FutureBit Moonlander 2 USB Hubs Thread

[Bitfort]

Anyone tried that kind of ports:
http://a.co/dzWEFEE

This is just standard USB front, with USB 3.0 cable which goes to motherboard. It will give you only what specification says. Wikipedia says that about USB 3.0 power specs:

Power and charging

As with earlier versions of USB, USB 3.0 provides power at 5 volts nominal. The available current for low-power (one unit load) SuperSpeed devices is 150 mA, an increase from the 100 mA defined in USB 2.0. For high-power SuperSpeed devices, the limit is six unit loads or 900 mA (4.5 W), almost twice USB 2.0's 500 mA.[10]:section 9.2.5.1 Power Budgeting

USB 3.0 ports may also implement other USB specifications for increased power, including the USB Battery Charging Specification for up to 1.5 A or 7.5 W, or, in the case of USB 3.1, the USB Power Delivery specification for charging the host device up to 100 W.[12]

You will get something similar, not more than that.
I tried 2 Moolanders on my USB 3.0 front from my Fractal R5 case. They can work just fine at 756MHz. I wouldn't try anything above that, I don't want to fry my motherboard

Thanks for the infos.

I just want to find a good hub that can run 4 Moonlanders 2 and >100$ ..  not sure if it's possible

Shared my experience with $25 hub (comes with 20W adapter so could handle 4 MLD2 at decent clock).
see:

I'm running 3 sticks on digitus 10 port https://www.digitus.info/en/products/computer-accessories-and-components/computer-accessories/usb-hubs/da-70229/   ... running fine at 832 MHz ( 4.7 MHs, HW around 1%)

Hub has room to accomodate 6 sticks but you would need to underclock them as the power supply is only 5V 4A.  

[Weekendshooter]

Anyone tried that kind of ports:
http://a.co/dzWEFEE

This is just standard USB front, with USB 3.0 cable which goes to motherboard. It will give you only what specification says. Wikipedia says that about USB 3.0 power specs:

Power and charging

As with earlier versions of USB, USB 3.0 provides power at 5 volts nominal. The available current for low-power (one unit load) SuperSpeed devices is 150 mA, an increase from the 100 mA defined in USB 2.0. For high-power SuperSpeed devices, the limit is six unit loads or 900 mA (4.5 W), almost twice USB 2.0's 500 mA.[10]:section 9.2.5.1 Power Budgeting

USB 3.0 ports may also implement other USB specifications for increased power, including the USB Battery Charging Specification for up to 1.5 A or 7.5 W, or, in the case of USB 3.1, the USB Power Delivery specification for charging the host device up to 100 W.[12]

You will get something similar, not more than that.
I tried 2 Moolanders on my USB 3.0 front from my Fractal R5 case. They can work just fine at 756MHz. I wouldn't try anything above that, I don't want to fry my motherboard

Thanks for the infos.

I just want to find a good hub that can run 4 Moonlanders 2 and >100$ ..  not sure if it's possible

I've two of these, each with 2 ML2s.....   

https://express.google.com/product/11967248010425708586_2358484778389639837_6136318?mall=Northwest&directCheckout=1&utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=product_ads&utm_campaign=gsx&dclid=COzE5ZLMq9kCFSjJ4wcdBukLTg

[aballen]

hey guys, just wanted to mention this one again.  I'm suprised it is not getting more attention.  The sipolar a-400

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-Port-USB-HUB-Charger-Sipolar-A-400-Standard-20V-6A-Power-adapter/32513481750.html

I think it can handle 8-10 ML2s according to specs, depending on your overclock.  Due to the dimensions though, you really max out at 6 moonlanders, with rock solid power @ just about any overclock. 

If you want to use all 10 slots, you would have to remove the fans at a minumumm, then you need externals fans, and well, I think you would just be better off buying another hub.

I ordered from aliexpress, and got it in a week.

Been mining on my raspberry pi for over mild oc (4.7mh per stick) three weeks without a single issue.  This one is solid, and the price is right.

