LightningAsic usb miners based Gridseed GC3355 Tech Support Thread

[miaviator]

Do you really need the fans if you are going LTC ONLY mode?

nope check out https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=482352.msg5491441#msg5491441

I also just got a picture of 20 gridseeds running in a 2U case with no fans! (on the gridseeds) the standard chassis fans did all the work.

Waiting on permission and I'll repost.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. If you would put them on their side, so the airflow can get through the fins easily, you could probably put 4 rows of 15 miners each or so in a 2U case with some high speed fans 

No need to put them on their side if you run in scrypt mode:

2U rackmount chassis on sale at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219022



High Def Photo: https://i.imgur.com/ShUX1sD.jpg

bobby35ny is running 10 gridseeds with the fans removed in these cases as pictured.  *this case won't fit a standard atx PSU.

I run my 10 in a rosewill 4U. 

[1714686585]

1714686585

[1714686585]

1714686585

[maardein]

Do you really need the fans if you are going LTC ONLY mode?

nope check out https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=482352.msg5491441#msg5491441

I also just got a picture of 20 gridseeds running in a 2U case with no fans! (on the gridseeds) the standard chassis fans did all the work.

Waiting on permission and I'll repost.

Yeah, I was thinking about that. If you would put them on their side, so the airflow can get through the fins easily, you could probably put 4 rows of 15 miners each or so in a 2U case with some high speed fans 

No need to put them on their side if you run in scrypt mode:

2U rackmount chassis on sale at newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811219022



High Def Photo: https://i.imgur.com/ShUX1sD.jpg

bobby35ny is running 10 gridseeds with the fans removed in these cases as pictured.  *this case won't fit a standard atx PSU.

I run my 10 in a rosewill 4U. 

I thought about putting them on their side, just so you can fit more units in one case But maybe you need a 3U case for that.

[miner765]

Are you guys sure the chips won't overheat if running them without the fan? And what's the proper way to take it off? I want to get 40 units running without fans..

[bobby35ny]

Are you guys sure the chips won't overheat if running them without the fan? And what's the proper way to take it off? I want to get 40 units running without fans..

I'm running them in that 2U case, Done many hours of testing the past week. I have them here in my office running right next to me. If you want temps etc, just let me know.
They are running almost ice cold in that case.... 800 clock.
Notice, I turned them upside down, they run cooler that way. I know you are wondering why, I think its because it uses the floor of the case as a giant heatsink.
I use an infra ray to measure temps. 90F for each cell in there, thats cold...
REMEMBER LTC ONLY!!!!!
-Bobby

[miner765]

Are you guys sure the chips won't overheat if running them without the fan? And what's the proper way to take it off? I want to get 40 units running without fans..

I'm running them in that 2U case, Done many hours of testing the past week. I have them here in my office running right next to me. If you want temps etc, just let me know.
They are running almost ice cold in that case.... 800 clock.
Notice, I turned them upside down, they run cooler that way. I know you are wondering why, I think its because it uses the floor of the case as a giant heatsink.
I use an infra ray to measure temps. 90F for each cell in there, thats cold...
REMEMBER LTC ONLY!!!!!
-Bobby

Thanks for your reply. How many of those do you have and how did you unplug the fan? Just cut the wires? How many KH are they giving?

[bobby35ny]

Are you guys sure the chips won't overheat if running them without the fan? And what's the proper way to take it off? I want to get 40 units running without fans..

I'm running them in that 2U case, Done many hours of testing the past week. I have them here in my office running right next to me. If you want temps etc, just let me know.
They are running almost ice cold in that case.... 800 clock.
Notice, I turned them upside down, they run cooler that way. I know you are wondering why, I think its because it uses the floor of the case as a giant heatsink.
I use an infra ray to measure temps. 90F for each cell in there, thats cold...
REMEMBER LTC ONLY!!!!!
-Bobby

Thanks for your reply. How many of those do you have and how did you unplug the fan? Just cut the wires? How many KH are they giving?

10 cells per 2U using one P/S. Whole system with case fans running use exactly 1.0 amp. According to the web UI its doing 3000 to 3500 KH.
I just cut the wires and taped them, If you want to, you could open up the cells and desolder.
-Bobby

[D.Khaled]

Hi guys, I got my 1 unit miner in today and have it set up and mining Dogecoin (scrypt only). I've noticed a few hours into mining that the fan seems to be turning off and on: is this normal or is the fan broken? Is it controlled by chip temperatures? Thanks!

