Black Arrow 28nm 100Ghash Bitcoin ASIC from $0.49/GH/s

[bobsag3]

very fishy... these pictures.. not even sure why these ppl are shipped their x1 despite other ppl with lower order nos.

And I see replies by David who often commented that he cannot decide this and that, cannot reveal this and that, in that case what is his role here? Customer service? I think that's hardly true as well ...

My order was literally the first order in the system, and I am helping them write the manual, as well as the fact that mu customers purchased the vast majority of the X1s that were sold, would be why I received a prototype X1.

[Pistachio]

Now that there is some actual pics of an X1 running, albeit for less than a few minutes, im actually thinking that I might actually receive my units, woohoo!!  even though its a few months late.
The working unit looks nice and easy to manage and power so I personally cant wait to receive them and see how they go.
If Bobsag, being the only person in the world who has a working unit apparently, could possibly post a pic showing that the unit has mined for over an hour consistently, then this would show us people who still get some form of assurance from screenshots etc, that what we will/might receive soon is going to be worth the wait.
Cheers from OZ.

My unit and PSU is out for delivery now. As soon as I can set it up remotely I will take some screenshots, maybe screen video if that works.

Sounds great. Can you include a pic or description of how the PSU attaches to the unit? I assume it just plugs in but who knows.

[bobsag3]

Now that there is some actual pics of an X1 running, albeit for less than a few minutes, im actually thinking that I might actually receive my units, woohoo!!  even though its a few months late.
The working unit looks nice and easy to manage and power so I personally cant wait to receive them and see how they go.
If Bobsag, being the only person in the world who has a working unit apparently, could possibly post a pic showing that the unit has mined for over an hour consistently, then this would show us people who still get some form of assurance from screenshots etc, that what we will/might receive soon is going to be worth the wait.
Cheers from OZ.

My unit and PSU is out for delivery now. As soon as I can set it up remotely I will take some screenshots, maybe screen video if that works.

Sounds great. Can you include a pic or description of how the PSU attaches to the unit? I assume it just plugs in but who knows.

Its a server grade supply, it slides right into the receiver in the case.

[bobsag3]

Now that there is some actual pics of an X1 running, albeit for less than a few minutes, im actually thinking that I might actually receive my units, woohoo!!  even though its a few months late.
The working unit looks nice and easy to manage and power so I personally cant wait to receive them and see how they go.
If Bobsag, being the only person in the world who has a working unit apparently, could possibly post a pic showing that the unit has mined for over an hour consistently, then this would show us people who still get some form of assurance from screenshots etc, that what we will/might receive soon is going to be worth the wait.
Cheers from OZ.

My unit and PSU is out for delivery now. As soon as I can set it up remotely I will take some screenshots, maybe screen video if that works.

Sounds great. Can you include a pic or description of how the PSU attaches to the unit? I assume it just plugs in but who knows.

Its a server grade supply, it slides right into the receiver in the case.

Any information as when you are shipping to your customers?

When I have the units.

[Stedsm]

very fishy... these pictures.. not even sure why these ppl are shipped their x1 despite other ppl with lower order nos.

And I see replies by David who often commented that he cannot decide this and that, cannot reveal this and that, in that case what is his role here? Customer service? I think that's hardly true as well ...

keep in mind that the order number has nothing to with the shipping que @ BA,only the date the payment was received. I ordered and paid with wire transfer which took 5 days to process, someone who ordered the day after me but paid with BTC will be ahead of me,assuming we order the same miners.

[bobsag3]

Hello Miners ! At this point, I think we need some clarification on several points, from BA / David / MS / EthosLogic :

According to announcements on BA forum the X-1 has been fixed :

1) Are going the "original" design X-1s to get the LCD ?
2) Are going the "original" design X-1s to have the WiFi working ?
3) Are going the "original" design X-1s to have the plastic case in order to permit WiFi to be used ?
4) IF not plastic case will be available, are the X-1s having and external connector for a WiFi antenna ?
5) Is these external antenna going to be provided ?

Thanks for the feedback, Michel.

1) yes
2) I dont know where people are getting this wifi from, the X1 never included nor advertised wifi support built in.
3) Only if you request, or you can get an external Ethernet wifi adapter and not waist time and effort
4) Not that I know of
5) Not that I know of


Seriously... this lat update from BA is the first time Wifi has ever been mentioned for it, and something like http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Universal-Ethernet-Adapter-GWU627/dp/B004UAKCS6
Is cheaper and better than most alternatives.

