[GUIDE] GridSeed 5-Chip USB, Blade & Black Miner Support/Tuning

[wolfey2014]

Not really tuning, just some tidy up!

Shortened some leads and added some stocking type cable tidy!

Looks much better, working on a rack mount right now.

Nice work!

Have you had any issues with comm ports not working as you plug in each miner?
I'm running on an xp machine, finally got my 5 chippers mining..
have 4 of them up. one port gave me trouble but I changed it to comm 2 and it worked right away.
Any port number above 10 and I can't get it to communicate!
I have 5 pods. 4 working. 1 not...not the pod, it's the virtual comm ports causing it..

Have you had any trouble running them in win 7 or 8?

I have a win 7 machine I am considering porting to instead...I've heard they don't have any comm port problems like xp does..

Do you concur?
Thanks
Wolfey2014

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[1714318938]

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[Mudflap]

Hi Wolfy, yea its looking sweeter! I am running the lightning asic controller not direct to a machine. So don't have to deal with the com port problems.

Did you go for the la3m (10 rig with all bits) or something else?

[wolfey2014]

Hi Wolfy, yea its looking sweeter! I am running the lightning asic controller not direct to a machine. So don't have to deal with the com port problems.

Did you go for the la3m (10 rig with all bits) or something else?

Okay, thanks.
I don't know what an IA3m is.... But I'm just using USB right now.
I might fork up for a controller pretty soon though.
Where did you buy yours?
Wolfey2014

[Mudflap]

Hi Wolfy la3m is the kit supplied by lightning asic (its supplled with 10 miners, PSU, controller, leads etc) here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421921.0

Where did you get yours? what was supplied?

Seems to be running fine just a reboot every 45 mins or so, which is waiting for an update as far as I know......

[wolfey2014]

Is anyone having comm port issues with their win7 PCs?
I'm having a problem with virtual porting on my xp machine!
Got 4 of 5 pods mining via USB....not using a controller.....yet!
Anyone having the same issues?
What were your solutions?
Thanks
Wolfey2014

[wolfey2014]

Hi Wolfy la3m is the kit supplied by lightning asic (its supplled with 10 miners, PSU, controller, leads etc) here https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=421921.0

Where did you get yours? what was supplied?

Seems to be running fine just a reboot every 45 mins or so, which is waiting for an update as far as I know......

I got mine from a dealer in LA. 5 pods with usb cables only. Nothing else.
I had power supplies, hub etc. on hand already so.....
That controller sounds like a real pain in the ars, having to reboot every 45 mins or so...geesh!
They better have that squared away before I buy one.

[Mudflap]

TBH I set mine all up and its hashing away nicely, (one unit has gone down but a un-plug , plug back in sorted that) I only notice the reboot once I look at the logs, which seems to have 1-2 min downtime. Obviously its automatically re-joining the pool. I know loosing a minute or so every hour will add up, that's why I cannot wait till FW the update.

I know some of the lads are working on a rasp-pi version of the controller over on litecointalk may be of interest to you?

[copyfile]

Just a few quick questions from me i hope someone can help me with! I will receive 2 of the gridseed miners next week so i hope to start hashing right away

1) When i add the two miners to a windows 7 pc what is the best start script for cpuminer?
2) Will i need to start 2 cpuminers, one for every miner?
3) When using the miners with cpuminer for litecoin mining, will the btc core be down, so the power usage will be 7W ?
4) How can i mine LTC and BTC at the same time in windows 7?

[lajz99]

Just a few quick questions from me i hope someone can help me with! I will receive 2 of the gridseed miners next week so i hope to start hashing right away

1) When i add the two miners to a windows 7 pc what is the best start script for cpuminer?
2) Will i need to start 2 cpuminers, one for every miner?
3) When using the miners with cpuminer for litecoin mining, will the btc core be down, so the power usage will be 7W ?
4) How can i mine LTC and BTC at the same time in windows 7?

Answer to #4: Don't waste your time or electricity, not worth it.

[klintay]

Just a few quick questions from me i hope someone can help me with! I will receive 2 of the gridseed miners next week so i hope to start hashing right away

1) When i add the two miners to a windows 7 pc what is the best start script for cpuminer?
2) Will i need to start 2 cpuminers, one for every miner?
3) When using the miners with cpuminer for litecoin mining, will the btc core be down, so the power usage will be 7W ?
4) How can i mine LTC and BTC at the same time in windows 7?

