New single ASIC miner board

[aauer1]

Hi,
I new in this forum but I wanted to show you another possible custom ASIC miner board. I think the more custom boards are available the better it is.
So, I designed a small bitcoin mining board using a single Avalon ASIC. The board size is about 60mm x 50mm and is fully powered by USB. A small microcontroller is on board to control the ASIC and to make the USB communication. The firmware of the microcontroller can be flashed directly over USB. So, no additional programming cables or such stuff is necessary.



I haven't done a prototype right now, because I don't have an Avalon A3256 chip on hand. So, if somebody has Avalon ASICs and want to sell some of them, I would like to buy some samples to make a prototype. If you like, I will also share the schematics of the board.

Cheers,
Andreas

[Foofighter]

looks nice so far, but i cannot judge the tecnical aspects of it.

great work

[ct1aic]

Great work.

[Foofighter]

@OP

i would suggest to talk to the Group buy organizers maybe someone has a chip left for you!

regards

[titomane]

Thanks, we need more people as you.

[aauer1]

Btw, does anybody know if a single Avalon ASIC needs a heatsink?

[turtle83]

Btw, does anybody know if a single Avalon ASIC needs a heatsink?

Most likely, but wouldnt need a big one... especially since the PCB is much larger than usb eruptor or K1 so you already have a large surface area. Make sure to add thermal vias and large GND plate in the bottom side. After that if it runs hot just stick in a light heatsink. Its just 2 - 2.5W of heat.

[dimitry-js]

Has anybody still received any actual chip from the few ASIC bitcoin companies out there? I heard a lot of noise about the pre-sales and ... But,  I haven't heard anybody actually getting the ASIC in-hand. Do you guys have any further news on that?

[aauer1]

Interesting question! I heard alot, too. I have also got an offer from a Chinese company. They told me that they are able to ship 10 samples at July 15. But only if I order 240 pieces. And that is too much for me alone. Is anyone interested in that?

[jelin1984]

i am in if the price is good

[aauer1]

Price is 19.50 USD per piece. Shipping cost and taxes are not included. So, I think the price will be around 20 EUR/piece (or about 25 USD/piece).

[jelin1984]

i am in for 10 or maybe 20 pieces

[jelin1984]

can you make board for bfl labs chip?

[cp1]

It's nice to see more boards, but you should consider putting more avalons on there for economy.

[SebastianJu]

I can send you one or two sample chips for free from my groupbuy. Let me know your address and whats the maximum you need and ill ship it.

[aauer1]

can you make board for bfl labs chip?

If there is a datasheet, I will be able to build a board for bfl labs chips. Is there a datasheet and are these chips available?

[aauer1]

It's nice to see more boards, but you should consider putting more avalons on there for economy.

Sure, but for the beginning I want to keep it simple. And I think it is very nice when the board is powered only by USB.

[aauer1]

I can send you one or two sample chips for free from my groupbuy. Let me know your address and whats the maximum you need and ill ship it.

Two sample chips would be great to make a working prototype. Do you have them already in-hand?

[andrewsg]

A number of people have sample chips and should be able to spare one or two just to encourage another developer.

The heatsink question depends on the chip clock. For testing purposes at low clocks you can get away with no heatsink, but the finished product would definitely need one to run at a reasonable speed. What's the target performance of the device? How far you can clock it would have a very big impact on profitability and size of market. (obviously, as long as you also deal with the power and cooling issues that come with it)

And on the issue of multiple chips per device, I'm pretty sure the power consumption would exceed the USB spec even with 2 chips and you would need an alternative power source.

[robert5]

Good