Topic: Official FutureBit Apollo BTC Software/Image and Support thread (Read 50654 times)

We are depreciating desktop support for the USB standard units. Binaries are there for the 1% of users who use them. Unfortunately too much work to maintain support across mutiple architectures and OSes when the vast majority of users pair a standard unit with a Full Node device.

Try Mozilla Firefox browser. Chrome and Edge are bloated and don't play nice in my opinion. You can also try Brave browser. BTW, what kind of error do you see?

Cheers!

I’ve got my Apollo II desktop setup and running but have an odd problem that I was wondering if everyone could put an eye one. 
When I connect via Windows 11 (chrome and edge ) everything shows that it’s working but the miner.  Gives an error and shows no stats.  When I click the all info tab I can see the miners mining and fan speeds etc. I can’t get it to show that’s it’s working on the pc.
When I check pool side I see that it is hashing (ck pool as I’ve not set up my solo side on the Apollo yet)

Out of desperation I connected via my laptop on Mac OS safari and everything works fine.  Miners show all info no errors.  Tried the of again and it doesn’t work.  Refreshed pages, cleared caches, enabled Java scripts on the site, no block up or ad blockers. 
Can’t figured out why everything works but the mining page and works on the Mac??
What gives

Thanks !

Nope! It isn't a RaspberryPi!

It is listed as "6 ARM Core CPU @ 2GHZ and 4GB of RAM" which I believe is actually an OrangePi 4!

Half year later, still no release. Only unreleased files, which needs to be downloaded separately, that's a bit embarassing.
Any reason why release is not out yet?

The core cpu is a raspberry pi

As I understand it, Futurebit Appolo 2 does not support micro SD higher than 128 GB. It still does not see my 512 GB, no matter what I do with this card. I will have to buy 128 GB.
And also tell me how to connect my devices to futurebit full node when I am not at home via IP address from the Internet. What should I do for this, thank you.

". . . stopping the node and backing up the database to a second 1TB nvme is a good idea."

Yes sir, it's a very good idea! I found out the hard way. And now, I backup the full node drive every 3-4 weeks (actually I clone it). I don't ever want to have to build that full node again! I've seen houses built faster : )

Cheers!

Takes a week to download the node data  It gets slower at the block numbers get higher.  Depends on your internet speed.  I found the node did the IBD better when I wasn't mining.  IBD uses a lot of cpu resources and any additional work by the apollo respberry pi seemed to crash mine causing download restarts.  1 TB nvme minimum for bitcoin database storage.   Probably an upgrade to 2 TB in about a year.  I've got a 128GB microsd that works fine for system files.  I used the legacy balenaetcher to flash the microsd fine. per futurebit support page.   I"m running v2.0.5 because it worked for me and v2.0.6 had bugs that crashed my system. Maybe v2.0.6 will work good for you. I don't have windows open on the apollo keyboard/mouse dashboard as that uses up more RAM memory.  I use it to start up, but once going I close the window and switch.  I monitor it remotely which doesn't impact memory usage.  If you can pay attention to the log file in the bitcoin directory if your system crashes.  You may have to restart the node several times and this process can take time as the bitcoind program rewrites database files.  Any interruption in this part of the process can crash the database causing a reformat and restart.  Once you get to at least half of the blockchain, stopping the node and backing up the database to a second 1TB nvme is a good idea.

Dear Hello. I received my futurebit appolo 2 and I have a question how long does it take to synchronize the BTC database for solo mining? What flash drive capacity and flash drive class does futurebit support? I installed a 512gb sandisc class 3 4k instead of the native flash drive, but futurebit does not start with it. I created an image for it using belendaitcher, I installed the native one and everything started.

Difficulty:
Best share is the best solution your miner found.  Best share has to be above network difficulty to win the block.  Mining is broken up into levels of solutions that the miner can solve within a few seconds.  If you Just mine at max difficulty and it takes your miner minutes, then your miner could be mining an old block that has already been solved.  It's not the design to be notified when a block is solved but rather to question the network of the next block to solve.  Solutions are based on the transactions in each block making them unique.  The solution secures the transactions in the block as valid.

The error occurs when you submit a block solution that has already been solved or your node adjusts the diffiulty up or down and thus the miner solution doesn't match the difficulty.  Worst case is your mining on old blocks and have errors in your bitcoin network connection, high error rate.  Solutions found is to show how many solutions your miner correctly calculated.  Statistically speaking as your number increases over time you should have a better chance of solving the solution, Even though every single block the odds are the same.  IF you look at the solution of the Apollo II miner solving the block, the hash rate at that moment was Exahash in solving the solution.  Its why your miner constantly gives changing hash rate on every calculation.  The chance is you get lucky and your miner comes across the solution in a single calculation.  I"m at 1.7 billion best share.  I had a futurebit moonlander running for years and I had a best share of > 10 Trillion.  Close but not enough to solve the block.  It shows that even a 5 Watt futurebit moonlander can get close to solving the block.  That's the lottery I'll play over the lotto.  I think bitcoin odds are better.  All or nothing. 

