GekkoScience NewPac / Terminus R606 (BM1387) Official Support Thread

[os2sam]

here is a question. My miner lights are not staying on the current setting (setting 6) instead it flashes 6 then it flashes 1

Flashing power level lights *might be* the overheat warning.  I would shut down till you hear from Sidehack.  Search through the thread as a couple others had issues with the batch 1 units.

[1715141295]

1715141295

[1715141295]

1715141295

[sidehack]

Flashing means temp sensor. Is it flashing every 1 second, or about every 5? Every 5 should indicate an issue with the temp sensor, but every 1 second is an overheat condition.

[MoparMiningLLC]

it was every 1 second but it was performing well so i turned freq back down to 550 guess i cant be at the 1 th rate.

[Cohenpol]

[...]

Hello, looks like great info. I’m getting some Pi3b+'s to run my setup of two R606, six Newpac’s, one 2Pac and twelve Rockminers. Is the guide above suitable for all these devices (forget the Chinese knock-offs for now) or are there slight differences in the command line coding for R606 compared the above for Newpac’s?

Cheers

[mstrozier]

Don't use the 3 b+.   You will need the Raspberry Pi 4.    But these instructions work the same on both units.

The reason for the Pi 4 is because there are issues with the Pi 3 b+ and earlier models using only 1 Bus lane for all networking traffic.  So the ethernet/internet, all usb ports etc shared only 1 bus lane which created bottlenecks.  So the miners wouldn't run up to full speed and some would simply crash and the miner would stop working.

The Pi 4 has multiple bus lanes so there is no longer that bottleneck many of us experienced before.  And with you having so many miners I would highly recommend the Pi 4 over any of the prior Pi models.  And the 2gb Ram models will work fine as a controller.  I am using a Pi 4 with 2gb of ram to control my 2 R606's, 4 Newpacs and 2 futurebit moonlanders without any issues.

I have a 4gb Pi version that I just tinker with and often use as a desktop replacement.

**edited**

As for the script, the miner works with both newpac and R606.   Here is the script setup that I run with my newpac and R606s combined:

Code:

./cgminer -o stratum+tcp://lcc.coinfoundry.org:3220 -u WALLET_ADDRESS.Working_name -p x --usb 1:7,1:8,1:10,1:11,1:4,1:6 --gekko-newpac-freq 450 --gekko-r606-freq 700  --widescreen

In the above example I'm using them to mine Litecoin Cash.  I would suggest breaking this out into two separate mining windows for the newpac and r606 since you are adding the other miners as well.  Until you are fully stable.  Just so if you have to make tweaks to the frequency of the R606's you don't have to drop the newpacs and so on.  So some of the miners are still running / connected.   I have mine all in one miner as I've already tweaked and have it set where I want it.

Once you have your Pi 4's, I recommend using the NOOBs flavor of their operating system.  It's just easier/quicker to get configured.  And once up and running you can run the following commands to get your Pi setup where you can remote desktop into it from any windows pc or laptop.

First you will want to set the Pi to boot to login screen instead of straight into desktop.  Click on your raspberry start menu at top left, go to preferences and then Pi Configuration.  This is a very lite gui version of the main config.   On the first tab you should see boot to desktop as Pi or something similar and it's checked.  Just uncheck it.  Ok or Apply and then open a console and do the following:

Code:

sudo apt install xrdp
sudo systemctl enable xrdp
sudo reboot

Then you can just remote desktop into your Pi's IP address.   And you will also want to change your Raspberry Pi's machine name if you are going to run more than 1 on your home network.  As sometimes they will clash.  I ran into that issue as I had my mining pi, pi-hole server (that one is a 3 b+) and my tinker one all with the same host name     To change them do the following:

Code:

sudo raspi-config

• option 2 - Network Options
• N1 - Host Name

Then select finish when you are done changing the host name then reboot the Pi.

[gvb]

Hello,

is there a R606 specific step-delay and start-freq value?

my current setting in the config file are below

Code:

"gekko-terminus-freq" : "225.0",
"gekko-2pac-freq" : "225.0",
"gekko-compac-freq" : "225.0",
"gekko-start-freq" : "225",
"gekko-step-freq" : "25",
"gekko-step-delay" : "5",
"gekko-r606-freq" : "800",

but it still takes a minute or so before it jumps up 25 so it takes a while before it will reach 550 or 800 which I just set.

Edit:

I just noticed it adjusted the peak value from 800 to 568. I don't know why it can't go faster maybe it's the USB controller of the raspberry pi that is hitting its limits?
(in speed this varies between 720-830Gh)

[os2sam]

I just noticed it adjusted the peak value from 800 to 568. I don't know why it can't go faster maybe it's the USB controller of the raspberry pi that is hitting its limits?
(in speed this varies between 720-830Gh)

That sounds about right for the R606 on Power Level 4.  If you want higher hash rates try increasing the Power Level one step at a time and see what it settles at.  You should probably set your High Frequency range to 750 instead of 800.  At some point you get diminishing returns.  CGMiner autotunes for the best frequency at each power level.

If you have a Pi 3 or earlier then you could be hitting a USB bottleneck at higher power level/frequency.  The Pi 4 has been working better for me.

[gvb]

I see 3 leds lit so I guess that represents 7?

It's indeed a Pi 3b or 3b+

[os2sam]

I see 3 leds lit so I guess that represents 7?

It's indeed a Pi 3b or 3b+

Your hitting the USB Bottleneck.  Run the R606 on a Pi 4 or a PC running Linux.

[gvb]

ok, got it.

I'll see if I can order one soon.

In the meanwhile 'he' can continue doing its job at the current speeds.

