glad you posted this. i'll start by saying that i actually had good luck with their first generation of hardware miners. I was part of the October 2013 batch, and received mine 10 days late. sucked, but not the end of the world. when my BeagleBoard went kaput after ~3 months, I did have to cajole them a bit to convince them that flashing the Beagle wasn't doing the trick. they sent me replacement gear that somehow allowed me to has at ~30 GH/s faster than the original. I had to be belligerent to get the service, though.

I got into a discussion with Sam Cole at the time about how their products were overpriced, and I wanted to see them get into cloud mining, since, at the time, they were not on the same level of being crap as BFL was. I was tired of having gear at home, and could mining looked like an interesting alternative. BFL's price was too steep, IMO, and I didn't know how long I would have to wait (and if you have read other threads regarding BFL lately, it's not a secret that I used to work there - and I had ZERO confidence that they'd deliever cloud hashing in time for any investment to be profitable, unless BTC's value went up to something like $500+, but more like $700+, if I recall my calculations at the time....it's been many months since I've been involved with mining). I remember discussing with Cole that KnC would miss out on a huge opportunity, since the majority of new miners were often ignorant of how the technology worked, and that could mining would be a way to attract new customers interested in BTC, but not interested in maintaining the gear. He said they were looking into it. This was probably in February/March 2014, but my memory isn't the best on the timeline.

I knew they built 3 huge data centers, but had no idea they were selling mining contracts. So, they're shit, eh? Not surprising. They had potential coming out of the gate (like for 3 months lol), but they seemed to have gone the way of just about every BTC hardware mfg out there, which is to suck ass. Glad I sold my gear when I did, and thanks for the review on their cloud mining. I will definitely be sure to not consider them, should I decide to have anything to do with mining in the future. Thanks again!

it wasn't an actual raid, but they didn't invite the FTC. those reportedly arrested didn't even show up for work. the officers came in, gathered the employees, an attorney for District Court explained what was happening, they were given papers to sign, asked a few questions, and then sent home with only their belongings.

given the nature of their investigations and a number of individual and class-action lawsuits that also point to violations of FTC guidelines, it's tough for me to imagine a recovery. Even if they went back to work, it would only be for a short time, and under different leadership. In effect, BFL is operated by the US government until the courts decide what to do with the company and its administration.

given the time-sensitive nature of the product, if things go as well as they can, the company will be liquidated, and anyone with a legitimate order who doesn't receive their product will receive at least a partial refund. perhaps they will open the warehouse to ship what units they have, and then auction off the chips. Any way it shakes down, it is going to be rough on the customers. i'm also convinced that the whole process is going to take a very long time, since the result of any of the upcoming court cases could have strong influences on the others.

on another note, just before I began this post, i checked to see if it was possible to order anything on BFL's website, and I was able to get to the last step without being shut down. i'm not sure what the really means with regard to what happened Friday. the US DID go to BFL HQ and shut it down. two people were taken into custody, but it was likely more like simply being processed and being put out on bail so you can flee. I doubt either actually spent time in a jail cell.The hard proof that this event took place will surface. who knows if the FTC will ultimately decide BFL is in compliance, doubtful, but who knows. but still, every day that BFL can ship their products, the stronger the FTC's case will actually become. If they are not forced out of business by legal means, i believe the combination of this incident, plus upcoming class-action suits, and likely some individual suits will drive them out of business.

I'm posting over int hat same thread now, so that's where I'll be posting after answering responding to you. I received my info at 11:30 am CST. The federal agents supposedly entered 1-1.5 hrs prior. Employees were sent home. I know a few, and have been in contact with one. The former BFL employees still in contact with each other all discovered the same info from a few different people. I know they shut down everything immediately and sent everyone home, and they have no idea when or if they are going back. The FTC is bringing a case against them as well, which is no surprise to to their prior investigation and the complaints which resulted in the class-action brought against them a few months back... Not the one still gearing up from a firm here in KC, MO. I've heard, and have been getting more confirmations throughout the day that two members of upper mgmt have been arrested. Their assets are also frozen from all reports.

