Futurebit Apollo II BTC Founders Edition Full Node Review - PIC HEAVY

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: Opazzno on December 18, 2024, 02:38:55 AM

Hello, has the spare parts store opened or not yet?

As mentioned previously please don't submit these types of requests here!

This is my personal review thread which is not associated in any way with Futurebit!

The official Futurebit support thread can be found here: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/official-futurebit-apollo-btc-softwareimage-and-support-thread-5340015

Opazzno

newbie

Activity: 4

Merit: 0

Hello, has the spare parts store opened or not yet?

jstefanop

legendary

Activity: 2174

Merit: 1401

Quote from: Opazzno on August 10, 2024, 03:05:13 PM

Hello friends, I also plan to buy this device. I have a couple of questions, where can I buy spare parts for it? What kind of power supply does it have inside? Is it removable? If so, what model? What kind of fans are there: 3-pin, 4-pin, 92mm or 120mm or 140mm. I am buying it for a long time and I want to have spare parts if necessary. Thank you.

We will have spare parts on the store once we reach the year mark of shipments. Fan/PSU etc are all custom, but everything is pretty easily removed/swapped out. Fan is a 4pin standard 80x25mm 7k RPM max.

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: Opazzno on August 10, 2024, 03:05:13 PM

Hello friends, I also plan to buy this device. I have a couple of questions, where can I buy spare parts for it? What kind of power supply does it have inside? Is it removable? If so, what model? What kind of fans are there: 3-pin, 4-pin, 92mm or 120mm or 140mm. I am buying it for a long time and I want to have spare parts if necessary. Thank you.

This question would be better responded to by Futurebit directly if only asked in their thread! Wink

Opazzno

newbie

Activity: 4

Merit: 0

Hello friends, I also plan to buy this device. I have a couple of questions, where can I buy spare parts for it? What kind of power supply does it have inside? Is it removable? If so, what model? What kind of fans are there: 3-pin, 4-pin, 92mm or 120mm or 140mm. I am buying it for a long time and I want to have spare parts if necessary. Thank you.

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: MakerAZ on July 29, 2024, 01:23:52 PM

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 29, 2024, 10:06:00 AM

Your router should have an option for port forwarding.

You need to login to your router and make sure that you configure the port forwarding option so that port 8333 is pointing to whatever the (LAN) INTERNAL IP address is of your Apollo.

This will then allow connections from outside your network (WAN) to communicate to your node via port 8333 (LAN).

I've done that already. Though I still get no outside connections since my router is behind ISP's NAT.

I still wonder if I need to configure anything at all in my router to run Solo Mining on my LAN with my Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner.

Sounds like you need to login to the ISP's router and configure the port forwarding on that! :~)

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 29, 2024, 10:06:00 AM

Your router should have an option for port forwarding.

You need to login to your router and make sure that you configure the port forwarding option so that port 8333 is pointing to whatever the (LAN) INTERNAL IP address is of your Apollo.

This will then allow connections from outside your network (WAN) to communicate to your node via port 8333 (LAN).

I've done that already. Though I still get no outside connections since my router is behind ISP's NAT.

I still wonder if I need to configure anything at all in my router to run Solo Mining on my LAN with my Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner.

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: MakerAZ on July 29, 2024, 03:38:32 AM

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 18, 2024, 08:06:41 PM

If you ONLY are solo mining with the Apollo II then you don't need to port forward port 3333. But you still want 8333 port forwarded.

Hope that helps.

From where to where should I forward port 8333? Please help.

Your router should have an option for port forwarding.

You need to login to your router and make sure that you configure the port forwarding option so that port 8333 is pointing to whatever the (LAN) INTERNAL IP address is of your Apollo.

This will then allow connections from outside your network (WAN) to communicate to your node via port 8333 (LAN).

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 18, 2024, 08:06:41 PM

If you ONLY are solo mining with the Apollo II then you don't need to port forward port 3333. But you still want 8333 port forwarded.

Hope that helps.

From where to where should I forward port 8333? Please help.

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: MakerAZ on July 18, 2024, 01:22:58 PM

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 17, 2024, 09:11:33 AM

If you have the port forwarding set to the correct internal ip of the Apollo node then it should work.

Confirm your ports and ips and then reboot your router / firewall.

I think SOLO Mining with Futurebit is built-in with the node. When SOLO is enabled there is the following message at the top:

"SOLO LAN Mining: Point any Bitcoin Miner on your local network to your Solo Pool with the following URL: 192.168.0.103:3333 Username: "

To my understanding this message is in case I have a separate BTC Miner, apart from the Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner.

