Official FutureBit Apollo BTC Software/Image and Support thread

[n0nce]

FYI we have been getting some reports of users mistakenly doing a full distro upgrade to their system, this will still brick your OS as it pulls the full ubuntu upgrade to 22.04, which our board is not designed for. 

The base system will still be 20.04, and you should only do apt update/upgrade...do NOT do a full dist upgrade if the OS prompts you to upgrade to 22.04.

The fix we implemented is to only do base system updates/security updates to the current 20.04 and 5.15.x kernel which the Apollo will remain on for the foreseeable future.

Can someone provide the step-by-step instructions and procedures on how to do "apt update/upgrade"?  I am learning and want to learn more

Literally just type into your terminal and hit enter.
When following almost any install guide for anything (like installing a private Electrum server or Lightning node), you will be asked to do that in one of the very first steps.

Code:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

[crypto_curious]

FYI we have been getting some reports of users mistakenly doing a full distro upgrade to their system, this will still brick your OS as it pulls the full ubuntu upgrade to 22.04, which our board is not designed for. 

The base system will still be 20.04, and you should only do apt update/upgrade...do NOT do a full dist upgrade if the OS prompts you to upgrade to 22.04.

The fix we implemented is to only do base system updates/security updates to the current 20.04 and 5.15.x kernel which the Apollo will remain on for the foreseeable future.

Can someone provide the step-by-step instructions and procedures on how to do "apt update/upgrade"?  I am learning and want to learn more

Literally just type into your terminal and hit enter.
When following almost any install guide for anything (like installing a private Electrum server or Lightning node), you will be asked to do that in one of the very first steps.

Code:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Is it safe now to keep OS up to date all the time? Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, right? We can keep that updated, just don't upgrade to other release?

[n0nce]

Is it safe now to keep OS up to date all the time? Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, right? We can keep that updated, just don't upgrade to other release?

Yes, that's exactly what John just said. In fact, you even quoted him..

The base system will still be 20.04, and you should only do apt update/upgrade...do NOT do a full dist upgrade if the OS prompts you to upgrade to 22.04.

(emphasis mine)

This means you can keep packages and OS updated, as long as you stay on 20.04 LTS. It has support until 2025 as far as I know, so no real need to upgrade Debian to 22.x or higher until then.

[hZti]

I tried to install the software for the futurebit apollo btc on my raspberry pi 2 b, but nothing works. I have to admit that I dont really understand what changes I have to do to use the raspberry pi 2 b instead of the bananpi 4. Can somebody tell me if it is even possible to run it, since I also can only use Raspberry OS.
On my windows Computer it says only waiting for COM1.

[n0nce]

I tried to install the software for the futurebit apollo btc on my raspberry pi 2 b, but nothing works. I have to admit that I dont really understand what changes I have to do to use the raspberry pi 2 b instead of the bananpi 4. Can somebody tell me if it is even possible to run it, since I also can only use Raspberry OS.
On my windows Computer it says only waiting for COM1.

The full unit doesn't use a Bananapi, but rather an Orangepi.
But that's totally besides the point; if you have a full unit, it will be plug-and-play, just start it up. If it doesn't work properly, reflash the microSD.

If however it's a standard unit that you want to control from an existing Raspberry Pi, you will just need to run the binaries from https://github.com/jstefanop/Apollo-Miner-Binaries/releases/.

Do make sure to download Apollo-Miner_linux-aarch32.tar.xz, as the 2B has a 32-bit CPU.
It's possible that you were following some guide which recommended to fetch the 64 binaries instead.

Windows serial ports are sketchy so you'll be better off running it from the Pi. You probably also don't want the Windows machine running 24/7 due to power consumption.

[crypto_curious]

Is it safe now to keep OS up to date all the time? Ubuntu 20.04 LTS, right? We can keep that updated, just don't upgrade to other release?

Yes, that's exactly what John just said. In fact, you even quoted him..

The base system will still be 20.04, and you should only do apt update/upgrade...do NOT do a full dist upgrade if the OS prompts you to upgrade to 22.04.

