Antminer S1 help?

[Ashton]

I'm about to go crazy here... I didn't know it was possible for 1 "set it and forget it" piece of hardware to have so many fucking problems!

I get the ant miner and power it up, setup my pool info, then notice it's only mining at ~80-90gh/s. I search and search and finally find info in the status that tells me only 1 blade is active. I try umpteen dozen things to get it to power up the second blade, which only occurs when I SSH in and over clock it.

So, now we're plugging along at 205gh/s. Things go great for about 24-48 hours, when I come home one day and the 850watt power supply was dead. (and I mean dead-dead, it buzzed slightly when I tried to power it up, but I got no power no fan, nothing) I contact the seller, they tell me to RMA it... and I send it in, and after THREE WEEKs they still won't answer me, so I have to open a paypal buyer protection claim to get my money back...

No, I order another 850watt psu from another vender, and this time, I power on the Antminer and it goes through it's POST, and then after about 30 seconds, an LED lights up at the end of the blade (one on each) and I hear a buzzing sound for around 2-5 seconds, and it cuts off. to the point I have to pull the +5 jumper to get the PSU to come on again...

a lot of goggling later, this is apparently a sign that the ant miner isn't getting enough power (Sweet bajezuz! 850W isn't enough for this little bastard?!?!? the official specs say 500W is plenty!) To test I unplug the secondary blade and power up. Sure enough it powers on and I can get into the config (but it never connects to my pool) I've even tried un-OC'ing it to disable the secondary blade again so I can at least get 90gh/s out of it, and that won't work now, if that second blade is plugged in, it buzzes and cuts off...

So... somebody who's been using these please tell me what the F is going on! IS the Antminer busted? Do I need an even larger PSU? Do I need to throw them both in the trash and start over??? I've been fighting this for over a month and I'm worn out...

 

[Core32]

I had 5 up until recently and never had a single problem.
On stock they pull no more than 350W using both blades.
OC'd up to 200GH/s they will pull just over 400W.
What model PSU are you using?
Does it have a single +12V rail?
Are you connecting power to both blades?
Does your version of the S1 have PCIE connectors or screw terminals for power?
Are you using any type of power splitter to get enough connections to the miner?

 

[Ashton]

I had 5 up until recently and never had a single problem.
On stock they pull no more than 350W using both blades.
OC'd up to 200GH/s they will pull just over 400W.
What model PSU are you using?
Does it have a single +12V rail?
Are you connecting power to both blades?
Does your version of the S1 have PCIE connectors or screw terminals for power?
Are you using any type of power splitter to get enough connections to the miner?

Using this PSU (note that despite the listing saying 800W my model is the 850W version):
http://www.ebay.com/itm/150733719698?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Not sure. What am I looking for to determine if it has 1 +12 Rail?

Connected to both sides results in the buzz and power off after POST, connected only to main side and it powers on (main blade only) but doesn't connect to the pool

I have the model with PCIE connectors and am using the 2 PCIE connectors on the PSU (did test it with two molex->PCIE adapters, same results as the 2 PCIE connectors)

No splitters and no power strips or anything (and only other devices on the wall circuit are my DSL Modem, WiFi Router, and a lightbulb)

 

[Parja]

Really? You're using a POS generic PSU I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and you wonder why it won't work?

 

[Ashton]

Really? You're using a POS generic PSU I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy and you wonder why it won't work?

It was rated at 850W, I figured it would work @ 500W and by the time it died I'm have a few BTC I could spend on a better one...

Suggestions on a good one then? (Please tell me it hasn't damaged the miner.....)

 

[Core32]

Output: +3.3V 25A, +5V 28A, +12V1 28A, +12V2 28A, -12V 0.5A, +5VSB 3A

Split rails for sure. It has two 6 pin connectors but not sure if I trust it's ratings.
A good Seasonic or EVGA 750W supply will be plenty.
I ran 3 ants from a combined Seasonic 750W + 650W, 1 and a half from each.

 

[Parja]

It was rated at 850W, I figured it would work @ 500W and by the time it died I'm have a few BTC I could spend on a better one...

Cheaping out on a power supply is one of the dumbest things you can do. And what's the point? For less money, you could have gotten something that can actually supply the power it's rated for, is 80 Plus Bronze or better efficiency, and not risk burning your house down.

Suggestions on a good one then?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027&cm_re=cx500-_-17-139-027-_-Product

$30 after rebate, 80 Plus Bronze, single rail, and plenty of power for the S1.

(Please tell me it hasn't damaged the miner.....)

It wouldn't be the first time a junk PSU took out the attached hardware.

 

[Ashton]

Cheaping out on a power supply is one of the dumbest things you can do. And what's the point? For less money, you could have gotten something that can actually supply the power it's rated for, is 80 Plus Bronze or better efficiency, and not risk burning your house down.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139027&cm_re=cx500-_-17-139-027-_-Product

$30 after rebate, 80 Plus Bronze, single rail, and plenty of power for the S1.

It wouldn't be the first time a junk PSU took out the attached hardware.

I've been raised on generics, from generic RX to store-brand-cola, to never buying a brand-name PC (laptops excluded) so honestly, I figured "a PSU is a PSU" Also I know nothing about Electrical design, so I don't know what to look for in connectors and such (ouside "it needs two PCIE connectors" --- nothing about "It needs a +12V and a +72v and a +3v" (or w/e) I apologize

I er... I went to eBay and searched for PSUs... it's almost never been beaten by retailers (excluding limited availability items)... though it seems that's starting to happen more and more now... also I had $50 in free money (eBay Bucks) to spend, so.... yeah...

 

[Core32]

The miner is still likely OK. I think it is supposed to buzz at you as an indicator of a problem like you read.
There is a chance the PSU is ok and something else is amiss.
If you have access to a "better" supply with a single +12V rail you could try that as a test before investing in a better supply.

 

[Ashton]

The miner is still likely OK. I think it is supposed to buzz at you as an indicator of a problem like you read.
There is a chance the PSU is ok and something else is amiss.
If you have access to a "better" supply with a single +12V rail you could try that as a test before investing in a better supply.

I'm betting it's the PSU... I think the last one I never 'hard reset' so I got around the voltage limitation accidentally and burned out the PSU... I'm gonna order the one parja listed for $30 and I'll report back after I get it (probably relegate this PSU to testing drives or a non-critical PC sometime...)

In the meantime, thank you all for the help!