I think port forwarding in my router has nothing to do with setting up the Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner. The port forwarding is ONLY needed to allow incoming connection. Am I wrong?

You want to forward port 8333 so that the node can get more connections to other nodes.

If you ONLY are solo mining with the Apollo II then you don't need to port forward port 3333. But you still want 8333 port forwarded.

If you want miners outside of your LAN to connect to the built in pool then you will need to forward port 3333 to your Apollo II's address listed on the solo mining screen.

Hope that helps.

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

Quote from: Sledge0001 on July 17, 2024, 09:11:33 AM

If you have the port forwarding set to the correct internal ip of the Apollo node then it should work.

Confirm your ports and ips and then reboot your router / firewall.

I think SOLO Mining with Futurebit is built-in with the node. When SOLO is enabled there is the following message at the top:

"SOLO LAN Mining: Point any Bitcoin Miner on your local network to your Solo Pool with the following URL: 192.168.0.103:3333 Username: "

To my understanding this message is in case I have a separate BTC Miner, apart from the Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner.

I think port forwarding in my router has nothing to do with setting up the Futurebit Apollo II Full Node BTC Miner. The port forwarding is ONLY needed to allow incoming connection. Am I wrong?

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: MakerAZ on July 16, 2024, 05:43:59 AM

Quote from: heslo on July 16, 2024, 05:20:00 AM

Have you forwarded the relevant ports?

Yes I did. Port 8333 for both TCP and UDP. However, I think the issue is that I am behind NAT Sad

What are my options? Maybe it is better to open a separate thread on how to setup FutureBit Full Node to SOLO Mine behind NAT.

BTW I don't see the way to attach images to my posts.

If you have the port forwarding set to the correct internal ip of the Apollo node then it should work.

Confirm your ports and ips and then reboot your router / firewall.

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

Quote from: heslo on July 16, 2024, 05:20:00 AM

Have you forwarded the relevant ports?

Yes I did. Port 8333 for both TCP and UDP. However, I think the issue is that I am behind NAT Sad

What are my options? Maybe it is better to open a separate thread on how to setup FutureBit Full Node to SOLO Mine behind NAT.

BTW I don't see the way to attach images to my posts.

heslo

legendary

Activity: 1235

Merit: 1202

Quote from: MakerAZ on July 15, 2024, 11:41:55 PM

Quote from: heslo on July 14, 2024, 08:19:25 AM

You'll get more connections once the node is fully synced

Hello. My node is fully synced now. I still get 10/32. Sometimes it is 11/32, but 32 is ALWAYS grayed out. So, the way I understand it, there are maximum allowed 32 incoming connections, but actually there are none, only outgoing 10.

My node is perfectly synced with mempool. I immediately see a newly mined block and the time passed since that. My only concern is that in case I really win the lottery and find the block it may become orphan. I don't know how instant my Full Node can propagate my minded block to the blockchain.

I am totally new to mining. Please bring some light to the stats below.

Current hashrate: 5.10 TH/s

1 hour average: 5.48 TH/s

Best share: 119,559,890

63,314,747 Accepted shares

4,049 Rejected shares

Last share: seconds ago

13 hours Uptime

Solo Info:
Daily Chance of Solving a Solo Block
1 in 774,667

5.33T (5m)

2.41T (1d)

a few seconds ago

63,314,747

119,559,890

I wonder what is "Best share 119,559,890"? To be honest, the "Daily chance of 1 in 824,607" is not so low to me. I am mining at ECO mode. I will try TURBO mode and I think the daily chance can improve dramatically.

Have you forwarded the relevant ports?

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

Quote from: heslo on July 14, 2024, 08:19:25 AM

You'll get more connections once the node is fully synced

Hello. My node is fully synced now. I still get 10/32. Sometimes it is 11/32, but 32 is ALWAYS grayed out. So, the way I understand it, there are maximum allowed 32 incoming connections, but actually there are none, only outgoing 10.

My node is perfectly synced with mempool. I immediately see a newly mined block and the time passed since that. My only concern is that in case I really win the lottery and find the block it may become orphan. I don't know how instant my Full Node can propagate my minded block to the blockchain.

I am totally new to mining. Please bring some light to the stats below.