(emphasis mine)

This means you can keep packages and OS updated, as long as you stay on 20.04 LTS. It has support until 2025 as far as I know, so no real need to upgrade Debian to 22.x or higher until then.

Sorry for double asking, but I remember during and after the release, any update of Ubuntu OS in apollo would brick mining and card had to be reflashed. That's why I moved away from default Ubuntu setup and installed my own Armbian, I used it for a year at that time, but now I use Apollo via another machine and USB cable.
Now, I am setting up another Apollo soon, so I am checking if I can stay lazy-style with Ubuntu or have to grind with Armbian again.
Good to hear that Ubuntu system is confirmed to be safe to update at all times, as long as it's not being upgraded beyond 20.04 LTS.
The reason for all that is that I generally don't accept insecure devices in my network. Ubuntu OS without updates for a half a year, or a year at a time, is what I consider insecure device.

[n0nce]

Sorry for double asking, but I remember during and after the release, any update of Ubuntu OS in apollo would brick mining and card had to be reflashed. That's why I moved away from default Ubuntu setup and installed my own Armbian, I used it for a year at that time, but now I use Apollo via another machine and USB cable.
Now, I am setting up another Apollo soon, so I am checking if I can stay lazy-style with Ubuntu or have to grind with Armbian again.
Good to hear that Ubuntu system is confirmed to be safe to update at all times, as long as it's not being upgraded beyond 20.04 LTS.
The reason for all that is that I generally don't accept insecure devices in my network. Ubuntu OS without updates for a half a year, or a year at a time, is what I consider insecure device.

I haven't tried, but it seems that we can now keep the OS updated without worries, indeed.
(Security) updates != distro upgrade. The former is fine, the latter not.

It was a big concern of mine too, actually you had motivated me to look into flashing custom Armbian and I made a guide for getting it working even through GPIO.

But that's kind of pointless now, especially since 'Futurebit OS' is actually Armbian too. Just wanted to point that out since from your message it appears that you think they're running Ubuntu.
As far as I know, Armbian is the only distro you can get precompiled for the Orange Pi 4 online.

[bpettyfamily]

Hello All (@jstefanop)
     New to bitcoin mining as of last Friday when my FutureBit Apollo BTC (batch 4) was delivered. I have the full node up and running. The concern I have after watching this thing run for a week is that I'm intermittently getting high hardware error % readings (> 50% at times). I haven't found a thread on here where others have reported this issue yet (but maybe I'm searching the wrong keywords). I assumed these high hardware error % readings would go away once the full node finished downloading (even though I did leave the Apollo BTC in ECO mode that whole time for the first few days). I was wrong about that. I then determined that there must be too much heat because the fan never seems to kick into high gear unless I completely shutdown the miner. I've tried elevating the miner up off of the table a little to allow for better ventilation under the device. That did help to keep the temps down.

The errors seem to go away (for a while) if I shutdown the device and let the fan cool everything back down, but my temps are in acceptable range really (no higher than ~62 degrees C). Nothing I've tried seems to keep the hardware error % in an acceptable range for very long.

What are some other troubleshooting ideas I should consider trying? These hardware errors seem to resolve themselves eventually and it will go back to <1% hardware errors if I let it keep running long enough...only to spike back up later. Is this normal? Should I be concerned? I'd hate to allow a problem to persist for too long if it shortens the lifespan of this device in any way.

Any help would be appreciated,
bpettyfamily

[knuckleberry]

On my full unit (batch 4), it never completed the download/sync and seems stuck. The node got to 99.75% complete with the sync. I am not connected by wifi. Stopping and restarting the node does not change anything. What is the best way to get the node to complete the sync? I do get 10 connections and I have the required port open on my firewall. Thanks.

