FREDYEN.COM A Collection of Unfinished Projects!
All right we are back with another do-it-yourself project! This time we will take a look at how to build a Bitcoin miner.
In this article, we will break down all the Bitcoin mining hardware that is needed to mine your precious Bitcoins.
Parts List:
- Raspberry Pi (Model B)
- Case for Raspberry Pi
- SD Card (Class 10)
- Powered USB Hub
- ASIC Miners (eBay)
- Arctic Breeze USB Fan
- Micro USB to USB Cable
- Ethernet Cable
Mining with the Raspberry Pi
The Raspberry Pi is a credit card sized computer that is a completely separate unit from your own personal computer. The great thing about mining with a Raspberry Pi is that you can mine for Bitcoins 24/7 without getting in the way of your daily computer usage.
The Raspberry Pi is also very efficient in its power consumption. This entire computer can be powered by a Micro USB to USB Cable. If profitability is a concern of yours, using the Raspberry Pi will help you cut costs to your energy bill when compared to running a full-fledged mining computer.
Simply place your Raspberry Pi in its case and plug in the Micro USB cable. Don’t power it up just yet though, there is still a few steps to go.
Mining Software on the SD Card
The SD card will act as the hard drive for your Raspberry Pi. There are a few things to consider when choosing your SD card for your Bitcoin miner.
You need at least a 4 GB capacity to ensure that you can fit the operating system and mining software that you choose. However most importantly, you must pick an SD card that has a Class 10 speed. This will reduce any chances of bottlenecks that will prevent the Raspberry Pi from reading the software data on your card.
There are many mining software to choose from but I am currently using the MinePeon Linux operating system which is preloaded with BFGminer mining software. MinePeon cannot be easier to use!
All you need to do is download the MinePeon disk image and burn it to your SD card using any image writer. I did this on Windows operating system using Win32DiskImager. You can also use the built in software of OSX if that is what you are running.
Once you have your mining software imaged burned to your SD card, insert that card into the SD slot of your Raspberry Pi.
Performing the steps above will basically just create a stand-alone computer to run your mining software. Next we will dive into setting up the actual Bitcoin mining hardware that does the job of mining Bitcoins.
ASIC Miner Block Erupters
The Block Erupters used in our mining rig are known as ASIC hardware. ASIC stands for Application Specific Integrated Circuit. These USB powered Block Erupters (ebay) have one job and one job only, that’s to mine for Bitcoins.
Each one of these Block Erupters mine at a rate of 335 MH/s, I will be using 6 of these units which will yield a little over 2 GH/s of mining power.
Since these ASIC miners are USB powered, all it takes is a powered USB hub to get these miners up and running. Speaking of USB hubs…
Choosing the Right USB Hub
Although they don’t mine themselves, choosing the right USB hub is critical aspect to your Bitcoin mining hardware. The USB hub is a part where you do not want to cheap out on.
You need to purchase a high quality POWERED USB hub to run your miners. Do not get a $3 USB hub found on eBay. The reason you need a quality hub is because you need to ensure that each individual USB port on the hub is providing consistent and constant power to the Block Erupters.
Cheap USB hubs are known to fluctuate their amperage depending on how much load is on each port. This will hinder the performance of your mining hardware thus costing you the amount of Bitcoins you could have mined. The USB hub I listed in the parts list can efficiently power up to 6 or 7 Block Erupters without a problem.
Having more USB ports than the number of Block Erupters on your hub comes in handy. You have the option to power your Raspberry Pi and even an Arctic USB fan all on the same powered USB hub.
This not only saves space but it also saves you money from purchasing additional power adapters.
Hooking it All Up
Hooking up all the parts is pretty self-explanatory. If you need a visual guide, the video above will go over every step of installing your Bitcoin mining hardware.
Once everything thing is plugged in, you are ready to run your mining software and set up your mining pools. I will create another video and article detailing step by step instructions on how to set up your mining software if you need additional assistance.
Stay Tuned and Happy Mining!
Feel free to donate 🙂
BITCOINS: 1Le8gFkvCD3HucMMUjZ1CTsczqjqoE2kXB
LITECOINS: LWj56L89trF4zpeFtnwWsgyAUa962YkGut
(See Part 2: Bitcoin Mining Software)
Not a bad set up I run the anker hubs and the bfg miner straight through the computer, along with some bf jalapenos. I always heard about the pi’s, they seem pretty cool. I average about 21 G/hs
Yah the raspberry pi is working out nicely. Im thinking about picking up some jalapenos at some point.
I paid for mine back in June, finally got them in November, I see they are coming out with 10 gh/s as well.
your video has inspired me to buy all the parts , but i am novice when it comes to minning, cant wait for your next software video, when will you release the video , i really want to learn how to mine correctly , please let us know.
Hi Ray, I have the second part uploaded now. This should give you a good idea how to setup your miner. Here is the link: https://fredyen.com/bitcoin-mining-software/
Hi Fred I was looking for some stats on how much electricity this thing consumes and a rough estimation of how many bit coins it can produce? Could you please maybe make a video or make a post? Thanks
Hi Fred,
Great video, I am currently using 2 antminer u1 on my pc. I want my pc back for other uses. Will the Rasberry pi set up work with the antminer. I had to use specific software to get the antminer to run. Would I copy that software to the sd card? Thanks for any help, I really want to try the Rasberry set up.
Hi Rob,
Yes you can use the Antminer with the Raspberry Pi. However, keep in mind that the Raspberry Pi is just another computer. You have to run a Linux operating system THEN load the mining software onto it. You can not simply copy the mining software to the SD card. You have to first load the SD card with Linux, then install the mining software into the Linux operating system.
