GridSeed 5-chip USB miner voltage mod

[wolfey2014]

Hi Nemercry,

There is just 1 (ONE) resistor to be solder...I called it Rmod =17K/16.9K...

It is to be soldered to the cut-off bridge pads of R46...1 cut...1 solder...that's it...simple...

The original resistor...Orange at position #1...You called "R52"... is in reality R139 = 33K...the  last resistor in the chain of VID resistors ...the same one that you are replacing...This one is just STAYING in place...untouched...NO un-soldering needed... simple "work?.. no thanks"...

You are completely correct as of doing 2 bridges...marked "Yellow"  to "undo" the R139/"R52" mod and to shift the Voltage reference back to resistor in the "green" position...=36K...

I am doing reversal of the Rmod in R46 position by simply shorting back R46 pads...even with Rmod in it...So effectively we back to R139/"R52" value = 33K...ORIGINAL stock value...schematics...performance...etc...
 
I hope it is clear now...

Regards, buddy...

Definitely more space to work in over by R46.  I'd like to put a jumper and a resistor there but might not bother. 



That's 1/4 watt resistor in the photo (wrong value).  I could only find 1/2 watt locally today and I gave up trying to fit it in with a jumper.  Thanks for the "rollback" info Nemercry & ZiG - that gives more options should it ever be needed. 

I was having a bit of trouble soldering over at R46.  For some reason I could not get the solder to bond well on the inner point.  It would break free easily. No problem with the outer point.  I gave up and re-bridged it. That was with the 1/2 watt resistor.  I'll try again when I get the 1/4 watt resistors I ordered.

Hey Happydaze,

The trouble you are having is caused by the red layer on the top of the board...so called "Solder protective mask" ...it is preventing the solder to stick to the surface of the board except to the designated for soldering actual components/parts...

Because R46 is just a bridge of copper trace between 2 pads...without actual component present...they cover the whole area with this red mask...including pads and the bridge ...

So, you need to SCRATCH the pads...VERY GENTLY...to remove the red top layer...and to uncover the THIN copper surface underneath...Be CAREFUL...no force...otherwise it is easy to remove the pad(s) itself...the same way as you remove the copper bridge in between...

After that...Use the flux and solder to try to cover the pads with nice small ball of solder...before actually soldering the new Rmod  

Hope it'll solve your problem...

ZiG  

If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

[1714901258]

1714901258

[1714901258]

1714901258

[powersup]

Hi Nemercry,

There is just 1 (ONE) resistor to be solder...I called it Rmod =17K/16.9K...

It is to be soldered to the cut-off bridge pads of R46...1 cut...1 solder...that's it...simple...

The original resistor...Orange at position #1...You called "R52"... is in reality R139 = 33K...the  last resistor in the chain of VID resistors ...the same one that you are replacing...This one is just STAYING in place...untouched...NO un-soldering needed... simple "work?.. no thanks"...

You are completely correct as of doing 2 bridges...marked "Yellow"  to "undo" the R139/"R52" mod and to shift the Voltage reference back to resistor in the "green" position...=36K...

I am doing reversal of the Rmod in R46 position by simply shorting back R46 pads...even with Rmod in it...So effectively we back to R139/"R52" value = 33K...ORIGINAL stock value...schematics...performance...etc...
 
I hope it is clear now...

Regards, buddy...

Definitely more space to work in over by R46.  I'd like to put a jumper and a resistor there but might not bother. 



That's 1/4 watt resistor in the photo (wrong value).  I could only find 1/2 watt locally today and I gave up trying to fit it in with a jumper.  Thanks for the "rollback" info Nemercry & ZiG - that gives more options should it ever be needed. 

I was having a bit of trouble soldering over at R46.  For some reason I could not get the solder to bond well on the inner point.  It would break free easily. No problem with the outer point.  I gave up and re-bridged it. That was with the 1/2 watt resistor.  I'll try again when I get the 1/4 watt resistors I ordered.

Hey Happydaze,

The trouble you are having is caused by the red layer on the top of the board...so called "Solder protective mask" ...it is preventing the solder to stick to the surface of the board except to the designated for soldering actual components/parts...

Because R46 is just a bridge of copper trace between 2 pads...without actual component present...they cover the whole area with this red mask...including pads and the bridge ...

So, you need to SCRATCH the pads...VERY GENTLY...to remove the red top layer...and to uncover the THIN copper surface underneath...Be CAREFUL...no force...otherwise it is easy to remove the pad(s) itself...the same way as you remove the copper bridge in between...

