Official FutureBit Apollo LTC Image and Support thread

[phpstrat]

Silly question here, but is the firmware on page one of this thread the most current?  If it is, can you add a feature to batch 2 for static IP configuration?  I'd like to address my devices so that they don't get lost in the dhcp/routing tables with other non miner hosts.

[sanangeloninja]

Hey thank you for your fixing my Apollo for me FutureBit its running nice and smooth now with no issues at all cant wait to buy a 3rd one

[whiteogre]

Great thank you so much jstefanop for all the work !
Here is a feature request for next update :

For example, I'd like to have the possibility to set the miner on balanced mode from 07:00PM to 07:00 AM and on another mode for another amount of time set in hours.

What do you think ?

This would be very nice... By night (cheaper electricity) FULL MODE, by day ECO mode... Please jstefanop, think about it...

People (like me) with high electricity prices need this. And this will be a new feature no other ASIC has (pro miners don't need this, but hobby/home miners need it). Sure you are trying to build a "different miner" .

That's actually something that can already be done from the MCU command line if a fancy user interface for the feature isn't needed. The command line offers access to the bfgminer settings for frequency adjustment + voltage and fan control. Since it's a Linux distribution, cron can be used for scheduling events based on day or time preference.

Another small request for Apollo batch 2... What about a on/off switch, just like Baikal mini miner has?. Again, not needed for proffesionals, but I will like to have this option. Maybe not too expensive to add.

I suspect adding a on/off switch would require some changes to the PCB design as there aren't any unused areas already present for adding a switch to the 12V rail. Assuming there are still at least two unused i/o pins on the MCU then, if a PCB redesign is made, it would also be nice to get voltage + current sensing added. That would allow having power usage and efficiency visible directly from the UI.

[whiteogre]

Silly question here, but is the firmware on page one of this thread the most current?  If it is, can you add a feature to batch 2 for static IP configuration?  I'd like to address my devices so that they don't get lost in the dhcp/routing tables with other non miner hosts.

Yes, the first post has the latest firmware linked. I'd also expect the same firmware to be compatible with both batch 1 and batch 2 units.

You can already configure a static IP for the unit using the MCU command line. However, a much better solution is to configure you dhcp server to provide a specific IP for the MAC address of the unit instead of a random one from the configured IP pool. That MAC address is unique for each unit and doesn't change even if the firmware is updated or the sd card content erased and rewritten.

[devincrypt]

That's actually something that can already be done from the MCU command line if a fancy user interface for the feature isn't needed. The command line offers access to the bfgminer settings for frequency adjustment + voltage and fan control. Since it's a Linux distribution, cron can be used for scheduling events based on day or time preference.

How does one access the command line of an Apollo?

Thanks in advance!

[whiteogre]

That's actually something that can already be done from the MCU command line if a fancy user interface for the feature isn't needed. The command line offers access to the bfgminer settings for frequency adjustment + voltage and fan control. Since it's a Linux distribution, cron can be used for scheduling events based on day or time preference.

How does one access the command line of an Apollo?

As you can probably guess from the lack of such details from the first page instruction posts, this isn't officially supported and falls to the category of "do only if you know what you are doing": ssh with username 'futurebit' to the Apollo IP, default port 22 using password 'futurebit'.

[r00tdude]

Just gonna leave this here...  

No, they'll not pay for themselves for a year or two (though I suspect that during the bull run I feel in my bones, the coins they mined will be worth double what I paid for these gems), but it's always nice to see that they can catch blocks against the biggest mining farms anywhere.

Kudos to you jstef!

[jstefanop]

Just gonna leave this here...  

No, they'll not pay for themselves for a year or two (though I suspect that during the bull run I feel in my bones, the coins they mined will be worth double what I paid for these gems), but it's always nice to see that they can catch blocks against the biggest mining farms anywhere.

Kudos to you jstef!

