GekkoScience has a new pod miner, just in time for Christmas

[n0nce]

and what is the easiest command to update to the 4.12.1 version under linux?

Probably just download the latest release (or git pull all changes) and copy over your existing miner config file.
In case you installed it to your path, re-installing will simply overwrite the old binary / symlink wherever it sits on your path.

[willi9974]

Git updated to add per chip tuning information (see sig)
Windows binary updated.
https://kano.is/gekko.php updated.

do i understand correctly that only users who run the r909 through windows need to update cgminer?
my 4.12.0 version runs on linux, so i would not have to do anything - did i understand that correctly

4.12.0 doesn't handle the new R909
My changes in git for it, I also updated the version to 4.12.1
All the new tuning is only in 4.12.1

gotcha!
and what is the easiest command to update to the 4.12.1 version under linux?

Hi cygan,

Than you have your miners at home, let us know your config and the result that you will get.
Interested in the mining speed and configuration what you have.

Best regards,
Willi

[kano]

...
and what is the easiest command to update to the 4.12.1 version under linux?

https://kano.is/gekko.php#lin

If you typed "make install" last time you built it, then add that also at the end to overwrite the last one.

Edit: I've added a comment about that at the link

[n0nce]

Hey @sidehack; why did you choose to go with a USB-Mini Type-B cable?


I'm not even asking that everything becomes USB-C; but my issue with Type-B (Mini and Micro) is that they're (always?) often (like in this case) SMD-soldered. This means they can be ripped off the circuit board and cause almost irreparable damage.
Meanwhile both USB-A Type-B (shown below) and some USB Type-C sockets have through-hole pins that hold it firmly in place.

[sidehack]

And that's why we reinforce each one with epoxy.

[RKG456]

I just ordered one from Bitcoinmerch. 

I really need to get going on getting this setup. I now have 4 Compac-Fs, 2 NewPacs, a Terminus 808, and now this RS909. I have been so busy, I buy the items when I see them in stock but keep getting side tracked. I have never even powered them up. Hopefully none are duds.
I also have multiple USB hubs two from Bitcoinmerch and 2 Sipolar-USB Hub- 10 Ports USB 2.0 powered hubs as well as multiple RPI 4s in 4GB and 8GB as well as Radza Zeros, Libra Computer, a Neo PI, RockPi4b and multiple RPI Zeros and Zero2s.

Anyways enough rambling, on to my actual questions / concerns -
Are there issues with running multiple hosts? I ask as I am not sure if the USB 2.0 ports on an single RPI4 can handle all of the miners above across two powered USB2.0  hubs so I am thinking I may I run two RPI4s as hosts and run the Compac-Fs and the 909 on one and the older miners (two Newpacs and the 808) on the other.  Will that work with two hosts mining to the same pool from the same Public IP address, or do I need to introduce a some kind of proxy to regulate work for the two miners?  (I am not sure if a proxy is needed, but I read not to long ago about a proxy being an issue with mining Monero and thought I would ask about it. )  - Given the USB hubs have their own power supply does that make the USB power concern a moot point?

Regarding power - I am thinking of getting a UPS with surge protection  or a 10 plug AC power strip  I have that also has surge protection to plug the RPI4s, POD miners and USB hubs with the usb miners into.  Any concerns there? 
I am also thinking that if I go the multiple RPI4 host route, I can then split the electricity draw between multiple wall outlets so not to overload one wall outlet.

Thoughts and guidance much appreciated.

[kano]

As per the 2nd post,
There is a new Windows binary for v4.12.1 available now at https://kano.is/cgminer.php

2022-12-21 Update to improve performance and tuning. Windows binary updated. https://kano.is/gekko.php updated.

[kano]

...
Thoughts and guidance much appreciated.

The basics is that an R909 is equivalent to 6xCompacF - but requires no power from USB to run the chips.
Basically cgminer is now running 6xBM1397 chips in an R909, rather than one chip in a CompacF.
The R909 gets it's mining power from the power connectors on the R909 itself, so no hub or any hub will do.

Simplest solution is to just run another RPi for the R909.
It should also be OK running 1xR909 and 4xCompacF on one RPI4.
Then put the older miners on a separate RPi.

As reported in my pool discord #gekko channel, I've run 2xR909 and 2xCompacF on a single RPi4 and it uses about 50% of the 400% of CPU.

