Black Arrow 28nm 100Ghash Bitcoin ASIC from $0.49/GH/s

[Mattster28]

08 Sept 2014: X3 Power supply recall

There have been reports that some X3s are failing. We have located this problem to be caused by the power supply.
Please note that this power supply is not manufactured by Black Arrow and has been purchased from a company in Shenzhen which sold it to us as CE certified.

After thorough investigations the power supply company has reached the conclusion that there are 3 major issues in this PSU and any PSU can fail at any time and it not safe to use. They have currently fixed the issues and are currently testing them.

Please stop using all X3s immediately!

We are recalling the X3 power supplies. Please do not ship your X3 unit or X3 Power supply back to us right now. We will contact the X3 customers later this week with more instructions on how to arrange shipping. If you have an X3 and have not received an email from us this week please contact our customer support immediately.

So now its the PSU? What did BA say the cause was before, caps? Starting to think BA really don't know what's causing the FIRE. If had an X3 or one on the way there would be no way in hell I would plug it in and run it.

[musicmaker613]

Bobsag3, you have sold hardware with defective and potentially hazardous components, as confirmed by BA.  It doesn't matter who made the power supply; MINERSOURCE sold these products in the United States.  So again I'll ask you to address this in the public forum or make an official statement from/on the Minersource website.

* What is your plan of action regarding the present situation?
* How does the present situation not constitute the conditions for a refund as stated in correspondence with your support staff?

[terrapinflyer]

Im getting dizzy...
All the deleted posts are getting me disoriented.

[MoreBloodWine]

At this point I'm in the dont really care any more mood, because were either all gonne get our stuff or nothing at all. I've already gotten a half X3 unit but I can't even run the damn thing due to an issue with the PSU or god knows what.

[DonRavy]

Again, where is the CE cert for Black Arrow?

You wouldn't know, as you are not our customer.

I am though. Where's the CE cert? Where are the refunds? Where's the money?

[eXOBeX]

What I love with BA, either WE customers are guilty, either their providers ... I already mentioned X-1s giving electrical shocks... and the CE sign on the PSUs is the China Export sign, not the CE one !!!

The China Export mark is apparently a misconception, what I suspect these supplies have is a counterfeit Conformité Européenne mark. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CE_marking#China_Export

The X1 PSU definitely has an incorrect CE mark as seen here:-

(screenshot from http://youtu.be/KtxVxqPmN7k?t=2m50s at 2:50)

I believe BA were badgering the PSU manufacturers to shrink the physical size of the PSUs which won't help matters. Here we go, 20th February weekly update (remember those?) parts 6a and 6b. http://ecointalk.net/topic/392-black-arrow-weekly-production-update/

Anybody in the US want to get in touch with Underwriters Laboratories? They take a rather dim view of logo misuse and there's a UL Registered Component mark on those power supplies. http://site.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/services/programs/anticounterfeitingoperations/

How are counterfeit goods discovered? And how can companies/individuals report counterfeiting?

UL works with U.S. Customs and other law enforcement agencies to train personnel how to identify counterfeit products. If you have information about counterfeiting activities or suspicious products, please contact the U.S. Customs hotline at 1-800-ITS-FAKE (1-800-487-3253) or UL to issue a report.

ALSO of note (the deeper the rabbit hole goes) there's no FCC declaration on those power supplies, and for import to the US they appear to require one. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCC_Declaration_of_Conformity

[BrianM]

That whole BA story, what a mess. That is the one single thing I do not like about bitcoins. In all other cases when people get cheated or scammed, the criminals are brought to justice. But when the payment has been with "bitcoin" then will the criminals always walk free, and even rich too. Not fair.

[BrianM]

That whole BA story, what a mess. That is the one single thing I do not like about bitcoins. In all other cases when people get cheated or scammed, the criminals are brought to justice. But when the payment has been with "bitcoin" then will the criminals always walk free, and even rich too. Not fair.

I paid in USD if it makes you feel better.

Sorry for you loss man I hope you somehow is able to recover some of it.
Hate all those scammers! 

[BrianM]

Ordered an X1 from Minersource in December. Like most, I have asked for a refund on numerous occasions. Communication from them has been close to nil on this issue.

With notice and out of the blue, today I find a delivery notice pasted on my front door. Attempted delivery of a package from Denver.

I'll accept the package tomorrow since refusing it will leave me with nothing in hand, period.

I'll also record the plugin and bootup just in case the PSU explodes as some X1's have done (very exciting:) but after that I have no clue. I don't want to run it 24/7 making chump change, and feel I might get my 100% seller rating burned if I sell it on eBay.