Nice...always good to see that the hardware CAN find real blocks haha 

Actually found a block as well with one of my prototypes...maybe the blockchain gods are giving underdog hardware like the Apollo some extra luck...if someone has found a a solo block that would be super cool definitely do share.

[jtregunna]

I'm seeing something really weird with my second Apollo (one of the final ones in Batch 1)

In eco mode, the Apollo sees roughly 2.2% to 3.0% hardware errors; but in balanced mode, 0.8% to 1.1%. Is this likely just silicon lottery, meaning this particular apollo needs more voltage? If so, what are the settings for each of the pre-baked modes?

[jstefanop]

I'm seeing something really weird with my second Apollo (one of the final ones in Batch 1)

In eco mode, the Apollo sees roughly 2.2% to 3.0% hardware errors; but in balanced mode, 0.8% to 1.1%. Is this likely just silicon lottery, meaning this particular apollo needs more voltage? If so, what are the settings for each of the pre-baked modes?

Yea ECO mode is slightly more aggressive with voltage than the other modes, stock ECO values are 600MHz and 750mV...you should be fine if you bump it up to 775.

[whiteogre]

I'm seeing something really weird with my second Apollo (one of the final ones in Batch 1)

In eco mode, the Apollo sees roughly 2.2% to 3.0% hardware errors; but in balanced mode, 0.8% to 1.1%. Is this likely just silicon lottery, meaning this particular apollo needs more voltage? If so, what are the settings for each of the pre-baked modes?

Yea ECO mode is slightly more aggressive with voltage than the other modes, stock ECO values are 600MHz and 750mV...you should be fine if you bump it up to 775.

Were the stock ECO values changed at some point?

Looking from the MCU side file /var/local/apollo/hwmon/reg_voltage with the current firmware (in ECO mode), I can see it output 28, which according to

Code:

const voltageStep = parseInt((settings.voltage - 644) / 4.15)

(from /opt/apolloapi/src/configurator.js) results in 760 mV.

[jstefanop]

I'm seeing something really weird with my second Apollo (one of the final ones in Batch 1)

In eco mode, the Apollo sees roughly 2.2% to 3.0% hardware errors; but in balanced mode, 0.8% to 1.1%. Is this likely just silicon lottery, meaning this particular apollo needs more voltage? If so, what are the settings for each of the pre-baked modes?

Yea ECO mode is slightly more aggressive with voltage than the other modes, stock ECO values are 600MHz and 750mV...you should be fine if you bump it up to 775.

Were the stock ECO values changed at some point?

Looking from the MCU side file /var/local/apollo/hwmon/reg_voltage with the current firmware (in ECO mode), I can see it output 28, which according to

Code:

const voltageStep = parseInt((settings.voltage - 644) / 4.15)

(from /opt/apolloapi/src/configurator.js) results in 760 mV.

Yes hwmon controls default values which were undervolted slightly more in the latest firmware (AFAIR without looking at the source i think the step voltage was 26 which translates to around 750mv).

[jtregunna]

I'm seeing something really weird with my second Apollo (one of the final ones in Batch 1)

In eco mode, the Apollo sees roughly 2.2% to 3.0% hardware errors; but in balanced mode, 0.8% to 1.1%. Is this likely just silicon lottery, meaning this particular apollo needs more voltage? If so, what are the settings for each of the pre-baked modes?

Yea ECO mode is slightly more aggressive with voltage than the other modes, stock ECO values are 600MHz and 750mV...you should be fine if you bump it up to 775.

Few hours it's been running in custom with eco settings +25mV (to 775) and hw errors have dropped to < 1%. Thanks!

[almartins]

"About saving power"

Hi jstefanop,

I'm thinking droping voltage, step by step, to find a minimum my miner can run at 589 MHz.
What problems will I encounter ?
Can I recover on my own?

[whiteogre]

I'm thinking droping voltage, step by step, to find a minimum my miner can run at 589 MHz.
What problems will I encounter ?
Can I recover on my own?