[cygan]

✂
As reported in my pool discord #gekko channel, I've run 2xR909 and 2xCompacF on a single RPi4 and it uses about 50% of the 400% of CPU.

thank you for the note...
i was actually planning to run 2x r909 and 2x hubs on my rpi4 with 6 compacf sticks in total...
could this work well, what do you think?

[kano]

✂
As reported in my pool discord #gekko channel, I've run 2xR909 and 2xCompacF on a single RPi4 and it uses about 50% of the 400% of CPU.

thank you for the note...
i was actually planning to run 2x r909 and 2x hubs on my rpi4 with 6 compacf sticks in total...
could this work well, what do you think?

Let me know how it goes

[cygan]

✂
As reported in my pool discord #gekko channel, I've run 2xR909 and 2xCompacF on a single RPi4 and it uses about 50% of the 400% of CPU.

thank you for the note...
i was actually planning to run 2x r909 and 2x hubs on my rpi4 with 6 compacf sticks in total...
could this work well, what do you think?

Let me know how it goes

i will definitely do it.
but what could happen in the worst case if the rpi4 can't handle all the hardware?

[kano]

✂
As reported in my pool discord #gekko channel, I've run 2xR909 and 2xCompacF on a single RPi4 and it uses about 50% of the 400% of CPU.

thank you for the note...
i was actually planning to run 2x r909 and 2x hubs on my rpi4 with 6 compacf sticks in total...
could this work well, what do you think?

Let me know how it goes

i will definitely do it.
but what could happen in the worst case if the rpi4 can't handle all the hardware?

Worst case, you'll get less hash rate and all that fun API data I've added will tell you why.

[AFox]

Got my R909 unit yesterday.

It was equipped with an Artic F8 fan, that has a good airflow : 52.7 m³/h at 22.5 dB
Replaced by a Noctua NF-A8 PWM : 55.5 m³/h at 17.7 dB

Plugged it to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Quad Core CPU 1.2 GHz, 1 GB, with Raspberry Pi OS Lite.
It's using around 38~40% of the CPU. Edit: The CPU percentage goes to 400% on my model. See Kano's explanation here (link).



I've turned the voltage knob clockwise, to add voltage.
It's running at around 2.061 Th/s for 99 watts at the plug (including power supply, Raspberry Pi and R909).
The heatsink of the mining chips are around 43°c.
I'm not used to be running CGMiner, what numbers should I look at for the "rejected shares" and "hardware errors" ?

[willi9974]

Got my R909 unit yesterday.

...

Thanks for the Information.
is it possible to show us the power supply and could you write a short installation stepp info? What raspi image do you use, and what for software package you have installed and what have you changed in the configuration... ans so one...

Best regards,
Willi

[sidehack]

Nice, 99W all in. 2.055TH is about 97% of ideal for that speed, which is pretty solid considering 525MHz is an overclock. I'm pretty proud of the R909.

[AFox]

is it possible to show us the power supply and could you write a short installation stepp info? What raspi image do you use, and what for software package you have installed and what have you changed in the configuration... ans so one...

For the power supply, I'm using a +10 year old Corsair TX650 (650w, 80Plus Bronze). It won't be the most efficient power supply, because of it's age.
Also power supplies are the most efficient when you use 50% of their total rated output power. But hard to find (impossible?) a 200w 80Plus Platinum computer power supply. And I didn't want to buy a new one, to only save ~1$ per month of electricity.
It is kept on, with a "jump start" adapter, like these : https://i.imgur.com/ERai2HX.jpg
And I use the 6-pin PCIe connector on the R909. In theory that plug is rated for 75watts (link). But I don't worry about that. Just check it's well plugged in.

For the configuration and installation of the Raspberry Pi, I've got an old model, so I went with the command line OS, no fancy interface or desktop.
To "flash" the SD card, I used Raspberry Pi Imager (link), selected Raspberry Pi OS Lite, and in the advance options activated "Enable SSH" giving a username and password. I'm using a SSH connection to connect to the Raspberry Pi.

Once everything is copied, put the SD card in the Raspberry, and turn it on.
Connect the Raspberry to the network. You'll need it's IP address to connect to it. You can find it on the router, or with a program like Advance IP Scanner (link).
Once you found the IP address, you can connect to it with the program Putty (link).
It will ask for the username and password you entered earlier.