[n0nce]

~snip~

Regarding the error rate, there have been multiple reports and multiple replies in this thread. I highly recommend ninjastic search, since you can enter the topic ID and a search term. You could even filter by author and only get posts by jstefanop.
https://ninjastic.space/search?content=error&topic_id=5340015

In short, as long as your hashrate in the pool's dashboard looks fine, everything's fine. It's overreported, basically - if it says 50% error rate, it doesn't mean the whole machine only has 50% of the expected hashpower, but it's just one of the cores in one of the 44 ASIC chips that has such a high error rate, which is within spec / normal error margins.
Something like that.

does anyone know why one hashboard has a lot more errors than the rest?

This is higher than normal usually its around 23%

A few units display abnormally high error but this is mostly a display issue. If you hashrate is where it should be (which it is for your unit) you're fine.

[makechickenwingsgreatagai]

Hey folks- longtime reader, rarely calling.

I’ve been running 6 apollos (one full node, 5 standard) with 6 more on the way (same as previous, 1 node, 5 standard).

Since I’ve been running them, I have had minimal to no problems. Are there any updates I should be pushing to increase mining?

My biggest problem, which I think is because of my ISP, is when my internet “burps” or loses connection for a minute or two, I have to manually restart the miners. They are hard wired via Ethernet to a router. No big deal… when I’m home. Is there a way to somehow access my Futurebit site when I’m not on my home network? A friend mentioned port forwarding?

I’ll preface that I have a solid understanding of network technology, but nowhere near advanced. Fortunately I learn quickly.

Im sorry if this has already been discussed, I wasn’t what to search for when trying to find answer.

If anyone could point me in the right direction or any material that can help I’d be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and happy mining!

Chickywinger


P.s. @jstefanop the usb hot wiring is working great! Thanks again

[jstefanop]

Hey folks- longtime reader, rarely calling.

I’ve been running 6 apollos (one full node, 5 standard) with 6 more on the way (same as previous, 1 node, 5 standard).

Since I’ve been running them, I have had minimal to no problems. Are there any updates I should be pushing to increase mining?

My biggest problem, which I think is because of my ISP, is when my internet “burps” or loses connection for a minute or two, I have to manually restart the miners. They are hard wired via Ethernet to a router. No big deal… when I’m home. Is there a way to somehow access my Futurebit site when I’m not on my home network? A friend mentioned port forwarding?

I’ll preface that I have a solid understanding of network technology, but nowhere near advanced. Fortunately I learn quickly.

Im sorry if this has already been discussed, I wasn’t what to search for when trying to find answer.

If anyone could point me in the right direction or any material that can help I’d be greatly appreciated.

Thanks and happy mining!

Chickywinger


P.s. @jstefanop the usb hot wiring is working great! Thanks again

If you haven't updated since you received them now would be a good time to update your main unit to the latest image. There have been updates that have resolved the issues with needing to restart after an internet outage.

[Michael2197]

I can't for the life of me get the wired Ethernet to work on my new Apollo BTC miner. I keep getting "Activation of network connection failed".

The error it points out is: Error: Connection activation failed: IP configuration could not be reserved (no available address, timeout, etc.)


For more info here are the logs when it tries to connect:

Aug 28 02:47:11 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669231.7920] device (eth0): Activation: starting connection 'Wired connection 1'
Aug 28 02:47:11 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669231.7945] device (eth0): state change: disconnected -> prepare (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Aug 28 02:47:11 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669231.7991] device (eth0): state change: prepare -> config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Aug 28 02:47:11 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669231.8033] device (eth0): state change: config -> ip-config (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Aug 28 02:47:11 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669231.8057] dhcp4 (eth0): activation: beginning transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Aug 28 02:47:16 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669236.1256] dhcp6 (eth0): activation: beginning transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Aug 28 02:47:56 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <warn>  [1661669276.7632] dhcp4 (eth0): request timed out
Aug 28 02:47:56 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669276.7635] dhcp4 (eth0): state changed unknown -> timeout
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <warn>  [1661669281.7625] dhcp6 (eth0): request timed out
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.7629] dhcp6 (eth0): state changed unknown -> timeout
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.7633] device (eth0): state change: ip-config -> failed (reason 'ip-config-unavailable', sys-iface-state: 'manage>
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <warn>  [1661669281.7794] device (eth0): Activation: failed for connection 'Wired connection 1'
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.7845] device (eth0): state change: failed -> disconnected (reason 'none', sys-iface-state: 'managed')
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.8252] dhcp4 (eth0): canceled DHCP transaction
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.8254] dhcp4 (eth0): state changed timeout -> done
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.8270] dhcp6 (eth0): canceled DHCP transaction
Aug 28 02:48:01 futurebitbtc NetworkManager[1521]: <info>  [1661669281.8272] dhcp6 (eth0): state changed timeout -> done

