[Guide] Dogie's Comprehensive Bitmain Antminer S4 Setup [HD]

[dogie]

I purchased an S4 off of Ebay and it is missing the micro sd card. Can one be purchased configured for an S4 or will I need to image the card myself? What card is best suited for use in an S4?

You can clone an image of my old S4 SD card using this image. Once downloaded, extract the .img and burn it to the SD card using this program. Settings will be DHCP and my miner configurations so you know they'll work, assuming I didn't have BTCGuild set as primary. This firmware will also likely need updating to Bitmain's latest as it predates their final release for the S4 although you are free to not do so if you have no problems.

Any normal 8GB will be fine, and I say 8GB over 4GB because the prices are near identical.

[DarkIlluminatus]

I'm a little confused about the 16A requirement for the power cable.  Is this something that can be done at home with normal 3 prong US type outlets, or will I need an adapter/fuse/some other thing in order to use the S4?

[notlist3d]

I'm a little confused about the 16A requirement for the power cable.  Is this something that can be done at home with normal 3 prong US type outlets, or will I need an adapter/fuse/some other thing in order to use the S4?

It is due to amount of electricity the miner uses.  If you use a very cheap wire and wrong AWG it can melt and cause fires from it.  I only once made this mistake with a extension cord and it was to big of guage and not good enough for a S4... I smelled melting so I learned a good lesson.  Bought much nicer (and higher priced) extension cord.  I got lucky then.

But get a good power cable do not go cheap on S4's.  It honestly is a safety issue.

[dogie]

I'm a little confused about the 16A requirement for the power cable.  Is this something that can be done at home with normal 3 prong US type outlets, or will I need an adapter/fuse/some other thing in order to use the S4?

If you're referring to a standard 15A 110V socket / circuit, then the S4 is not appropriate. 15A circuits are rating for 24/7 at just 12A. 12A @ 110V = 1,320W of power. 1,320W < 1,400W of the S4.

The cable requirement is just an additional requirement should you choose to ignore your circuit's rating (which you should not) in order for the cable to also not melt. Think of it this way - you'd think it weird if your microwave had the same cable thickness as your iPhone charger, right? Same sort of thing with the S4, its just bigger than most electronics in your house.

[spaldix]

Any modem or router recommendation? Currently when I connect my S4 to my router after 15-30 mins of running, my internet starts to shut down every 1-2 mins and I believe it is because of the S4, so I don't know if I should buy a new router or a new model or it is simply non-related.

[notlist3d]

Any modem or router recommendation? Currently when I connect my S4 to my router after 15-30 mins of running, my internet starts to shut down every 1-2 mins and I believe it is because of the S4, so I don't know if I should buy a new router or a new model or it is simply non-related.

A S4 should not cause your router to lose connection.   That amount of traffic for one miner should not lock up any modern router, or a lot of old ones for that matter.   

Are you trying to run on wireless or anything? Or running straight Ethernet cable?  What is your current router, is it a all in one modem/router or two items?