Also, look at the few posts I've made in these forums. I've never an outspoken proponent of this company, even during he short time I was employed there. Either here or elsewhere, I've remarked that all of the community members saying shit like, "All BFL employees must die!" and all that shit really didn't understand how the company worked, and at least about half the time I worked there was guilty of many accusations being made, but were guilty of some for sure, but often not the worst. This did change, however. At any rate, I'm not here as some fucking giant conspiracy. This is costing BFL money. BFL would not engage in a profit-losing conspiracy, and definitely one that is going to make them look considerably worse.. If that's even possible at this point. In the coming weeks, I'll bet that you'll be able to pull up documents detailing the FTC's actions in conjunction with the US Marshals. IF BFL employees are back to work on Monday, I might eat my shoe.

The offices were closed, assets were seized (not sure to what extent), and some members of mgmt were supposedly arrested this morning. Info on the web is still sparse. I worked for BFL for a period of time, and still know a few people there. I received word at 11:30 am that Federal agents had entered the building, seized everything at the facility, and told everyone to go home. They were also told that they should prepare for the possibility of not coming back. As the day progressed, I've received a few documents that I have not yet had time to open, and am not sure I could share the contents here, since I'm not positive how binding the non-disclosure agreement we were forced to sign in mid-2013 is still enforceable, and if so, would they even bother enforcing it. Obviously, I'm not taking chances by posting anything sensitive in this forum. I trust users here about as much as I do the "masterminds" at BFL. I'm also convinced that while BFL was arguably the worst offender and provided the worst service to customers than I think I've ever witnessed, most companies involved in BTC are shady as hell. All the same, the "rumors" are true at least in part. Sadly, as far as I've gathered, only 3 members of upper mgmt had arrest warrants, while a few other shareholders, who arguably deserve the same treatment as those reportedly arrested, were not mentioned at all. For those of you hoping that Josh was one of them, I'm sorry to disappoint.Other former BFL have also posted here in the forums regarding the matter, and might have additional information that I haven't received. I avoid the place like the fucking plague, and only have a couple contacts there who I trust would tell the truth... Mainly former fellow disgruntled employees who were either not fired or didn't leave because they hadn't found other employment. Though the group of employees that tried to push back against the awful practices employed by mgmt were extremely small, they existed. Of course, once it became known that you were not for towing the company line, you could start counting your days. That place was a cancer, and this needed to happen.

Sorry, I cannot provide more info at current, and despite the usual skepticism found here and remarks to provide corroborating documentation which may arise, this is the only confirmation I'll post, unless I find something of interest that hasn't been shared. In the coming days, you'll read for yourself and find that my account, while not spot on, given the information came from a few different sources, it's also not too far off from the truth. I'm sure some BFL hack will take to these forums soon to try some futile damage control filled with nothing but lies and half-truths, but at the moment, it seems as if all of their bullshit caught up with them. And as one poster above correctly noted, this should have happened long ago.

Keep reading. There is plenty of excitement in store in days to come.

nah, bad luck is just part of the larger equation. i can live with bad luck. the pool i switched to hasn't had the best luck either, major swings in 24 hr earnings. if you're still able to mine at the pool, that sounds good enough.i should have also mentioned that I have a few TechnoBits, and they stayed connected somehow. makes no sense to me. maybe i should sell off everything and buy Ants.

sorry, as I realized this has been addressed with pretty much the same answer as I received when I mentioned this several pages back, but my KnC (updated to the latest FW and mining on port 3334 since instructed to do so) will not mine at Eligius. It starts out fine but after less than an hour will drop to a few hundred MH/s without switching to failover. I run their embedded version of bfgminer, my BFL units (also using bfgminer) will connect and then after several hours will switch to failover. my units are no longer stable at Eligius, so I switched pools after trying to get them stable at the pool for a few hours each evening over several evenings. While it's been reiterated several times that it's only the site affected by the DDoS attacks, there must be some information or at least a guess why devices configured  to run on Eligius for long periods of time without any change (at least in my case) are no longer able to mine consistently at the pool. When it was just an issue with the stats page, I didn't really care, since payouts came when they were ready. I don't give a crap if I wait a day or a week, so long as the sum adds up properly. I do become concerned when the HW begins acting wonky at a particular pool while running stable at others (I've tested 2 others - don't trust many to begin with - and unfortunately all use a different port, so I couldn't rule out that as a possibility). I'm not writing this because I'm assigning blame, as I do not know enough about either my hardware of that of the pool to make any claims. I also didn't want to use any other pool other than Eligius. I actually find the whole issue quite frustrating. in my case, I stopped seeing shares being processed as they normally are, and then watched the devices drop out. perhaps other users experiencing HW issues were only seeing discrepancies between site stats and the readout in their console. that happened to me every time the stats page went into failsafe, and as stated, it never bothered me. I've no read of several users having HW issues. so I not longer get the feeling that the problem is just isolated to my setup. it does appear that the issue is isolated to a few miners, or at least only a few are reporting it.