[bobsag3]

Hello Miners ! At this point, I think we need some clarification on several points, from BA / David / MS / EthosLogic :

According to announcements on BA forum the X-1 has been fixed :

1) Are going the "original" design X-1s to get the LCD ?
2) Are going the "original" design X-1s to have the WiFi working ?
3) Are going the "original" design X-1s to have the plastic case in order to permit WiFi to be used ?
4) IF not plastic case will be available, are the X-1s having and external connector for a WiFi antenna ?
5) Is these external antenna going to be provided ?

Thanks for the feedback, Michel.

1) yes
2) I dont know where people are getting this wifi from, the X1 never included nor advertised wifi support built in.
3) Only if you request, or you can get an external Ethernet wifi adapter and not waist time and effort
4) Not that I know of
5) Not that I know of


Seriously... this lat update from BA is the first time Wifi has ever been mentioned for it, and something like http://www.amazon.com/IOGEAR-Universal-Ethernet-Adapter-GWU627/dp/B004UAKCS6
Is cheaper and better than most alternatives.

BA has talked about wifi in their official updates.

​Bitcoin Miners progress update – 24 April 2014

1.As the delivery date approaches we have more accurate dates regarding shipping. The current schedule is looking like this:
 •5th of May – Packaging house will ship the Minion ASICs
 •6-7th of May - ASICs will arrive at the assembly factory and we’ll ship all Minion ASIC orders.
 •7th of May - Prospero units will start to be assembled and tested
 •8th of May – Shipping of Prospero X3 will start if no failures are found.
 
2.We are now able to improve the compensation scheme further. We will make a public announcement tomorrow.
 
3.We are keeping our promise to price match per Ghash any genuine new miner in stock at the time of shipment and if needed we will dispatch more hashing power.
 
Note: Not all our competitors supply PSUs and Touch Screen LCDs, therefore if we compare our miners with these we will subtract the price of our extra hardware before the price match.
 
3. Minion
 
The Minion ASICs will be shipped after the May holiday break.
 
4. Control board
 
LCD orders were placed with 2 providers. Testing for WiFi connection, touchscreen have been finalised with satisfactory results.
 
3. Heatsink

Yes, but it was never advertised on the product page at any point.

[bobsag3]

Sorry gents, but it was advertised somewhere as I far I remember in 2013 !

-----

Bitcoin Miners progress update – 26 March 2014

1.We progressed to The Minion’s 3rd substrate which has been approved and sent to manufacturing
2.The package house has received the minion probe cart wafer.
3.Global Foundries has confirmed the wafer out date. The date is currently 5 days later than their prediction however they are seeking to catch up by optimising the rest of the process.
4.The final version of the X3 hashboard and X1 backplane has been sent to the PCB factory for prototyping
5.The final version of X1 hashboard will arrive this week on Friday.
6.The development team are still optimising the control board. The initial testing is positive: (booting sequence for Linux, network protocols and WiFi connections are ok). The team will focus now debugging the LCD. Testing for the touchscreen should start soon.
7.The modifications to the current setup is dictated by the testing and the quality controls reporting by our teams and suppliers. We concluded the last update to X3 backplane and the case design due to moving the X3 PSU on the left hand side for better heat dissipation.
8.We have received 2 types of PSUs for X3 from 2 vendors, we are testing them.
9.We have started mass production of the heatsinks and X1 power supplies
10.We have received the mounting screw with springs for the heatsinks. After a thorough review the spring technical specifications are not satisfactory. We continue to upgrade the design accordingly and we expect the samples to be ready in 10 days.
11.We approved the design for X3 case and we are in process of negotiating the time frame with our short-listed suppliers.
12.We should complete the final specifications for the fans by the end of this week.
13.We had a demanding schedule in visiting all our suppliers for quality checks and for tracking the agreed aggressive deadlines
14.We are in the final negotiations with our manufacturing partner for power chips. We are seeking a reliable supply of the power chips.
15.We finalised the search for the new facility which will help increasing the power for Rent-A-Minion service. We’re planning to start setting it up as early as next week.

----

As I setup a double introduction, it was the reason I needed the WiFi ! And also why I bought the X-1s !

Never was it advertised on the products themselves that they ever included Wifi. They only started making references in their updates... something that confused me.

[thomas_s]

Bobsag, what temperature is the X-1 running at now being over 12 hours into mining?

Exhaust is around 80F, about 5F above the surrounding area, 10F higher than the rest of the room.

[thomas_s]

Bobsag, what temperature is the X-1 running at now being over 12 hours into mining?

Exhaust is around 80F, about 5F above the surrounding area, 10F higher than the rest of the room.

Thank you, can you share which power cord came with the X-1 as the other person who has said they received one in the U.S. said they got a foreign power cord and had to run out and get one?

