ANTMINER U3 Discussion and Support Thread

[stonehedge]

It has taken me about three days of trial and error but I have finally managed to get 3 Antminer U3s running on a raspberry Pi B (1st Gen) with powered USB hub using minera at 177Ghs with a HW error rate of 0%.

My U3s came with 7.5A power supplies and to cut a long story short all my problems ended when I stopped trying to use cgminer and bmsc options and used bfgminer with the following command line

-S antminer:all --set antminer:voltage=x820 --set antminer:clock=x0982

Power supplies and U3s are running at reasonable temperatures too.  Lets see how long this lasts for

EDITED for better results.

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[Mikestang]

ended when I stopped trying to use cgminer and bmsc options

If you were using bmsc options with cgminer then you were using an old, outdated version of cgminer.  You should try again with version 4.9.2 and the proper --au3 command line options from the ASIC README (volt 800 and freq 250 usually give about the max rated GH/s).

and used bfgminer with the following command line

-S antminer:all --set antminer:voltage=x820 --set antminer:clock=x0982

Do you use --set antminer:timing as well, or omit it entirely from your command line?

[stonehedge]

ended when I stopped trying to use cgminer and bmsc options

If you were using bmsc options with cgminer then you were using an old, outdated version of cgminer.  You should try again with version 4.9.2 and the proper --au3 command line options from the ASIC README (volt 800 and freq 250 usually give about the max rated GH/s).

and used bfgminer with the following command line

-S antminer:all --set antminer:voltage=x820 --set antminer:clock=x0982

Do you use --set antminer:timing as well, or omit it entirely from your command line?

I'm not exactly a 100% noob to mining and linux but if I buy a product and the latest version of the manual on the manufacturers web site tells you to use bmsc then thats what I'll try first.  I quite like Bitmain but I think the vast majority of people who are unhappy with the U3 just haven't been given the right information on how to use them.  How about an updated manual on your web site Bitmain??

I did update to cgminer 4.9.2 on arch linux and it appeared to be working really well for about 60 seconds then my Pi always froze.  That was with the au3 command line options.  When I've got a few days hashing with this config I'll go back and try again with cgminer because I'd like to see if I can get it working as well as bfgminer.

I completely omitted --set antminer:timing.   Mainly because I didn't know how to calculate it.

I'm just coming up to 18 hours of my current settings and hash rate is stupidly solid at 178Ghs with 0% hw errors.  

[stonehedge]

Well, after a few days of perfect steady performance I decided to shut everything down and tidy up the cabling.

Now I only get 150Ghs. 28Ghs lost just by tidying the cables?!

[Mikestang]

Welcome to the world that is the U3.  There is no rhyme, there is no reason.  If you get them working, for the love of god DON'T TOUCH THEM, but this you have learned too late.

[stonehedge]

Welcome to the world that is the U3.  There is no rhyme, there is no reason.  If you get them working, for the love of god DON'T TOUCH THEM, but this you have learned too late.

Lol. Lesson well learned!

I decided to slightly under clock my U3s last night to see if I could win some stability but this morning I awoke to one of them beeping and flashing at me. The other two were running fine.

I've just ordered some good quality USB cables and if they don't work I'm going to scrap the U3s (after a week of ownership) and see if I can find another hobbyist miner to buy.

Very poor show Bitmain.

[stonehedge]

Just running stock settings now and I have a beeping U3 after an hour of mining.

Does anybody know if the beeping is caused by a power or USB disruption? 

[baristor]

does anyone wnna do a group by of 60 ? Im in for sure then I dont mind even picking up 5 units

[TheRealSteve]

does anyone wnna do a group by of 60 ? Im in for sure then I dont mind even picking up 5 units

See also: Bitcoin Forum > Bitcoin > Mining > Hardware > Group buys > [Group Buy] [U3 Antminers] Intrest thread.
tl;dr: there wasn't enough interest.  This was for a European GB though.

[stonehedge]

If anybody wants to buy three units in UK/EU then I have some for sale

On my Raspberry Pi they all work fine individually or in pairs.  Even with a very good powered hub I can't get three to work reliably.

On my PC three seem to work fine together but I haven't tested that for very long.

I find that bfgminer is better than cgminer with the U3s (at least in minera) but your mileage may vary. I can't get them to work in minepeon at all.

[clarkjhaley13]

I ran my u3 units for couple of months with no issue. I used a atx power supply to power them with custom made plugin cables. I also ran the fans directly from psu power not thru the units board. Was the single biggest boost I got in reliability and performance from them. I used a 800 power setting and a *c ** frequency and I got 73gh/s from them.
All I can say is if you are powering them with the brick is good luck.

[Mikestang]

That's the first I've heard of powering the fan with external power, I wonder if that contributed to the stability you had?  Very interesting, something else to tinker with.

[stonehedge]

I ran my u3 units for couple of months with no issue. I used a atx power supply to power them with custom made plugin cables. I also ran the fans directly from psu power not thru the units board. Was the single biggest boost I got in reliability and performance from them. I used a 800 power setting and a *c ** frequency and I got 73gh/s from them.
All I can say is if you are powering them with the brick is good luck.

This makes me want to change my mind about selling my U3s.  I do like making things work

[clarkjhaley13]

I ran my u3 units for couple of months with no issue. I used a atx power supply to power them with custom made plugin cables. I also ran the fans directly from psu power not thru the units board. Was the single biggest boost I got in reliability and performance from them. I used a 800 power setting and a *c ** frequency and I got 73gh/s from them.
All I can say is if you are powering them with the brick is good luck.

This makes me want to change my mind about selling my U3s.  I do like making things work

I previously posted here with screenshot of my miner running at 83gh/s. I also shared the bat file line I was using to run it. Haven't seen my posts anymore so I am thinking they got removed. I had really good luvk with my little miners but have moved on to bigger.

[TheRealSteve]

Haven't seen my posts anymore so I am thinking they got removed.

Try your post history: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=373561;sa=showPosts

Post possibly matching description: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=827356.msg10009366#msg10009366

[clarkjhaley13]

Haven't seen my posts anymore so I am thinking they got removed.

Try your post history: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=373561;sa=showPosts

Post possibly matching description: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=827356.msg10009366#msg10009366

Wasn't aware I could do that. Still learning the forums thing.

There are a few posts missing on the u3 subject, but that one is good enough. bat line structure is important on the things.

Thanks for the know how on the history thing.

[barista_miner]

Bitcoin mining beginner here in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, i just recieved my antminer u3 which i purchased online(aliexpress)..and it took me 30 mins to set up..and it works well..

<avg> 54.71gh/s

[Riseman]

I'm running the U3 with default cgminer 4.9.2 settings (225 MHz, 0.775 V), and it shows about 52 Gh average. Is this OK for default settings or is this particular unit slow? On what freq. does it run 64 Gh?

[Mikestang]

I'm running the U3 with default cgminer 4.9.2 settings (225 MHz, 0.775 V), and it shows about 52 Gh average. Is this OK for default settings or is this particular unit slow? On what freq. does it run 64 Gh?

That's good for default, I used to see 42GH on default settings.  Try stepping up the voltage in 0.005 increments and change the frequency per values listed in the manual and you'll find a happy set of numbers that gives your machine 63GH.  250freq and 800volt do the trick, but you may get away with lower settings like 243.75/785.  Play with yours and see what works best.

[Riseman]

The included chinese power supply went up in smoke after 2 days use. It had a 06/2015 sticker on it, lol.

The miner did about 63 Gh on the recommended settings from the manual - 0.83/250.