I also asked for input on how to work around this issue with no useful feedback and have pretty much accepted that my last few months mining, as most of my gear becomes obsolete, will be done elsewhere, which is unfortunate, as I had hoped to ride it out on Eligius until the bitter end. I've written more details about the problems i experienced several pages back in the thread, as it has been almost a month. i won't bother taking time to write it out all over again, since it yielded no result the first time around.

I guess the only question left to the general community is whether or not there are others who are now pretty much unable to use Eligius reliably, as it my case. I mainly want to know this out of curiosity. i hope that others are not having the same level of difficulty connecting and using the pool without incident. i don't wish that on anyone except maybe the odd troll or two.

nothing was using cgminer. I used Hex Miner for the TechnoBit devices. Those kept going. I use bfgminer for everything else. It's embedded in the mess of text I wrote, but that part is in there.

The ones that lost the hash rate stopped hashing at Eligius. The BFL units on one instance of bfgminer went into failover, and the KnC on a separate instance dropped to less than 800 MH/s

Oddly enough, I have a total of 330 GH/s after the two TechnoBit units died the other day. I'm still at the computer after writing the postyou've responded to. My hashrate at Eligius has dropped again from ~330 GH/s to ~265 GH/s. bfgminer shows the KnC and BFL units to be hashing fine. Curious if this is a stats issue, si I've switched everything to another pool again for 24 hrs to see what kind of hashrate stat i get. Perhaps i have more HW issues than I thought, though bfgminer is reflecting this in no way whatsoever.

I've been messing with this crap for hours every evening for over a week. I'm burnt out for now. I'll check in tomorrow. Appreciate the help.

yeah, tried that. no dice. Oddly enough, two of my TechnoBit units burned up (almost literally) about 48 hrs later. I believe they were the source of another issue plaguing my system. I'm down 50 GH/s now, but at least my gear is stable.

I think I was in the middle of a post when they finally fried and tripped the PSU, causing the PC to power down. No more gear seems to be affected, so I'm cool with that.

Still, despite WK's mentioning that any loss of connectivity with the pool had to be on my side, I find it odd that the KnC just dropped out completely (also didn't switch to failover, which is odd and annoying, but likely because I was supposedly still hashing @ ~800 MH/s like an over-powered BFL FPGA lol!!!), and that then my BFL gear did the same. As I've mentioned in other posts long ago, I've had it happen that I cannot connect to any pool [that I trust], and since I use no other pools on the same port Eligius uses, or at least not BTC pools on that port and that's all I tried, it was strange that only Eligius was affected on my end, except the now deceased TechnoBit units. I've switched back to Eligius after taking care of the aforementioned HW issues, and assuming since WK says the problem was on my end, I'd likely hook up and be hashing away once more... And so it is.

I just don't like that this was the only pool affected on my end out of 5 I will dare connect to. I just went to BTC Guild for a few days to keep mining and now Eligius is working. Does anyone have ideas as to why Eligius may have been blocked by my hardware (KnC/BFL, both running bfgminer)? In case you've read one of my long-ass posts, I don't talk about/bitch about tech issues at the pool. I'm in no way qualified to do so. I can make things work, and can solve local problems, for the most part, but as to why hardware my bock access, I have no understanding. I appreciate WK making the short comment that the problem isn't on the pool's end, as that's a start, but it doesn't tell me anything, as I lack the background knowledge to understand why it would come from my end and not the pool. If it had been the pool, that would have been simple to explain away, and I wouldn't really worry, since someone else with experience is running the show. I want to know how to avoid the issue on MY end, or if it's possible.

