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This README contains extended details about FPGA mining with cgminer
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For ModMinerQuad (MMQ) and BitForce (BFL)
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-----------------------------------------
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When mining on windows, the driver being used will determine if mining will work.
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If the driver doesn't allow mining, you will get a "USB init," error message
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i.e. one of:
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open device failed, err %d, you need to install a Windows USB driver for the device
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or
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kernel detach failed :(
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or
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claim interface %d failed, err %d
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The best solution for this is to use a tool called Zadig to set the driver:
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http://sourceforge.net/projects/libwdi/files/zadig/
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This allows you set the driver for the device to be WinUSB which is usually
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required to make it work if your having problems
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You must also make sure you are using the latest libusb-1.0.dll supplied
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with cgminer (not the libusbx version)
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-
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When mining on linux, but not using 'sudo' and not logged into 'root' you
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may get a USB priviledge error (-3), so you may also need to do the following:
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Create /etc/udev/rules.d/01-cgminer.rules
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With:
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ATTRS{idVendor}=="0403", ATTRS{idProduct}=="6014", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ACTION=="add", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
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ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0003", SUBSYSTEMS=="usb", ACTION=="add", MODE="0666", GROUP="plugdev"
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And also:
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sudo usermod -G plugdev -a `whoami`
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Then reboot ...
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If your linux distro doesn't have the 'plugdev' group, you can create it like:
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sudo groupadd plugdev
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There is a hidden option in cgminer to dump out a lot of information
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about USB that will help the developers to assist you if you are having
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problems:
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--usb-dump 0
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It will only help if you have a working MMQ or BFL device attached to the
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computer
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ModMinerQuad (MMQ)
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------------------
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The mining bitstream does not survive a power cycle, so cgminer will upload
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it, if it needs to, before it starts mining (approx 7min 40sec)
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The red LED also flashes while it is uploading the bitstream
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If the MMQ doesn't respond to cgminer at all, or the red LED isn't flashing
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then you will need to reset the MMQ
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The red LED should always be flashing when it is mining or ready to mine
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To reset the MMQ, you are best to press the left "RESET" button on the
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backplane, then unplug and replug the USB cable
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If your MMQ doesn't have a button on the "RESET" pad, you need to join
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the two left pads of the "RESET" pad with conductive wire to reset it.
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Cutting a small (metal) paper-clip in half works well for this
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Then unplug the USB cable, wait for 5 seconds, then plug it back in
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After you press reset, the red LED near the USB port should blink continuously
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If it still wont work, power off, wait for 5 seconds, then power on the MMQ
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This of course means it will upload the bitstream again when you start cgminer
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-
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Device 0 is on the power end of the board
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You must make sure you have an approriate firmware in your MMQ
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Read here for official details of changing the firmware:
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http://wiki.btcfpga.com/index.php?title=Firmware
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The basics of changing the firmware are:
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You need two short pieces of conductive wire if your MMQ doesn't have
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buttons on the "RESET" and "ISP" pads on the backplane board
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Cutting a small (metal) paper-clip in half works well for this
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Join the 2 left pads of the "RESET" pad with wire and the led will dim
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Without disconnecting the "RESET", join the 2 left pads of the "ISP" pad
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with a wire and it will stay dim
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Release "RESET" then release "ISP" and is should still be dim
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Unplug the USB and when you plug it back in it will show up as a mass
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storage device
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Linux: (as one single line):
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mcopy -i /dev/disk/by-id/usb-NXP_LPC134X_IFLASH_ISP000000000-0:0
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modminer091012.bin ::/firmware.bin
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Windows: delete the MSD device file firmware.bin and copy in the new one
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rename the new file and put it under the same name 'firmware.bin'
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Disconnect the USB correctly (so writes are flushed first)
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Join and then disconnect "RESET" and then plug the USB back in and it's done
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Best to update to one of the latest 2 listed below if you don't already
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have one of them in your MMQ
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The current latest different firmware are:
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Latest for support of normal or TLM bitstream:
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http://btcfpga.com/files/firmware/modminer092612-TLM.bin
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Latest with only normal bitstream support (Temps/HW Fix):
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http://btcfpga.com/files/firmware/modminer091012.bin
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The code is currently tested on the modminer091012.bin firmware.
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This comment will be updated when others have been tested
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-
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On many linux distributions there is an app called modem-manager that
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may cause problems when it is enabled, due to opening the MMQ device
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and writing to it
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The problem will typically present itself by the flashing led on the
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backplane going out (no longer flashing) and it takes a power cycle to
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re-enable the MMQ firmware - which then can lead to the problem happening
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again
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You can either disable/uninstall modem-manager if you don't need it or:
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a (hack) solution to this is to blacklist the MMQ USB device in
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/lib/udev/rules.d/77-mm-usb-device-blacklist.rules
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Adding 2 lines like this (just above APC) should help
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# MMQ
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ATTRS{idVendor}=="1fc9", ATTRS{idProduct}=="0003", ENV{ID_MM_DEVICE_IGNORE}="1"
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The change will be lost and need to be re-done, next time you update the
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modem-manager software
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TODO: check that all MMQ's have the same product ID
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BitForce (BFL)
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--------------
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--bfl-range Use nonce range on bitforce devices if supported
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This option is only for bitforce devices. Earlier devices such as the single
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did not have any way of doing small amounts of work which meant that a lot of
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work could be lost across block changes. Some of the "minirigs" have support
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for doing this, so less work is lost across a longpoll. However, it comes at
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a cost of 1% in overall hashrate so this feature is disabled by default. It
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is only recommended you enable this if you are mining with a minirig on
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p2pool.