At some point when lowering the voltage, the hardware error rate will start increasing but nothing else should happen. Just in case you manage to still trip some undocumented failsafe and the unit ends up in a reboot loop due to the test settings having been saved, you'll still always have the option to re-flash the sd card and return back to the default settings.

Note that it may take some minutes for the hardware error rate to stabilize so don't be in too much hurry when making voltage changes.

[jstefanop]

I'm thinking droping voltage, step by step, to find a minimum my miner can run at 589 MHz.
What problems will I encounter ?
Can I recover on my own?

At some point when lowering the voltage, the hardware error rate will start increasing but nothing else should happen. Just in case you manage to still trip some undocumented failsafe and the unit ends up in a reboot loop due to the test settings having been saved, you'll still always have the option to re-flash the sd card and return back to the default settings.

Note that it may take some minutes for the hardware error rate to stabilize so don't be in too much hurry when making voltage changes.

Yea you can never cause any damage under-volting...youll just see HW errors spike, or the miner just wont startup at all.

The software is actually designed so you can do this live...ie start the miner in custom mode, then slowly increase or decrease the voltage while its mining...you can just lower the voltage and keep checking the dashboard HW errors...as long as you dont see the count go up faster than a few a minute your good.

[mshewkin]

I have two and set them both up last night. I setup the first one and added to my wireless. Then I powered on and setup the second one and it gave me a struggle after I added to wireless. It seemed to me they stepped on each other because the first one quit mining. But its possible I screwed up because I was on NyQuil so I switched one back to wired and both hashing away. I'd like to change the dns name from local to local2 or something just to keep them straight on my network. How can I do that?

BTW, left them both set to default and hashing away at about 102HM. And I can't believe how easy the mining interface is to configure.

Best way to set up multiple right now is to just power one on a time, find its IP address set it up, power it down, power up the second one and repeat, then power on the first.

Either way the wifi is buggy right now, but there is no reason why they both should not work. Can you shoot me a screen shot of the Network info side panel for both machines when you get the chance?

I am having a very hard time connecting my 2nd Apollo onto my wireless network. I am using a Sprint Wireless HotSpot which will allow up to 14 devices at any given time. When I connect with wireless in the console, it still shows the connection with the enternet port as being connected on a separate IP address. Is there some settings I have to save once it has a wireless connection?

[almartins]

I'm thinking droping voltage, step by step, to find a minimum my miner can run at 589 MHz.
What problems will I encounter ?
Can I recover on my own?

At some point when lowering the voltage, the hardware error rate will start increasing but nothing else should happen. Just in case you manage to still trip some undocumented failsafe and the unit ends up in a reboot loop due to the test settings having been saved, you'll still always have the option to re-flash the sd card and return back to the default settings.

Note that it may take some minutes for the hardware error rate to stabilize so don't be in too much hurry when making voltage changes.

Yea you can never cause any damage under-volting...youll just see HW errors spike, or the miner just wont startup at all.

The software is actually designed so you can do this live...ie start the miner in custom mode, then slowly increase or decrease the voltage while its mining...you can just lower the voltage and keep checking the dashboard HW errors...as long as you dont see the count go up faster than a few a minute your good.

Thank you whiteogre and jstefanop,

I'll spare some wh and fan noise. As I have expensive energy during the day this change is important.

Jstefanop I am waiting for the update that will allow the configuration change, at certain times of the day, to adapt the speed of the miner to the price of electricity.

Keep up the good work  .

[dayday15]

Hello,

A bit worried about my Apollo.

I have a solid red front led

miner IP and UI working proper.

Miner wont mine, fan wont turn on.

I have tried reboots, restarts, in UI and also via turning power supply on and off.

reconnected pcie cables and eth.


Any way to hard reset the unit?


Thanks in advance,
Davis

[whiteogre]

Any way to hard reset the unit?

Re-flash the sd card with the latest firmware. That will erase all settings and give you a clean start.