1) It is best if you use a bat file like this: minerd.exe --freq=750 --gc3355=COM5 -o stratum+tcp://miningpoolurl:port -u username -p pass
2) You will need to start 1 cpuminer for every miner if you are using windows and no controller
3) Should be in theory. but i heard people say that it is still drawing the max power with cpuminer
4) I would like to know this too. At least so you have the choice At the moment people have only got it working in scrypt mode if plugged directly into computer.

The sooner we get bfgminer support the better...

[copyfile]

Thanks for the answers! The only thing i don't like is the full power usage. Is there a way, when they are connected to a pc to mine LTC on 7W ?

[Blueman666]

Thanks for the answers! The only thing i don't like is the full power usage. Is there a way, when they are connected to a pc to mine LTC on 7W ?

I think we might have to wait for full support from bfgminer to have proper control.

[jahmen1]

I sent a message to lightning asic asking how to turn off the btc core without using the controller unit, waiting for reply , will let you all know.
anymore leads on this, post em here

[lajz99]

Is anyone having an issue where the miner will stop mining and you'll have to unplug the USB and restart?

[wolfey2014]

I sent a message to lightning asic asking how to turn off the btc core without using the controller unit, waiting for reply , will let you all know.
anymore leads on this, post em here

Hey, great idea!
I did too
Perhaps you can add these questions to your query.

I need to find out the following.

**What do the green and red LED's indicate, exactly?
 
**What is the command for disabling SHA-256 core completely so it's not even drawing 'idle' current?
 
**What are the commands for choosing between SHA only or Scrypt only or SHA and Scrypt together?
 
**Are there commands for controlling cooling fan speed?
 
**What is the command for monitoring temperature?
 
**Is there a complete 'commands' list?
 
Thanks for any assistance you can provide!
 
I'm only running 5 of these little monsters and I feel like I'm sitting in a noisy enterprise server room!

Soon, after I'm making a few bucks with them, I'm going to tinker around with the cooling fan noise issue. Too many fans running to cool them at only 7 watts. Theoretically, they should be able to run stably without any fans running at such low power consumption. They'd only be warm to the touch, not hot or overheat. Perhaps several pods in an enclosure with one larger but quiet fan pulling air though. Same setup as blades use. A row of several cards with one big fan blowing air parallel across their faces.

Oh boy! fun fun fun!
Wolfey2014

[wolfey2014]

Not really tuning, just some tidy up!

Shortened some leads and added some stocking type cable tidy!

Looks much better, working on a rack mount right now.

Nice work!

Have you had any issues with comm ports not working as you plug in each miner?
I'm running on an xp machine, finally got my 5 chippers mining..
have 4 of them up. one port gave me trouble but I changed it to comm 2 and it worked right away.
Any port number above 10 and I can't get it to communicate!
I have 5 pods. 4 working. 1 not...not the pod, it's the virtual comm ports causing it..

Have you had any trouble running them in win 7 or 8?

I have a win 7 machine I am considering porting to instead...I've heard they don't have any comm port problems like xp does..

Do you concur?
Thanks
Wolfey2014

Update, I tackled the comm port issues on my XP machine. XP doesn't like virtual ports! That's my conclusion! So the heck with XP. I'm using Win7 now and 'NO comm port issues!'
Simply plug in each miner one at a time and it will set a comm port for it, no fuss, no muss!
I haven't tried enabling the whole smash at once yet though. But I'm fairly sure Win7 will figure it out in any case.
Let me know if any of you have tried this and what your experience is.
Mining along nicely!
Wolfey2014

[copyfile]

I'm looking for a good power supply for 2 gridseed miners. Is there someone that can point me to the right power supply, that ships to The Netherlands?

And what kind of usb connector does the miner has, mini usb or micro usb?

[jgm_coin]

Not really tuning, just some tidy up!

Shortened some leads and added some stocking type cable tidy!

Looks much better, working on a rack mount right now.

Nice work!

Have you had any issues with comm ports not working as you plug in each miner?
I'm running on an xp machine, finally got my 5 chippers mining..
have 4 of them up. one port gave me trouble but I changed it to comm 2 and it worked right away.
Any port number above 10 and I can't get it to communicate!
I have 5 pods. 4 working. 1 not...not the pod, it's the virtual comm ports causing it..