So load the Mine peon then load the bfgminer and I should be good to go?
Fred, How many Erupters can you use with 1 Pi?
The raspberry pi has 2 usb ports. You can plug in usb hubs to each port and even plug in additional usb hubs to other usb hubs. So it is almost unlimited to the amount of usb ports on your hubs
How would you do it with a wireless adapter instead of the Ethernet?
Thank you very much for your tutorial. I think I can do it, the mining hardware seems clear and simple with your video. But I see something that I don’t understand , next to SD card. Please see the pic:
http://www.pixhost.org/show/4527/20737950_whatis2.png
Is it the cord of Raspberry’s Power Supply Charger? If so, I must buy one Power Supply Charger, isn’t it?
Yes it is the power supply for the raspberry pi. You can either buy a charger, or use a usb cable and connect it to the usb hub
Hi fred.
I would like to use your setup, but instead of using asic miners, use antminer u1 or u2 (2GH/s base). What do i have to do? Install linux on sd card and then what software? Linux fits in a 8gb sd card? ?
Thanks
Yes, install Linux operating system then install a mining software on linux
Ok thanks. Would be great if you could make a video tutorial also y sin u1 or u2 instead of block erupters 🙂
With antminers u1 or u2 i mean.
Can You recommend me another usb hub? That one from amazon dont delivery to spain. Thanks
Shouldt you connect raspberry pi to one of the usb ports, and then the usb hub connect it using an adapter? you connect the usb hub to the raspberry pi and what is for then, the first usb cable you connect in the usb hub???
hello fred.
I am new to this and i am making my research about this thing work. Now i am in my building phase.. I just want to ask how much is a 1 block eruptor and where can I buy? I don’t want to be a victim of scammers..
Thanks!
Thank’s for the hardware and software tutorials, tried 7 Block Erupters but it seemed to keep resetting. Went back to 6 and life is good. Thanks again.
Yah your hubs need to have enough amps to power the block erupters.
dualminer is waht im talking about
Hi Fred- Nice and easy to understand videos, thanks
I checked out on the Raspberry pie, it says it should be ran on a Linux-kernel based operationg system
what is it? My PC run windows…
thanks,
S
The raspberry pi uses Linux, which is different than windows. I would use minepeon, I have another article about that.
Also, how many kWh does the 6-usb key hub require?
Fred, is there any way of knowing which problem you are solving in your miner? I ask because I worry about the ethics of the process. You may be trying to calculate the launch codes for the nuclear arsenal, or providing a denial of service attack…
Not that I’m aware of.
It looks simple to setup my only challange is where to purchase the hardware
Great videos Fred! How would you do it with a wireless adapter instead of the Ethernet?
can u use modelb +
I’ve watched both videos several times now and I hope I can figure out how to download the Minepeon Software to the SD card. I have spent several hundred $$$ on this thing and am looking forward to getting it up and running. I am going with the Staples Plastic File Cases that are very similar to milk cases. This should give me enough room for at least 25 or more USB Hubs per case. I bought several Rosewell 520’s. They look great.
Hi fred, Is Raspberry Pi compatible with PC based machines? Because i don’t have Linux operating system in my computer, all i have the windows OS.
Can you use the ant mine block erupt or with this set up???
Hi Fred, I was watching your tutorial, and I wonder if the Raspberry pi B+ can be used for the same purpose? Thanks in advance
Hi fred nice video, how much $ a month will the system used in the video generate?
Sir I watched your send vedio btc Mining but sir your 2 part not satisfied plss part 2 btc Mining one vedio send my What’s app no. 9797442069 with step by step plsss sir. .
Fred, it’s never too late to know. I have been looking for comprehensive info on bitcoin mining but just came across your video part 1 and 2 few days ago. It’s awesome. But I want you to put me through in these areas :
1. You didn’t show in the video how the hardware is finally connected to the computer.
2.Can I use laptop and how would the connection be?
3. My laptop is using windows, I hope once I have downloaded Linux OS onto the SD card, it will still work?
4. How would I connect 38gh/s ASIC cubes if it’s my choice to use and how many can I use?
Please kindly give full details.
Regards.
hi frad i am in pakistan i need
Complete Raspberry Pi Kit
10 Port Powered USB Hub
USB Fan
Micro USB Cable
Ethernet Cable
please tell me it cast how much it and i wear get it and it monthly how give me bitecoin please help me
Hey fred, ive been trying the bitcoin mining, at bitminter it says I need a openld to sign up, how do I go about doing that?
Maybe a silly question but I am new to this. Can I use USB stick miners by GekkoScience or Antminer U1 or Antminer U2+ instead of USB block eruptors as these seem to offer more for my money? If so does the software change at all?
HI Fredy
I would like to set up bitcoin mining farm as you shown on your videos. Kindly help me for how to use profit calculator according to your mining methods thank you
Hi I am from Pakistan. If we install raspberry and all things which you show in video we didn’t need to attach them with any computet? Just Ethernet wire will be connect with computer? We will monitor everything by website? If need to connect computer then how we connect them with computer because we are using windows 7, 8?
If we install all system than it will automatically start mining bitcoins or we need to deposit our own btc in our accounts?
Hi, Fred around how much money are you generating with this setup ?
Hey Fred, I’m new to mining, I have watched your video and its understandable. But my question is “is it necessary to use ASIC Miner Block Erupter when mining”. If yes, please can you tell me the important of it.
Thanks