I know I haven't given much technical info to pinpoint a cause or narrow group of causes, but I've made it clear that I don't know where to start. TO ANYONE: If you have a spare moment to put some thought into this, let me know what kind if info you'd need from me, and if I can obtain it, I will. I've essentially rebuilt my PC over the past week, and then had to install a new hard drive a day after I thought i was finished (that's when the TechnoBit units fried, and then my hard drive decided it didn't like to boot... just thankful I was able to connect it later to extract some data to save some time getting the replacement drive prepared). Sorry, I go off on tangents.

Others said the experienced similar issues, not just my fellow TechnoBit user, so if any of you have a handle on why this happens, I'm all ears.

I thought perhaps it had something to do with the attacks, but read in the meantime that the two things are completely unrelated (wasn't fully competent on the nature of DDoS attacks and the extent of damage they can do - glad they don't fuck up the pool itself, but sorry to read WK is spending his free time dealing with that nonsense, getting ransom requests, and having a shitty time from the sound of things... Hope your girlfriend hasn't been too upset about the DDoS attackers taking all your free time!!! ;P).

Glad to be connected again, and thanks to anyone with any thoughts on how I might avoid the above-described problem in the future.

Okay, I see some wonkiness took place last night for a few others, but not many.

My stats were just a bit off (not an issue, could be latency), but there was a stat/issue that was troubling. My KnC (moved to the stadard port after FW update by WK's writ!) just dropped out of the pool. No failover. Hashrate dropped from 143 GH/s to ~800 MH/s. Tried to get it going, and no dice.

My BFL units still showed they were hashing, but the stats for that ~175 GH/s dropped out, too. All that was showing was ~70 GH/s from my TechnoBit miners.

This was at around 2 am CST, I want to say, but can't be exact, unfortunately. BFGminer showed that the BFL units were hashing again at Eligius, but stats still didn't reflect this. This was an hour ago when I tried again... or was able to try again. I'm sure it was hshing, as I saw a bit of buildup in shares, so it seems the hashrate stat was mainly affected.

I've mainly just stuck to the pool despite stats, but when a miner drops the pool and won't reconnect, I decided to switch. I've taken my small op to another pool for the next hours until I hear more feedback from the pool. If all is kosher again, I'll try to move the KnC. If it will connect to the pool, I'll be good. As mentioned, I don't worry about the stats as long as I can see shares being processed. That stopped for both my BFL units (using bfgminer) and the KnC (also bfgminer). maybe just a fluke on my end with the BFL units. I just had to rebuild my system, and it's buggy. Doesn't explain the KnC instance, nor why the TechnoBit units still showed in my stats. Just odd. I've read the rest of the thread from the days I was out of commission, and noticed all the posts regarding DDoS, but didn't think it would affect the pool, nor do I still think it necessarily would. I might attribute the oddness I saw in the stats page to that, but the rest is odd. I've witnessed the network drop before, where I couldn't access Eligius nor two failovers - switched to PPC for a few hours - but this was isolated to Eligius, as far as I could tell. I had forgotten my BTCguild account and made a new one last night and connected right away. I'm there for now (until I can build up a small payout, and then try Eligius again).

Anyone else notice anything remotely similar? Just trying to figure out what might be on my end, what's up with the KnC, and why the TechnoBits never fell. lol - No panicking, just curious if anyone noticed the same issues, and if they somehow resolved them. Hope to switch back later. Just upped my donation, but guess I wasn't quick enough. lol jk  Again, some of this may be on my end. I've had a lot of issues getting the BFL units working properly after rebuilding y system, and my KnC has been wonky off-and-on for a few weeks. You know, the usual.

lol also, exactly!

lol exactly!

So, my mining tower that controls my rigs and was the heart of my tiny operation bit the dust a little over a week ago, shortly after TodaysGandalf conflated me using curse words in my posts with using them to 'prove' a point. Not going back to quote, but to get this out there: Curse words do no prove points. They act as a kind of discourse marker in many instances. Somewhere between punctuation and adjectives. They are special, and I fucking love them. They are more laborious, yet more effective than most emoticons, of which I'm not generally fond.  

