New Official AMT Thread

[opieum2]

I'm still waiting on AMT to provide me with the documentation I need to see if there is even the remote possibility of bringing these miners back to life. The good news is the bulk of the software work has been done, I just need the code that initializes the backplane, and figure out the HWreset issue. This might be the key to getting these things back to life. If I can force a reset on them every boot, that would be what we need in order to bring them back if a card were to go down from a software problem vs a hardware one.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

No one mention the fact that the thermal tape catches fire or they'll end up deleting it next time they are on.

Technically no it doesn't.
Under high externally supplied heat source it decomposes with a lot of smoke but when heat source is removed it stops. Same with the circuit boards. Caps are more fun... They pop like a firecracker and spray their guts everywhere

The heat source of course was the A1 chip innards shorting out and being fed by the nice huge PSU's the chip getting up to at least 500C to do that. Whether the sink fell off first, leading to the meltdown who knows. Still not good no matter how ya look at it.

[rik_khaos]

No one mention the fact that the thermal tape catches fire or they'll end up deleting it next time they are on.

Technically no it doesn't.
Under high externally supplied heat source it decomposes with a lot of smoke but when heat source is removed it stops. Same with the circuit boards. Caps are more fun... They pop like a firecracker and spray their guts everywhere

The heat source of course was the A1 chip innards shorting out and being fed by the nice huge PSU's the chip getting up to at least 500C to do that. Whether the sink fell off first, leading to the meltdown who knows. Still not good no matter how ya look at it.

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

Aside from being copper or aluminum color doesn't really matter for the loads put on them. I suppose they could have different tape on them though, perhaps dots vs a square. (Hope not.) The anodizing on aluminum sinks is just ascetics. If ya wanna get picky, flat black is best with measurably but still marginal better radiative dissipation..

Definitely check/re-tape the chipsinks and even better find something bigger to use.
Definitely make sure there is good airflow channeled over them as well.

[opieum2]

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

Aside from being copper or aluminum color doesn't really matter for the loads put on them. I suppose they could have different tape on them though, perhaps dots vs a square. (Hope not.) The anodizing on aluminum sinks is just ascetics. If ya wanna get picky, flat black is best with measurably but still marginal better radiative dissipation..

Definitely check/re-tape the chipsinks and even better find something bigger to use.
Definitely make sure there is good airflow channeled over them as well.

Got any recommendations for heatsinks? I was looking around for some elongated ones but could not find any that fit the criteria needed to mount here.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Got any recommendations for heatsinks? I was looking around for some elongated ones but could not find any that fit the criteria needed to mount here.

Been looking myself. Found the longer/bigger ones on Amazon that Bitmine used in that pic of one of their boards where the long bottom sink fell off. Biggest problem is coming up with a clip of some sort to make sure they say put. Either that or use thermal glue to make it permanent.

If to be kept repairable I'm thinking more of a thick riser bar spanning several chips and milled for clearance that can be bolted down to give a nice wide surface for bigger sinks.

Considering there should be no need to replace the chips, I think gluing on a bigger sink milled if needed (or use a spacer) to clear caps would be best overall. I'm using http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Alumina-Thermal-Adhesive-Tube/dp/B0009IQ1BU with 1/4" aluminum cubes on my Ants to link the Vcore switchers to the big heat sinks. Should only need the tiniest dollop but only 5-min work time so don't mix more than ya can use.

edit: Hmm. These folks look interesting for sinks http://www.alphanovatech.com/?gclid=CLzm7snhyr4CFckWMgodGjIA3A The 1/8th brick (a telecom size) power converter series looks very promising indeed..http://www.micforg.co.jp/en/cat_dcce.html#eighth-brick

[opieum2]

Also another thing I noticed that really requires work. Cooling. The fans in any configuration whether the 2 fan config or the 4 fan setup....wont be enough to cool one of the cards without a proper fan layout.

[opieum2]

Oh these heatsinks looks good. http://www.amazon.com/20mm-15mm-Heatsink-Dissipate-Cooling/dp/B008OTKSW4/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&qid=1401144038&sr=8-84&keywords=heatsink+15mm

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Oh these heatsinks looks good. http://www.amazon.com/20mm-15mm-Heatsink-Dissipate-Cooling/dp/B008OTKSW4/ref=sr_1_84?ie=UTF8&qid=1401144038&sr=8-84&keywords=heatsink+15mm

Them's the ones! couldn't find them earlier tonight. Good size and good fin spacing so air moves well. Just glue the things on to be sure I'd say.

[rik_khaos]

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

Aside from being copper or aluminum color doesn't really matter for the loads put on them. I suppose they could have different tape on them though, perhaps dots vs a square. (Hope not.) The anodizing on aluminum sinks is just ascetics. If ya wanna get picky, flat black is best with measurably but still marginal better radiative dissipation..