[Cohenpol]

Just a quick one, at what frequency of time should the heat sinks be removed from 2Pac, Newpac and R606 miners and a fresh application of thermal paste be applied? That is if at all...

Also, I have ordered x3 Pi4s and already have x1 Pi3b+ coming for my setup in a Hydra VIII server case. The plan is to have x4 120mm bequiet silent wings 3 fans at each end (push/pull) running off a redundancy power design incase of failure. My current x2 R606's will have a Pi4 each unless that's deemed excessive and the 4-6 Newpac's from the third Pi4. The Pi3b+ is there if needed or can run the x12 dodgy Rockminer U10's. Depending on space, I would like to add R606' and increase any GS hub slots to Newpacs. How many R606 can be run off a Pi4?

Is adding a LCD screen via GPIO pins to each Pi an excessive power draw to the mining function or not? I would either VNC or hook one screen up to all micro HDMI's otherwise.

Thanks guys.

[sidehack]

The 600MHz neighborhood is also where USB runs out of steam on a bandwidth/framerate scale if you're not running ASICBoost. If you're not connected to an AB-enabled pool, it won't matter if you have it running off a Cray, you won't get much more than about 800GH.

GS miners all have an Arctic Silver ceramic white thermal paste applied, so whatever they recommend for lifetime.

[mstrozier]

Not sure on the power draw of the LCD screens.   I had thought about setting up a small LCD touch screen  to the GPIO pins but never got around to it.  Just been easy enough to remote into the machine whenever needed for my needs.

As for the Pi4 per 1 R606, yes I think that would be a little excessive.  Unless you plan to continue growing that farm.  As you can run both R606, all of your newpacs off just 1 Pi 4.  However with the route you are going, the extra controllers (Pi 4's) will give you plenty of room to expand your miners if you choose to.  And the Pi 3 b+,  that unit will run a set of Newpacs at 450Mhz (on a Asciboost supported mining pool) without any issues.  I am not sure however exactly how many you can run on a Pi 3 before it'll hit the bottleneck.  It ran my newpacs without any issues.  Only hit bottlenecks when I added the r606's.   

So my Pi 3 b+ is now being used as a Pi-hole server.  No complaints as still finding use for that lil machine 

[Gems41]

Hey there,

I've been using a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ to run cgminer for a few months now, and I've noticed lately more and more that I'm having issues with my wifi continually disconnecting! This was an issue early on, however I resolved it by just pinging addresses continually and this seemed to keep to wifi active for a couple of months. This doesn't seem to be working now.

I've tried out most of the troubleshooting ideas posted online, however none of them seem to be working for me.

Anyone here had the same issue on there Pi 3 B+ and resolved it?

Cheers.

[mstrozier]

Hey there,

I've been using a Raspberry Pi 3 B+ to run cgminer for a few months now, and I've noticed lately more and more that I'm having issues with my wifi continually disconnecting! This was an issue early on, however I resolved it by just pinging addresses continually and this seemed to keep to wifi active for a couple of months. This doesn't seem to be working now.

I've tried out most of the troubleshooting ideas posted online, however none of them seem to be working for me.

Anyone here had the same issue on there Pi 3 B+ and resolved it?

Cheers.

Not having any problems from mine.  I've left my 3 b+ up as a pi-hole server and running wireless.   If your wireless continues dropping on your unit I'd suggest going wired or reaching out to Raspberry support for ideas on it.  Also make sure your OS is current (sudo apt-get update followed by sudo apt-get upgrade -y).

Are you running this in console mode (Stretch) or are you using the desktop model (Noobs etc)?  If console mode only I have read many people running into issues on the 3 b+ going that route.  However switching to the desktop model it worked without issue.  I have all of my pi's set to run off Noobs booting to a desktop.  I changed the login in config so that user Pi doesn't boot fully in, instead it'll boot up to a login screen.  And from there I can remote into this Pi (or any of my others) from any windows machine to setup my miners etc.  I've found this to be the most stable, issue free for me.  I have instructions on this page (59)  on how to setup xrdp so that you can remote into the machine from windows.

[nuanicaj]

The 600MHz neighborhood is also where USB runs out of steam on a bandwidth/framerate scale if you're not running ASICBoost. If you're not connected to an AB-enabled pool, it won't matter if you have it running off a Cray, you won't get much more than about 800GH.

GS miners all have an Arctic Silver ceramic white thermal paste applied, so whatever they recommend for lifetime.

PI4 using the USB3 getting 800mhz 1th on both on one PI4.

[OlgaMachslochov]

Hello Guys
Is there kind of a technical drawing for the dimensions of the newpac miner especially the Cooler?
Im at home at my parents house and didnt take one with me to measure it myself. I found an old Alu-Cooler in the basement and want to make a more potent one for my USB-Miners

[K21000]

Is it possible for the fan to fail during mining? If so will the unit power down automatically or will the mainboard continue to mine until it overheats and fails?

[sidehack]

It's possible for anything to fail. The miner will keep mining until it gets too hot. The red LEDs should flash at you to let you know it's overheating, and the main regulator is temperature-limited so it shouldn't run away too far.

Future pods will probably have not just fan speed control but also speed monitoring to watch for issues. The controls package on this one is fairly simple.

[Cohenpol]

Can someone please quote the standard Raspbian OS cmdline.txt as I've messed up.  I can recall this but it's still not booting up to the GUI:

dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=serial0,115200 console=tty1 root=PARTUUID=51df20e4-02 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=deadline fsck.repair=yes rootwait quiet splash plymouth.ignore-serial-consoles

I'm on a Pi3B+

Thanks