After that...Use the flux and solder to try to cover the pads with nice small ball of solder...before actually soldering the new Rmod  

Hope it'll solve your problem...

ZiG  

If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

Has anyone tried a 20K pot across R46 as suggested by ZiG? this would make it very easy to switch from stock to overclock and back again.

[nst6563]

*snip*
If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

Yes, that was an idea I had and even hooked up a 50k pot to test things out.  I just haven't had the chance to do anything more since the gridseed I've been  testing things on hasn't been the same since it blew the 3022m mosfet while trying to dual mine at too high of a voltage/frequency (47k in place of r139 and running at 1100Mhz).  

The real idea I had was to do the single bridge mod, and replace or even add a another resistor in parallel to get the value of 49k so removal of r139 wouldn't be necessary.  This way if one wanted to run in vmodded overclocked mode for scrypt only they could simply use the voltage=1 parameter in the command line options.  Omission of the voltage=1 parameter would be running it in stock mode.  

However....I think it is possible to overclock the gridseeds and run in dual mode, just not anywhere near the level they are being voltmodded and overclocked for scrypt only.  I think 1000Mhz would be possible.

So...really...there are quite a few options to explore as far as modding the gridseed to allow for this.  We could simply do the single bridge, and replace the stock resistors to the voltage=1 parameter could be used, or forget about the voltage=1 parameter and use a physical switch.  Obviously both methods have their merrits.....but then again we could do BOTH, and change the value of r66 (36k - which is activated with voltage=1) to 50k, and change r139 (33k - stock or voltage=0) to 38k-40k.  What this would (in theory) is allow the gridseed to run at a slightly higher voltage which should let it reach 1000Mhz for dual mode (and not let out the magic blue smoke), and enable the use of voltage=1 parameter to set the VID to use r139 (49.9k/50k) to raise the voltage enough to allow 1200Mhz+ for scrypt mode.


Anyone is welcome to take this idea and run with it.  I'm working on getting funds together for another gridseed since I can't really determine stability on the one the mosfet blew on.

EDIT:  Obviously the merit of using voltage=1 would be if you don't have physical access to the gridseeds and wanted to switch from dual mining to scrypt, it could be done via software in cgminer.

[wolfey2014]

*snip*
If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

Yes, that was an idea I had and even hooked up a 50k pot to test things out.  I just haven't had the chance to do anything more since the gridseed I've been  testing things on hasn't been the same since it blew the 3022m mosfet while trying to dual mine at too high of a voltage/frequency (47k in place of r139 and running at 1100Mhz).  

The real idea I had was to do the single bridge mod, and replace or even add a another resistor in parallel to get the value of 49k so removal of r139 wouldn't be necessary.  This way if one wanted to run in vmodded overclocked mode for scrypt only they could simply use the voltage=1 parameter in the command line options.  Omission of the voltage=1 parameter would be running it in stock mode.  

However....I think it is possible to overclock the gridseeds and run in dual mode, just not anywhere near the level they are being voltmodded and overclocked for scrypt only.  I think 1000Mhz would be possible.

So...really...there are quite a few options to explore as far as modding the gridseed to allow for this.  We could simply do the single bridge, and replace the stock resistors to the voltage=1 parameter could be used, or forget about the voltage=1 parameter and use a physical switch.  Obviously both methods have their merrits.....but then again we could do BOTH, and change the value of r66 (36k - which is activated with voltage=1) to 50k, and change r139 (33k - stock or voltage=0) to 38k-40k.  What this would (in theory) is allow the gridseed to run at a slightly higher voltage which should let it reach 1000Mhz for dual mode (and not let out the magic blue smoke), and enable the use of voltage=1 parameter to set the VID to use r139 (49.9k/50k) to raise the voltage enough to allow 1200Mhz+ for scrypt mode.


Anyone is welcome to take this idea and run with it.  I'm working on getting funds together for another gridseed since I can't really determine stability on the one the mosfet blew on.

EDIT:  Obviously the merit of using voltage=1 would be if you don't have physical access to the gridseeds and wanted to switch from dual mining to scrypt, it could be done via software in cgminer.