Have you had any trouble running them in win 7 or 8?

I have a win 7 machine I am considering porting to instead...I've heard they don't have any comm port problems like xp does..

Do you concur?
Thanks
Wolfey2014

Update, I tackled the comm port issues on my XP machine. XP doesn't like virtual ports! That's my conclusion! So the heck with XP. I'm using Win7 now and 'NO comm port issues!'
Simply plug in each miner one at a time and it will set a comm port for it, no fuss, no muss!
I haven't tried enabling the whole smash at once yet though. But I'm fairly sure Win7 will figure it out in any case.
Let me know if any of you have tried this and what your experience is.
Mining along nicely!
Wolfey2014

Wolfey - Do you know if they are drawing full power or just the 7 watts for scrypt? 

[up2urheadlights]

Not really tuning, just some tidy up!

Shortened some leads and added some stocking type cable tidy!

Looks much better, working on a rack mount right now.

http://s28.postimg.org/otndzx1st/P1010005.jpg

Nice work!

Have you had any issues with comm ports not working as you plug in each miner?
I'm running on an xp machine, finally got my 5 chippers mining..
have 4 of them up. one port gave me trouble but I changed it to comm 2 and it worked right away.
Any port number above 10 and I can't get it to communicate!
I have 5 pods. 4 working. 1 not...not the pod, it's the virtual comm ports causing it..

Have you had any trouble running them in win 7 or 8?

I have a win 7 machine I am considering porting to instead...I've heard they don't have any comm port problems like xp does..

Do you concur?
Thanks
Wolfey2014

Update, I tackled the comm port issues on my XP machine. XP doesn't like virtual ports! That's my conclusion! So the heck with XP. I'm using Win7 now and 'NO comm port issues!'
Simply plug in each miner one at a time and it will set a comm port for it, no fuss, no muss!
I haven't tried enabling the whole smash at once yet though. But I'm fairly sure Win7 will figure it out in any case.
Let me know if any of you have tried this and what your experience is.
Mining along nicely!
Wolfey2014

Wolfey - Do you know if they are drawing full power or just the 7 watts for scrypt? 

I'm sorry to report that BTC cores are enabled with cpuminer on Windows even when you are only mining scrypt.  I'm getting a draw of 60 watts on my kill-a-watt.  I'm hoping bfgminer gains support for shutting down those btc cores and fan speed.  This thing is barely warm to the touch and I keep thinking it might lift off the table.

I'm considering hacking a different fan or maybe a speed controller, but I'm cautious as it's hard wired.  Could cause the unit to stop working, like asicminer cubes when you mess with their fan.

[wolfey2014]

Ehh! Don't be sorry. We figured that much already any way ;[
I'm reading the specs on the GS3355 AKA GC3355 chip.
Found the port speed is spec'd to run at a "typical baud rate is 115200"
Range is from 9600bps up to 6.25Mbps! Woah! Cool!
So if your PC's UARTs are set at the default 9600 baud, they're running to frikkin slow! Clogging up the pipe between your miner UARTS and your PC's UARTS. I don't own a controller yet but I bet the UARTs are set at atleast 115200 baud which is why they work so much better than USB to PC...that is unless your running XP which hates Virtual Ports, evidently. Win7 works great! No comm port issues!
Low baud or too high a baud rate will cause all sorts of weird problems, glitches, messed up comm with pools etc.
Also, in LTC mode, they can be clocked up to 700MHz. Change at your own risk!

I'm running mine at 675MHz (seems to be the sweet spot for my miners as of now) .. no stale shares building up at litecoinpool.org yet...good sign! Was high as crap earlier due to low baud rate and overclocking I think, but overclocking with low baud rate was probably the cause.
I'm moving up to 700MHz slowly as I observe pool results.
So,for you folks having strange problems, try the above.
Again, do so at your own risk!
I know nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnothing! NNnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnothing! Shultz - Hogans Heroes

I DEFINITELY want to figure out how to shut down the BTC cores completely.
I'm sure there is a switch like '-btc' or something to make it run LTC cores only.

Let me know what changes, better, worse, no change etc.

GC3355 Data sheets > https://github.com/gridseed/gc3355-doc

Peace!
Wolfey2014