Official FutureBit Apollo LTC Image and Support thread

[tom69]

I have the Apollo powered up and I am in the dashboard.  I am not connecting to the miner or to blocksfactory.  I have burned a new Apollo image that was successful, entered the username, password and address in the pool dashboard.  I have not added the proxy address.  Is this needed?  Here is the message I am getting in my dashboard.



It seems there is a problem to communicate with the miner, check error message.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4028

That means bfgminer is not connecting to your pool...double check your pool info/username.

I have tried both litecoinpool and blocksfactory using cut and paste to enter usernames and passwords.  I can't get either to work.  I have logged out of the mining pools and used the same username and passwords (cut and paste that I used on the Apollo dashboard) and had success logging back in.  Do I need to enter the proxy address?

Update:  I changed the password to something very simple in the both mining pools and I am not getting the Apollo to connect.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I was successful with my Moonlanders but this is not connecting.  I am connected via ethernet cable.

The Apollo is working thought because the donation is both active and the status is alive.   My main pool is active and the status is dead.

If donation pool is working then your definitely imputing something wrong in the url field probably. Delete the whole pool entry and put in a new one and make sure you are copy and pasting the whole stratum url correctly. Pool worker names/pass are case sensitive as well so you’ll fail authentication and get a “dead” pool.

I am using this address.  stratum+tcp://us.litecoinpool.org:3333  plus username and password.  My moonlanders are working on the same pools with same passwords.  I am not sure what else I can do?

Did you do this on the setup wizard? There is a bug that's not saving this info.

Make sure your going to the pool tab on the main side panel. Delete whatever is there and input a new entry using the pool info. You need to press the save button on the top of the screen. If that still does not work try rebooting the MCU.

Yes I did that in the setup wizard.  I have deleted all pools and started over several times and then hitting the yellow "save and restart" button which takes about 30 seconds to start over.  I have rebooted the Apollo and rebooted the modem separately.  Is there something like a factory restore for the Apollo?

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[philipma1957]

Did you just plug the moonlanders in how did they connect?

The Moonlanders are connected to a powered USB hub which also powers the 12V 80mm fan using a 5V->12V regulator. That hub is then connected via usb to the Apollo which will automatically detect the two Moonlanders as /dev/ttyUSB0 and /dev/ttyUSB1. As there aren't other serial usb devices connected, it can be assumed that all /dev/ttyUSB prefixed devices are Moonlanders.

After that, it's only a matter of getting bfgminer running. I didn't try using the bfgminer that runs the Apollo (as root user) as the dashboard showed no signs of supporting multiple devices internally. I transferred the Moonlander bfgminer binary package for Raspberry Pi (works because of being the same cpu architecture) to the unit using the futurebit username, configured it to scan only those specific serial usb devices and use a different api port:

Code:

./bfgminer --scrypt -o stratum+tcp://litecoinpool.org:3333/#skipcbcheck \
  --scan-time 1 --queue 1 \
  -u username -p "password,d=1024" \
  -S "MLD:/dev/ttyUSB0" -S "MLD:/dev/ttyUSB1" --set MLD:clock=${freq} \
  --api-port 4030 --api-listen --api-allow R:0/0

That's added to a script with freq defined and started in a screen which results in the Moonlanders working without disturbing anything Apollo related. Obviously, nothing new shows up in the Apollo dashboard.

so I would need to program a rasp pi first to run  the moonlanders.

I use windows to run them at the moment

Or wait and hope new os from jstefanop lets the guy add them.

@ jstefanop are you doing software for this? would be nice to see it on the gui moonlanders and apollos

[Underwaterbasketcoin]

I have the Apollo powered up and I am in the dashboard.  I am not connecting to the miner or to blocksfactory.  I have burned a new Apollo image that was successful, entered the username, password and address in the pool dashboard.  I have not added the proxy address.  Is this needed?  Here is the message I am getting in my dashboard.



It seems there is a problem to communicate with the miner, check error message.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4028

That means bfgminer is not connecting to your pool...double check your pool info/username.

I have tried both litecoinpool and blocksfactory using cut and paste to enter usernames and passwords.  I can't get either to work.  I have logged out of the mining pools and used the same username and passwords (cut and paste that I used on the Apollo dashboard) and had success logging back in.  Do I need to enter the proxy address?

Update:  I changed the password to something very simple in the both mining pools and I am not getting the Apollo to connect.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I was successful with my Moonlanders but this is not connecting.  I am connected via ethernet cable.

The Apollo is working thought because the donation is both active and the status is alive.   My main pool is active and the status is dead.