Right, I don't know if something has changed in the rumor mill or not regarding the possibility of SHA coins actually becoming mineable by small time hashers like us. Our pods just don't have the oomph it takes to make real money with btc. I thought it was pretty much agreed by most folks that Scrypt only is the way to go, so that is how the R52 mod came into being. Alter it and forget about mining SHA for good, period!
So are these other mods really necessary? Beneficial? Or just more useless tinkering trying to solve a problem that really doesn't or won't exist again any time in the foreseeable future? I mean, who can predict what the market is going to do with any great accuracy, anyway?
Then again, the unpredictability of the market may be one reason to have an easily reversible mod? Just in case!
But if so, that reverses the decision we all agreed to when we made the 'permanent' mod for Scrypt only. Who is right? I suppose, only time will tell.
Just food for thought.

[happydaze]

Thank you ZiG, that explains exactly what I saw happening.  I'm new to this so lots to learn.  I actually had to re-do the bridge again as the first re-do produced some errors when hashing.  On the second re-do I could see a bit of copper and got a good solder bond.  Now I know what to expect.

Wolfey - undoing this mod and going back to stock would be simply bridging the axial resistor at the solder points.  You could even leave the resistor in place as you'd be bypassing it.
Also Wolfey, I did vmod1 (the two bridges) and ran dual mode 850MHz for half a day.  SHA mode would take 1000 MHz but I could only get to 850MHz dual.  66 watts power consumption dual mode 850MHz vmod1. Kind of high and I'm not sure if it would shorten the device's life or not.

To sum up - you add one resistor with this mod.  You don't remove any resistors. One bridge to reverse the mod if ever needed.  

[Ranma13]

I did the 49.9k resistor mod, but I'm having an issue:

https://i.imgur.com/fXkhIQq.png

For some reason, although the Gridseeds are running at 7.65 Mh/s collectively, I"m only getting around 3.6 Mh/s effective. It's like this no matter what pool I use. Is this normal, and if not, any idea on how I can fix it?

[wolfey2014]

Thank you ZiG, that explains exactly what I saw happening.  I'm new to this so lots to learn.  I actually had to re-do the bridge again as the first re-do produced some errors when hashing.  On the second re-do I could see a bit of copper and got a good solder bond.  Now I know what to expect.

Wolfey - undoing this mod and going back to stock would be simply bridging the axial resistor at the solder points.  You could even leave the resistor in place as you'd be bypassing it.
Also Wolfey, I did vmod1 (the two bridges) and ran dual mode 850MHz for half a day.  SHA mode would take 1000 MHz but I could only get to 850MHz dual.  66 watts power consumption dual mode 850MHz vmod1. Kind of high and I'm not sure if it would shorten the device's life or not.

To sum up - you add one resistor with this mod.  You don't remove any resistors. One bridge to reverse the mod if ever needed.  

Right, makes sense. I first duplicated Sandor111's mod. He was the first one out with it. Then someone else, then Nemercry, then Me, then Zig and who knows who's next to come out with a new / better mod.
Lots of others have contributed to this whole thing since. And lets not forget the ones who asked if it was possible in the first place. Got some creative minds going and, look where we are now?

I for one feel that worrying about being able to switch these little seeds back to SHA or even DUAL mode is a waste of time, effort and worry over if/when SHA returns to general profitability. I doubt btc is ever going to go back to the good ol' days when even ANTs could make money mining it.
I'm running my miners flat out on Scrypt, achieving ROI and using the profits to upgrade to newer and better and faster and cheaper miners and eventually I will end up with a 2 or 3THs miner to finally hit btc or some other then hot SHA or Scrypt-N or Jane or what ever the heck algorithm.
The thing to keep firmly in mind is these are being modded for higher profits! So we can all ROI sooner than before. That's really all this is about. Mining for profit.
Mod them, mine them! Make profits! After they are not able to produce much profits anymore, they will eventually end up as paper weights or window ornaments or maybe even UFO's! Antiques!

[gtraah]

I did the 49.9k resistor mod, but I'm having an issue:



For some reason, although the Gridseeds are running at 7.65 Mh/s collectively, I"m only getting around 3.6 Mh/s effective. It's like this no matter what pool I use. Is this normal, and if not, any idea on how I can fix it?

I heard this same issue with Bfg MIner, have you tried Cgminer?

I use Cgminer which shows the Hashrates and works perfectly

[wolfey2014]

I did the 49.9k resistor mod, but I'm having an issue:



For some reason, although the Gridseeds are running at 7.65 Mh/s collectively, I"m only getting around 3.6 Mh/s effective. It's like this no matter what pool I use. Is this normal, and if not, any idea on how I can fix it?

I heard this same issue with Bfg MIner, have you tried Cgminer?

cpuminer will solve this problem, I believe.
I've been using it for months and it works great!

