FAQs
DISCLAIMERS
Please Do Not Buy From Us If...
- You're looking for a guaranteed ROI - these devices are for solo-mining, aka playing the bitcoin lottery.
- You're looking for something that's plug n' play - these devices do not magically install themselves.
- You're not willing to get your hands dirty - these devices require you to do your own research, software installation, configuration, troubleshooting, and maintenance.
- You don't plan on also getting a powered USB hub for the COMPAC-F - they require a powered USB to work, and a high-powered USB hub to work well.
- You're not going to also have at least one fan directed at your COMPAC-F miner(s) - they run HOT, even if not overclocked.
- You're not willing to deal with the inevitable addiction of forever wanting EVEN MORE hashing power!
Please Buy From Us If...
- You're ok if you never get an ROI, i.e. you never solve a block by solo-mining.
- You're interested in solo-mining and want to learn more about it
- You want to get your hands dirty and are emotionally prepared for potentially hours of troubleshooting and/or tinkering to either get them to work or get them to work well.
- Want to join an ever-growing community of passionate hobbyists who support each other in their pursuit of maximising hashing power (and solving blocks).
- You want to at least have a chance at winning ~6.25 BTC around every 10 minutes!
- Most importantly, want to have some fun and show off your mining rig/farm to your friends and family. :)
GENERAL
Solo Mining Bitcoin
- What are my chances of mining a bitcoin block when solo mining?
- Better than winning most lotteries!
- But seriously, if you're looking for a guaranteed ROI, solo mining bitcoin is not for you - don't buy our products.
- But if you enjoy tinkering with electronics and computers, and want a chance at winning ~6.25 BTC every 10 minutes, then you're in the right place.
- There are a lot of variables that go into calculating your probability, but the most notable variables that you can control are how fast/hard you're running your GekkoScience miners, and how many miners you're running, i.e. your total hashing power - see below for some probability estimates.
- What are my chances of mining a bitcoin block with 1 GekkoScience COMPAC F USB Stick Miner?
- Using solochance.com, as of the writing of this FAQ (23 February, 2023), your estimated chances per day are:
- 1 GekkoScience COMPAC-F running at 200 GH/s = 1 in 8,991,899
- 1 GekkoScience COMPAC-F running at 350 GH/s* = 1 in 5,138,222
- 1 GekkoScience COMPAC-F running at 500 GH/s* = 1 in 3,596,756
- *Overclock at your own risk, and make sure to use lots of active cooling, i.e. fans, otherwise, "thermal runaway" is possible, resulting in device failure - we do not replace units that have failed due to thermal runaway.
- What are my chances of mining a bitcoin block with 1 GekkoScience Terminus R909 Pod Miner?
- Using solochance.com, as of the writing of this FAQ (23 February 2023), your estimated chances per day are:
- 1 GekkoScience R909 running at 1.6 TH/s = 1 in 1,123,986
- 1 GekkoScience R909 running at 2.0 TH/s* = 1 in 906,620
- 1 GekkoScience R909 running at 2.5 TH/s* = 1 in 725,296
- *Overclock at your own risk, and make sure to use lots of active cooling, i.e. fans, otherwise, "thermal runaway" is possible, resulting in device failure - we do not replace units that have failed due to thermal runaway.
- How can I increase my chances of mining a block?
- The only way to increase your chances is to increase your hash rate, and you can do so in two ways:
- Add more miners to your farm
- Overclock your miners*
- *Overclock at your own risk, and make sure to use lots of active cooling, i.e. fans, otherwise, "thermal runaway" is possible, resulting in device failure - we do not replace units that have failed due to thermal runaway.
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Australian & New Zealand Deliveries
- How long will it take to prepare my order for delivery?
- We will ship your order typically within 24 hours, Monday-Friday.
- What is Super-Safe Shipping?
- Super-Safe Shipping gives you extra peace of mind from damage, loss, or theft during shipping.
- How will my products be packaged?
- We will always double-box your products and include recyclable packing stuffers to limit movement within the box during transit.
- Do you deliver outside of Australia and New Zealand?
- No - sorry, we do not.
Australian Deliveries
- Where will my Australian order be shipped from?
- Your order will be shipped from Melbourne, VIC.
- How will my Australian order be shipped?
- We ship all Australian orders via Australia Post.
- You can choose to have it delivered via Parcel Post or Express Post.
- How long will it take to receive my Australian order after it's shipped, if I ship via Parcel Post?
- Unfortunately, we're at the mercy of Australia Post; however, based on their estimates:
- ACT = 3-4 business days
- NSW = 4-6 business days
- NT = 7-11 business days
- QLD = 2-4 business days
- SA = 3-5 business days
- TAS = 3-5 business days
- VIC = 2-4 business days
- WA = 7-10 business days
- For updated delivery estimates from Australia Post, click here (we ship from VIC).
- How long will it take to receive my Australian order after it's shipped, if I ship via Express Post?
- Unfortunately, we're at the mercy of Australia Post; however, based on their estimates:
- ACT = 2-3 business days
- NSW = 2-3 business days
- NT = 3-5 business days
- QLD = 2-3 business days
- SA = 2-3 business days
- TAS = 2-3 business days
- VIC = 1-2 business days
- WA = 3-4 business days
- For updated delivery estimates from Australia Post, click here (we ship from VIC).
New Zealand Deliveries
- Where will my New Zealand order be shipped from?
- Your order will be shipped from Wellington.
- How will my New Zealand order be shipped?
- We ship all New Zealand orders via NZ Post.