We didn't get a power cord, so I just used my laptop's power cord.

This is the type of cord it uses if anyone wanted to know.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/monoprice-6ft-18awg-3-prong-ac-power-cord-cable-for-laptop-notebook-c-5-5-15p-black/1310831735.p?id=mp1310831735&skuId=1310831735

[tempestb]

Guys, the WiFi is not for the consumer.  It's for the NSA wiretapping only.

[Jcga]

X-1s were supposed to be CHAINABLE...

as they are not anymore, could you plz tell me which ethernet hub or switch to get, any advices be great.

Thx in advance.

[jimmothy]

could you plz tell me which ethernet hub or switch to get, any advices be great.

Shouldn't they all work?

[Jcga]

X-1s were supposed to be CHAINABLE...

as they are not anymore, could you plz tell me which ethernet hub or switch to get, any advices be great.

Thx in advance.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-SG1024-1000Mbps-Rackmountable-Capacity/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=pd_cp_pc_0

Here is the one I bought, you can choose how many ports you need to get the right one for you.

Great, thx you very much DebitMe

[TheMinex]

Peolpe that ask about dimensions, wi-fi, setup in general......and it's ok.
But, we are all here to squeeze every single satoshi so anyone who can try: max efficiency settings ( undervolt- clock ) - max speed setting ( overclock - overvolt ). Can we control voltages For each try, Vcore, temps (core), HW errors, power draw.  That's all we need. Thanks

[musicmaker613]

I really don't know where some of you came up with the X1 was supposed to be "chainable"... I have never read anywhere (other than speculation by non-BA folks) that they could be strung together.  That doesn't even make sense.  The X1 was never intended to be part of a mining farm.  It's design is based on the notion that you could place one anywhere in your home (actual living space, not a garage, shed, bedroom-turned-datacenter) and let it quietly and coolly generate bitcoin for you.  BA originally described the X1 as a small machine you could place on your computer desk, on your desk at work, under the TV in your living room or on the counter in a kitchen etc.  ... They even made some comment like "The X1 may even generate enough bitcoin to pay for electricity for the entire home"... or something of the sorts.  Obviously, now that is quite a stretch and to make any kind of real money you would indeed need a small farm of X1s, but that is NOT what they were designed for.

[Jcga]

I really don't know where some of you came up with the X1 was supposed to be "chainable"... I have never read anywhere (other than speculation by non-BA folks) that they could be strung together.  That doesn't even make sense.  The X1 was never intended to be part of a mining farm.  It's design is based on the notion that you could place one anywhere in your home (actual living space, not a garage, shed, bedroom-turned-datacenter) and let it quietly and coolly generate bitcoin for you.  BA originally described the X1 as a small machine you could place on your computer desk, on your desk at work, under the TV in your living room or on the counter in a kitchen etc.  ... They even made some comment like "The X1 may even generate enough bitcoin to pay for electricity for the entire home"... or something of the sorts.  Obviously, now that is quite a stretch and to make any kind of real money you would indeed need a small farm of X1s, but that is NOT what they were designed for.

I'm 95% sure about the possibility to chain X-1s to each other, as i'm not a native english spoken i have learned the word "chainable" from the X-1 product page at BA website, in november 2013, 95% sure
And yes I does make sense, very usefull.

[CryptoGuy]

Why are there people who ordered large quantities of X-1's for their own use instead of X-3's, despite the pretty substantial premium on buying X-1's? The X-1 was clearly just a novelty hobbyist type item from the start, nobody believed that 100 GH/s was particularly meaningful even on 28 February.

Is there some kind of insider info we're not privy to here where people would've known the X-3 was never happening?

People planning to flip them on eBay and the like. They probably won't admit to it though since BA said they would cancel their order if they found out they were "group buys" which is what that would fall under. I'm sure others did do actual group buys as well.

[ChuckBuck]

Well Black Arrow after a few weeks last year, put a MOQ of 10 X-1s, so alot of customers didn't have a choice if they didn't know about Minersource or other resellers.

[nexus99]

X-1s were supposed to be CHAINABLE...

as they are not anymore, could you plz tell me which ethernet hub or switch to get, any advices be great.

Thx in advance.

http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-TL-SG1024-1000Mbps-Rackmountable-Capacity/dp/B003BU0EKW/ref=pd_cp_pc_0

Here is the one I bought, you can choose how many ports you need to get the right one for you.

Don't you need just 1 port... since they are going down the route of rPI... At least i am hoping we can just stick a few behind a single Pi rather than running a bunch of PI's.