[ZiG]

Thank you ZiG, that explains exactly what I saw happening.  I'm new to this so lots to learn.  I actually had to re-do the bridge again as the first re-do produced some errors when hashing.  On the second re-do I could see a bit of copper and got a good solder bond.  Now I know what to expect.

Wolfey - undoing this mod and going back to stock would be simply bridging the axial resistor at the solder points.  You could even leave the resistor in place as you'd be bypassing it.
Also Wolfey, I did vmod1 (the two bridges) and ran dual mode 850MHz for half a day.  SHA mode would take 1000 MHz but I could only get to 850MHz dual.  66 watts power consumption dual mode 850MHz vmod1. Kind of high and I'm not sure if it would shorten the device's life or not.

To sum up - you add one resistor with this mod.  You don't remove any resistors. One bridge to reverse the mod if ever needed.  

Thanks Happydaze for clarification...

I am happy that you, nemercry and some others are getting the concept and simplicity of my modding proposal...

I have been repeating the steps for this mod at least 10 times in my last postings, including (not very good ) drafts on the pictures of Sandor111...

Let me make another attempt to explain...this time with schematics...(excerpt from p.3 of the official  Gridseed documentation ) ...here is the Voltage buck convertor / regulator ...with BLACK are the modifications...:



If somebody could not read the electronics schematics...fill free to ask the other participants in this thread...

Hope that helps for better understanding...or implementation...experimentation...whatever...

Enjoy...

ZiG

EDIT...:

If you replace Rmod with Trimm(-er) Pot(-enciometer )...which is a Variable Resistor with Nominal value of 20K...one Could AJUST FINE and in a SMOOTH way the Voltage Supplied to the Gridseed chips...Capisco...?...
 

[gtraah]

0402 (1005 metric): 1.0 mm × 0.5 mm (0.039 in × 0.020 in). Typical power rating for resistors = 0.1 [8] or 0.062 watt[9]
0603 (1608 metric): 1.6 mm × 0.8 mm (0.063 in × 0.031 in). Typical power rating for resistors = 0.1 watt[8]

Reference ...:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology

Hey Zig,

The 0603 would be easier right and at-least its larger?

Dam I just got my 49.9k resistor delivered now HMMM i am anxious to do this

Does it matter which way the resistor is facing up or down. I really doubt it matters but I just want to ask.


Also  this looks right doesnt it? Aslong as it fits on the pads it will be fine? I am surprised no one got this one instead of the 0402, yes they are both small but atleast this is alittle bigger

 RESISTOR THICK FILM, 16.9KOHM, 1%, 0603
 Product Range: PANASONIC - ERJ Series
 Resistance: 16.9kohm
 Power Rating: 200mW
 Resistance Tolerance: ± 1%
 Resistor Case Style: 0603 [1608 Metric]
 Resistor Element Material: Thick Film
 Temperature Coefficient: ± 200ppm/°C
 Voltage Rating: 150V
 Packaging: Cut Tape
 MSL: (Not Applicable)
 SVHC: Diboron trioxide (19-Dec-2012)
 SVHC (Secondary): Lead monoxide (lead oxide) (19-Dec-2012)

[ZiG]

0402 (1005 metric): 1.0 mm × 0.5 mm (0.039 in × 0.020 in). Typical power rating for resistors = 0.1 [8] or 0.062 watt[9]
0603 (1608 metric): 1.6 mm × 0.8 mm (0.063 in × 0.031 in). Typical power rating for resistors = 0.1 watt[8]

Reference ...:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surface-mount_technology

Hey Zig,

The 0603 would be easier right and at-least its larger?

Dam I just got my 49.9k resistor delivered now HMMM i am anxious to do this

Does it matter which way the resistor is facing up or down. I really doubt it matters but I just want to ask.


Also  this looks right doesnt it? Aslong as it fits on the pads it will be fine? I am surprised no one got this one instead of the 0402, yes they are both small but atleast this is alittle bigger

 RESISTOR THICK FILM, 16.9KOHM, 1%, 0603
 Product Range: PANASONIC - ERJ Series
 Resistance: 16.9kohm
 Power Rating: 200mW
 Resistance Tolerance: ± 1%
 Resistor Case Style: 0603 [1608 Metric]
 Resistor Element Material: Thick Film
 Temperature Coefficient: ± 200ppm/°C
 Voltage Rating: 150V
 Packaging: Cut Tape
 MSL: (Not Applicable)
 SVHC: Diboron trioxide (19-Dec-2012)
 SVHC (Secondary): Lead monoxide (lead oxide) (19-Dec-2012)

Yep...that's it...I believe that you should be able to fit them...

