Awww what's wrong with ziptied GPUs in a milkcrate!?
Good luck on your future endeavors. Sorry that the FPGA Scrypt Miner wasn't able to come to fruition. Many of us doubted that it would, but it was good to follow your journey.
New day, new opportunity. Thanks for sharing and good luck in your alternate direction(s)! Will stay tuned to see how things develop.
Thanks! It's one of those things that we just wouldn't know until it was tried, but the journey continues
Nothing is wrong with zipties and milk crates, aside looking like a fire waiting for a place to happen
Probably a smart move considering now as stated before that there are lots of ASIC companies in the field.
why does this matter:
1. BTC was a first of a first, it set the stage for ASIC in the market.
2. ASIC companies have sprung up .
3. ASIC (real companies) (not just scammers)
4. They will want to produce ASICs for profit as they have the specs and the tools set up now.
5. sCrypt ASIC will give a power/energy saving and thus the equation will be shifted to ship rather than mine.
6. companies like BFL will have killed their market in the future for Scrypt , so while they may have made a mint on BTC (with BTC) that could disappear if BTC goes under , and they now have a reputation of ripping people off.
7. although retards still order from them ? so you know...
8. but as a real ASIC market rises , sCrypt will be where it is at.
price etc will all balance it self and find fair value.
I think given current market valuation it will be some time before there are Scrypt ASICs, but who knows. It is possible that Scrypt coins could go a different path than Bitcoin did entirely, as Litecoin would not get the benefits of ASIC the same way Bitcoin has. If FPGAs are unable to give ROI, it is anyone's guess where it goes from here as Litecoin and Bitcoin become fully divergent into their own established mining networks.
Thanks for the update Operatr, and best wishes for your future endeavors.
I was not much impressed by Alpha-Tech's
report, though I do agree with its overall findings. FPGA scrypt is not going to be significantly more cost-effective than the current GPU miners, though good luck to jasinlee over at the litecoin formum in his efforts.
If anyone is interested in open source code for litecoin scrypt using internal block ram (ie the existing LX150 bitcoin mining boards) I have some prototype code at
https://github.com/kramble/FPGA-Litecoin-Miner ... its only giving around 5kHash/sec, which is pretty pathetic, but I hope to be able to push it up to 10-20kHash/sec with a lot more work. Not much, but perhaps an alternative to scrapping your rigs once they are only mining bitcoin dust.
Its perhaps a little cheeky to ask you at this stage, Operatr, but do you have any plans to open source the work you have done so far?
Much appreciated!
I leave any releases of the code up to Zalfrin as I did not develop it, last I knew he was working on the blockmix.
Hopefully your implementation can be improved upon, though ultimately this is why the viability of FPGA for the future of Scrypt mining is being called into question, either way good work
Its perhaps a little cheeky to ask you at this stage, Operatr, but do you have any plans to open source the work you have done so far?
Actually, I suspect your implementation is probably further along than BlockBurner's implementation was.
If anyone wants an entertaining example of how *not* to scam people out of investments in an FPGA scrypt development effort, while also gaining some insight on why other groups are real tight-lipped about revealing any technical details, try this thread:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/a-custom-designed-fpga-miner-for-ltc-215487I jumped in at the top of page 3 and was the first one to call BS on whether the OP was legit, and it just got more and more entertaining from there as the OP dug himself deeper and deeper into his hole.
I just reread that entire thread and I find your assessment to be unsubstantiated. The OP in that thread freely admits to a mistake in his thinking and at the end he offers to return any funds. You seem awfully judgmental in your assessment of others. In the case of Nova! I think your indictment is unfounded.
edit:
And now you co-accuser (mtrlt) has been called a scammer himself:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/what-happened-to-mtrlt-did-he-just-scam-us-of-75-btc-279096I am pretty sure our implementation was farther along
than yours. Why you insist on crapping up this thread with your negatons is beyond me.
I did everything I said I would, have taken no funding from anyone, have not lied or misled anyone, and at least tried to get something together that improves the Scrypt network. I fail to see what your issue with us has been exactly beyond trying to get attention for yourself.
__
Moving onward I have begun the hunt for funding the construction of a proper farm and supporting infrastructure. So far BlockBurner does have a few local investors that I believe can be expanded without too much effort.
I've been working up a proper action plan and crushing ROI figures, hopefully this in combination with showing the business is generating income between a growing asset fund and re-built GPU miner (parts are inbound to build a more optimal setup) will grease the wheels to more investors and funding sources. Starting off the primary directive will be based in Scrypt mining and moving into SHA in time.
I will do what I can with what I have to start this from the ground up, which unfortunately isn't much in reality. Though I think many my age know this struggle well in having way more ambition than working capital to see those aspirations come to life as victims of central banks and criminal run governments. Though BlockBurner has failed in its first effort I am not deterred in being a part of this new industry, as I have never felt more at home in it. This is not just a business to me, in a way it is really my protest against a banking system that has destroyed the lives of many, including my own. I don't care if I ever make a dime as long as I can say I helped bury a system of rampant corruption and exploitation using our digital steam shovels. Plus, bitcoin is simply too damn cool to not be a part of
I'm also taking local action with MBEX to be the Bitcoin social hub of my area. I am looking forward to conducting our first ever meeting to introduce my town to Bitcoin and begin running information campaigns in the very near future. The best place to start the revolution is in your backyard
The first initiative that makes sense is the establishment of the first Bitcoin ATM.
Though I won't ask for it, if anyone has been following BlockBurner and would be interested in being an investor to this new direction, please PM me.
Unto the breach
Operatr