I'm sorry to see that not much has changed in the way of problems plaguing the site (notice I don't say 'pool' - my KnC kept going the whole time, except with a hiccup that I assume is tied to the notice regarding outdated - or 'broken' - firmware... noted and updated). Nice to see that people still are not reading previous posts and repeating questions and information on the very page they post them. I'd be disappointed if too many users started to display a little gumption. Also glad to see that next to people wondering if the pool's down (guess failover is passe), the number one point of conflict is the stats page. I've noticed often in the past the graphs suffer, but the numbers regarding how much I have until next payout works. I think I would be fine just seeing my pool hashrate in current increments (maybe one or two less options), and what I'm earning. Sure, who doesn't love graphs? But, if they are a source of constant discussion of a negative kind, and a FREE service to which many users now feel entitled, I question the logic of attempting such robust metrics if those who might complain are not paying for a product they claim to either desperately want or need. Some mention that these stats help them keep track of their miners while away. That's not the provider's problem, though a consideration it should be. I'm not callous to the need. I install software on my PC and phone so I can monitor everything while I'm away and shut it all down if needed. If I think the house will burn up, I push a button, and the draw at the wall falls significantly. I can also check whether my miners are connected to the pool, or failover has taken place. Pretty convenient.

Why is it that all things BTC are a magnet for DDoS? Seriously. Why? Do the attackers really think the can ransom a few hundred bucks per day by causing some glitches in site use that be both overcome, and eventually, hopefully - with the right tools and resources (saw a user offering to help, as he does this often - good idea, but understand perhaps some hesitation to move any duties related tot he site beyond the two core members). Still, I don't quite get why BTC-related sites are such a magnet. I'm not online much (main computer is often offline, even), but I don't see this problem as often elsewhere. No one need take much time to explain it. The technical aspects will go over my head, though the philosophical ones likely won't. I'm more certain you have better things to do with your time.

It's nice to be back Eligius thread. It's as though I never left (that's meant both positively and wryly at the same time - some of you are very funny [see post directly above], and I enjoy the banter... the whining is always a downer, though).

I just use Namecoin-QT. I do not trust leaving any quantity of anything at BTC-e or any other exchange unless I'm actively trading. I don't like using the exchanges as wallets. This attitude of mine predates the troubles at Mt. Gox, but that just strengthened the view. I've also had instances where BTC-e in particular stopped all BTC withdraws for a few days, and other instances where they take an absurd amount of time to make the transfer. They have a high transfer fee, and it is't because they put it towards your transfer. It's another way they charge you. I assume the use the lowest possible tx fee possible, apart from sending it with no fee at all. I'm sure your NMC would be relatively safe. I'm just giving you my opinion, since you are asking about it. At least you can encrypt QT. it's just password encryption, but it's something. With BTC-e, you can add 2-factor authorization for the site, but you have not control as to what they might be doing with it on the other side. I trade there, but can't say that I have a lot of trust. I never transfer fiat to them, and only trade with small quantities of BTC unless they flake out. Oddly enough, they're one of the more 'trusted' exchanges.

+1

I think you've been beat up on enough, but wanted to give a few comments the other day when I saw this. now, I'll be given fewer, but maybe this will resonate with you, or help you see things from your own obviously miopic viewpoint. First off:


To equate yourself with the "every-man" while rolling with 1.2 TH/s is insulting. Seriously, It's just fucking insulting. Think about it. Most people at this pool, and most others, are generally under 500 GH/s, and actually even less. I was kind of offended, though I'm not actually capable of felling a wide range of emotions. Offended is closest. You're earning way more than me, and just by being a miner, as opposed to buying BTC, you've got a better chance of making better profit that those who just buy BTC during favorable market conditions. You have a steady stream of BTC income rolling. To put yourself at my level, and many others, is naive at best, and callus at worst, and shows you do not have a grasp on the mining landscape.  I had harsher words, but others have already said them. Just be sensitive to the fact that by possessing 1,2 TH/s in gear, and most of us here knowing what that costs, puts you in a different class than many of us who have taken, in sme instances, bigger financial risks to possess much less.