For the installation of CGMiner, I used Kano's website : https://kano.is/gekko.php
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade -y
sudo apt-get install -y build-essential autoconf automake libtool pkg-config libcurl4-openssl-dev libudev-dev libusb-1.0-0-dev libncurses5-dev zlib1g-dev git
cd
git clone https://github.com/kanoi/cgminer.git
cd cgminer
CFLAGS="-O2 -march=native -fcommon" ./autogen.sh --enable-gekko --enable-icarus
make
sudo apt-get install -y openjdk-8-jre-headless

To run CGminer, and start mining, I go in the CGminer folder (cd CGMiner), and enter this command :
sudo ./cgminer -o mining pool -u btc address -p x --gekko-start-freq 400 --gekko-r909-freq 525
I saw somewhere that you should be able to enter that command without "sudo". But if I don't enter "sudo", it can't access the USB peripherals. I'm too lazy to find the fix.

I use "Screen" to be able to run multiple programs in the terminal (CGMiner and HTop) : https://raspi.tv/2012/using-screen-with-raspberry-pi-to-avoid-leaving-ssh-sessions-open
I use "HTop" to see the CPU and RAM usage : https://linuxhint.com/raspberry-pi-cpu-usage-monitoring/

Nice, 99W all in. 2.055TH is about 97% of ideal for that speed, which is pretty solid considering 525MHz is an overclock. I'm pretty proud of the R909.

I'm happy with it also. I ordered six Compac F, before the announcement of the R909. I ended up not using the Compac F, as the R909 is much easier to power, is compact, and needs only one fan to cool down (compared to the Compac F that needs one fan each, plus the USB Hub that has a fan also).




For my question what numbers should I look at for the "rejected shares" and "hardware errors", if I looked up correctly, these are the calculation to get the "rejected shares" and "hardware errors" percentage :

Number taken from my earlier screen capture. You need to take the values that are at the top
rejected shares percentage  =  R * 100 / (R+A+HW)  =  6944 * 100 / (6944+14955024+7616)  =  0.046%
hardware errors percentage  =  HW * 100 / (R+A+HW)  =  7616 * 100 / (6944+14955024+7616)  =  0.051%

If these calculation are correct, I think I have some headroom to lower the voltage, and watt usage. 2Th/s was my goal, I don't want to push it more.
On graphic cards, I'm happy when these values are bellow 1%.

[kano]

The Rejects depend on your connection to the pool.
Also note that on linux the CPU% has a max based on the number of threads/cores.
So on an RPi if it's 2 cores the max is 200% and 4 cores the max is 400%
On an intel CPU they all have 2 threads per core, so a 4 core intel CPU would have a max of 800%

Edit: also be aware that hw errors on the gekko driver reports a correct value, that literally no other driver or miner does.
The hw error count is the difficulty of the errors, not the count of errors.
Since the R909 mines internally at 64 difficulty, the number of errors returned is your number/64 - however that's not meaningful, since each error represents 64 difficulty and thus comparing apple with apples for hw vs accepted/rejected at the top of the screen requires making hw based on the internal work difficulty. I had to change the hw code in cgminer to allow this correction (back when I added the ferrari)

Also the lower accepted rejected count on your display doesn't mean much since share difficulty can change, so that's no longer comparing equally weighted numbers, just look at the top A/R/HW.

[willi9974]

Many thanks to your guide and your effort to post the information !!!

THANKS !!!

[RKG456]

Got my R909 unit yesterday.

It was equipped with an Artic F8 fan, that has a good airflow : 52.7 m³/h at 22.5 dB
Replaced by a Noctua NF-A8 PWM : 55.5 m³/h at 17.7 dB

Plugged it to a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B, Quad Core CPU 1.2 GHz, 1 GB, with Raspberry Pi OS Lite.
It's using around 38~40% of the CPU. Edit: The CPU percentage goes to 400% on my model. See Kano's explanation here (link).

I've turned the voltage knob clockwise, to add voltage.
It's running at around 2.061 Th/s for 99 watts at the plug (including power supply, Raspberry Pi and R909).

How much of a clockwise turn did you do? 1/8, 1/4, 1/2?

Also you mentioned you are not using the compac Fs.   Are planning on using them eventually or selling them?    You could get another 1.8TH with those.

[RKG456]

I just took a peek.. Bitcoinmerch website shows to have 4 left in stock for those that may still be looking for the 909. That is where I bought mine. They are bundling with the power brick.