Definitely check/re-tape the chipsinks and even better find something bigger to use.
Definitely make sure there is good airflow channeled over them as well.

What I mean is they were all copper, but they changed color due to the heat of the chips, http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=194516 looks like it;s the oxidation process taking place at diffrent levels of heat.

I can snap some pics to show you what I mean if interested.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

Aside from being copper or aluminum color doesn't really matter for the loads put on them. I suppose they could have different tape on them though, perhaps dots vs a square. (Hope not.) The anodizing on aluminum sinks is just ascetics. If ya wanna get picky, flat black is best with measurably but still marginal better radiative dissipation..

Definitely check/re-tape the chipsinks and even better find something bigger to use.
Definitely make sure there is good airflow channeled over them as well.

What I mean is they were all copper, but they changed color due to the heat of the chips, http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=194516 looks like it;s the oxidation process taking place at diffrent levels of heat.

I can snap some pics to show you what I mean if interested.

If the copper is changing then serious trouble and probably dead chips. Max die temp is 100c and it takes more than that to make copper start changing color... 150c will start to give a bronze ish luster, around 200 serious color changes start. Good link btw.

[rik_khaos]

that is fair, I was asleep while it happened, so I didn't get the chance to see it all with my own eyes. All I know is it killed the fuck out of that board. I wish I would have copied the error cgminer was giving me.

I have a few sinks that are the same color as the sink that fell off perhaps I should remove and take a look at the thermal tape.

Aside from being copper or aluminum color doesn't really matter for the loads put on them. I suppose they could have different tape on them though, perhaps dots vs a square. (Hope not.) The anodizing on aluminum sinks is just ascetics. If ya wanna get picky, flat black is best with measurably but still marginal better radiative dissipation..

Definitely check/re-tape the chipsinks and even better find something bigger to use.
Definitely make sure there is good airflow channeled over them as well.

What I mean is they were all copper, but they changed color due to the heat of the chips, http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=194516 looks like it;s the oxidation process taking place at diffrent levels of heat.

I can snap some pics to show you what I mean if interested.

If the copper is changing then serious trouble and probably dead chips. Max die temp is 100c and it takes more than that to make copper start changing color... 150c will start to give a bronze ish luster, around 200 serious color changes start. Good link btw.

Yeah I have three cards with at least one serious color change including the card where the sink fell off. Each of those have cards have nearly every sink with with the bronzeish color.  Two cards have retained their natural copper color, but they failed to ever initialize in the first place. If I can get those two cards up with the software details at least I'll have something to work with.

Looks like maybe the issue could have been dealt with if we were given the proper soft specs to work with from the get go

[mrpark]

The two odd mining boards (two with copper heat sinks, (Other 3 board had black heat sinks)) they sent me, they do not power up at all. It seems they are just dummy boards. Ironically, these were the two boards that got "damaged in shipping" with the 20 pin connectors torn off and caps missing....  They might have well as send me a box of rocks for my $6,000. I believe I was set up, and believe I have evidence to prove it.

I am buying 1.4T miners for $2,500 now. I could almost buy 3 times the mining power for what I paid for this unit.  Shame, shame, shame...

[opieum2]

One of the biggest issues here with this is cooling. The heatsinks COULD withstand the heat (if they are properly applied) if the cooling is good. The problem here is there are ALOT of dead zones on the sides of the cards...card 5 from the beginning of the chain has no cooling flowing. That is a major issue with the cage design (I noticed this after I got mine). Right off the bat, you are looking at card 5 going down right away after it reaches its threshold.

Secondly we are dealing with the heatsinks themselves being the bare minimum to cool the chips. I am referring to the smaller heatsinks, the large one appears to be up to the task.

So the quality of the heatsinks needs to be improved, or larger heatsinks like the ones noted in previous posts. Fuzzys post on the custom made ones is a good one. I found some there that can be bought in bulk. These would be good options for AMT to explore. Obviously keeping costs down is a priority, but at the same time cutting corners at the expense of quality at this point is really not an option they can afford. Getting proper miners built with proper cooling dynamics is a priority (or should be if its not now) and working hardware which there are those of us contributing to making happen.

[opieum2]

The two odd mining boards (two with copper heat sinks, (Other 3 board had black heat sinks)) they sent me, they do not power up at all. It seems they are just dummy boards. Ironically, these were the two boards that got "damaged in shipping" with the 20 pin connectors torn off and caps missing....  They might have well as send me a box of rocks for my $6,000. I believe I was set up, and believe I have evidence to prove it.