If donation pool is working then your definitely imputing something wrong in the url field probably. Delete the whole pool entry and put in a new one and make sure you are copy and pasting the whole stratum url correctly. Pool worker names/pass are case sensitive as well so you’ll fail authentication and get a “dead” pool.

I am using this address.  stratum+tcp://us.litecoinpool.org:3333  plus username and password.  My moonlanders are working on the same pools with same passwords.  I am not sure what else I can do?

Did you do this on the setup wizard? There is a bug that's not saving this info.

Make sure your going to the pool tab on the main side panel. Delete whatever is there and input a new entry using the pool info. You need to press the save button on the top of the screen. If that still does not work try rebooting the MCU.

Yes I did that in the setup wizard.  I have deleted all pools and started over several times and then hitting the yellow "save and restart" button which takes about 30 seconds to start over.  I have rebooted the Apollo and rebooted the modem separately.  Is there something like a factory restore for the Apollo?

Make sure it's not a capitalization issue. For some reason when I saved my username it removed the capitalization and that mattered.

[jstefanop]

Yea figured it was something like that. Wait so did you have to change this poolside? Is there a bug with my ui and it does not save caps?

[whiteogre]

so I would need to program a rasp pi first to run  the moonlanders.

I use windows to run them at the moment

Or wait and hope new os from jstefanop lets the guy add them.

@ jstefanop are you doing software for this? would be nice to see it on the gui moonlanders and apollos

No need to program a raspberry pi first. I was just trying to say that the binary that works for a raspberry pi can also be executed as well on the Apollo. The package you are looking for is the latest linux_armv6.tar.gz suffixed file from https://github.com/jstefanop/bfgminer/releases since you probably wouldn't want to try to compile a more recent version from source.

Regarding the ui part: it could possibly make sense to have it in a public github repository since it doesn't have any binary files resulting in all the source being readable directly from the sd card image. That way, those with suitable skills could more easily propose changes using pull requests. Unless of course, there's some licensing issue restricting this. I did at least notice that the bfgminer with Moonlander driver is in github (with more recent changes than the latest release) but the Apollo driver isn't there apart from a branch that did appear to be mainly a unused fork.

[tom69]

I have the Apollo powered up and I am in the dashboard.  I am not connecting to the miner or to blocksfactory.  I have burned a new Apollo image that was successful, entered the username, password and address in the pool dashboard.  I have not added the proxy address.  Is this needed?  Here is the message I am getting in my dashboard.



It seems there is a problem to communicate with the miner, check error message.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4028

That means bfgminer is not connecting to your pool...double check your pool info/username.

I have tried both litecoinpool and blocksfactory using cut and paste to enter usernames and passwords.  I can't get either to work.  I have logged out of the mining pools and used the same username and passwords (cut and paste that I used on the Apollo dashboard) and had success logging back in.  Do I need to enter the proxy address?

Update:  I changed the password to something very simple in the both mining pools and I am not getting the Apollo to connect.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I was successful with my Moonlanders but this is not connecting.  I am connected via ethernet cable.

The Apollo is working thought because the donation is both active and the status is alive.   My main pool is active and the status is dead.

If donation pool is working then your definitely imputing something wrong in the url field probably. Delete the whole pool entry and put in a new one and make sure you are copy and pasting the whole stratum url correctly. Pool worker names/pass are case sensitive as well so you’ll fail authentication and get a “dead” pool.

I am using this address.  stratum+tcp://us.litecoinpool.org:3333  plus username and password.  My moonlanders are working on the same pools with same passwords.  I am not sure what else I can do?

Did you do this on the setup wizard? There is a bug that's not saving this info.

Make sure your going to the pool tab on the main side panel. Delete whatever is there and input a new entry using the pool info. You need to press the save button on the top of the screen. If that still does not work try rebooting the MCU.

Yes I did that in the setup wizard.  I have deleted all pools and started over several times and then hitting the yellow "save and restart" button which takes about 30 seconds to start over.  I have rebooted the Apollo and rebooted the modem separately.  Is there something like a factory restore for the Apollo?

Make sure it's not a capitalization issue. For some reason when I saved my username it removed the capitalization and that mattered.

I do not have caps in my username or password.  I have no idea what is going on?  I have cut and paste the mining address that I am using and the same one for the moonlanders.  I changed the password to something very simple and manually input.  I may try another mining pool but I use the same litecoin pool as the donation.

[r00tdude]

FYI the 92-94% Platinum efficient 200 watt brick I am building will cost 40-60 USD range..it will probably be ready end of next month.
[/quote]

Count me in for 10!