My socket voltage is 240V @ 50Hz.
So 3500 / 240 = less than 15 Amps. Yes, I will run in turbo mode, so let's assume 4000 watts / 240 = less than 17 Amps. I got your point, I still won't run 10 from the same wire, only 3 to 5.

Ah, NO.  you can't run 10 units from a single household socket.  So, your running turbo.  That means at least 350-400 watts.  your little wattage meter is an indication of the watts being consumed by the Miner itself but does not include power consumption by the raspberry pi CPU.  350 Watts X 10 is 3500 watts.  3500 / 120 Volts = over 29 AMPS  you would be heating the wires in the wall.  Most household circuits are 15 or 20 amps. and you don't want to run max breaker power.  you want to run 75% of load for variance.  Running a 20 amp breaker at 20 amps will cause the breaker to eventually trip and fail.   You need to have an accurate digital tracking power meter to see how computers work.  IT's not a steady power but an average power.  The miner is constantly changing consumption multiple times per second and power fluctuates up and down a few watts per miner. 

You would want a dedicated 20 AMP circuit and even better 2-120 Volt circuits split across a 240 Volt phase at the panel.  That way each outlet balances out the 120V load if you have 5 apollos on each outlet. Don't forget a backup power supply and line conditioning regulation as the noise from 10 miners could cause problems.  Computers and switching power supplies are the noisiest additions to houshold ac circuits.

Thank you very much for your response!
You do not sound insensitive at all!

I do understand that Apollo units are literaly mini PCs. I have experience running servers 24/7 inside a dedicated AC cooled room. I will be running my Apollo inside an AC cooled room during a summer. However, during winter season it is more efficient to run it in a place that I do not heat up. My glassed balcony is covered, protected, clean and quite cool during winter. We use our balcony frequently everyday. It is ideal for Apollo unit as it won't have hard time cooling itself.

I will monitor Temp and Humidity and will ensure that the first is above 5 degrees C and the latter is below 90%. There is a very low risk to hit a Dew Point Temp.

It is great to know that I can run more than 2 Standard units via USB hub.
I think I can run at least 10 units from a single household socket, can't I?

I am excited to evelove further on in the home-based mining field!

I am pleased with Futurebit's response:

Hi temp ranges are from 5-40c, and humidity under 90% but making sure you are not operating near the dew point is what is essential, as this will cause condensation to form on the unit and cause damage.

As long as there is no head dust buildup on the unit, its intake or exhaust you should be fine, but will most likely require frequent cleaning to insure no dust settles on sensitive components.

You are not limited to two units and can run as many as your power/breaker allows with a USB hub.

Hello Apollo noderunners – working on an Apollo BTC issue where the OS is not detecting the NVME SSD. Occurrs on 2.0.5 and 2.0.6.

Tested a couple functioning NVME drives and neither is detected by the system.

Was able to see what seems to be a relevant problem listed during system startup...


Checking systemctl status

Has anyone encountered this before?

Forgive me for sounding insensitive: Are you for real? The Apollo units are mini computers and should be handled as such. If your intended location (glassed in balcony) provides a relatively clean environment other than being cold, use it. Obviously you are not going to use them "outside" where they may be subject to heavy moisture and/or heat. Your hounding of the Future Bit support staff for the "exact" tolerable criteria smacks of arrogance and/or ignorance. Do some research regarding pc hardware and you will easily find much general info.

Regarding the warranty: Future Bit clearly expects them to be used in the home (or home like environment). If maintaining the warranty is vital (for cost reasons, etc,) I get it. Most failures of new electronic goods will crop up very early in their lifespan. Run them a while and when comfortable they are "good", maybe worry less about warranty...

Again, searching with Google, DuckDuckGo, Ai, etc. will provide answers to your question regarding running multiple units from one node unit. I have read of several people plugging in a usb hub to the unit and hooking up several units that way. I run 6 Apollo units through one node unit wired through my home network. Research.

I can tell you from personal experience that the Apollo II full node can in fact run more than 2 standards unit.

Currently I have a total of 7 units running off the Apollo II full node. 4 x Apollo II standards and 3 x Apollo I BTC standards.

They replied:

I responded:
I will share their response.

My batting average for replies from FB support is 3-7 business days.  They aren't impressing me. 

And the switches are on back order (it took 2 emails and 7 days to get a response on this one), so I have no idea when my Apollo II will be running again.

I ordered another Apollo during the BF/CM sale.  They said 6-10 days.  Today is day 8, no notice of shipment yet.