Flashing Firmware
NEW WAY TO FLASH THE FIRMWARE!
Simply plug the NerdMiner into your computer via USB, open a Browser window and visit the Micro Miner Update page.
Click “Flash” and select the device from the pop-up window, then click Connect.
After a few moments your NerdMiner will be flashed and ready to hash!
If this doesn’t work, please follow one of these alternative methods for flashing your device:
1 – Using the ESP Web Tool
- Go to the BitMaker GitHub page:
BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2: Improved version of first ESP32 NerdMiner (github.com) - Click Code > Download Zip
- Remove device from case if necessary
- Push on edges then pry up
- If stuck, use a hairdryer to soften the plastic then try again
- With USB to the right, hold the bottom button and plug in (this loads the device in BOOT mode)
- Go to espressif.github.io/esptool-js/
- Choose Baudrate 115200 and click connect
- Accept popup to pair device
- If it fails to connect, try a different browser
- Accept popup to pair device
- Click Add File until there are 4x entries
- Upload the 4 files from the bin folder (with prefixes 0x000, 0x10000, 0x8000, 0xe000)
- Add the corresponding addresses to each file, based on the prefix
- Click Program then Disconnect when finished
- If it times out or otherwise fails:
- disconnect and try again
- Try a different browser
- Plug in the USB-C cable and you should see the QR code and WiFi connection details
- Connect to the NerdMiner AP WiFi network either by scanning the QR Code or entering the password (MineYourCoins)
- Follow the steps to configure your NerdMiner (don’t forget to set your Timezone!)
2 – Using the ESP Python Tool
- Install Python (may already be installed on your computer)
- Go to the BitMaker GitHub page:
BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2: Improved version of first ESP32 NerdMiner (github.com) - Click Code > Download Zip
- Copy all of the files from the .bin folder of this Zip file and paste them into the Scripts folder (usually located in this directory: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python311\Scripts )
- Open the CMD prompt (Windows > CMD) and navigate to the Scripts directory. If you’re not familiar with navigating directories in CMD Prompt, here’s a whistlestop tour:
- Start at the C: directory by entering cd/ then pressing Return
- One-by-one, work through each folder by typing cd then the folder name, followed by Return
- For example, cd users <Return>, cd username <Return>, cd AppData <Return>, etc
- Once in the Scripts directory, install ESP Tool by typing pip install esptool <Return>
- Now load the NerdMiner in boot mode; with the USB to the right, hold the bottom button and plug in
- Now execute the following in CMD prompt (still from within the Scripts directory) in order to flash the device. The name of the Firmware file will change depending on the Firmware you’re trying to flash.
You’ll need to change COM1 to whatever Port your device is using (go to ESP Tool (espressif.github.io) and click Connect to see which port you’re connected to. Close this window before continuing.)
esptool --port COM1 write_flash 0x0000 0x0000_bootloader.bin 0x8000 0x8000_partitions.bin 0x10000 0x10000_firmware_v1.5.2.bin 0xe000 0xe000_boot_app0.bin- Once it’s finished, unplug and plug in the USB-C cable and you should see the QR code and WiFi connection details
- Connect to the NerdMiner AP WiFi network either by scanning the QR Code or entering the password (MineYourCoins)
- Follow the steps to configure your NerdMiner (don’t forget to set your Timezone!)
Updating Firmware
NEW WAY TO UPDATE!
Simply plug the NerdMiner into your computer via USB, open a Browser window and visit the Micro Miner Update page.
Click “Flash” and select the device from the pop-up window, then click Connect.
After a few moments your NerdMiner will be upgraded!
- Go to BitMaker GitHub to download the latest release
BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2: Improved version of first ESP32 NerdMiner (github.com) - Either download the entire repo Code > Download Zip
- Or open the “bin” folder, click on the latest firmware file (prefixed 0x1000) and select Download raw file
- Remove device from case if necessary
- Push on edges then pry up
- If stuck, use a hairdryer to soften the plastic then try again
- Can be done 2 ways; through the WiFi manager or using the esp web tool
- WiFi – with the USB on the right, hold the top button for 10 seconds until the device resets. You’ll see the QR code and WiFi connection details.