I am buying 1.4T miners for $2,500 now. I could almost buy 3 times the mining power for what I paid for this unit.  Shame, shame, shame...

Yea its a sucky feeling. I am now looking at the spondoolies since they dropped in price so dramatically. The 1.4 went down to 2795. The 5.4THs is about the same price as the 1.2Ths miners we bought from AMT. Just some perspective. Either way, it is what it is now and gotta try to turn this situation around for us whatever it takes.



 

[FrictionlessCoin]

The two odd mining boards (two with copper heat sinks, (Other 3 board had black heat sinks)) they sent me, they do not power up at all. It seems they are just dummy boards. Ironically, these were the two boards that got "damaged in shipping" with the 20 pin connectors torn off and caps missing....  They might have well as send me a box of rocks for my $6,000. I believe I was set up, and believe I have evidence to prove it.

I am buying 1.4T miners for $2,500 now. I could almost buy 3 times the mining power for what I paid for this unit.  Shame, shame, shame...

Yea its a sucky feeling. I am now looking at the spondoolies since they dropped in price so dramatically. The 1.4 went down to 2795. The 5.4THs is about the same price as the 1.2Ths miners we bought from AMT. Just some perspective. Either way, it is what it is now and gotta try to turn this situation around for us whatever it takes.
 

Still have not been able to mine with my broken AMT miner,  however given the Miner Protection Program (MPP),  I hope to get back my $6,000 I paid for,  regardless if the miner never worked.

[opieum2]

The two odd mining boards (two with copper heat sinks, (Other 3 board had black heat sinks)) they sent me, they do not power up at all. It seems they are just dummy boards. Ironically, these were the two boards that got "damaged in shipping" with the 20 pin connectors torn off and caps missing....  They might have well as send me a box of rocks for my $6,000. I believe I was set up, and believe I have evidence to prove it.

I am buying 1.4T miners for $2,500 now. I could almost buy 3 times the mining power for what I paid for this unit.  Shame, shame, shame...

Yea its a sucky feeling. I am now looking at the spondoolies since they dropped in price so dramatically. The 1.4 went down to 2795. The 5.4THs is about the same price as the 1.2Ths miners we bought from AMT. Just some perspective. Either way, it is what it is now and gotta try to turn this situation around for us whatever it takes.
 

Still have not been able to mine with my broken AMT miner,  however given the Miner Protection Program (MPP),  I hope to get back my $6,000 I paid for,  regardless if the miner never worked.

Well let's hope the new business structure is up to par and gets us all back on track. The initial customers are the ones who have to benefit from this (those of us that got broken miners or none at all). It would be interesting to hear more about what this is and what it will entail for us.

[NotFuzzyWarm]

The two odd mining boards (two with copper heat sinks, (Other 3 board had black heat sinks)) they sent me, they do not power up at all. It seems they are just dummy boards. Ironically, these were the two boards that got "damaged in shipping" with the 20 pin connectors torn off and caps missing....  They might have well as send me a box of rocks for my $6,000. I believe I was set up, and believe I have evidence to prove it.

I am buying 1.4T miners for $2,500 now. I could almost buy 3 times the mining power for what I paid for this unit.  Shame, shame, shame...

Ja the price drops per GH/S have been stunning. AMT and the other late companies really really missed their sweet-spot for pricing. Only ordered my AMT 520 in late Feb because at the time Ants were $1750-2k each for 180GH so it was 'a good deal'. Only a month later price on Ants began their plummet so got my 1st 2 @ $750 each as I moved on from seeing the AMT rig/kit was not happening for a while... Last I saw a week ago now s1s are like $250 on Amazon and just over $200 direct. Yeesh!
Bet this goes bye-bye as OT.. (it is)

[NotFuzzyWarm]

Hmm, S1's back up a bit @ 240USD, 7 underclocked to 140 each gives ya 0.98 TH nom with fair pwr use for a hair under $1.7k.... full speed just over 1.2TH with power use way more than the A1 at its worst. As in around 2.5-2.6kw based on my pharm of 9 all oc'd @ 190 eating 3.75kw...

Well, now 10 Very happy with my new s2. Costs more vs bunch of s1s but 1/3 the feed bill Still a pretty good heater. Would be nice to add another oh, 520 or so GHs to the pharm hint hint...

Wonder how the Technobit/Bitmine/AMT collaboration boards are doing? A lot of promise with that design last we saw and if packaged/powered/cooled right...

[NotFuzzyWarm]

A good read on general proper thermal mounting and such http://www.onsemi.com/pub_link/Collateral/AN1040-D.PDF Deals largely with discrete devices vs chips but same rules apply. Note the thermal resistances of silicon tapes... not good.