Official FutureBit Apollo BTC Software/Image and Support thread

[n0nce]

Any updates for the LN support guys? Been a long time coming

We are still building out the app ecosystem, once this is done the apps will come fast. Also a reminder to everyone there is nothing stopping you from installing the LND apps today and pairing your node to LND. The UI will do the same thing and just install the publicly available apps in a one step process for beginners.

I'd like to continue recommending Core Lightning, since it's more lightweight and more modular with its plugin ecosystem..

My guide for installing it on the Futurebit Apollo should still be up-to-date:

Core Lightning
[1] Install dependencies
[...]

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[MrMik]

I'm getting good results with a 140mm fan on top of the Apollo, but still not 'silent' yet.

I have a 100 ohm resistor in series with the 2 fans and a SPDT switch to turn then on High, Low or Off.

In 22 DegC ambient temperature I can run it on Low with very little noise and the miner temp stays around 63-64C.

I got a 200mm fan today and will try that. And will try to reduce the power supply fan noise by adding a fan to it.






When I simulate failure of the added fans by turning them off, the miner temperature rises to 65degC and then the original fan turns up it's revs to around 3000 for a couple of minutes, on and off and on and off......

[MrMik]

It seems like there is a minimum speed of about 1800rpm for the built-in ASIC fan, no matter what settings I choose for the Fan Temp Settings.

Is that true or am I missing something?

[MrMik]

I am suddenly getting erroneous reports that the Apollo is not hashing.

I noticed it on the web interface, but it is also present when using a HDMI monitor and persists after a reboot.

It claims that it is not hashing, but the mining pool reports that it is hashing at the usual rate.

Can I fix this somehow or is it time for another SD card etching session?

[MrMik]

I am suddenly getting erroneous reports that the Apollo is not hashing.

I rebooted twice more, including a shutdown with a little wait before reboot, but the error persisted. It's hashing but reports that it is not hashing.

But then, half an hour later, it's back to normal without any further intervention. Go figure!

I have noticed on a number of occasions that the OS on the Pi seems to be frozen, but hashing continues anyway. I had to turn it off at the power switch a couple of times because there was no way to achieve a controlled shutdown. But hashing was going on until the flick of the power switch.

However, this time I was able to click on menue items and change settings and watch youtube video, all seemed fine except the erroneous 'no hashing' display.

[MrMik]

What is causing the fluctuations of the hash rate that 'arrives' at a mining pool?

My Apollo seems to be mining very steadily at 3TH/s, but the 5-min hashrate seen by the mining pool fluctuates between 2TH/s and up to 4 TH/s.

[itshig]

Hi all, is it possible to remove BTC Node to reclaim storage space and install something like Umbrel alongside the miner functionality so that I can get a lightning node up and running?  I saw n0nce's tutorial for core lightning, but .....   I'm not very linux savvy.  I've installed Umbrel a few times and it's pretty straight forward so thinking this would be the best route for my situation.  I just don't want to break anything, nor do I need two nodes synced to my Apollo.  Thanks!

[balexander1216]

Does this also work with Ledger?
I did a little research and it looks like I need Satstacks for Ledger Live to connect to the node?

I don't use Ledger Live, but it seems that such a bridge is required, yes. You could also just use a better Bitcoin wallet software like Electrum or Sparrow and connect your Ledger to that software.

The main question I have is: Can I connect to the node from my desktop or do I always have to go directly on the miner's OS with screen, keyboard, mouse, ledger etc... to interact with the blockchain? Since the miner is not in the same room as my desktop that would be ideal.

First of all, you have a web GUI; so the miner dashboard that you get when connecting a screen to the Apollo, is also displayed by visiting the miner's IP from any browser in the same network.
To 'interact with the blockchain' in terms of querying blocks and stuff like that, indeed installing electrs is what's going to allow you to do that.

I do have another question concerning the Apollo, when I connected via SSH I saw the line [302 security updates available....]. Should I do the updates? I read that you should be careful on which updates you do because it can brick the miner.

If you run the latest Futurebit OS, you can do the updates via:

Code:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Just don't do distro-upgrades like sudo apt dist-upgrade. Don't do that!

Thank you for your answer, I did the updates. Problem now is the miner does not mine anymore. The node is running but the miner starts but does not hash and then shuts down
I am now looking to install electrs, however in your guide you say sometimes to log into bitcoin user. Is it necessary to do this step with the Apollo or can I just do everything with futurebit user

I used sudo apt update / sudo apt upgrade and the same thing happened for me.  Node is working fine, however miner won't work.  My desktop background also changed from futurebit to the Armbian penguin.  Is there a step we are missing or is this still a problem? I'll note I have the latest version of the futurebit OS..flashed MCU 2 correctly to the SD card and it was all working just fine before sudo apt upgrade was run.

