Getting an old block erupter sapphire running

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#1Aug 27, 2022, 03:55 AM
Hey everyone! I’ve got this really old ASIC for bitcoin mining, but I can’t seem to get it up and running right now. All the tutorials and videos I’ve come across are super outdated, and it’s a pain to find any useful info. Is there anyone who can help me find a miner compatible with it and a pool where I can see its performance? Or would it be better to mine a different coin that uses the SHA256 algorithm? I just need to prove that it works properly for my project.
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viper_maxiSenior Member
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#2Aug 27, 2022, 04:26 AM
Any version of cgminer compiled with Icarus (autogen.sh --enable-icarus) should be able to run this. But yeah the Block Erupter is ten years old, and about three orders of magnitude slower than current USB miners, which are over two orders of magnitude slower than standard industrial miners, so pools aren't really set up to register work volumes that small anymore. Cgminer stats would show you what's going on, but poolside? Kano's solo pool might be granular enough to handle 333MH/s on stats, maybe? Another SHA coin with a much lower difficulty, you'd be a larger percentage of the network/pool and more likely to see stats. What's the project?
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#3Aug 27, 2022, 09:55 AM
Thank you. Can you tell me how to correctly compile the miner from source? Never did it. A project for a university to show how mining works and what blockchain is.
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#4Aug 27, 2022, 02:43 PM
I tried to run a TDC coin in this pool: https://luckydogpool.com/ But the miner does not see the device. bat file: cgminer -o stratum+tcp://luckydogpool.com:9002 -u TWZoiSLGQFjeqV6gRtsERaKbuVLit2TPKf.001 -p c=TDC Driver installed
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#5Aug 28, 2022, 05:51 PM
Did you look through the CGMiner thread and/or read the readme?
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#6Aug 29, 2022, 05:57 AM
Yes, but I don't understand anything. And most of the links no longer work( I launched the miner through the Viabts pool. Once the accepted share flashed, but the worker is constantly offline on the site.
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#7Aug 29, 2022, 09:35 AM
It's working fine.  It will take a really  long time to find a share with a high  enough difficulty for the pool  to accept.
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colddiamondHero Member
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#8Aug 29, 2022, 10:12 AM
Just to do a demo you can probably find another crap SHA256 coin to mine at a pool. Or Follow this guide and do a solo testnet pool. Probably an even better demo since you are doing it all locally. https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5415335.0 Note that this is not my work so I cannot verify how accurate the guide it, but it seemed at the time last September to be useful to people. Another option is to spend a few dollars and get a used but more modern miner. I don't know where you are in the world but S9 units are cheap as are some others since they are so power hungry by modern standards. -Dave
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hodler2019Legendary
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#9Aug 29, 2022, 12:43 PM
xec stratum+tcp://mining.viabtc.io:3014 it is way smaller than btc btc is 368eh xec is 285ph xec about 1200 times less hash than btc make that 1280 times less hash than btc.
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#10Aug 29, 2022, 04:03 PM
It seems to find blocks, but for some reason the worker is offline all the time. And is it possible to somehow run this ASIC on Raspberry or Orange, so as not to use Windows?
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#11Aug 29, 2022, 09:47 PM
Your miner is working fine.  It is hashing at 335Mhash, which is correct for that miner.  That pool is showing it offline because your miner hasn't found a share meeting the pool's minimum difficulty, yet, and that is because your miner is only hashing at 335Mhash's, that is old GPU speed. It isn't broke so don't fix it.  You have accomplished your mission.  Your old miner is mining. It is not finding blocks, only reporting that blocks are being found. Edit:  You can try mining on Kano.is, it has an 8k minimum difficulty and will adjust down to 442.  Your best share is 128k so that would have submitted a share.  However Kano doesn't allow GPU's so his pool may ban you for being GPU speed.  You can also try solo.ckpool.org it has similar minimum difficulty and adjustments. Edit2: Looking at your screen shot again, with my glasses, I see that it has submitted a share and the pool is showing you an estimated hash rate based on that one share submission.  So the pool says it is working as well.  So don't get wrapped around the axle about the offline thing as that is only because of the slow share submission rate. Your miner is working so just bask it the warm glow of your success.
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colddiamondHero Member
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#12Aug 29, 2022, 10:43 PM
Yes you can compile cgminer for the ARM CPU units and there might even be some pre-compiled ones out there, never actually checked. BUT you will need a powered USB hub, those units do not put out even close to enough power though the USB to run a stick miner. AND if you are doing this for a class keep in mind it's a lot easier to find a PC running windows then a RPi if you have to or want to recreate it. -Dave
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#13Aug 30, 2022, 12:15 AM
Dave, He is using 1, original, Block Erupter.  It only consumes 2.5 watts of power.  So any USB hub can power this and an Artic Breeze Fan. Sam
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colddiamondHero Member
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#14Aug 30, 2022, 04:17 AM
Yes, it only takes 1/2 an amp and the stock RPI port can put out way more then that. But you really start to run out of overhead quickly since the stock power supply is only 15 watts. And if you are using a clone, like the orange PI you have to configure the higher power output for the USB (it's just 1 line in the config) You are correct it CAN work, but for a few bucks more why deal with the potential issues. I'm not talking one of the Gekkoscience 8 Port $100 units but any sub $20 one that has a power plug that will give a couple of amps to it. -Dave
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#15Aug 30, 2022, 10:21 AM
I'm definitely not suggesting running it off of the USP port of a RPI. I just meant any USB Powered Hub should be sufficient for a USB Block Erupter.  I used to run 4 of them and an Artic Breeze fan per 5 Port Rosewill hub which has a 2.5 amp Power Supply, if I remember correctly. Sam
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hodler2019Legendary
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#16Aug 30, 2022, 01:07 PM
i gave you some merits for moving miner to xec
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#17Aug 30, 2022, 02:33 PM
Thank you guys so much for your help and replies! It's really nice to see how a simple chipset opens the veil of mining
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