[darkz0ne]

Well my https://www.anker.com/products/variant/USB-3.0-Aluminum-13-Port-Hub/68ANHUB-B14A has Problems to run 3 MLD2's...

And it's bit crap that it is not working with a Raspberry Pi 3... Or anyone has a solution for this?

Regards dark

[V3XED]

Shared my experience with $25 hub (comes with 20W adapter so could handle 4 MLD2 at decent clock).
see:

I'm running 3 sticks on digitus 10 port https://www.digitus.info/en/products/computer-accessories-and-components/computer-accessories/usb-hubs/da-70229/   ... running fine at 832 MHz ( 4.7 MHs, HW around 1%)

Hub has room to accomodate 6 sticks but you would need to underclock them as the power supply is only 5V 4A.  

Hey guys, I am a bit confused as to what gets these things to tick.
How can you be running 3 clocked up sticks at 5V/4A and others cant get 3 working on those pluggable 12V/5A?

Does it really come down to how the board is laid out behind the scenes with the various regulators, etc?

I am thinking of ordering the Pluggable USB3-HUB7-81X:   5V/5A  w/ 25W Brick.
They are available used at very low cost, and provide 5w additional over the Digitus hub mentioned above.
Should I be able to run 4 sticks on this sucker at stock clocks? Or is it going to dump out like the other pluggable hubs in this thread.

[Bitfort]

Shared my experience with $25 hub (comes with 20W adapter so could handle 4 MLD2 at decent clock).
see:

I'm running 3 sticks on digitus 10 port https://www.digitus.info/en/products/computer-accessories-and-components/computer-accessories/usb-hubs/da-70229/   ... running fine at 832 MHz ( 4.7 MHs, HW around 1%)

Hub has room to accomodate 6 sticks but you would need to underclock them as the power supply is only 5V 4A.  

Hey guys, I am a bit confused as to what gets these things to tick.
How can you be running 3 clocked up sticks at 5V/4A and others cant get 3 working on those pluggable 12V/5A?

Does it really come down to how the board is laid out behind the scenes with the various regulators, etc?

I am thinking of ordering the Pluggable USB3-HUB7-81X:   5V/5A  w/ 25W Brick.
They are available used at very low cost, and provide 5w additional over the Digitus hub mentioned above.
Should I be able to run 4 sticks on this sucker at stock clocks? Or is it going to dump out like the other pluggable hubs in this thread.

Plugable hub can handle more units (as of the power) but there is limited area around the plugs  ... need to use extension cord if you want more sticks.
IMO 25W will be enough to run 4 units at decent clock around 4Mh. You need to test it, see the HW error rate and adjust accordingly.

[V3XED]

Plugable hub can handle more units (as of the power) but there is limited area around the plugs  ... need to use extension cord if you want more sticks.
IMO 25W will be enough to run 4 units at decent clock around 4Mh. You need to test it, see the HW error rate and adjust accordingly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I have ordered a used unit (Pluggable USB3-HUB7-81X) for $17.
I have mocked it up and it will have no problems fitting 4 moonlanders in terms of physical space. So we will see about the volts/watts/amps.

Mockup below, will report back with more details in the coming week.
https://i.imgur.com/naxUtGA.jpg

[Bitfort]

Plugable hub can handle more units (as of the power) but there is limited area around the plugs  ... need to use extension cord if you want more sticks.
IMO 25W will be enough to run 4 units at decent clock around 4Mh. You need to test it, see the HW error rate and adjust accordingly.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I have ordered a used unit (Pluggable USB3-HUB7-81X) for $17.
I have mocked it up and it will have no problems fitting 4 moonlanders in terms of physical space. So we will see about the volts/watts/amps.

Mockup below, will report back with more details in the coming week.

NP.
Hub price was really good and has better slot orientation so you can use each other instead of omitting two. Should work good. You're going to face only power and noise issues.

Meanwhile I advice you to find a way how to isolate entire hub from vibrations because fans can go really loud and hub lying directly on table make terrible noise. I had to put a piece of foam underneath to eliminate the contact rattling (and hear only the fans). Best way is remove the original fans and use one bigger to cool them all.

