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[Swimmer63]

My cgminer on PC with 6 boards drops boards after 2 hours. One after the other goes zombie.
I also have 6 boards on a pi and those just completely shut down after 8 hours or so. Have to turn power off and restart manually. 

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[kabopar]

My cgminer on PC with 6 boards drops boards after 2 hours. One after the other goes zombie.
I also have 6 boards on a pi and those just completely shut down after 8 hours or so. Have to turn power off and restart manually. 

I have just a single drillbit8 board, and in the current configuration (latest 'test' firmware and the drillbit fork cgminer 3.8.5) it has not dropped out yet.  It runs in company with another bunch of USB miners (1 Thumb, 3 blue/red Fury units, many BE's).  None of these drops out, and the BE's have been running for more than a week at a time without any hiccups.
I tried a rasberry pi (with the Minepeon distro from the drillbitsystem forum), it ran but dropped out after a few hours, so I gave up and went back to win7/64 on my old dual core laptop.
You may want to explore cooling, power, sw & firmware configuration, running each board on a separate instance of cgminer etc.  If you are running the boards on a mini-plane, you might consider running them separately.  Use the 'divide and conquer' approach and document every step...
Cheers

[JBT]

been running with 53:2:950 since 00:34 today av 23GH/s 33C

ed. and yet again after a restart :950 does not work.....unresponsive asic

JBT:  what OS are you running this on, and how do you invoke cgminer?  (I think that you mentioned using cgwatcher - does it make a difference if you use cgminer directly?).
Playing yesterday with my drillbit board settings I found that while it consistently starts at 53:2:950, sometimes the resulting hash rate is lower.  I found that switching briefly to a different setting (52 or 54) and then to 53 brought the average hash rate back to the region of 22.5 GH/sec (WU=314.8, HW error~ 3-4%).  Maybe there are some persistent control settings that need to be over-written?

Cheers

windows 7, cgminer 3.90, it runs ok on 53:2:850 but asic timeout on anything with :950 in. i tried starting via batch file or cgwatcher same
results. power down unplug usb reconnect same thing,.
ed. i tried 49:1:850 which outside recommended setting and it doesn't work but right after that 53:2:950 worked again,,,,,going to test this again later

[kabopar]

been running with 53:2:950 since 00:34 today av 23GH/s 33C

ed. and yet again after a restart :950 does not work.....unresponsive asic

JBT:  what OS are you running this on, and how do you invoke cgminer?  (I think that you mentioned using cgwatcher - does it make a difference if you use cgminer directly?).
Playing yesterday with my drillbit board settings I found that while it consistently starts at 53:2:950, sometimes the resulting hash rate is lower.  I found that switching briefly to a different setting (52 or 54) and then to 53 brought the average hash rate back to the region of 22.5 GH/sec (WU=314.8, HW error~ 3-4%).  Maybe there are some persistent control settings that need to be over-written?

Cheers

windows 7, cgminer 3.90, it runs ok on 53:2:850 but asic timeout on anything with :950 in. i tried starting via batch file or cgwatcher same
results. power down unplug usb reconnect same thing,.
ed. i tried 49:1:850 which outside recommended setting and it doesn't work but right after that 53:2:950 worked again,,,,,going to test this again later

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

[jedimstr]

been running with 53:2:950 since 00:34 today av 23GH/s 33C

ed. and yet again after a restart :950 does not work.....unresponsive asic

JBT:  what OS are you running this on, and how do you invoke cgminer?  (I think that you mentioned using cgwatcher - does it make a difference if you use cgminer directly?).
Playing yesterday with my drillbit board settings I found that while it consistently starts at 53:2:950, sometimes the resulting hash rate is lower.  I found that switching briefly to a different setting (52 or 54) and then to 53 brought the average hash rate back to the region of 22.5 GH/sec (WU=314.8, HW error~ 3-4%).  Maybe there are some persistent control settings that need to be over-written?

Cheers

windows 7, cgminer 3.90, it runs ok on 53:2:850 but asic timeout on anything with :950 in. i tried starting via batch file or cgwatcher same
results. power down unplug usb reconnect same thing,.
ed. i tried 49:1:850 which outside recommended setting and it doesn't work but right after that 53:2:950 worked again,,,,,going to test this again later

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

Wasn't me... that was someone else... I'm one of the guys who are stuck at 850 and hashrates/HW best at the default non drillbit-options values.  I think I'm limited by my Pi, so hopefully I'll be able to get my BeagleBoardBlack up and running soon with replacement USB cables.

[chadtn]

I really doubt it is caused by the Pi.  Before the component change my boards ran great on my Pi and three other computers.  After the component change none of my boards will hash above default settings on the same computers.  I'm hoping to hear back from Barntech about it soon.  I think he went on vacation for the holidays.  heh..

Chad

[kabopar]

been running with 53:2:950 since 00:34 today av 23GH/s 33C

ed. and yet again after a restart :950 does not work.....unresponsive asic

JBT:  what OS are you running this on, and how do you invoke cgminer?  (I think that you mentioned using cgwatcher - does it make a difference if you use cgminer directly?).
Playing yesterday with my drillbit board settings I found that while it consistently starts at 53:2:950, sometimes the resulting hash rate is lower.  I found that switching briefly to a different setting (52 or 54) and then to 53 brought the average hash rate back to the region of 22.5 GH/sec (WU=314.8, HW error~ 3-4%).  Maybe there are some persistent control settings that need to be over-written?