Yeah, of course it's distributed to the pool. You're also benefiting form the many other miners who are willing to not act entitled and jump to some dumb-ass communist conspiracy. Something tells me your American, as most Americans understand communism from third-party sources that digest it for them instead of reading as much theory as necessary to even be able to use the word correctly. If you want to say there's a social element to it, then you're indeed correct, and that's the whole point. independent miners pool their resources together for the benefit of the group, and as many have pointed out, many of us would earn nothing if we didn't, so it's a logical choice. Also, if you have't read Adam Smith's 1759 work 'Theory of Moral Sentiments' in connection to his 1776 work 'The Wealth of Nations,' you may want to go back and refresh your fundamentals uf how capitalism works, or should work, at the ground floor. People with minimal capital pool resources together to create profit, which is good for the a given economy. When players at ANY level become greedy and feel entitled, while in a sense they are indeed following one facet of capitalism to its logical conclusion, Smith points out that greed is perhaps the greatest destructive force. He also goes on to say that while most markets should be left unencumbered, finance is perhaps the one key area where there should indeed be oversight and regulation. He was also in favor of social programs like compulsory education, relief for the unemployed (minimal like housing, food, and the general basics), and a few other social programs.

What's more, you FOUND a block. As many have pointed out, big deal. Eclipse, for example, counts when you are the last person who actually solves the block. No perks there either.

I don't know, you jump form one extreme to another suggests that you're letting your expectations rule, and are fine with being ignorant and lashing out, instead of having first posted a question as to why this is. You just go to communism, which within your worldview simply equals "bad." You live in a world where you these concepts are actually rather fluid, and you practice all of them without likely knowing it. Do you loan friends $20 bucks for a few days when they are hard up without asking for interest? That's a social undertaking. Even global systems are a mixture of those that have come before, which is why they are so hard to define and are simply pegged in a binary framework of left and right. It's over-simplistic, and if you're smart enough throw down on these boards, you need to see things in a dynamic light, not some static intellectual cage.

This pool may not be right for you, so I sincerely hope that you find one that suits your expectations. I believe that you average miner wants every miner to be pulling in their share since it keeps things moving along. We got into ming partly as a hobby, but also because if done correctly, you'll earn more BTC for less out put that if you simply purchased at the exchange. With mining, you get a steady stream regardless of exchange value. utilizing you earned BTC at higher exchange rates just helps you maximize the investment.



If you have 1.2 TH/s you have no room to bitch. You already have improved your station comparatively against fellow miners, so that talk is nonsense. It's also more than just mining. You have to set your BTC in motion to work for you when the exchange rate is at your advantage. Don't go acting like to represent the common man, however (would like to point out that this is a very socialist meme as well, which is cool, as I like irony). You've already shown your cards and that you come from a position where you can drop about $6000 more than I was able to.

As for the info out there, it can be confusing. I agree. It takes months of discussion, reading, research, and asking questions. Why didn't ask the people here questions before you accused pools to be a 'communist' plot. No, you got all pissed off because you felt entitled, partly because you didn't understand that you hadn't done any more work than anyone else, and threw a hissy fit. This is unfortunate, as people here could have helped, and would have gladly done so. It would have saved you frustration, and the scorn of many participants here.

I do wish you the best of luck, but you were really talking out of school. There re legitimate complaints for sure, but this wasn't relay one of them. Don't let my low post number fool you. I've been t this for a while. I'm not as into understanding every aspect as some, as I like to find a good pool and stick with it until I find it unreliable, as in the pool doesn't work properly, and the site is just the graphic interface that is occasionally of consequence in my view. Try mining PeerCoin sometime. It's the opposite. The states and web pages are pretty, but the pools are buggy as hell. I don't recall this pool being down in the ~4 months or so I've been using it exclusively. I could be mistaken, but don't think so.

If the info around the web isn't helpful, ask your peers. Good luck to you wherever you end up, and drop the paranoia communist plot BS. regardless of any system, people of lesser means have to come together. It wasn't different in the gold rush when smaller prospectors hd to go up against the comstocks. We're heading in the direction. If we want to keep earning, we need each other and have to subside to the reality that you earn what you contribute. I don't see any alternative that is fairer to the community.