Top is always with the markings...UP...

EDIT...:   ATTENTION Gtraah !!...DON'T try to solder 49.9K on R46 pads...IT IS TO BIG of a Value...You can BURN your Gridseed...YOU NEED 17K...but no MORE than 20K MAX...!!!

[gtraah]

Thanks Zig, No I was not planning to put the 49.9k there but in the 139k position... If I find it EXTREMELY difficult then I will wait for the other ones >>> 16.9K to come in the mail.

16.9Kohm @ R46 = 49.9kohm @ R139 ?? Thats the exact equivalent right?

By the way there are no markings on the 49.9k  But there is a Blackside and a White Side.

I am 99.9999999% sure the upside is the black side as this is what was facing up in the pack. Plus it will look VERY weird the White side facing up.

[ZiG]

Thanks Zig, No I was not planning to put the 49.9k there but in the 139k position... If I find it EXTREMELY difficult then I will wait for the other ones >>> 16.9K to come in the mail.

16.9Kohm @ R46 = 49.9kohm @ R139 ?? Thats the exact equivalent right?

By the way there are no markings on the 49.9k  But there is a Blackside and a White Side.

I am 99.9999999% sure the upside is the black side as this is what was facing up in the pack. Plus it will look VERY weird the White side facing up.

No Markings...At all...it is strange...

Yeah...the UP side...Black...as on the tape...is UP...LOL...

Happy Easter ...modding...I mean...

EDIT ...:   Yes...the R139 NEW value should be 49.9K (50K)...it is Marked as R139 on the board ("R52" on the top...R139 on the bottom of the board) and same R139 on the schematics...But the Value is 33KOhm...You should take this out and replace with 49.9K...Nemercry single resistor Mod...Don't mix with mine...

[happydaze]

Is the point I've drawn the arrow to in this photo supposed to be bridged or not from the factory?  I'm troubleshooting one of my gridseeds that has a few more errors than the others and I previously poked around that spot by mistake.  I just can't see it well enough to tell if it is bridged or not.  Any help would be much appreciated.

[wolfey2014]

*snip*
If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

Yes, that was an idea I had and even hooked up a 50k pot to test things out.  I just haven't had the chance to do anything more since the gridseed I've been  testing things on hasn't been the same since it blew the 3022m mosfet while trying to dual mine at too high of a voltage/frequency (47k in place of r139 and running at 1100Mhz).  

The real idea I had was to do the single bridge mod, and replace or even add a another resistor in parallel to get the value of 49k so removal of r139 wouldn't be necessary.  This way if one wanted to run in vmodded overclocked mode for scrypt only they could simply use the voltage=1 parameter in the command line options.  Omission of the voltage=1 parameter would be running it in stock mode.  

However....I think it is possible to overclock the gridseeds and run in dual mode, just not anywhere near the level they are being voltmodded and overclocked for scrypt only.  I think 1000Mhz would be possible.

So...really...there are quite a few options to explore as far as modding the gridseed to allow for this.  We could simply do the single bridge, and replace the stock resistors to the voltage=1 parameter could be used, or forget about the voltage=1 parameter and use a physical switch.  Obviously both methods have their merrits.....but then again we could do BOTH, and change the value of r66 (36k - which is activated with voltage=1) to 50k, and change r139 (33k - stock or voltage=0) to 38k-40k.  What this would (in theory) is allow the gridseed to run at a slightly higher voltage which should let it reach 1000Mhz for dual mode (and not let out the magic blue smoke), and enable the use of voltage=1 parameter to set the VID to use r139 (49.9k/50k) to raise the voltage enough to allow 1200Mhz+ for scrypt mode.


Anyone is welcome to take this idea and run with it.  I'm working on getting funds together for another gridseed since I can't really determine stability on the one the mosfet blew on.

EDIT:  Obviously the merit of using voltage=1 would be if you don't have physical access to the gridseeds and wanted to switch from dual mining to scrypt, it could be done via software in cgminer.

Hey nst6563, when did you first have this idea and when did you write about it on here?

[sandor111]

Is the point I've drawn the arrow to in this photo supposed to be bridged or not from the factory?  I'm troubleshooting one of my gridseeds that has a few more errors than the others and I previously poked around that spot by mistake.  I just can't see it well enough to tell if it is bridged or not.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Measure the resistance between those 2 points, if you're getting hardware errors at 850 MHz, the chance is that it's setting the voltage below the default.