[n0nce]

Hi all, is it possible to remove BTC Node to reclaim storage space and install something like Umbrel alongside the miner functionality so that I can get a lightning node up and running?  I saw n0nce's tutorial for core lightning, but .....   I'm not very linux savvy.  I've installed Umbrel a few times and it's pretty straight forward so thinking this would be the best route for my situation.  I just don't want to break anything, nor do I need two nodes synced to my Apollo.  Thanks!

You should be able to take a new microSD card (just for safety / backup) and install Umbrel onto it, if you're already comfortable with that.
Installing the miner afterwards, should be simple; just follow this part of my instructions:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5401730

Just reply in that thread if it doesn't work or there is any issue.
Worst-case you will always still have the original microSD card to fall back to.

I used sudo apt update / sudo apt upgrade and the same thing happened for me.  Node is working fine, however miner won't work.  My desktop background also changed from futurebit to the Armbian penguin.  Is there a step we are missing or is this still a problem? I'll note I have the latest version of the futurebit OS..flashed MCU 2 correctly to the SD card and it was all working just fine before sudo apt upgrade was run.

Oh oh.. @jstefanop latest release still has the 'update-bug' in it?

[jsbinscl]

My ApolloBTC node is refusing remote connections. I can't connect to the remote web manager through the remote browser, nor can I connect through SSH. Both say "connection refused". I am mining and connected to the miner, which I can verify through slushpool. Is there some setting I neglected to turn on? I am administering through a keyboard and monitor but long term need to be able to administer it remotely. Expert-level IT skills here, but quite a Linux novice. I can work my way around the command line just fine though. EDIT: I should add that I already re-flashed my SD card with the July firmware and re-set up anything. So this is something "out of the box" I guess...

[kipper01]

This a concern?

[MrMik]

This a concern?

Good question!

I am also wondering what the 'Hardware Errors" are (not worried about it, just want to understand better).

Is there a "Wannabe Geek's Guide to the Apollo Dashboard' somewhere?

[Sledge0001]

This a concern?

It's really the pool stats that matter but these should settle down after a bit of mining.

[itshig]

Hi all, is it possible to remove BTC Node to reclaim storage space and install something like Umbrel alongside the miner functionality so that I can get a lightning node up and running?  I saw n0nce's tutorial for core lightning, but .....   I'm not very linux savvy.  I've installed Umbrel a few times and it's pretty straight forward so thinking this would be the best route for my situation.  I just don't want to break anything, nor do I need two nodes synced to my Apollo.  Thanks!

You should be able to take a new microSD card (just for safety / backup) and install Umbrel onto it, if you're already comfortable with that.
Installing the miner afterwards, should be simple; just follow this part of my instructions:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5401730

Just reply in that thread if it doesn't work or there is any issue.
Worst-case you will always still have the original microSD card to fall back to.

Thanks n0nce!  Starting here, correct? 

I planned to use openSUSE, since I have had good experiences with it as a node OS. Unfortunately, the SBC used by Futurebit is an Orange Pi 4 which doesn't have great software support, so for best chances of success I stick with Armbian, which is what Futurebit ships (just an older version of it).

Download page: https://www.armbian.com/orange-pi-4/
Direct link: https://redirect.armbian.com/orangepi4/Bullseye_current (Armbian 22.05 Bullseye - May 28, 2022)

Burn on a new microSD card with 16GB or more using dd or BalenaEtcher (https://www.balena.io/etcher/).
The first boot of this microSD will require to plug in a HDMI monitor and a USB keyboard to create an admin (you can use something else, I just assume this name from here on forward) account and set your locale.

Otherwise just update the whole thing and proceed with miner and / or node install guides, linked above.

Code:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

[n0nce]

This a concern?

Good question!

I am also wondering what the 'Hardware Errors" are (not worried about it, just want to understand better).

Is there a "Wannabe Geek's Guide to the Apollo Dashboard' somewhere?

This question has been asked many times before and answered, too.
I always recommend to use the TryNinja search engine for Bitcointalk: https://ninjastic.space/search?author=jstefanop&content=hardware%20errors&topic_id=5340015

HW error issue is not a concern, very small number of units will have this issue and its because 1 or 2 bad cores out of thousands of cores that are any our Apollo are constantly spitting back bad data. The way our system is designed its hard to filter out "real" HW errors due to low voltage/overheating on the cores from "bad" HW errors due to bad cores.  As long as your rejected shares are not high, and the pool hashrate matches what you see in the dashboard your unit is operating fine.

