need serial-usb connector for terrible s3 firmware failure?

[professor21]

thanks so much!!! I have putty configured and tried connecting to the soldered 3 pin debug ports. but I get a cursor which doesn't type. I think the firmware is completely erased. I tried LAN and I am getting no data received but data sent.

and then my other s3+ disappeared from the ipscanner after I entered in some IP addresses for WAN, WWAN and switched to DHCP. I found some buyers but have to fix this quick before I ship

[RichCor]

thanks so much!!! I have putty configured and tried connecting to the soldered 3 pin debug ports. but I get a cursor which doesn't type. I think the firmware is completely erased.

I tried LAN and I am getting no data received but data sent.

If the S3 CPU is working you'll get something coming out of the S3 DUBUG connection and displayed on your PC running Putty.

I wish you would follow the checklist I left in my previous post.

..as in, did you complete each item and list the result for each item HERE, and if it was as expected, go on to the next item.

List the response here. Only after doing this can we be assured you've completed the proper setup.

If, after responding to each line in the checklist, verifying and acknowledging you've completed the setup properly, can we start with alternate COM Port Configurations, or swapping the TX with RX on the S3 to make sure they're not backwards.

This may be Computer Science, but it's not Rocket Science.

[professor21]

I'm so sorry I've been working 24hours a day on this. I'm getting some nonsensical text output from the putty terminal but can't input commands into the miner. I think the firmware was deleted when I just powered it off.

I am connecting left to right black green white ground, TX, RX and trying other combinations also without ground. it's still powering on but with a red LED light. The other miner was fixed with firmware update of cgminer and shipped off to the US

[RichCor]

Can you tell me why you don't want to go down the checklist I created, one line at a time, and confirm the action?

[RichCor]

I'm getting some nonsensical text output from the putty terminal but can't input commands into the miner.

I think the firmware was deleted when I just powered it off.

I am connecting left to right black green white ground, TX, RX and trying other combinations also without ground. it's still powering on but with a red LED light.

1. For a SERIAL DATA interface to operate correctly, the SENDING Device and RECEIVING device have to use matching signal protocols. If even one of the protocol elements is off then you will NOT receive the intended data, but will likely receive gibberish, more gibberish, or nothing at all.

Baud Rate: 115200

Data Bits: 8

Parity: n (none)

Stop Bit: 1

Handshaking: xon-xoff

Wired: TX-RX, RX-TX, GND-GND

2. The S3 supposedly has protected firmware that it runs at startup, then jumps to a second firmware code.

The DEBUG listens to the protected code, and when you have the right SERIAL DATA interface you can read and interrupt the instructions to force a reload of the replaceable firmware.

3. GND must be connected for the SERIAL DATA interface to function (the electrons need a direct return path)

Since we don't really know how your USB<->TTL interface is wired, it might need TX and RX wire positions reversed for those channels to operate. This goes hand in hand with getting the Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity, Stop and Handshaking correctly matching what the S3 expects when it sends/receives data over the DEBUG port.

[professor21]

When Putty is launched and connected to the CORRECT serial device, Putty screen should not display any data traffic. It should be absolutely quiet, no text appearing.

As I wrote previously, the interface needs to be tested to verify that it will work BEFORE CONNECTING IT TO THE S3.

You CAN'T input commands during the test, your PC isn't even connected to the S3 !!!

Try doing this as a checklist.

*USB<->TTL device driver software installed on PC

*USB<->TTL device connected to PC USB port, wires loose, not connected to target

*Identify what COM Port the device is assigned (COM 1 - 9)

*Launch Putty Terminal Application

*Configure Putty Terminal to use COM port assigned to USB<->TTL device

*Configure Port Communications to use (baud rate: 115200, Data Bits: 8, Parity: n, Stop Bit: 1 Handshaking: xon-xoff)

*Putty Terminal Display should be quiet, no text appearing

*Press a few letters on the keyboard. Does it appear on screen.

!!!Ok, here I am not getting any echo from my 2 adafruit serial-USB cables??

-Put paperclip 'jumper' on TX and RX of wire. Random character(s) may appear, but then should be quiet.

Press a few letters on the keyboard. Do they get 'echoed' back? ABC displays as AABBCC?

ONLY when the above test is confirmed can you even attempt to connect to the S3.

Connect the GND, RX, TX wires to the DEBUG port of the S3.

*** Make sure the wires WILL NOT easily disconnect and touch other S3 components

Power on the S3

Text should appear on the Putty Terminal windows, showing what the S3 is doing.

Follow the GUIDE as instructed.

I can get a stream of text from the controller board with TX and RX. I can get the fans to turn on if I disconnect the controller board from the 2 outer boards. I bridged the LAN/Wireless connections but still get no received data on the LAN from the antminer

but the problem may be the cable which shows no echo

[RichCor]

< snip for brevity >

*Press a few letters on the keyboard. Does it appear on screen.

!!!Ok, here I am not getting any echo from my 2 adafruit serial-USB cables??

-Put paperclip 'jumper' on TX and RX of wire. Random character(s) may appear, but then should be quiet.

Press a few letters on the keyboard. Do they get 'echoed' back? ABC displays as AABBCC?

ONLY when the above test is confirmed can you even attempt to connect to the S3.

I can get a stream of text from the controller board with TX and RX.

I can get the fans to turn on if I disconnect the controller board from the 2 outer boards. I bridged the LAN/Wireless connections but still get no received data on the LAN from the antminer but the problem may be the cable which shows no echo

The next step in the checklist was to add the PaperClip to your USB<->TTL device and see if any characters typed were actually sent down the TX wire and over the PaperClip and returned up the RX wire and displayed on the Putty terminal.