- Connect to the NerdMiner AP WiFi network either by scanning the QR Code or entering the password (MineYourCoins)
- Click Update and select the latest firmware file from your device
- ESP Web tool – navigate to ESP web tool
ESP Tool (espressif.github.io) - With USB to the right, hold the bottom button and plug in (this loads the device in BOOT mode
- Go to espressif.github.io/esptool-js/
- Choose Baudrate 115200 and click connect
- Accept popup
- If it fails to connect, try a different browser
- Add the latest firmware file (prefixed 0x10000) and nothing else
- Click Program then Disconnect when finished
- If it times out or otherwise fails:
- disconnect and try again
- Try a different browser
Changing Enclosure
- Ease the back cover open
- Remove support
- Apply outward pressure to the edges, then gently push on screen
- If it doesn’t come out easily, apply gentle heat to the enclosure using a hairdryer or heat gun to make the plastic soft and supple
- Pry the fan off going in small increments from corner to corner until it pops off
- Place device inside new enclosure, ensuring the USB-C port is flush in its hole
- Apply outward pressure to edges and ease in
- If it doesn’t ease in, apply gentle heat to the enclosure using a hairdryer or heat gun to make the plastic soft and supple
- Add supports (can be a bit fiddly and not entirely necessary as the device fit is quite snug)
- Fit the fan to the 4 support struts. If it doesn’t push on easily, go hole by hole and push onto respective supports to loosen each hole then try again.
NerdMiner Firmware v1.5.1
The latest version of the NerdMiner brings a couple of new screens and some extra functionality to the mini miner.
The Nerd Miner screen has been given an additional section in the top right corner, displaying the chip temperature (in Degrees Celcius) and the Local Time (based on the Timezone selected during setup)
The Clock Miner screen shows an easy to read clockface, along with your miner’s current hashrate, the current block height and the USD/BTC exchange rate (in US Dollars).
The Global Stats screen shows the USD/BTC exchange rate (in US Dollars), the local time, Medium Fee (sat/vB), current difficulty, current block, number of blocks to next difficulty adjustment and the estimated global hashrate.
Button configuration (with the USB-C cable to the right):
TOP BUTTON
-> Single Click > Change screens
-> Hold for 10 Seconds > Reset Configuration & Reboot
-> Hold while powering on > Edit Config settings via WiFi
BOTTOM BUTTON
-> Single Click > Turn screen off & on again
-> Double Click > Change screen orientation
Pools
| Pool URL | Port | URL |
|---|---|---|
| solo.ckpool.org | 3333 | https://solo.ckpool.org/ |
| btc.zsolo.bid | 6057 | https://zsolo.bid/en/btc-solo-mining-pool |
| eu.stratum.slushpool.com | 3333 | https://braiins.com/pool |
Flashing with Dev Firmware (Windows)
You can flash your device with the pre-release version of the NerdMiner code and help with the development & testing of the software by reporting any bugs under the “Issues” section on GitHub.
Install these pieces of software (if not already installed):
Git Client Git – Downloads (git-scm.com)
Python Download Python | Python.org
Visual Studio Code Download Visual Studio Code – Mac, Linux, Windows
- Go to the Dev branch of the BitMaker GitHub page:
BitMaker-hub/NerdMiner_v2: Improved version of first ESP32 NerdMiner (github.com) - Click Code > Download Zip and then extract the zip file
- Open the CMD prompt (Windows > CMD) and navigate to the Scripts directory (usually located here: C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python311\Scripts).
- If you’re not familiar with navigating directories in CMD Prompt, here’s a whistlestop tour:
- Start at the C: directory by entering cd/ then pressing Return
- One-by-one, work through each folder by typing cd then the folder name, followed by <Return>
- For example, cd users <Return>, cd your username <Return>, cd AppData <Return>, etc
- Once in the Scripts directory, install SCons by typing pip install scons <Return>
- Now open Visual Studio Code and install the “PlatformIO” extension
- Open PlatformIO from the tab on the left and click “Pick a folder”
- Select the location of the folder with “PlatformIO” Config File inside (it’ll be in the folder you downloaded earlier from GitHub). Wait for the installation and configuration to complete; this can take a while.
- Now plug the NerdMiner into your PC and press “Upload” (the arrow at the bottom of the window)
- That should be it!
QR Tag/NFC “Bolt Card”
Instructions:
QR – simply scan the QR when sending Bitcoin and it’ll send to the LNURL address you provided.
NFC – download the “Bolt Card Wallet”, add a new wallet and either create your own Bolt Card Hub, or use someone else’s (e.g. https://hub.boltcardwallet.com )
Open wallet and select “Connect Bolt Card”. If it fails, try again (it can take two or three attempts). If it continues to fail, install “NFC Tools” app and perform an erase, then try connecting again.
Fund your wallet by pressing “Receive”, then you’re good to go!
Set transaction limits by selecting “Bolt Card Details” from your wallet.