Official FutureBit Apollo II/BTC Software/Image and Support thread

[kimjpeck]

Hi,

A quick sanity check  "for solo mining" on a BTC 1 and BTC 2 (full nodes).

I have historically operated a full Bitcoin Core node "Windows Server" that I have used for transactions over the last 10 years

On the Apollo BTC 1/2 do I just enter the Bitcoin Core full node "Windows Server" receive address
in the Apollo BTC wallet address.

Sorry for the noob question but I'm just checking.

[Sledge0001]

Hoping for info on if there is an updated timeframe on the new v 2.0.6 software?

[MakerAZ]

Should I do any maintenance cleaning of my Apollo II and if yes then how often and what are the steps?

[MrMik]

Another one of my old Apollo BTC units is doing strange stuff.

It does not have  a SBC and is connected to another Apollo by USB cable, started with a terminal command.

This Apollo will only sometimes hash at the requested power level, at other times it seems to be stuck doing about half as much work as it should. This is confirmed by on-the-wall power measurement and by what hashes arrive at the mining pool over time.

Once it's in that lazy mode, it stays that way even after several reboots and when using the same command from the memory of the terminal.

In this 'lazy mode' it shows this:
*** BOARDS SYS INFO (1 boards, 44 chips):
BRD  FOUND      REV   SPI     PWR  CHIPS  ON  ON_T  inOhOsc  OhOscN  OhOscT  OhN  OhT  loI  Tc  Th    T, C              TA  RevADC   OCP     HE  osc  OSChip               U, mV               I, mA  P, Wt
  0      1  BREV:20  1x 4  2x2x11     44   1     1        0       0       0    0    0    0   0   0   41  0    0( 0)  0( 0)    4004  0x00  0 (0)    0  0:3:10   U0: 9863 U1: 1302   I0:12983 I1:12975    144


after having been started with these settings:

./apollo-miner -host... -port.... -user..... -password.....  -comport /dev/ttyACM0 -brd_ocp 80  -osc 50 -ao_mode 1 -fan_temp_low 65 -fan_temp_hi 70 -fan_pwm_low 1 -fan_pwm_hi 100

I'm heating the bedroom with that Apollo, and I'd like it to churn through around 250W.

It has a large aftermarket PSU and a 200mm fan and a different 80mm fan that spins slower than the original, is therefore very quiet, but now also very low hashrate and very low heating.

[Toresh]

Hi,
Just a question about solo mining. From what I gather, it's running a local solo ckpool instance? If so, can I point other miners to it? I am now mining on public-pool.io but wondering if I should instead mine to the Apollo II itself. Is it possible to add a backup pool?
Thanks for your replies.

[Sledge0001]

Hi,
Just a question about solo mining. From what I gather, it's running a local solo ckpool instance? If so, can I point other miners to it? I am now mining on public-pool.io but wondering if I should instead mine to the Apollo II itself.
Thanks for the replies.

Yes you can point your other miners to the apollo and mine to the solo ckpool built in.

I have successfully stress tested just over 10PH to the ck pool built in to the Apollo II.

If your miners are located on your (LAN) internal network then just use the IP address of the Apollo II.

The IP address which you need to setup other local miners on your LAN should be listed on the top of the solo mining page within the Apollo GUI.
****
SOLO LAN Mining
Point any Bitcoin Miner on your local network to your Solo Pool with the following URL: 192.168.X.X:3333 Username: <bitcoin address>
****

If your other miners are outside your LAN then you must either have a static IP or use DDNS so that you can always find the PUBLIC IP address (WAN).
Additionally you must then set port forwarding of port 3333 to the internal IP of your Apollo II so that it can pass traffic through your router / firewall.

[Toresh]

Hi,
Just a question about solo mining. From what I gather, it's running a local solo ckpool instance? If so, can I point other miners to it? I am now mining on public-pool.io but wondering if I should instead mine to the Apollo II itself.
Thanks for the replies.

Yes you can point your other miners to the apollo and mine to the solo ckpool built in.

I have successfully stress tested just over 10PH to the ck pool built in to the Apollo II.

If your miners are located on your (LAN) internal network then just use the IP address of the Apollo II.

The IP address which you need to setup other local miners on your LAN should be listed on the top of the solo mining page within the Apollo GUI.
****
SOLO LAN Mining
Point any Bitcoin Miner on your local network to your Solo Pool with the following URL: 192.168.X.X:3333 Username: <bitcoin address>
****

If your other miners are outside your LAN then you must either have a static IP or use DDNS so that you can always find the PUBLIC IP address (WAN).
Additionally you must then set port forwarding of port 3333 to the internal IP of your Apollo II so that it can pass traffic through your router / firewall.

Thank you for your reply. I'll switch to solo on my Apollo II. It only takes legacy addresses? It sees segwit and taproot addresses as invalid but I used it (with the worker name) on solo.ckpool.org itself and on public-pool.io without problems. I also got the ckpool disconnected message. Also no ckpool screen process running. I switched back to public-pool for now.