[VictorGT]

I have the Apollo powered up and I am in the dashboard.  I am not connecting to the miner or to blocksfactory.  I have burned a new Apollo image that was successful, entered the username, password and address in the pool dashboard.  I have not added the proxy address.  Is this needed?  Here is the message I am getting in my dashboard.



It seems there is a problem to communicate with the miner, check error message.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4028

That means bfgminer is not connecting to your pool...double check your pool info/username.

I have tried both litecoinpool and blocksfactory using cut and paste to enter usernames and passwords.  I can't get either to work.  I have logged out of the mining pools and used the same username and passwords (cut and paste that I used on the Apollo dashboard) and had success logging back in.  Do I need to enter the proxy address?

Update:  I changed the password to something very simple in the both mining pools and I am not getting the Apollo to connect.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I was successful with my Moonlanders but this is not connecting.  I am connected via ethernet cable.

The Apollo is working thought because the donation is both active and the status is alive.   My main pool is active and the status is dead.

If donation pool is working then your definitely imputing something wrong in the url field probably. Delete the whole pool entry and put in a new one and make sure you are copy and pasting the whole stratum url correctly. Pool worker names/pass are case sensitive as well so you’ll fail authentication and get a “dead” pool.

I am using this address.  stratum+tcp://us.litecoinpool.org:3333  plus username and password.  My moonlanders are working on the same pools with same passwords.  I am not sure what else I can do?

Did you do this on the setup wizard? There is a bug that's not saving this info.

Make sure your going to the pool tab on the main side panel. Delete whatever is there and input a new entry using the pool info. You need to press the save button on the top of the screen. If that still does not work try rebooting the MCU.

Yes I did that in the setup wizard.  I have deleted all pools and started over several times and then hitting the yellow "save and restart" button which takes about 30 seconds to start over.  I have rebooted the Apollo and rebooted the modem separately.  Is there something like a factory restore for the Apollo?

Make sure it's not a capitalization issue. For some reason when I saved my username it removed the capitalization and that mattered.

I do not have caps in my username or password.  I have no idea what is going on?  I have cut and paste the mining address that I am using and the same one for the moonlanders.  I changed the password to something very simple and manually input.  I may try another mining pool but I use the same litecoin pool as the donation.

Maybe something poolside? Did you create new workers for Apollos? Litecoinpool needs you to define workers...

[Underwaterbasketcoin]

What is the status of balanced and turbo modes? Is it safe to run in those yet? I was hoping to throw more heat!!

[crypto_curious]

I have two pools in bfgminer.conf:

Code:

    "pools": [
        {
            "quota": "0;stratum+tcp://litecoinpool.org:3333",
            "user": "x",
            "pass": "x"
        },
        {
            "quota": "0;stratum+tcp://tbdice.org:13333 ",
            "user": "x",
            "pass": "x"
        }
    ],

I crossed out user and pass entries, but there is white space after tbdice.org:1333. I created this entry via Dashboard, space should be deleted automatically in my opinion.

How come I am mining on both of the at the same time, according to dashboard? I am getting accepted shares on Litecoinpool, which is fine. But also on TBDice?

https://imgur.com/a/ROIGL69

EDIT: Looks like this is a startup procedure, to check if all pools are stable? I've just noticed TBDice has become inactive after few minutes and only Litecoinpool is receiving shares. Which is all OK, as expected.

[jchotz]

Apollo miner won't power on for me.

I've tried two different power supplies: 1) Corsair 450W and a 2) Powerspec 420W

Any suggestions?

I know this sounds stupid, but did you short the enable pin if you are using an ATX PSU without a PC attached to it?

I’ve already had a few emails like this because of that issue

Need to build a stand alone PSU for this ASAP!

Newbie/hobbiest here - can you please list/link the 3 best standalone PSUs for the Apollo and their best attributes?
I really just want to get the best PSU I can so I can get my Apollo running.
Thx.

[philipma1957]

Apollo miner won't power on for me.

I've tried two different power supplies: 1) Corsair 450W and a 2) Powerspec 420W

Any suggestions?

I know this sounds stupid, but did you short the enable pin if you are using an ATX PSU without a PC attached to it?

I’ve already had a few emails like this because of that issue

Need to build a stand alone PSU for this ASAP!

Newbie/hobbiest here - can you please list/link the 3 best standalone PSUs for the Apollo and their best attributes?
I really just want to get the best PSU I can so I can get my Apollo running.
Thx.

One apollo correct?

Corsair sf450 and a psu switch

Search

Asicminer 24-pin atx/eps

On amazon should cost 2.99

The psu costs 83 is it the best ah maybe maybe not but it is small.