Maybe I'll put it in the litter box and let my cats take dumps on it, unplugged of course.... We'll see.

Good idea about the filming. Most likely will there be a little mushroom cloud over the unit.

[eXOBeX]

I don't want to run it 24/7 making chump change, and feel I might get my 100% seller rating burned if I sell it on eBay.

It's yet another gamble, and it's a tricky one. You could spend $10 mining $20 worth of bitcoin, but what will that $20 worth of coin be worth in a year's time? What's a loss today could be a profit tomorrow, it's kind of a 3D gamble pitching power draw versus coins mined versus time.

I'm running mine 24/7 because I can afford to throw the money at it (119 watts 24/7 is probably on a par with smoking one cigarette a day, and I don't smoke).

I feel sorry for the guys who have put four or five figures into Sovu's grasping claws, and I doubt he's going to crawl out of his cave for any BTC conference for fear of getting a pasting or worse.

[kingscrown]

many people are trying to sell their X3s now even for really bad prices - do not buy or risk your home burnt

[MoreBloodWine]

Whats sad but funny all at the same time is how many people they think might consider a pre order of LTC equipment after the current fiasco. That being said, wasnt it said once before by BA that they would avoid preorders after all this current stuff ?

[heslo]

Whats sad but funny all at the same time is how many people they think might consider a pre order of LTC equipment after the current fiasco. That being said, wasnt it said once before by BA that they would avoid preorders after all this current stuff ?

And it's not like BA to lie is it?

[heslo]

http://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/black-arrow-bitcoin-mining-accused-censoring-negative-comments/

Ahaha they're fucked now, everyone can see what type of scum they are

[CryptoGuy]

So does that mean compensation will be shipping soon?

[kingscrown]

do not coutn on refunds guys....

this stuff is propably dead

[quantguy]

This is getting us nowhere. For 10 months we as customers keep posting our very justifiable rage posts and Black Arrow keep deleting posts and withhold our money.

Black Arrow should acknowledge that it's not invincible and we as customers have different tools at our disposal as Hong Kong Police, Hong Kong Consumer Council, Hong Kong Small Courts, HSBC bank and even FBI and different EU and international law enforcement agencies.

So, Black Arrow, come forward and bring fare FIAT and bitcoin compensation proposition on the table.
Otherwise your marketing expenses for conferences like http://insidebitcoins.co.uk/london2014/sponsors/ will be utterly fruitless and even damaging to your brand as well as any future marketing strategies to boost your market perception.

[heslo]

I would be happy to.  Here you go


http://imgur.com/O7z3cuC

Please feel free to also post screenshots of your latest order with us.

Geez, David - I know you have a thankless job, even more so now, but how can you continue to work for these con artists in good conscience?

Does someone have to literally die in a fire caused by one of BAs products for you to wise up?

We warned everybody as soon as we heard about the problems and stopped shipping immediately. We told everybody to shut down the units they have, if they chose not to do this is their own risk.

I hope that same filter applies to visitors from 127.0.0.1


David, Alex, Black Arrow - if you've got time to site here deleting hundreds of pages of evidence against you, perhaps you could take the time to answer some of the pressing questions about your conduct, competency and possible liability?

  Fucking gold!

[nexus99]

As we're getting no response on whether the bitcoin income has been declared, maybe the agency responsible will have better luck:

Field Audit and Investigation    taxfai@ird.gov.hk
http://www.ird.gov.hk/eng/ese/esi.htm#a08 (on a side note, I'm very happy to see that the IRD of HK know what public keys are, and actually use them! Very good practice IRD!)

I really wish BAS would just answer our questions. I've got more than a few. How about it, Alex, if we nominate a list of questions between all your victims/buyers here, would you give us direct and honest responses and help us plot a path to an acceptable resolution for us all?

That horse is dead no matter how much you flog it.

Actual legal action is the only thing that will have any impact. A real court case. Real papers being served.

[quantguy]

We feel like you've effectively stolen our money under a false pretenses and false promises. You cannot be surprised we're all pissed off

As we have announced previously, we are testing the power supplies and waiting for CE certification team to get back to us. Until then, we cannot deliver X3s, no matter how much you flood this thread. Note that we will continue manufacturing X3s and as soon the PSU is ready we'll deliver everything that was manufactured.

We have also started working with a better factory that is able to manufacture everything very fast.

Dear blackarrow,

What about "rent a minion" then?
You stated that electricity is expensive in China and your mining pool was blocked by ISP/big wall firewall.
Hence Black Arrow can't really provide this service.
Will you at least refund these customers?