[wolfey2014]

Is the point I've drawn the arrow to in this photo supposed to be bridged or not from the factory?  I'm troubleshooting one of my gridseeds that has a few more errors than the others and I previously poked around that spot by mistake.  I just can't see it well enough to tell if it is bridged or not.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Not bridged.
Anything else I can do, let me know!

[powersup]

So I had a go at the ZiG mod since I had some 16K resistors laying around.  All seemed good, i check continuity, and resistance at the regulator leg was 49K so electrically everything looked fine.  However when I plugged the unit in and tried hashing the red LED started flickering maybe at about 20-40hz, then started a flickering / stop cycle about every 3 seconds.

So has anyone tried this Mod and confirmed it worked? does the resistor need to be a 17K?  I would have thought 1K difference wouldn't have mattered. Maybe I have missed something?  

Note: miner worked fine once I removed the resistor and re-bridged R46 pads.  I also did the R139 mod with a 47K resistor and it also worked.

[nst6563]

*snip*
If I'm understanding this mod correctly. Reversing it will still require the same amount of work to reverse as reversing the R52 mod.
One thing that is better about this mod though is that all one has to do is remove the 17K resistor to put it back to original specs.
I for one do not look forward to soldering those two bridges again! I was happy we did away with that. It's a real pain to do, even for a master of soldering.
If all I have to do is solder on a 17K resistor to those two points, I agree that is it a better option than removing 'r139' (aka r52) and soldering in a replacement resistor only to later have to remove it then solder back in that tiny SMD resistor.
Still, why has no one yet figured out how to overclock SHA mode? Will any other value resistors allow this? A happy medium between SHA and Scrypt overclocking? I mean, it would be great to be able to overclock dual mode if the need ever arises.
The best thing to do is add a SPDT switch for MOD IN - MOD OUT.
I believe someone else envisioned this option a while back.

Yes, that was an idea I had and even hooked up a 50k pot to test things out.  I just haven't had the chance to do anything more since the gridseed I've been  testing things on hasn't been the same since it blew the 3022m mosfet while trying to dual mine at too high of a voltage/frequency (47k in place of r139 and running at 1100Mhz).  

The real idea I had was to do the single bridge mod, and replace or even add a another resistor in parallel to get the value of 49k so removal of r139 wouldn't be necessary.  This way if one wanted to run in vmodded overclocked mode for scrypt only they could simply use the voltage=1 parameter in the command line options.  Omission of the voltage=1 parameter would be running it in stock mode.  

However....I think it is possible to overclock the gridseeds and run in dual mode, just not anywhere near the level they are being voltmodded and overclocked for scrypt only.  I think 1000Mhz would be possible.

So...really...there are quite a few options to explore as far as modding the gridseed to allow for this.  We could simply do the single bridge, and replace the stock resistors to the voltage=1 parameter could be used, or forget about the voltage=1 parameter and use a physical switch.  Obviously both methods have their merrits.....but then again we could do BOTH, and change the value of r66 (36k - which is activated with voltage=1) to 50k, and change r139 (33k - stock or voltage=0) to 38k-40k.  What this would (in theory) is allow the gridseed to run at a slightly higher voltage which should let it reach 1000Mhz for dual mode (and not let out the magic blue smoke), and enable the use of voltage=1 parameter to set the VID to use r139 (49.9k/50k) to raise the voltage enough to allow 1200Mhz+ for scrypt mode.


Anyone is welcome to take this idea and run with it.  I'm working on getting funds together for another gridseed since I can't really determine stability on the one the mosfet blew on.

EDIT:  Obviously the merit of using voltage=1 would be if you don't have physical access to the gridseeds and wanted to switch from dual mining to scrypt, it could be done via software in cgminer.

Hey nst6563, when did you first have this idea and when did you write about it on here?

About switching between voltages using the software parameter voltage=1?  That's been a while since I had the idea, but I posted about it a few days ago (apr 19th).  It's not really fully my idea, but just an expansion on the original bridge mod which enabled the use of the voltage=1.  Also, it was *just* an idea - I only tried to dual mine with a modded gridseed once and blew a mosfet.  I've repaired the damage and left the 50k resistor at r139 and only scrypt mined since.  The other couple gridseeds I have are using 50k pots at r139, and the one coming today I may try this latest mod to cut r46 and place a resistor there while leaving the stock resistors in place.