BTW nice mockup, is this 3D? Looking good. Did you made the stick model by yourselves?

[V3XED]

NP. Hub price was really good and has better slot orientation so you can use each other instead of omitting two. Should work good. You're going to face only power and noise issues.

Meanwhile I advice you to find a way how to isolate entire hub from vibrations because fans can go really loud and hub lying directly on table make terrible noise. I had to put a piece of foam underneath to eliminate the contact rattling (and hear only the fans). Best way is remove the original fans and use one bigger to cool them all.

BTW nice mockup, is this 3D? Looking good. Did you made the stick model by yourselves?

Thanks!! The 3d model is my own, though it was done very quickly and is very sloppy. The only accurate things on the sticks are the overall dimensions like width, length, depth, and fan protrusion, heat-sink protrusion, etc.
The rest is guesstimated because I was too lazy to measure or model it accurately.

As for the hub, it arrived today!!! Turns out the box was damaged, but it was actually a brand new unopened unit for 17$ after shipping. Total steal.
I am also happy to report that it is up and running 4 moonlander2's with no issues. Well, other than counter-weighting the hub to stop it from falling off my window sill.
Going to start tweaking voltages too see how high I can get the hash rate on here. but I think this is going to be a very good permanent setup for me.

https://i.imgur.com/Gnk7aBa.gifv

[Bitfort]

Glad to hear it's working well. I see some clever solution using cup   ... looks like it's moving. Or it's just some optical illusion?

[Fernan87]

NP. Hub price was really good and has better slot orientation so you can use each other instead of omitting two. Should work good. You're going to face only power and noise issues.

Meanwhile I advice you to find a way how to isolate entire hub from vibrations because fans can go really loud and hub lying directly on table make terrible noise. I had to put a piece of foam underneath to eliminate the contact rattling (and hear only the fans). Best way is remove the original fans and use one bigger to cool them all.

BTW nice mockup, is this 3D? Looking good. Did you made the stick model by yourselves?

Thanks!! The 3d model is my own, though it was done very quickly and is very sloppy. The only accurate things on the sticks are the overall dimensions like width, length, depth, and fan protrusion, heat-sink protrusion, etc.
The rest is guesstimated because I was too lazy to measure or model it accurately.

As for the hub, it arrived today!!! Turns out the box was damaged, but it was actually a brand new unopened unit for 17$ after shipping. Total steal.
I am also happy to report that it is up and running 4 moonlander2's with no issues. Well, other than counter-weighting the hub to stop it from falling off my window sill.
Going to start tweaking voltages too see how high I can get the hash rate on here. but I think this is going to be a very good permanent setup for me.

https://i.imgur.com/Gnk7aBa.gifv

Any problems running 4 Moonlander's?

[V3XED]

Ok, so.... two weeks in. Not the best news to report.

At first everything was going A-OK. Then as I started trying to get the sticks back over 600clock I noticed they would only run about 10-15m before throwing errors, and the hub would clearly powercycle.

So I realized the issue quickly after that, which is that my math was bad, and (4 ML2's) * (1.5watts * 4.0 MH/S) = 24+ Watts Power Draw. So in this case at 600 clock speed, and 4mh/s I was already maxing out the power brick. And after checking it, it was MOLTEN hot.

So I contacted Pluggable support, and a very helpful tech there told me that even under the true threshold of the AC Adapter, the components inside the hub are not of a grade that is meant to sustain those high loads for extended periods of time, only temporarily when fast charging a phone or two. So, I monitored the situation closely and by the end of the week I could smell a singed / burnt smell on the AC adapter and was even noticing heat build up where the adapter plugged into the hub itself. 

So... to avoid fire, I have re-worked my setup to stay well below the 25w max on the adapter, and am running only 2 moonlanders at high clock speeds on the hub.

(Tiny Violins playing).

[huntingthesnark]

hey guys, just wanted to mention this one again.  I'm suprised it is not getting more attention.  The sipolar a-400

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-Port-USB-HUB-Charger-Sipolar-A-400-Standard-20V-6A-Power-adapter/32513481750.html

I think it can handle 8-10 ML2s according to specs, depending on your overclock.  Due to the dimensions though, you really max out at 6 moonlanders, with rock solid power @ just about any overclock. 