Cheers

windows 7, cgminer 3.90, it runs ok on 53:2:850 but asic timeout on anything with :950 in. i tried starting via batch file or cgwatcher same
results. power down unplug usb reconnect same thing,.
ed. i tried 49:1:850 which outside recommended setting and it doesn't work but right after that 53:2:950 worked again,,,,,going to test this again later

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

Wasn't me... that was someone else... I'm one of the guys who are stuck at 850 and hashrates/HW best at the default non drillbit-options values.  I think I'm limited by my Pi, so hopefully I'll be able to get my BeagleBoardBlack up and running soon with replacement USB cables.

Apologies for 'implicating' you.  It was actually Flemeister (http://drillbitsystem.com/forum/index.php?topic=256.msg2391;topicseen#msg2391)

Cheers

[kabopar]

I really doubt it is caused by the Pi.  Before the component change my boards ran great on my Pi and three other computers.  After the component change none of my boards will hash above default settings on the same computers.  I'm hoping to hear back from Barntech about it soon.  I think he went on vacation for the holidays.  heh..

Chad

I tried the Pi briefly, and it crashed after a few hours, so went back to the Win7 laptop.  Since doing the firmware update on the 8board it has been getting consistently to various 950 settings  (the pre-mod board struggled to reach 950, had to re-connect USB, recycle power etc.).  Since the last f/w update it is running consistently at int:53:2:950, has never had any crashes.

Cheers

[JBT]

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

user cgwatcher to switch to 49:1:850 and then back to 53:2:950 and it seems to work

[chadtn]

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

user cgwatcher to switch to 49:1:850 and then back to 53:2:950 and it seems to work

How do you push different clock speeds through cgwatcher while cgminer is running?  Can you load different conf files on the fly without restarting the miner?

I just noticed under the test tab a box that says submit a command to the miner.  Is that how you are doing it?

Thanks!

Chad

[kabopar]

I am running the 8board with the drillbit cgminer 3.8.5 (because I had issues with 3.9.0 when tried it on my mining PC, however it works fine on a standalone PC with just the drillbit8 board). You may want to give 3.8.5 a try.
It looks like we are on to something with the need to change settings before it accepts the final OC value.  Another user (Jedimister ?) reported using an automated scheme via cgwatcher to incrementally arrive at the desired OC value (check on the drillbitsystem forum).

Cheers

user cgwatcher to switch to 49:1:850 and then back to 53:2:950 and it seems to work

How do you push different clock speeds through cgwatcher while cgminer is running?  Can you load different conf files on the fly without restarting the miner?

I just noticed under the test tab a box that says submit a command to the miner.  Is that how you are doing it?

Thanks!

Chad

I had very limited experience with cgwatcher, I doubt that it can change things 'on-the-fly' without restarting cgminer.  It has some sort of a batch scheduler, so you should be able to automatically start with some settings then some time later shift to an OC setting.  I think that Fleimeister explained this on the drillbitsystem forums.  I am just running an instance of cgminer from a simple batch file.  Using drillbit 3.8.5 for the 8board and the general release 3.9.0 for the Thumb (and bfgminer 3.9.0 for the other USB miners).

Cheers

[chadtn]

Mine won't do anything above the stock settings now, but they ran great before the component change.  It doesn't matter if I let them mine first or not.  If I raise anything above 40:1:850 they go to asic timeout errors now.  It's been frustrating because I've lost a lot of hash rate after the boards were repaired and my hardware errors increased by more than 11100%.  That's not to say that my hw errors are bad now, but they were practically nonexistent when the boards were first delivered.

Chad

[kabopar]

Mine won't do anything above the stock settings now, but they ran great before the component change.  It doesn't matter if I let them mine first or not.  If I raise anything above 40:1:850 they go to asic timeout errors now.  It's been frustrating because I've lost a lot of hash rate after the boards were repaired and my hardware errors increased by more than 11100%.  That's not to say that my hw errors are bad now, but they were practically nonexistent when the boards were first delivered.

Chad

I hope that you manage to fix this with Barntech.  Do you have anything to measure voltage or temperature?  I guess that a basic check at the linear regulator output and looking for temp hot spots might give you some clues about the reason.  Do you know if you received the same board or was it swapped in the repair process?  (I had my board swapped).

Cheers

[chadtn]

I'm pretty sure I got the same boards I sent.  I believe I read that TK was keeping them sorted.  The Atmel chip popped on one of my boards after I got them back.  I believe it has been repaired now, but I'm still waiting on it to be delivered.  As far as temperature...I just checked cgminer and the hottest any of my three boards have gone in the last three days is 32.7C.  One hasn't gone over 29.0C.  It's pretty cold here right now.  heh..

