Open Source Avalon Gen2 55nm Board

[form]

edit:
A 16-chip board design is available now.
For further information see page 5 in this thread -> https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=323175.msg3756070#msg3756070

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Old posting:

I got some next-gen Avalon 55nm chips and arranged them on a board to test their communication and explore its options.
The BkkCoins' Klondike implementation was a big inspiration for me, so the design and the firmware is very similar to it - So no need to reinvent the wheel again.
Wherever BkkCoins is now, i wish him all the best, and may he come back soon.

I'm still searching for people who want to contribute to this project.
If you have some ideas for features of the board, please suggest them on https://github.com/formtapez/avalon or at #avalon2 on FreeNode IRC.


https://raw.github.com/formtapez/avalon/master/Photos/DSCN9448.JPG
https://raw.github.com/formtapez/avalon/master/Layout/schematic.png

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[Beastlymac]

That is a good looking board, nice that you made it open source.

[Bicknellski]

Wherever BkkCoins is now, i wish him all the best, and may he come back soon.

Agreed.

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Not sure how much support there is for chips from Avalon given what they have done to everyone. Plus the fact the chips "underperform" and are not as "cost effective" as Bitfury chips which are available right now.

Personally I'd really want to support efforts like this if there are future plans to utilize other chips other than Avalon.

[fasmax]

Nice!
Is that a 4 layer PCB?
What's the part number of that .9 volt power supply?
Did you use the same PIC16LF1459 chip ?

[form]

Is that a 4 layer PCB?

Yes, for better power-distribution i choosed a 4-layer pcb.

What's the part number of that .9 volt power supply?

PTH12040W => http://www.ti.com/product/pth12040w

Did you use the same PIC16LF1459 chip ?

Yes, only small modifications to the "Clock Configuration Segment" (Chapter 4.1 of the datasheet) were necessary.

[fasmax]

Do you have the ASIC's chips in 2 banks?
Also what hash rate are you getting with this board ?

[eroxors]

How did you get early access to the chips? When did you get them?

[Bogart]

That's cool, but, uh...do you think you could get the Cointamination boards working before you dive into this project?  A lot of us are really hoping for some success there.

With respect.

[Lucko]

It is not like he is not doing this. He had this board about finished for some time now... If he wouldn't work on Cointamination it would be publish at the start of the week...

[form]

Do you have the ASIC's chips in 2 banks?
Also what hash rate are you getting with this board ?

Yes, 2 banks with 5 chips each.
I didn't had much time, but today i managed to get them hashing.
The parameters and clocking are far from optimum, and as you see, it is not 100% compatible to the Klondike-driver yet.

http://my.root4u.de/avalon2-firsthash.png

I will do further investigation tomorrow, and come back here with more results.

How did you get early access to the chips? When did you get them?

I got them ~2 weeks ago for this contest:
http://avalon-asics.com/avalon-gen2-55nm-open-source-design-contest/

[driksson]

design boards that fit in standard avalon casing! so we can scrap the old cards and get 4x80x1.5GH per unit.

[spiccioli]

design boards that fit in standard avalon casing! so we can scrap the old cards and get 4x80x1.5GH per unit.

+1

there are around 1500 Avalon units from batch #1,#2 and #3

Create a blade which can be used to replace a current one in an avalon and sell it at a price which leaves a 20-30% earning margin to the buyer and you can probably sell six thousands of such blades in a few hours...

spiccioli

[therustytrombone]

design boards that fit in standard avalon casing! so we can scrap the old cards and get 4x80x1.5GH per unit.

+1

there are around 1500 Avalon units from batch #1,#2 and #3

Create a blade which can be used to replace a current one in an avalon and sell it at a price which leaves a 20-30% earning margin to the buyer and you can probably sell six thousands of such blades in a few hours...

spiccioli

Whoever does this will be a hero to many in this community! 

[driksson]

i do think its the first thing avalon will sell when they sold all g1 chips..
500 g2 chips are 12btc now.

[driksson]

make same size as gen1 unit so we can reuse the heatsinks and contact ckolivas for firmware support.

[capa]

I'd certainly be very interested in some of these boards if the price is right

[klondike_bar]

can the 2nd level pcb be mered into a single PCB? having the extra steps of assembly will make costs significantly higher for this design. KISS method

[DeathAndTaxes]

can the 2nd level pcb be mered into a single PCB? having the extra steps of assembly will make costs significantly higher for this design. KISS method

The entire "second level pcb" is a standalone part. 

[klondike_bar]

can the 2nd level pcb be mered into a single PCB? having the extra steps of assembly will make costs significantly higher for this design. KISS method

The entire "second level pcb" is a standalone part. 

okay thats more reasonable then    any of these (unpopulated) for sale? ive got 10 chips coming next week and nothing to use them with

[Lucko]

What's the part number of that .9 volt power supply?

PTH12040W => http://www.ti.com/product/pth12040w

If anyone is interested I have some of thus I can sell you...