Thanks n0nce!  Starting here, correct? 

Yep, should work on Armbian! Just do the Armbian install and then get Umbrel from https://umbrel.com/#start.
When that's up and running (or even before attempting Bitcoin Core install & sync), continue with the MINER portion of my guide.

[itshig]

Thanks n0nce!  Starting here, correct?  

Yep, should work on Armbian! Just do the Armbian install and then get Umbrel from https://umbrel.com/#start.
When that's up and running (or even before attempting Bitcoin Core install & sync), continue with the MINER portion of my guide.

I'm guessing I did something wrong.  I flashed Armbian to SD card, got it installed on Apollo, and then installed Umbrel.  Everything went well.  But then it started getting laggy and I tried to reboot and HDMI stopped working.  I tried everything I could, different HDMI cables, different HDMI ports, tried a TV instead of the monitor, but nothing.  I did notice that the available space was that of my SD card.  

I put the original SD card in and booted up, HDMI was OK and all of my previous original OS install from the factory was there.  So I'm guessing everything is installed to SD card instead of SSD.  I'm going to get another SSD and swap it out with the factory one so that I can try again without losing my factory stuff.

Any idea what I can do to get HDMI working?  Searching through the forums it seems to be a common issue.  It's just weird that it's working on factory install and stopped working on secondary install.

Thanks!

[n0nce]

I put the original SD card in and booted up, HDMI was OK and all of my previous original OS install from the factory was there.  So I'm guessing everything is installed to SD card instead of SSD.

I'm not very familiar with Umbrel, but generally when working with these single board computers, everything is installed to the microSD. I don't think that should cause any problems, but unfortunately I also can't help you with a laggy / buggy Umbrel install.
Maybe check out this thread / ask over there? Umbrel — Discussion, issues, solutions

I'm going to get another SSD and swap it out with the factory one so that I can try again without losing my factory stuff.

SSD + microSD swap will be your safest bet with regards to not damaging the stock install. But most experiments should work without affecting the SSD, since stock Armbian won't mount and install stuff to the drive, unless you specifically tell it to (like shown below).

[2] To mount NVMe drive, edit /etc/rc.local and add the following.
Remove exit 0 if it exists.

Code:

#mount nvme drive
mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /media/nvme
chown -R bitcoin:bitcoin /media/nvme

[2.1] Create mount point

Code:

sudo mkdir /media/nvme
sudo chown bitcoin:bitcoin /media/nvme
sudo /etc/rc.local

[MrMik]

I'm running into a problem when attempting to run an Apollo Standard unit from my Ubuntu laptop.

A little TryNinja search found nothing useful with these search terms: apollo standard start_apollo.sh make executable

I downloaded the Apollo-Miner_linux-x86_64.tar.xz and checked that it's sha256 is correct.

Then I extracted the files and followed the instructions in the start_apollo.sh file and edited the last line.

The Apollo Standard seems to be connected: ls /dev/ttyACM* output:  /dev/ttyACM0

But the start_apollo.sh file is not allowed to be executed. Clicking the minus next to "Allow executing file as program" in the permissions tab will turn the minus into a 'tick' symbol for half a second, then back to a minus.

Using chmod +x /media/path-to-file/linux-x86_64/start_apollo.sh does not set it to be executable either.

sudo chmod 777 /media/pth-to-the-file/linux-x86_64/start_apollo.sh did not help either.

Any ideas what I can try next, please?

[MrMik]

I'm running into a problem when attempting to run an Apollo Standard unit from my Ubuntu laptop.

But the start_apollo.sh file is not allowed to be executed. Clicking the minus next to "Allow executing file as program" in the permissions tab will turn the minus into a 'tick' symbol for half a second, then back to a minus.

Using chmod +x /media/path-to-file/linux-x86_64/start_apollo.sh does not set it to be executable either.

sudo chmod 777 /media/pth-to-the-file/linux-x86_64/start_apollo.sh did not help either.

Any ideas what I can try next, please?

This worked:

Code:

sudo ./start_apollo.sh

[MrMik]

I managed to connect the Apollo Standard unit to a mining pool! 


I would like to learn much more about how to do this, but don't know how to get started.

I understand the option to run the Standard Apollo in this way is for advanced users, but I have to start somewhere to become advanced.

Any hints where I can get started?

One thing I'm trying to learn is how I can change the cooling fan setting while running the Standard Apollo in a terminal.

And how to stop the text in the terminal from scrolling, or copy it elsewhere so I can read it and get a handle on what it's telling me.