Chad

[kabopar]

I'm pretty sure I got the same boards I sent.  I believe I read that TK was keeping them sorted.  The Atmel chip popped on one of my boards after I got them back.  I believe it has been repaired now, but I'm still waiting on it to be delivered.  As far as temperature...I just checked cgminer and the hottest any of my three boards have gone in the last three days is 32.7C.  One hasn't gone over 29.0C.  It's pretty cold here right now.  heh..

Chad

If you have access to a temperature probe you could measure hotspots such as the regulator or the Atmel microcontroller.  Do you think it's worth trying cgminer 3.8.5?  I assume that your boards are all flashed to the latest f/w.
I'm in the same city as Barntech, so it's quite warm here in summer.

Cheers

[chadtn]

I'm pretty sure I got the same boards I sent.  I believe I read that TK was keeping them sorted.  The Atmel chip popped on one of my boards after I got them back.  I believe it has been repaired now, but I'm still waiting on it to be delivered.  As far as temperature...I just checked cgminer and the hottest any of my three boards have gone in the last three days is 32.7C.  One hasn't gone over 29.0C.  It's pretty cold here right now.  heh..

Chad

If you have access to a temperature probe you could measure hotspots such as the regulator or the Atmel microcontroller.  Do you think it's worth trying cgminer 3.8.5?  I assume that your boards are all flashed to the latest f/w.
I'm in the same city as Barntech, so it's quite warm here in summer.

Cheers

I'm running 3.8.5 now with the latest firmware. I also tried the official Windows 3.9.0 version with no luck.  I tried running without hubs and with different usb cables.  I'm out of ideas.

Chad

[kabopar]

I'm pretty sure I got the same boards I sent.  I believe I read that TK was keeping them sorted.  The Atmel chip popped on one of my boards after I got them back.  I believe it has been repaired now, but I'm still waiting on it to be delivered.  As far as temperature...I just checked cgminer and the hottest any of my three boards have gone in the last three days is 32.7C.  One hasn't gone over 29.0C.  It's pretty cold here right now.  heh..

Chad

If you have access to a temperature probe you could measure hotspots such as the regulator or the Atmel microcontroller.  Do you think it's worth trying cgminer 3.8.5?  I assume that your boards are all flashed to the latest f/w.
I'm in the same city as Barntech, so it's quite warm here in summer.

Cheers

I'm running 3.8.5 now with the latest firmware. I also tried the official Windows 3.9.0 version with no luck.  I tried running without hubs and with different usb cables.  I'm out of ideas.

Chad

Chad,
I'm out of ideas.  You may want to try the 'brain trust' on the drillbit system forum and pursue this with Bantech.
Good luck.

[flemeister]

With cgwatcher, I setup two profiles. One that used a "primer" setting of 48:2:950, and the other with 53:2:950. In the scheduler section, setup cgwatcher to use 48:2:950 on startup. Then get it to switch profiles to 53:2:950 every three minutes (every 0.05 hours). If it's already at 53:2:950, then nothing will change, so in effect the program starts with 48:2:950 to "prime" the boards for 950mV, then three minutes later changes to 53:2:950 for cruising speed. This only works as long as your boards can reliably start this way without spewing out "spurious" errors. My boards worked great like this for a fortnight, but no longer work reliably this way.

Now I've just setup a few batch files to start the boards at 40:1:850, 48:2:950 or 53:2:950. I just manually toggle between them until they get going at 53:2:950. They're stable for at least a day at a time, but I haven't had the chance to try running them for several days yet, because of a 44 degree day yesterday (I turned off my boards of course), and my internet connection was down for the past two days (everyone in the area at home with their aircon on full blast and on the internet lol).

Got them running now, been on for 16 hours and counting. Also had a play with the layout and window size. Got it setup with dark grey text and border lines for minimal distraction, as I've got a little 16" monitor next to my main rig, for keeping an eye on it when I'm on my PC.



For anyone interested and using Windows 7, go into Control Panel --> Personalisation. Use "Windows basic", then customise the colour scheme to use a black background and dark grey lines and text.

-----

Another thing I wanted to do was to install some spare 100x35x10mm heatsinks on the boards for extra cooling. Didn't do it when I realised that the heatsinks would be touching other surface components as well as the bitfury chips. I've only got thin thermal tape on hand, no thick stuff. The main heatsink does the lion's share of the work anyway, and I've now got 4x Scythe GT 1850RPM fans pointing at the boards, so definitely no shortage of airflow (was using a cheap Coolermaster 2000RPM fan before, but it's broken now...). For the airflow they put out, they're pretty damn quiet. No wonder they were a popular choice for radiator fans.

[JBT]

yes using cgwatcher and its schedule i start my 8bard with 49:1:850(yes i know its wrong but it seems to reset the osc) then a minute later i start it again with 53:2:950 and this have worked a few times in a row now, too why :950 is not working first time round point to the osc clock? other than this the board performs well.

[JBT]

Got them running now, been on for 16 hours and counting. Also had a play with the layout and window size. Got it setup with dark grey text and border lines for minimal distraction, as I've got a little 16" monitor next to my main rig, for keeping an eye on it when I'm on my PC.

mmm a screen saver  that displays the hashrate and bits moving around on screen sounds good