[onlybitcoin33]

It has been 7 days since I got my Apollo 2 and the node is still not synced.

I have gigabit internet connection
using ethernet cable as connection
port forwarding for 8333 and 3333
ip reserved in my router
mining on ckpool on Medium settings

How long does it take for the Node to sync? How can I check how much of the blockchain has been downloaded?

https://ibb.co/0KrVmQw
Apollo Web OS v2.0.5

[PennyBit]

It has been 7 days since I got my Apollo 2 and the node is still not synced.

I have gigabit internet connection
using ethernet cable as connection
port forwarding for 8333 and 3333
ip reserved in my router
mining on ckpool on Medium settings

How long does it take for the Node to sync? How can I check how much of the blockchain has been downloaded?


Apollo Web OS v2.0.5

According to your screenshot your node isn't even running. You need to click the button at the top of the screen that say's "Start Node" or simply reboot the system and it will start syncing the node automatically. Either way, it takes a long time to load/sync a full unpruned node. It took me about 7-8 days with a few other bandwidth priorities sharing my internet. And don't try to mine higher than "Eco Mode" while your syncing your node because it will really stress your CPU on the Apollo. Just my 2 cents. There's a decent "getting started" manual supplied by Futurebit on the Apollo 2 that covers some of these issues: https://www.futurebit.io/apollo-btc-support
Cheers!

[onlybitcoin33]

Yes, that is correct, the node will not run and I can not tell if its syncing still or there are some issues.

I tried start node several times even restart.

CPU, Temp and other specs look fine.

https://ibb.co/GHNPFtv
https://ibb.co/ZYDFw5f

How can I get more stats about the node?

[bluudz]

Hey guys. Is there any problem with having the miner sitting on its side? It does seem to cool better when the bottom have more airflow.

[PennyBit]

Yes, that is correct, the node will not run and I can not tell if its syncing still or there are some issues.

I tried start node several times even restart.

CPU, Temp and other specs look fine.

https://ibb.co/GHNPFtv
https://ibb.co/ZYDFw5f

How can I get more stats about the node?

Ok. Just a lousy hunch . . . but try re-seating your NVMe PCIe (node drive).  It may not be making an adequate connection.

[PegasusNZ]

It has been 7 days since I got my Apollo 2 and the node is still not synced.

I have gigabit internet connection
using ethernet cable as connection
port forwarding for 8333 and 3333
ip reserved in my router
mining on ckpool on Medium settings

How long does it take for the Node to sync? How can I check how much of the blockchain has been downloaded?

https://ibb.co/0KrVmQw
Apollo Web OS v2.0.5

Maybe enable TOR mode as a test to see if it starts to sync. Then you will know you have a network issue

[PegasusNZ]

Does anyone know the steps for generating a Bolt12 offer on the Apollo II full node, is it possible to do so?

you need a CLN node for that functionality which Apollo doesn't have as standard.
It might be added in the future?
Also your CLN needs a funded channel that has incoming and outgoing funds otherwise you won't get paid
You can easily setup a CLN node on a Pi 5 with Raspiblitz for example

[onlybitcoin33]

FutureBit customer support just answered and advised to Format Node SSD.

After the format Node start running and syncing.

I now see the node being active and download the blockchain.

All good!

Yes, that is correct, the node will not run and I can not tell if its syncing still or there are some issues.

I tried start node several times even restart.

CPU, Temp and other specs look fine.

https://ibb.co/GHNPFtv
https://ibb.co/ZYDFw5f

How can I get more stats about the node?

[PennyBit]

FutureBit customer support just answered and advised to Format Node SSD.

After the format Node start running and syncing.

I now see the node being active and download the blockchain.

All good!

Yes, that is correct, the node will not run and I can not tell if its syncing still or there are some issues.

I tried start node several times even restart.

CPU, Temp and other specs look fine.

https://ibb.co/GHNPFtv
https://ibb.co/ZYDFw5f

How can I get more stats about the node?

Good to know. Thanks for the info update.

[TheHoliestRoger]

Mempool.space is tracking futurebit blocks, 0 so far

https://mempool.space/mining/pool/futurebitapollosolo

[numeris]

Is this accurate?

How does this work and how reliable this info is?

Mempool.space is tracking futurebit blocks, 0 so far

https://mempool.space/mining/pool/futurebitapollosolo

[crypto_curious]

Hey guys. Is there any problem with having the miner sitting on its side? It does seem to cool better when the bottom have more airflow.

I don't see any problem, been running like that for about 1.5 years and counting. Fan speeds are adjusted automatically, so if for any reason airflow is not as good as in any other position, then the fan will spin a little bit faster to compensate.

[nullama]

Mempool.space is tracking futurebit blocks, 0 so far

https://mempool.space/mining/pool/futurebitapollosolo

Interesting, I would like to see at least one Apollo solving a block since the firmware hasn't been open sourced yet.

It would be quite demoralizing to know that all these mining efforts have been in vain if for some reason the firmware cannot handle a block with this high difficulty.

With closed source you just have to trust, unfortunately.