Anyone know how to fix this and get ethernet working? I can't use wireless as it is too unstable and the miner keeps disconnecting.

[SpeedForceGN]

Has anyone set up a "LIGHTNING NODE" on their full node Apollo BTC using these instructions?

https://lightning.readthedocs.io/INSTALL.html#to-build-on-ubuntu

Were there any issues?  Has it worked?

Maybe @jstefanop can advise!


Also, I have been trying to connect my node to my ledger wallet.  No matter what I do, it does not work.  I followed instruction and nothing.  Do you have to have SatStack running?  I so, I can not get the SatStack to run on Windows 11.  Please help!

[bpettyfamily]

~snip~

Regarding the error rate, there have been multiple reports and multiple replies in this thread. I highly recommend ninjastic search, since you can enter the topic ID and a search term. You could even filter by author and only get posts by jstefanop.
https://ninjastic.space/search?content=error&topic_id=5340015

In short, as long as your hashrate in the pool's dashboard looks fine, everything's fine. It's overreported, basically - if it says 50% error rate, it doesn't mean the whole machine only has 50% of the expected hashpower, but it's just one of the cores in one of the 44 ASIC chips that has such a high error rate, which is within spec / normal error margins.
Something like that.

does anyone know why one hashboard has a lot more errors than the rest?

This is higher than normal usually its around 23%

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

A few units display abnormally high error but this is mostly a display issue. If you hashrate is where it should be (which it is for your unit) you're fine.

Thank you for this information on the error rate! This is what I was hoping to hear!

[fandango4choon]

Hello, newbie on the board here. Newbie to the mining, too!

I haven't been able to find discussion about troubleshooting of the new USB-controlled mining hashboard on the boards here. The "Official ... thread" doesn't seem to offer "install" instructions for this unit(??), which I got at the same time as my new Full Node.

I figured, since it's "just a USB cable", and because the Full Node was so straightforward and easy to set up, that this would be even easier, but I can't seem to get it up and running.

The red LED in front stays on, no blinking. The little red LED visible in back is solidly on (the one just inside of the USB connection). One small little greenish LED flashes constantly. Otherwise no indicators. Fan isn't spinning, either, though the PSU fan is turning a bit. In contrast, on the Full Node the  greenish LEDs are very different (one stays on and one blinks - I assume this behavior is because it is working).

I have tried restarting the USB unit several times, and was mindful of the "sometimes the USB connector takes a while to sync up" note - so it has sat for many hours even plugged in and connected to the full node unit. I've powered it down, reinserted cables, etc., all to no avail. My dashboard on the full node still only shows the hashboard present on the Full Node unit.

Any ideas about what else to try much appreciated!

- FD4C

[n0nce]

Has anyone set up a "LIGHTNING NODE" on their full node Apollo BTC using these instructions?

https://lightning.readthedocs.io/INSTALL.html#to-build-on-ubuntu

Were there any issues?  Has it worked?

I did it with a fresh install of Armbian, but since the latest version of Futurebit OS is also based on Armbian and more decoupled from the base OS than older versions, these instructions should work just as well on what you have now.

Core Lightning
[...]

Also, I have been trying to connect my node to my ledger wallet.  No matter what I do, it does not work.  I followed instruction and nothing.  Do you have to have SatStack running?  I so, I can not get the SatStack to run on Windows 11.  Please help!