I guess this topic is really been beaten to death now. lol Good luck.

it's a lot for 99% of humanity. you're correct. when the site gets wonky, payouts can get pretty jammed, and this has generally be relieved by 1) some manual payouts to help clean up some, and 2) the system going through it's 'normal' payout routine. a few pages back WK or Luke-Jr explain what has to happen to do a manual payout, but i'll admit i'm too lazy to go find it at current. the simple explanation is that it sometimes takes a few days before one or the other (usually WK in my experience) does the manual payout. you'll also sometimes notice that your spot in the payout queue jumps around a bit has those who have been mining longer jump ahead, or even you jump ahead because it's been 2-3 days. I don't know about others, but I can say that with my ~330 GH/s, I generally go anywhere from 1-4 days between payouts, mainly 2-4 over the last 2 weeks, which is due to site issues (I think, but don't really know) and changes in difficulty. you'll likely see more than 18 blocks in the payout queue at some point as well.

 

I'm curious to test out your work. just saw your post. i choose not to understand code, so the images might as have been Sumerian Cuneiform on clay tablets. having stats on the desktop would be nice when I just want to have a quick glance. best of luck on the finished product!

I think a fair number of those in favor of some sort of fee are donating. My setup is smaller, and I'm not bothered by donating or the prospect of a fee. They are providing a service (that bit of obviousness isn't directed at you - we're mostly on the same page, I'd assume, in most regards in this matter), and at a point where it was easier to manage, no fee was just fine.

In general and at the community:

It kind of reminds me of someone who's a good baker making cupcakes as a hobby-job, earning a bit here and there from people as the news about the deliciousness of said cupcakes spreads word-of-mouth. At some point, the person realizes they can either scale back in order to keep the wagon from flying off the wheels from their day job, or whatever you wish to imagine, since by trying to keep all plates spinning might cause the quality of the cupcakes to diminish. In this case, since the site tends to be the point of complaint, the hobby baker lacks time to decorate the cupcakes as nicely as before, so some customers stop buying, OR, the hobby baker can take it to the next level, charge a bit more for the cupcakes, and, yes, still lose are few customers, but by improving on their craft, draws in more customers that are willing to pay a little more, while still saving a bit than if they had gone to some flashier large-scale baker, who charges more but the actual cupcakes really aren't any better.

Perhaps a low flat fee, with also an option to donate, may be worth considering. In stead of 1% or even 0.5%, you charge only 0.25% (or whatever), which would still undercut competition and be low enough to attract people, and it's low enough that many users already donating won't have the attitude of "Well, now I'm paying, so why should I bother donating?" I don't know what it costs to run the operation. Not at all, so the numbers are a little arbitrary. I know most pools I've used charge 1% or more. I used Slush's pool for a while an thought it was fine, even with the fee, and at the time I left, the stat pages were no better, the look of the site was no better, and so on and so forth. Hell, even pools charging a considerably high fee ask for donations. This may rub some people the wrong way, but I'll just go ahead an say it: for a community of people that go on ad nauseam about their Libertarian, capitalist ideals, I see a whole lot of hands sticking out asking for donations for fuck all. (Don't get it twisted, one sees this everywhere sans gushing adoration for Libertarian ideals, which are always fine by me as long as those doing the gushing abide by them - the whole' practice what you preach' thing.) Eligius is a service, and generally a damn fine one at that. I love the fact that it is offered for free and people can decide what it's worth to them, but in the long run the altruism will most likely not be reciprocated may the majority, and things start to break down.

 I grow irritated when people come here bitching about not getting payouts fast and all kinds of other crap when they are using a service that is gratis. If the operators were thieves, or payouts were tied up for weeks, that would be cause for action. You use a free pool and it takes longer to get some issue ironed out, what the fuck else do you expect? Seriously?