Current hashrate: 5.10 TH/s

1 hour average: 5.48 TH/s

Best share: 119,559,890

63,314,747 Accepted shares

4,049 Rejected shares

Last share: seconds ago

13 hours Uptime

Solo Info:
Daily Chance of Solving a Solo Block
1 in 774,667

5.33T (5m)

2.41T (1d)

a few seconds ago

63,314,747

119,559,890

I wonder what is "Best share 119,559,890"? To be honest, the "Daily chance of 1 in 824,607" is not so low to me. I am mining at ECO mode. I will try TURBO mode and I think the daily chance can improve dramatically.

heslo

legendary

Activity: 1235

Merit: 1202

You'll get more connections once the node is fully synced

MakerAZ

newbie

Activity: 27

Merit: 5

I've got mine a week ago.
Currently mining with Ocean. 5.5 Th/s on average with peaks at almost 9 Th/s. Running in Eco mode only.
I am waiting for the Node to fully sync, then I will start Solo mining.

I have activated TOR. I've got 10/32 connections, but 32 is grayed out. I am not sure if there are any incoming connections to my Node.

Sledge0001

full member

Activity: 633

Merit: 159

Quote from: jstefanop on May 25, 2024, 07:12:37 PM

Quote from: Omarkoman on May 24, 2024, 04:19:43 PM

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

We already have a custom water block and radiator solution, I didn't like how loud the device was as well in balance/turbo but 90% of customer feedback from the Apollo BTC was maximum utilization of the ASICs which meant higher noise levels in balance/turbo.

Was worth it for us since almost everyone runs the devices in eco so noise levels were comparable there, and the 10% that want max performance run them in garages etc where slightly higher noise does not matter.

Waterblock we have is crazy overkill, we are talking about 500+ watts at under 2k RPM speeds. Cost alone of the water block/radiator is over 200 so adding that much more to the cost was not worth it.

Next gen asics might get interesting since those can burn up to 20 watts each which requires either crazy high fan speeds or some kind of water/immersion solution. If we can 2-3x hashrate again and keep prices close to where they are water block might make sense.

@jstefanop the people are looking for something like this!

I would love to see a "do it yourself" upgrade or option from the factory that would leverage this type of cooling!

Personally I have 3 Apollo II units. I would buy a multi-unit cooler unit with a larger radiator / fan combo. That would be bad ass!

jstefanop

legendary

Activity: 2174

Merit: 1401

Quote from: Omarkoman on May 24, 2024, 04:19:43 PM

thanks, I figured it out now and setup custom pool.

I am going to open up the case and see if there is any chance to figure out how to water cool these using a computer 360 AIO.

the device is fantastic BUT ... even in ECO mode and fan at 2200rpm its LOUD to sit on your desk in office or bedroom. on Balanced mode and fan at 3300rpm its VERY loud and unless you you have a house and can keep it in garage away from you, its just not practical to have in an apartment. The Turbo mode is ridiculously loud, like a jet taking off.

frankly even in Balanced mode, I dont see the longevity of the fan spinning at such high RPMs for months and years and the amount of dust it will collect with so much air being sucked in will require regular maintenance / cleaning as it will otherwise overheat.

its a great device but the cooling just doesnt work above ECO mode and needs watercooling solution.

the device cost me $2000 Australian dollars after shipping and taxes. A 360 AIO costs $100 so Im surprised they have not offered it as an option with an external box attached to the Apollo II with the fan and radiator. I would be very happy with that as who cares about aesthetics.

We already have a custom water block and radiator solution, I didn't like how loud the device was as well in balance/turbo but 90% of customer feedback from the Apollo BTC was maximum utilization of the ASICs which meant higher noise levels in balance/turbo.

Was worth it for us since almost everyone runs the devices in eco so noise levels were comparable there, and the 10% that want max performance run them in garages etc where slightly higher noise does not matter.

Waterblock we have is crazy overkill, we are talking about 500+ watts at under 2k RPM speeds. Cost alone of the water block/radiator is over 200 so adding that much more to the cost was not worth it.

Next gen asics might get interesting since those can burn up to 20 watts each which requires either crazy high fan speeds or some kind of water/immersion solution. If we can 2-3x hashrate again and keep prices close to where they are water block might make sense.

heslo

legendary

Activity: 1235

Merit: 1202

Quote from: Omarkoman on May 24, 2024, 04:43:20 PM

I love to tinker so will have to take it apart and go from there.

I can see there are copper blocks I can get off aliexpress with various dimensions / sizes, I imagine a 10x10cm would suffice plus a decent 420 radiator + pump with res should be more than efficient to extract heat from water. I have dabbled in watercooling in computers for last 20 years and water is ALWAYS much more efficient to cool vs traditional aircoolers.

taking the Apollo II apart is first step to see the required surface area that needs to be cooled (eg how many chips there are etc).

I just want max performance but no way I can stand the noise with current cooling!

Please share pics of the teardown too!

Topic: Futurebit Apollo II BTC Founders Edition Full Node Review - PIC HEAVY (Read 970 times)