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C source is included for a bitforce firmware flash utility on Linux only:
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bitforce-firmware-flash.c
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Using this, you can change the bitstream firmware on bitforce singles.
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It is untested with other devices. Use at your own risk!
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To compile:
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make bitforce-firmware-flash
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To flash your BFL, specify the BFL port and the flash file e.g.:
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sudo ./bitforce-firmware-flash /dev/ttyUSB0 alphaminer_832.bfl
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It takes a bit under 3 minutes to flash a BFL and shows a progress % counter
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Once it completes, you may also need to wait about 15 seconds,
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then power the BFL off and on again
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If you get an error at the end of the BFL flash process stating:
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"Error reading response from ZBX"
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it may have worked successfully anyway.
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Test mining on it to be sure if it worked or not.
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You need to give cgminer about 10 minutes mining with the BFL to be sure of
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the MH/s value reported with the changed firmware - and the MH/s reported
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will be less than the firmware speed since you lose work on every block change.
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Icarus (ICA)
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------------
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There are two hidden options in cgminer when Icarus support is compiled in:
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--icarus-options <arg> Set specific FPGA board configurations - one set of values for all or comma separated
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baud:work_division:fpga_count
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baud The Serial/USB baud rate - 115200 or 57600 only - default 115200
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work_division The fraction of work divided up for each FPGA chip - 1, 2, 4 or 8
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e.g. 2 means each FPGA does half the nonce range - default 2
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fpga_count The actual number of FPGA working - this would normally be the same
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as work_division - range is from 1 up to 'work_division'
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It defaults to the value of work_division - or 2 if you don't specify
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work_division
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If you define fewer comma seperated values than Icarus devices, the last values will be used
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for all extra devices
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An example would be: --icarus-options 57600:2:1
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This would mean: use 57600 baud, the FPGA board divides the work in half however
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only 1 FPGA actually runs on the board (e.g. like an early CM1 Icarus copy bitstream)
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--icarus-timing <arg> Set how the Icarus timing is calculated - one setting/value for all or comma separated
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default[=N] Use the default Icarus hash time (2.6316ns)
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short Calculate the hash time and stop adjusting it at ~315 difficulty 1 shares (~1hr)
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long Re-calculate the hash time continuously
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value[=N] Specify the hash time in nanoseconds (e.g. 2.6316) and abort time (e.g. 2.6316=80)
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If you define fewer comma seperated values than Icarus devices, the last values will be used
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for all extra devices
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Icarus timing is required for devices that do not exactly match a default Icarus Rev3 in
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processing speed
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If you have an Icarus Rev3 you should not normally need to use --icarus-timing since the
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default values will maximise the MH/s and display it correctly
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Icarus timing is used to determine the number of hashes that have been checked when it aborts
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a nonce range (including on a LongPoll)
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It is also used to determine the elapsed time when it should abort a nonce range to avoid
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letting the Icarus go idle, but also to safely maximise that time
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'short' or 'long' mode should only be used on a computer that has enough CPU available to run
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cgminer without any CPU delays (an active desktop or swapping computer would not be stable enough)
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Any CPU delays while calculating the hash time will affect the result
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'short' mode only requires the computer to be stable until it has completed ~315 difficulty 1 shares
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'long' mode requires it to always be stable to ensure accuracy, however, over time it continually
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corrects itself
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When in 'short' or 'long' mode, it will report the hash time value each time it is re-calculated
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In 'short' or 'long' mode, the scan abort time starts at 5 seconds and uses the default 2.6316ns
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scan hash time, for the first 5 nonce's or one minute (whichever is longer)
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In 'default' or 'value' mode the 'constants' are calculated once at the start, based on the default
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value or the value specified
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The optional additional =N specifies to set the default abort at N 1/10ths of a second, not the
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calculated value, which is 112 for 2.6316ns
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To determine the hash time value for a non Icarus Rev3 device or an Icarus Rev3 with a different
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bitstream to the default one, use 'long' mode and give it at least a few hundred shares, or use
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'short' mode and take note of the final hash time value (Hs) calculated
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You can also use the RPC API 'stats' command to see the current hash time (Hs) at any time
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The Icarus code currently only works with an FPGA device that supports the same commands as
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Icarus Rev3 requires and also is less than ~840MH/s and greater than 2MH/s
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If an FPGA device does hash faster than ~840MH/s it should work correctly if you supply the
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correct hash time nanoseconds value
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The timing code itself will affect the Icarus performance since it increases the delay after
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work is completed or aborted until it starts again
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The increase is, however, extremely small and the actual increase is reported with the
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RPC API 'stats' command (a very slow CPU will make it more noticeable)
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Using the 'short' mode will remove this delay after 'short' mode completes
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The delay doesn't affect the calculation of the correct hash time
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