To wrap up this monster of a post, put pen to paper, figure out how much you need to get where you want to go, and a little beyond, and derive a modest fee. Yeah, you'll take a hit in the amount of donations you're receiving, but you probably notice a fluctuation anyways as difficulty rises and some miners feel they can no longer afford to donate. Still, others will continue to reward you for quality work. The only thing to add is that by adding a fee, you will be open to a little scrutiny when the stats go into fail-safe mode every other day, and so on. As soon as you attach even the smallest fee to your service, the majority begins to feel even more entitled... And to an extent they will be, but only like 0.5% more than they were when it was all free and whatnot.

Just checked in for the first time since yesterday afternoon (CST). Site showing 504 here, too, but the miners I have directed at Eligius have never switched to failover during the past week or two where the site has been really, really buggy.

payouts also slow, the same as with the rest. wasn't really an 'issue' until yesterday, when i decided to buy another miner. that isn't the fault of Eligius though, so i'm not assigning blame. i had had a few small purchases the day prior and my 'hot' wallet was a little depleted. the additional miner was spur-of-the-moment, and thought i had enough to cover it. not a big deal. just took a little out of the cold wallet, and will be able to replace what i took out within a few days i'm sure.

as for the fees in discussion... i think they're a good idea on the surface. i agree with others who are posting that a little thought needs to be put into on how these truly would be implemented. i think most who post here regularly, or follow this thread regularly, as i don't really post too often, donate at least some portion back to the pool. i'm sure that most do not. it's free, and they simply latch onto that. donating takes effort, and if your sole draw to the pool is the lack of fees, i doubt a person in the frame of mind would donate.

for those who aren't donating, if you like the pool, stop bitching and donate. even if you are like me and don't have a lot of hashing power, you can still pony up 0.5%-1%. you're not going to notice it.

that all said, it is odd that the site has been as wonky as it's has been, and the payout mechanism is much, much slower. i don't mind if i get the minimum once per day, or 3 or 4 times that a few days down the road. i'm mainly just hopeful that whatever is causing the issues can be resolved without a lot more hassle to the operators, since whatever is causing the problem seems to still be lingering, meaning it must not be obvious or easy.

good luck WK, and Luke. i'll drop by another time to catch up on the latest news.

Just picked up one of these miners recently. thanks for this post, and the link to the older tutorial for setting up HEX miner using the proxy. I was having a bit of trouble setting it up.

I got some different results than that of the OP when upping voltage. I noticed better hashrate by keeping voltage generally lower (1.200v-1.35v) and clocking the ship to somewhere around 1540-1580 MH/s. My current settings are 1560 MH/s @ 1.350v. This gives me ~22.3 GH/s, and my voltage never tends to top out over 1.220v. It runs a bit on the warm side, but I'd expect it to do so. Running under 1500 MH/s @ 1.200v-1.300v lefter me with a hashrate under 20 GH/s.

Unfortunately, I don't have the tools or knowhow to test heat, and it seems that these do not have a sensor. Although it was advertised at 24+GH/s, that is indeed misleading. You have to run it pretty hot to get 24-25 GH/s, and I'm not sure it's worth it. My current settings leave me with a warm miner, but it's nothing like a couple BFL 10 GH/s units I own that would reach as high as 82C before I began running them without part of the shell, and even had to take one apart to adjust the tension of heatsink, since the way it was put together had warped the PCB, leaving partial gaps between one of the ships and the sink. Now that one never goes above 72C. I don't think this HEX16A2 is getting near that kind of heat.

For the price I gave (at the time equaled ~$150 USD, and I had no cash, only BTC), I think I got a fine deal. Buying gone new for over 220 Euro seems pricey, but if they push them out the door within 48 hrs, and it may be not so bad of a decision. I'm pleased with my little unit, and if I can find a second one for a similar price, I may well ad another and see if I can figure out enough of Linux to run them on a Raspberry PI or something similar.

As for using CGminer, even with the patch, I couldn't get it to work properly. Not sure what I was doing wrong, and I don't have enough skills to get into the nuts and bolts to try to sort out problems myself. After watching the tutorial on how to use HEX miner, that was good enough for me. I think if you mainly have 55 nm tech, you'll be pleased with the lower power consumption this has compared to any BFL units you might be using. Compared with 28 nm products, well, there isn't really any. My KnC Mercury runs at around 143 GH/s, and pulls ~139W from the wall, so less than 1W per GH/s