If you want to use all 10 slots, you would have to remove the fans at a minumumm, then you need externals fans, and well, I think you would just be better off buying another hub.

I ordered from aliexpress, and got it in a week.

Been mining on my raspberry pi for over mild oc (4.7mh per stick) three weeks without a single issue.  This one is solid, and the price is right.

yeah, TBH I tried about 5 other hubs, none could handle the demand. Got one of these, completely bombproof. Adaptor is about x3 times the size and rating of those cheap amazon ones, and guess what? It runs smooth and easy on whatever clock you want. If you're running more than 4 sticks get one, and wonder why you bothered with anything else... This is the droid you are looking for... (on ebay too btw)

[saulscmit]

I just sold my Moonlander 2. The ROI even when you're OCing them to 900MHz and getting a good 5MH+ out of them, is over 40 years for one ML2, it comes down a lot the more you buy, but it's just not worth it really.

LTC is going to need some big beefy miners to stay profitable, especially with the prices fluctuating like they are. Lucky to make a few thousand Satoshi a day mining at the moment, which sucks :/

I've since started mining Alt-coins on my CPU and doing Zcash with my GPU (break even for that is about 10 months if i didn't sell the card). 1080ti on backorder but it's probably never going to arrive.

[Hoiberg]

Hi guys,

Mining noob here. It would be great if someone could teach me a bit on the following:

I bought a Moonlander 2 just for fun, to mine some LTC or other alts. I have a Raspberry Pie Zero W. I've heard on youtube that you need to use a Raspberry Pie 3 for it to work. Is that true or can I make it work with the Zero?

I do not really understand the requirements for a USB hub. Can you explain please?  I do not want to directly plug the Moonlander into my Macbook's USB (I don't have it on 24/7). What kind of USB hub do I need for the Moonlander? Is a normal USB hub enough - as in one which I can use to charge my phone with - or do I need a USB hub that is somehow connected to the internet?

If the second case is the issue. Well, I also have one of Bitmain's Antrouters running. It has a USB connection. Can I use that to power my Moonlander?

Thanks in advance for helping a noob out here.

Cheers!

[thebosz]

Well, I have some bad news myself.

After having 6 sticks running on the Sipolar A-400 at around 4.8 Mh/s each, my hub just died today.

I have free electricity (at work) so I wasn't really worried about making a small amount of coin since it was just a fun hobby.

But now I'm looking at plunking down even more cash for another hub and I just don't want to deal with it 

Take my warning: the Sipolar A-400 is great until it dies.

I bought it for $66.74 on AliExpress and put it into service around Jan 10th.

So after about 4 months of constant use, it died.

Very sad!

[aballen]

I've been running the sipolar a-400 for months.  4 moonlander 2, @ 832 clock speed.

No issues (yet)

[tittiecoin]

I will ordering one of those hubs for sure... These are awesome miners, well done! very energy efficient!

[cosmiconion]

so for anyone in the UK,  I am using the chinese heavy duty Sipolar.

these are expensive in the UK.

however, after digging found Alliexpress that deal direct with Sipolar .

bough 1 unit for roughly £45 including shipping

have not received yet, but will report back

if successful, then do not hesitate in buying the bipolar : retails in UK £75-100

I paid with paypal so I am protected

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/10-Port-USB-HUB-Charger-Sipolar-A-400-Standard-20V-6A-Power-adapter/32513481750.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.2.3f879fddPwtDom&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10152_10151_10065_10344_10130_10068_10324_10342_10547_10325_10343_10340_10548_10341_10696_10192_10190_10084_10083_10618_10307_10820_10301_10821_10303_10869_10868_10059_100031_10103_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_13,ppcSwitch_3&algo_expid=75b694b6-e14d-4e1f-8c02-40e9aad5561f-0&algo_pvid=75b694b6-e14d-4e1f-8c02-40e9aad5561f&priceBeautifyAB=0

[eTherertradderr]

There are few friends of mine who want to mine but dont have the space.