Just Got a Miner

Hey everyone, I'm a new miner about to buy an AntMiner S19j Pro. While thinking it through, I realized I have a question about setting it up. Do I need a desktop monitor to connect to the mining rig and install the mining software? I haven’t looked into how the software gets set up yet. Do I really need to get a monitor just to start mining?

You should just be able to hook up power and an ethernet cable and then search for it on your network using an IP scanner. Then you can access via your preferred browser.

Can this be done from a laptop (Mac)? Thanks @gt_addict

Once its connected you can use any computer connected to the same local network

Great news  Are there any tutorials on youtube of using an IP scanner to connect to the mine?

You could revert to traditional mining where the ASIC captures block reward in full Instead of mining as a pool Of course this has downside as you will likely not see a reward within the first two years

In the above case you are best to use a pool that offers solo mining. (like mine) Since you need very good and very fast bitcoin network access and block distribution and very fast block work generation and processing. Your miner would need to handle the full bitcoin network processing as fast as possible and fast connectivity. If not, your chances of getting a stale or orphaned block (and getting no reward) are much higher. Edit: of course the information on my pool about how to setup solo mining has always pointed out the risk: https://kano.is/index.php?k=soloinfo

Say you mine a bitcoin in solo mining Is the 6.25btc block reward validated to your account? Because if not you forfeit $280,000 by pool mining...

If you are solo mining and against the massively sizable odds against finding a block, you get one - yes you get the full reward + all tx fees in it and - whatever fee the service (pool) you use charges. Key point is that as I said depending on your hash rate and above all - Luck - you might find the block within an hour or more likely years or possibly NEVER. Using PPLNS with the much higher hash rate a pool provides you will get paid far sooner and certainly more often. Sure you split the rewards. So what - you are at least making something and on a much more regular basis. edit: I might add that the only way to have a pretty predictable income from a miner is use a PPS pool that pays a fixed daily income depending on your hash rate. Of course they charge a hefty several % of your raw income for using their services. That's all the choices a miner has. Period.

The stupidest advice I have heard in decades, someone is trying to run a business and your advice is to sell that business and go to the casino because solo mining with an Antminer S19j is in fact worse than gambling, and no, it's not 2 years, it's 25 years based on the current difficulty, it's a big NO. I find it funny that Kano did not comment on this, seeing a newbie leading another newbie to the wrong path, instead, he took the chance to advertise his pool.

Considering hashrate is at 100TH/s and annual profit mining is $9,200, the switch to solo mining is more a position in statistics than a trip to the casino. Take into consideration that another Antminer S19j Pro is added and you cut that 25 years of timespan in half. This miner acquired again and we see the likelihood of block reward be reduced down to 6 years.

And during that '6 years' you are paying for over 3,200w of electricity being used 24x7x365x6. That is 196,224 kW/h per year or 1,177,344 kW/h over the 6 year period. That makes for one helluva electric bill to be paid each month with zero income unless you are very very lucky... Considering you are paying out-of-pocket for that electricity - just like feeding a slot machine - yeah, definitely like a casino and a very high-stakes one at that. Either way you are playing the odds hoping to be winning more than you spend.