Amazon has the Evga 750p2 platinum psu on sale 99 bucks with a psu switch to plug in.

99 is cheap for that model.  It can run two maybe three of these on middle speed.

[hnelson01]

Apollo has been running flawlessly for 2 weeks now, but disconnected from the pool a couple of times.  Is it possible to set up a backup pool (failover)?

[Underwaterbasketcoin]

Apollo has been running flawlessly for 2 weeks now, but disconnected from the pool a couple of times.  Is it possible to set up a backup pool (failover)?

Yes, go to Pools in the left hand menu. Add info and hit the + sign. You can change the order with the arrows, top one is primary.

[tom69]

I have the Apollo powered up and I am in the dashboard.  I am not connecting to the miner or to blocksfactory.  I have burned a new Apollo image that was successful, entered the username, password and address in the pool dashboard.  I have not added the proxy address.  Is this needed?  Here is the message I am getting in my dashboard.



It seems there is a problem to communicate with the miner, check error message.

Error: connect ECONNREFUSED 127.0.0.1:4028

That means bfgminer is not connecting to your pool...double check your pool info/username.

I have tried both litecoinpool and blocksfactory using cut and paste to enter usernames and passwords.  I can't get either to work.  I have logged out of the mining pools and used the same username and passwords (cut and paste that I used on the Apollo dashboard) and had success logging back in.  Do I need to enter the proxy address?

Update:  I changed the password to something very simple in the both mining pools and I am not getting the Apollo to connect.  I am not sure what I am doing wrong.  I was successful with my Moonlanders but this is not connecting.  I am connected via ethernet cable.

The Apollo is working thought because the donation is both active and the status is alive.   My main pool is active and the status is dead.

If donation pool is working then your definitely imputing something wrong in the url field probably. Delete the whole pool entry and put in a new one and make sure you are copy and pasting the whole stratum url correctly. Pool worker names/pass are case sensitive as well so you’ll fail authentication and get a “dead” pool.

I am using this address.  stratum+tcp://us.litecoinpool.org:3333  plus username and password.  My moonlanders are working on the same pools with same passwords.  I am not sure what else I can do?

Did you do this on the setup wizard? There is a bug that's not saving this info.

Make sure your going to the pool tab on the main side panel. Delete whatever is there and input a new entry using the pool info. You need to press the save button on the top of the screen. If that still does not work try rebooting the MCU.

Yes I did that in the setup wizard.  I have deleted all pools and started over several times and then hitting the yellow "save and restart" button which takes about 30 seconds to start over.  I have rebooted the Apollo and rebooted the modem separately.  Is there something like a factory restore for the Apollo?

Make sure it's not a capitalization issue. For some reason when I saved my username it removed the capitalization and that mattered.

I do not have caps in my username or password.  I have no idea what is going on?  I have cut and paste the mining address that I am using and the same one for the moonlanders.  I changed the password to something very simple and manually input.  I may try another mining pool but I use the same litecoin pool as the donation.

Maybe something poolside? Did you create new workers for Apollos? Litecoinpool needs you to define workers...

Thank you.  I had not defined the worker.

[hnelson01]

Apollo has been running flawlessly for 2 weeks now, but disconnected from the pool a couple of times.  Is it possible to set up a backup pool (failover)?

Yes, go to Pools in the left hand menu. Add info and hit the + sign. You can change the order with the arrows, top one is primary.

Thanks!

[jstefanop]

Thank you.  I had not defined the worker.

Lol all that for an undefined worker 


Once I finish the full writeup I need to get up a list of all the little stupid avoidable things people have issues with 

[drakedave]

Hi,

I'm curently mining on multipool.us and I was wondering what would be the best diff setting for the Apollo. I tried these settings now and I'm still not sure. What do you think, what is your experience?

• Automatic: the pool sets difficulty to 65536, the hashrate seems to fluctuate a lot
• Force it to 32768
• Force it to 16384
• Lower one ?

[DaveF]

Fan control still needs work.
Got the alert from litecoinpool that the apollo had dropped off this morning. I could not get the the web front end, so I ignored it figuring on a crash.
The L3+ that is on the same power supply never dropped so I knew the power and internet were good.

Got in to work and fan was not spinning AND unit was about 1 billion degrees (give or take a bit) was actually hot enough to darken the thermal ink label on the controller.


Once it cooled down it seems to have come back no problem.
I now have the fan set to 25% instead of auto.

In the next revision can you have the fan fail to max speed in case of any issues?

-Dave

[HagssFIN]

I've noticed that the fan speed keeps revving up and down a little,
though I have set it at manual speed 15 %.