- You can choose to have it delivered via Economy, Courier, or Express
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
We Test ALL Units Before Shipping
- We test ALL GekkoScience COMPAC-F USB Stick Miners and GekkoScience R909 Terminus Pod Miners before shipping.
- If the device(s) are not working for you, it is more than likely due to your setup, i.e.
- Computer
- Computer USB port
- Computer operating system (Linux, Windows, Mac OS)
- CGminer
- CGminer Installation
- CGminer parameters
- Equipment
- USB cable
- Power supply
What We CAN Help You With
- We can help you get your computer to recognise your GekkoScience miner in Kano's CGminer so you can start mining.
What We MAY NOT Be Able to Help You With
- Installations using equipment not purchased from us, e.g.
- USB hubs other than the GekkoScience High-Powered USB Hub
- USB cables other than the USB 2.0 A-B cable included with the hub
- Power supplies other than our High-Powered 12V-10A Power Supply
What We Can NOT Help You With
- Computer issues, e.g. your USB port(s) not recognised or not providing enough power
- Operating system issues/questions, e.g. Linux commands, Windows driver compatibility, etc.
- Networking issues, i.e. internet connectivity to Kano pool
- Any other mining software, including any other version of CGminer other than from Kano
- Attempts at overclocking, although we encourage you to play around, we can't guarantee specific results, and if you opt to attempt overclocking, we cannot accept return requests.
- Kano pool-related questions/problems - please contact Kano using his Discord channel (follow his instructions to join)
Before Contacting Us, Please, Please, Please...
- Make sure you're using the latest version of Kano's cgminer.
- If using a COMPAC F, make sure you're using:
- A GekkoScience High-Powered USB Hub
- Our 12V-10A power supply
- One of our USB 2.0 A-B cables
- Have a good fan directed at the COMPAC F
- If using a R909, make sure you're using:
- Our 12V-10A power supply
- One of our USB 2.0 A-B cables
- Read through the FAQs below and Kano's Gekko page and cgminer Readme
USB Cables & Ports
- Can I use my existing USB cable to connect the GekkoScience Hub or R909 to my computer?
- Yes - however, we recommend using a USB 2.0 cable instead of a USB 3.X cable, as the GekkoScience hub and miners are designed to work with USB 2.0
- Please note, that if you are experiencing issues, and you are not using a USB cable from us, then you may need to use/purchase one of our supported cables in order to rule out your cable as being the issue.
- Should I connect the GekkoScience hub or R909 to a USB 3.X port (blue) or a USB 2.0 port?
- Ideally a USB 2.0 port, as the GekkoScience hub and miners are designed to work with USB 2.0
Troubleshooting COMPAC F
- I plugged my GekkoScience COMPAC F USB Stick Miner into my computer, and nothing happened or it stopped working after a little while - why?
- As stated very clearly on our product pages, you usually cannot simply plug a GekkoScience COMPAC F straight into your computer - you have to use a powered USB hub, and then plug the hub into your computer.
- This is because the COMPAC F requires more power than the typical USB port on an average computer.
- It may work for a while, but then will likely stop working.
- These things are like Ferarris (this the "F") - they need to go fast, and in order to go fast, they need power!
- I am using a powered USB hub, but not the GekkoScience High-Powered Hub, and I'm having issues - what can I do?
- First, buy a GekkoScience high-powered hub as it's specifically designed to work with the GekkoScience COMPAC Fs.
- We cannot guarantee that your COMPAC F will work with any other hub and we do not provide any troubleshooting support when using any other hub.
- On the GekkoScience COMPAC F, the white LED light does not come on - what's wrong?
- This means that the COMPAC F is not getting any (or enough) power from the USB port.
- Make sure you are using a high-powered USB 2.0 hub and a high-powered 12V-10A power supply.
- If you're using a GekkoScience Hub and 12V-10A power supply from us, please contact us for additional troubleshooting.
- You could try switching to another port, ideally one that you know is working well.
- If you're not using a hub or power supply from us, we will try to help, but can't guarantee your equipment will work.
- On the GekkoScience COMPAC F, the red LED light does not blink - what's wrong?
- This means the COMPAC F is not mining.
- Confirm that CGminer is running on your computer - if not, run it.
- Confirm that the COMPAC F is recognised in CGminer - if not, unplug it from the hub, wait 5 seconds, and then plug it back in.
- Confirm that the USB 2.0 cable is connected from your computer to the powered USB hub.
- You may need to tweak your CGminer parameters.
- I am using the GekkoScience high-powered USB hub, however, I'm still having issues - what should I do?
- If cgminer recognises your COMPAC F but it's giving problems, it's more than likely because of your performance parameter settings.
- Some chips don't like performing at low settings and run better at higher settings; therefore, add the following parameters when starting cgminer: "--gekko-start-freq 300 --gekko-compacf-freq 400" but make sure you are using a fan.
Troubleshooting R909
- I am having performance issues with the GekkoScience R909 - what should I do?
- First, try simply restarting CGminer.
- If still having issues, stop CGminer, and disconnect the USB cable but keep the R909 power plugged in.
- Let the fan run for at least 5 minutes for the device to cool down and reset.
- Reconnect the USB cable and try running CGminer again.
- You may need to tweak your CGminer parameters.
General Troubleshooting
- I've tried everything, but still need help - are there any other resources to help troubleshoot?
- Assuming you're using the recommended cgminer software from Kano and Kano's mining pool, the best resource is straight from him - https://kano.is/gekko.php
- He updates the page regularly.
- I still need help - can I contact you?
- Absolutely - we appreciate you doing your best to first follow the suggestions above and as listed on Kano's Gekko page, then welcome you an email to support@101crypto.com.au or support@101crypto.co.nz