcher or anything...

In "cgminer.conf" try replacing this line:

Code:

        "api-allow" : "0/0",

with this:

Code:

        "api-allow" : "0/0, W:127.0.0.1, 192.168.0.142",

I don't use CGWatcher, so can't test it myself.

Another question : can i change the color on startup to green? And change the glow of the display ?
I am new in this

You can edit the file named "PiMinerDisplay.py" to change which LCD colors can be selected.
The list of colors is defined starting at line #19:

Code:

		self.col = (self.lcd.ON,   self.lcd.OFF, self.lcd.YELLOW, self.lcd.OFF,
	                self.lcd.GREEN, self.lcd.OFF, self.lcd.TEAL,   self.lcd.OFF,
        	        self.lcd.BLUE,  self.lcd.OFF, self.lcd.VIOLET, self.lcd.OFF,
                	self.lcd.RED,    self.lcd.OFF)

If you'd prefer to only use green, you can replace those 4 lines with this line:

Code:

		self.col = (self.lcd.GREEN, self.lcd.OFF)

EDIT: you'll also need to change line #51 in "PiMiner.py" from:

Code:

                lcd.backlight(lcd.ON)

to:

Code:

                lcd.backlight(lcd.GREEN)

Just remember to keep the indentations as seen above, or python may bite

The only other LCD function which can be controlled is the display contrast, which can be altered using the onboard potentiometer


Hope that helps!

[JLM]

I'm totally in love with this project! Will be adapting it for BFL Jalapenos.

Post progress