I don't think that the Ledger software can connect to a local Bitcoin Core install, but uses the Electrum protocol. In that case, you need to install an Electrum server, such as electrs, which I've also described below.

electrs
Since one of the main benefits of running a full node is privacy during transaction & address lookup, an Electrum server is needed. Otherwise you'd have to query using Bitcoin Core all the time and can't just use your mobile and desktop applications for that.
[...]

I haven't been able to find discussion about troubleshooting of the new USB-controlled mining hashboard on the boards here. The "Official ... thread" doesn't seem to offer "install" instructions for this unit(??), which I got at the same time as my new Full Node.

The instructions are in the GitHub repo.
https://github.com/jstefanop/Apollo-Miner-Binaries/

Move into the right directory (linux-x86_64 on most host PCs), have a look at start_apollo.sh and read through it. It basically tells you everything you need to know.
In short, you want to edit the last line to match your pool credentials and then start it as follows.

Code:

sudo ./start_apollo.sh

[Mining21BTC]

Can anyone tell me if is it possible to take a "Full" version and make it a "Standard" version?

I have the opportunity to purchase another "Full" unit however I already have 2 "Full" units running and really want to use those as controllers to control more standard units.

Is this possible?

TIA.

The main difference between the Full version and the Standard version is one Linux device similar to a Raspberry Pi but more powerful.

The Full and Standard units come with the same BTC Miner. If you buy a full version you can just ignore the Linux device if you want to, and then it would be a Standard unit (hopefully you're getting them cheaper than Standard versions).

On the other hand, you can supply your own Raspberry Pi device and connect to the USB connector of a Standard unit, making it "Full".

Basically it is possible to turn a Full into a Standard, and vice-versa, after you bought it.

Having said that, I'm still getting pool disconnections when the Internet restarts with a Standard unit that doesn't seem to be present in the Full unit, so there's something going on there. Probably because of the USB connection instead of the direct GPIO connection of the Full.

A raspberry pi 3 isn’t enough, or?

[unicornmangle]

It was a big concern of mine too, actually you had motivated me to look into flashing custom Armbian and I made a guide for getting it working even through GPIO.

But that's kind of pointless now, especially since 'Futurebit OS' is actually Armbian too. Just wanted to point that out since from your message it appears that you think they're running Ubuntu.
As far as I know, Armbian is the only distro you can get precompiled for the Orange Pi 4 online.

I'm not sure why people think its ubuntu either. I have had a love hate relationship with my apollos but more love now these things just run and run and run and run. When you make a purchase and you get exactly what you bought and it works thumbs up futurebit and the giants behind all of this.

Code:

futurebit@futurebitbtc:~$ cat /etc/os-release
NAME="Ubuntu"
VERSION="20.04.4 LTS (Focal Fossa)"
ID=ubuntu
ID_LIKE=debian
PRETTY_NAME="Armbian 22.08.0-trunk Focal"
VERSION_ID="20.04"
HOME_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/"
SUPPORT_URL="https://help.ubuntu.com/"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/"
PRIVACY_POLICY_URL="https://www.ubuntu.com/legal/terms-and-policies/privacy-policy"
VERSION_CODENAME=focal
UBUNTU_CODENAME=focal
futurebit@futurebitbtc:~$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID:	Ubuntu
Description:	Ubuntu 20.04.4 LTS
Release:	20.04
Codename:	focal
futurebit@futurebitbtc:~$ uname -r
5.15.57-rockchip64

[Dagwood7]

Hello,

I recently purchased the FutureBit Apollo BTC full node.  It was running fine.  Then I updated the Ubuntu software (at the request of a pop-up that appeared on the dashboard screen).  Now the miner will not work correctly.  When it restarted following the software update, the dashboard would not load.  I tried restarting/unplugging the miner.  Now when I turn it on, no light at all appears on the front of the miner.  When I turn it on, the fan runs at the high intensity (not eco level) but nothing happens.  I can't remote into the dashboard. 

I have no idea what to do to get it going again.  Any advice?  Is there a way to do a hard restart/full reset?

Thank you!