[worldlybedouin]

Hi guys, I got my 1 unit miner in today and have it set up and mining Dogecoin (scrypt only). I've noticed a few hours into mining that the fan seems to be turning off and on: is this normal or is the fan broken? Is it controlled by chip temperatures? Thanks!

Can't say for sure, but to my knowledge there is no temperature control feature in these...in fact all 10 of my miners' fans are going full speed and it's quite loud...I think I may do as bobby35ny and clip the fan wires since I'm running LTC only on these.

[Andareed]

Hi guys, I got my 1 unit miner in today and have it set up and mining Dogecoin (scrypt only). I've noticed a few hours into mining that the fan seems to be turning off and on: is this normal or is the fan broken? Is it controlled by chip temperatures? Thanks!

No, the device has no way of regulating the fan; the fan draws directly from the 12V power source. If you are seeing the fan go off and on you probably have a loose connection somewhere, or your power supply is overloading or bad.

[worldlybedouin]

10 cells per 2U using one P/S. Whole system with case fans running use exactly 1.0 amp. According to the web UI its doing 3000 to 3500 KH.
I just cut the wires and taped them, If you want to, you could open up the cells and desolder.
-Bobby

So I'm not sure if this is the right terminology, but would it be possible to cut say the red fan wire, and inline a resistor,...and therefore have the fan still work but at lower RPM?

[searay90]

Playing devils advocate here for a minute:   

What happens if the controller dies/ loose connection to usb hub/ or just plain human error enables the BTC mode while the units are hashing away on LTC mode without a fan.

1) will they stay in that mode and keep hashing away?
2) if power cycled and the controller does not send the disable BTC command (bad controller, or loose cable), does the Gridseed come back up in double mode and burn itself up?   Any idea how long it can survive in this mode ?
3) Same scneario as #2, but we throw in the human error factor.  Say a user accidently enables duel mode.  How long do you have to find your error, and fix it before your $3,000 set of 10 Gridseeds decide to let the smoke out of their IC's?


Just seems like high risk to run without a fan until there is a firmware release that allows you to permanetly shut off the BTC function in firmware vs relying on a command from the controller to disable it when power cycled.

But I guess no one should worry as software never has a bug, cables and controllers never go bad, and humans never make mistakes......... right?

[worldlybedouin]

Playing devils advocate here for a minute:   

What happens if the controller dies/ loose connection to usb hub/ or just plain human error enables the BTC mode while the units are hashing away on LTC mode without a fan.

1) will they stay in that mode and keep hashing away?
2) if power cycled and the controller does not send the disable BTC command (bad controller, or loose cable), does the Gridseed come back up in double mode and burn itself up?   Any idea how long it can survive in this mode ?
3) Same scneario as #2, but we throw in the human error factor.  Say a user accidently enables duel mode.  How long do you have to find your error, and fix it before your $3,000 set of 10 Gridseeds decide to let the smoke out of their IC's?


Just seems like high risk to run without a fan until there is a firmware release that allows you to permanetly shut off the BTC function in firmware vs relying on a command from the controller to disable it when power cycled.

But I guess no one should worry as software never has a bug, cables and controllers never go bad, and humans never make mistakes......... right?

I'm not using the controller...I've got these connected to a RasPi which only has minerd compiled/installed on it...so technically I don't think there is a way for the BTC mining to happen since there is no cgminer to have execute...so I think I'm pretty safe for the scenarios you've listed....

If I'm not I'd love to hear from someone smarter than myself...I'm not a Linux guy, so I'm not 100%.

[richmke]

Can anyone comment on using Raspberry Pi vs. the Controller?

Can the RasPi vary the Mhz up to 900?
Does the RasPi get the same hashing rate for the same speed?
Can it run the miners without rebooting (or rebooting only one miner when the miner disconnects)?

Any other advantages or disadvantage of the RasPi vs the controller?

[worldlybedouin]

Can anyone comment on using Raspberry Pi vs. the Controller?

Can the RasPi vary the Mhz up to 900?
Does the RasPi get the same hashing rate for the same speed?
Can it run the miners without rebooting (or rebooting only one miner when the miner disconnects)?

Any other advantages or disadvantage of the RasPi vs the controller?

I've got 10 running off my RasPi:

1. Yes, you can vary it using the --freq=900 flag for minerd.
2. Yes, in fact I'm seeing a slightly higher rate, but that could just be because of the improved stability.
3. Yes, running rock solid for 3 days straight now with no reboots, freezes, etc.