IF the character DISPLAYED and ECHOED BACK (appeared twice) then you can confirm that item on the checklist

(meaning Putty is using the USB<->TTL interface, confirmed only by the inclusion of the PaperClip

IF you can confirm this to be the case, only then can you try connecting the wires to the S3 Antminer DEBUG port.

WHEN the DEBUG connection is correct, you will receive 'telemetry -like' data ... recognize English words, text appears in a repeating-like pattern.

IF the data received from the S3 Antminer is NOT recognizable (NO English, just Jibberish) then verification (or) some tweaking/adjustment of the SERIAL DATA COM Port parameter may be necessary.

YOU MUST be able to see some recognizable English words received over the SERIAL DATA stream from the DEBUG Port before proceeding.

Please continue with the checklist from where you left off.

Please continue down the Checklist as described.

[thedemon]

Richcor, you deserve a medal for your patience.

[professor21]

thanks so much Rich!!! I did those low pass high pass circuit problems and also infinite circuits with complex variables and they were easy problems in physics. I think they are trying to find ways to make Iphones thinner now according to one EE I know.

it might be the cables are defective, there is a different USB-serial converter+cables sold on ebay from china which might work which is described on the forum as a successful fix. I have the drivers and the settings correct as far as I know. I just can't get LAN connection or wifi from the miner it's powering up. I wish I could go back to studying and business and not take this horrific loss on the miner while I'm sick.

Edited July 9, 2015 by professor21

[professor21]

Thanks so much!!! well I tried the paperclip test and there was no echo and will try again. I soldered male connectors to the board they are a bit loose but maybe this raspberry pi cable is defective? the parameters are exactly as specified but I found COM4 on device manager to be the correct port. there are these UART buffer settings which I tried turning on or off. yes the electrons need a return path...

[professor21]

well I got the one s3+ mining by flashing the cgminer at 441 GH/s! with the electricity costs and exponential rise in difficulty and power efficiency/GH/s rate they cannot recoup the initial investment however

but I still can't serial connect to the other s3+. I tried paperclip jumping from TX-RX on the serial-USB raspberry cable but don't get any echo. with some combination of connection of cables to the debug holes I can type but can't reset the controller though it has a red light. maybe it's not fixable, it was mining fine until I powered off during firmware update.

I've opened 2 bitmain tickets and they tell me to serial connect with an adafruit cable. I don't know if my cable is an actual adafruit or a copy. so I'm not sure why I don't get echo when I type into putty or the window doesn't allow me to type. when I connect RX and TX without ground to the s3+ I get a stream of nonsense text. maybe the paperclip isn't a metallic conductor I don't know...

Edited July 14, 2015 by professor21

[RichCor]

I have the drivers and the settings correct as far as I know. I just can't get LAN connection or wifi from the miner it's powering up.

Thanks so much!!! well I tried the paperclip test and there was no echo and will try again. I soldered male connectors to the board they are a bit loose but maybe this raspberry pi cable is defective? the parameters are exactly as specified but I found COM4 on device manager to be the correct port. there are these UART buffer settings which I tried turning on or off. yes the electrons need a return path...

You keep typing about LAN or WiFi connection from the S3 Miner. We're nowhere near having those interfaces involved in the present diagnostic/recovery process.

We are strictly focused on the SERIAL interface communications.

Just for verification: you've installed Putty on a PC and have it set similar to these screenshots?

SESSION with Serial selected,

Then pressing the ( Open ) button, and then viewing the terminal windows for COM4 (disregard screenshot titled 'inactive')

[professor21]

yes sir I have had this configured for the past week, but I can't get any echo with the paperclip attached to TX-RX on the serial-USB cable. in the tutorial they use a different cable

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-2-0-to-TTL-UART-Module-5pin-Serial-Converter-CP2102-STC-Replace-FT232-/161282081867?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item258d29444b

to get the other working miner mining through LAN/WIFI bridge I upgraded flashed the cgminer, I waited at least 30 minutes without powering off and heard several beeps, if you power off too soon it can lead to this problem; the screen still froze and I powered off after about an hour and then could mine. the original factory address is 192.168.1.99 for facotry resets.

Edited July 14, 2015 by professor21

[RichCor]

On the outside chance that the S3 Ethernet port is sending any data, you might try installing WireShark and set it to monitor your PC Ethernet Connection while it's connected to the S3 via Ethernet cable ... see if there is *anything* on any IP address or IP Port coming off that thing. Doubtful. But it there was, WireShark would tell you what MAC and IP address it was using.

Back to the Serial device. Yea, the paperclip needs to be metal. Interesting that the Serial device is receiving 'garbage' when ungrounded. It eventually needs ground connected for the UART to properly detect/receive or send data. I would really like it if you could validate that the USB adapter actually worked in paperclip loop back before connecting it to the Antminer. Though there shouldn't be any harm connecting GND and trying RX on either of the other holes.

The USB adapter has 3 or 4 wires (gnd, tx, rx, ...and 5v)? Make sure you're not using the additional 5V wire connected to anything.

[RichCor]

...and I'm sure you've already tried the following:

AntMiner S3 RESET instructions:

Please let the Antminer S3 power up and running for about 3 minutes,

then use a paper clip or something thin to press a button inside the reset hole, located on the "RIGHT" hand side of the Ethernet cable connector.

Press and Hold the Button for about 10 seconds, let it go,
wait for 3 minutes, then Press the Reset Button 1 more time and release.

Please wait an additional 3 minutes, then turn the power off and power it back on.

[mlmcleod]

Aliexpress.com sells re-cycled S3 controller boards for around $19. A working rest button would be ideal but this is cheaper than the hardware, software and time to correct this issue,

Just my opinion, no need to get mad!! (:>)