I won't switch back to the controller unless they do something amazing with that firmware.

[emoomjean]

Can anyone comment on using Raspberry Pi vs. the Controller?

Can the RasPi vary the Mhz up to 900?
Does the RasPi get the same hashing rate for the same speed?
Can it run the miners without rebooting (or rebooting only one miner when the miner disconnects)?

Any other advantages or disadvantage of the RasPi vs the controller?

I've got 10 running off my RasPi:

1. Yes, you can vary it using the --freq=900 flag for minerd.
2. Yes, in fact I'm seeing a slightly higher rate, but that could just be because of the improved stability.
3. Yes, running rock solid for 3 days straight now with no reboots, freezes, etc.

I won't switch back to the controller unless they do something amazing with that firmware.

I like the concept, but i'm curious how well it can scale with a more sizable amount of miners.  Would a RasPi be able to support dozens of units?  I've heard the controllers that ship with the units can technically support up to 20 units, but they are underpowered and the hashing increase tapers off as you add miners (sorry I don't have the source for that report).

-Moomjean

[worldlybedouin]

Can anyone comment on using Raspberry Pi vs. the Controller?

Can the RasPi vary the Mhz up to 900?
Does the RasPi get the same hashing rate for the same speed?
Can it run the miners without rebooting (or rebooting only one miner when the miner disconnects)?

Any other advantages or disadvantage of the RasPi vs the controller?

I've got 10 running off my RasPi:

1. Yes, you can vary it using the --freq=900 flag for minerd.
2. Yes, in fact I'm seeing a slightly higher rate, but that could just be because of the improved stability.
3. Yes, running rock solid for 3 days straight now with no reboots, freezes, etc.

I won't switch back to the controller unless they do something amazing with that firmware.

I like the concept, but i'm curious how well it can scale with a more sizable amount of miners.  Would a RasPi be able to support dozens of units?  I've heard the controllers that ship with the units can technically support up to 20 units, but they are underpowered and the hashing increase tapers off as you add miners (sorry I don't have the source for that report).

-Moomjean

I think it's fair to say the controllers aren't the best and when it comes to 20 miners it does in fact have issues.  From what I understand it has to do with the limited amount of memory on the controller (or so I recall reading in someone's post who had "hacked" the LightingASIC firmware).

Unfortunately I cannot test this for you to say for 100% certainty but I don't think 20 miners would be a problem for RasPi at all.

Additionally, the official controller units cost somewhere between $60-$100 depending upon who you buy a replacement from should it break down...and a RasPi only costs $50 and is easily sourced/replaceabled (Amazon for a RasPi, source code via GitHub, and a bit of time to put it together).  Or if you get it setup and working the way you want on 1 RasPi you could clone the RasPi's SD card and just setup another batch of 10 or 20 with a 2nd RasPi...

Later down the line the guys from Scripta are going to include Gridseed 5-chip miner support in their RasPi distro...which means a nice clean WebUI, fail over pools, saving/restoring configurations,...  You get the idea.

[velvethammer2]

Cool do they have an ETA?

Later down the line the guys from Scripta are going to include Gridseed 5-chip miner support in their RasPi distro...which means a nice clean WebUI, fail over pools, saving/restoring configurations,...  You get the idea.

[worldlybedouin]

Cool do they have an ETA?

Later down the line the guys from Scripta are going to include Gridseed 5-chip miner support in their RasPi distro...which means a nice clean WebUI, fail over pools, saving/restoring configurations,...  You get the idea.

2 weeks?     Nah, just kidding...They currently have support for Gridseed's 1-chip USB "stick" miners...and are now working on the 5-chip one...so I don't think it will be too far out there.

Chirale and DrFranz have been balancing their real-lives with their crypto-lives so they don't have a firm ETA, but have promised to get it together in the next few weeks.

Until then I'm content to run things off RasPi/Wheezy/minerd.

[rouleaux]

I bought a LA6M but one of the controllers was DOA. To run 10 of my units, I bought a gridseed controller from zoomhash but it doesn't seem to have any firmware loaded. Is there a guide to setting up a gridseed controller somewhere? Thanks!

[miaviator]

I bought a LA6M but one of the controllers was DOA. To run 10 of my units, I bought a gridseed controller from zoomhash but it doesn't seem to have any firmware loaded. Is there a guide to setting up a gridseed controller somewhere? Thanks!

Yes https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=494625.0.

The OP linked under part 4 of my guide https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=482352.0 has the firmware zips.