Maintenance is essential for the longevity of the Antminer S17. This guide mainly describes the Antminer S17 hash board repair and how to use the test equipment for precise positioning.
The Antminer S17 is a profitable piece of hardware (at current conditions) that still yields a positive ROI when mining Bitcoins. Learn more about Antminer S17 repair by reading on!
Table of Contents
How Does Antminer S17 Hash Board Work?
The Antminer S17 is a powerful mining hardware device designed by Bitmain. It incorporates multiple hash boards, which are essential components responsible for performing the hashing calculations necessary for cryptocurrency mining.
The Antminer S17 hash board is a key component in the mining process. It consists of specialized ASIC chips that perform complex calculations to solve cryptographic algorithms, validating transactions and securing the blockchain network. The hash board efficiently harnesses the power of the Antminer S17 to achieve high hashing rates, contributing to successful mining operations.
The Antminer S17 hash board may need to be repaired under certain circumstances. Here are some common situations where repair may be necessary:
- Hardware Failure: If one or more hash boards on the Antminer S17 experience hardware failure, such as damaged ASIC chips or other component malfunctions, repair becomes necessary. This can be indicated by error messages, a decrease in hashing power, or the hash board not being detected by the system.
- Overheating Issues: Excessive heat can cause damage to the hash board components over time. If the cooling system fails to adequately cool the hash boards, leading to high temperatures and potential thermal damage, repair may be required. Signs of overheating include frequent shutdowns, erratic behavior, or visual indications of heat-related damage.
- Electrical Issues: Power surges or fluctuations in the electrical supply can cause damage to the hash boards. If the Antminer S17 experiences power-related issues, such as voltage spikes or electrical shorts, it can result in the hash boards becoming damaged or non-functional. Repair may be necessary to address these electrical issues.
- Firmware or Software Errors: Sometimes, issues with the firmware or software running on the Antminer S17 can cause problems with the hash boards. If the hash boards fail to function correctly due to firmware corruption, compatibility issues, or incorrect configurations, repairing or updating the firmware may resolve the problem.
In general, if you observe a significant decrease in hashing power, consistent errors or hardware faults related to the hash boards, or any other indications of malfunction, it is advisable to contact the manufacturer’s support or an authorized repair service. They can diagnose the specific issue and provide guidance on whether repair or replacement of the hash boards is necessary. The following repair steps are only for reference by personnel with professional knowledge.
Maintenance Platform / Tool Preparation
1. Grounding, an anti-static wrist strap, and a workbench for repairing rubber sheets are required for the platform.
2. For small patches like chip resistors and capacitors, etc., a constant temperature soldering iron with a tip (350–360°C) is used.; heat gun, BGA rework station for chip / BGA disassembly and soldering; multimeter, soldering steel pin and shrink tubing for easy measurement (Fluke 15b+ recommended); oscilloscope (Agilent recommended)
3. A power supply and power patch cord for the hash board’s power supply, an APW9+ control board, a 1040S17+ control board, and a hash board tester fixture are required testing tools.
4. Low-temperature solder paste Alpha OM550, flux, water for cleaning panels, anhydrous alcohol, tin-planting steel mesh, ball-planting steel mesh, solder wire, and solder balls (ball diameter is advised to be 0.04) are the materials and tools needed for maintenance. After repairs, soldering residues are cleaned up with the water for cleaning panels. After maintenance, thermal conductive paste is applied to chips and heat sinks. (Some models call for thermal conductive paste.)
5. Demand for common maintenance spare materials: 0402 resistance (0R, 33R, 1K, 4.7K,); 0201 resistance (0R), 0402 capacitor (0.1uf, 1uf)
Component Structure of Hash Board
Signal transmission circuit
1. Signal transmission channel, the signal CLK-RST-BO-CO is transmitted from the first chip to the second one, until the 48th; RI signal is transmitted from the 48th chip to the first chip reversely, as shown in following figure:
2. Signal test point identification and test point arrangement order (the hash board has a total of 48 chips, and 12 voltage domains) are as shown below:
3.Signal communication circuit from IO block to chip
Power Circuit
Each board’s power supply voltage is 18.5V (the output for the S17 fixture test voltage). There are 12 voltage domains, with a voltage of 1.55 v between each pair.
Considerations for Single Board Test
1. There are no cooling fins attached to the hash board. Only the chip test program may be adopted by the fixture program. The cooling fan is attached following the discovery of the chip.
2. If the hash board needs to test parten, the heat dissipation requires 4 fans;
3. After sales, the miner in the software state where there is no sweeping frequency must set the repair mode in the fixture configuration file to 1, which prevents the eeprom data from being cleared during testing.
Failure Analysis
1. whether a solid connection exists between the fixture cable and the hash board.
2. When testing the fixture, J6-J7 should have a voltage of 18.5V if the S17 hash board is the problem.
3. When the fixture test is performing, whether there is a voltage between the 12 voltage domains, and the boost circuit is normal:
3.1 It is necessary to confirm that the 4 pin of Q7Q8Q9Q11 has a normal working voltage of 0V if the voltage domain is devoid of any voltage. If it is high level, then confirm that Q10’s 1 pin is also high level at 3.3 volts. The U3-PIC either loses firmware or is not powered if Q10 does not have a voltage of 3.3 volts.
3.2 If the power supply is normal and the voltage of voltage domain is also available, then measure the RI signal of the chip to check if the RI signal has a voltage of 1.8V. If the last chip’s test point has voltage, then measure the 20th chip for RI -1.8v when measuring the RI signal. By way of analogy, when a chip’s RI output voltage is missing, you should first check to see if it has a 1.8V power supply. If not, you should check the circuit for the 1.8V power supply. The 1.8V power supply circuit is obtained through voltage division by the voltage domain and then supply power to the LDO 1 pin. Each voltage domain has a single 1.8V LDO that powers the chip. It has a 5-pin output that is 1.8V. A problem with this LDO should exist if there is no output. If 1.8V is normal, measure the resistance value at the test point’s ground after the power is turned off and compare it to the OK board to see if there is any resistance abnormality. If the value is normal and the soldering is flawless, the chip should have a defect. To verify this, weld the removed chip onto a good board after planting tin. If there is no RI signal, the chip is damaged; therefore, it must be replaced.
Here is a video from Youtube shows details on repairing Antminer S17 hash board.
Takeaway: Antminer S17 Hash Board Repair
This is all abbout Bitmain Antminer S17 hash board repair guide.
If the circuit for the 0.8V power supply lacks an output at 0.8V, see if the 0.8V LDO power supply has a supply voltage of about 3.2V. In that case, look to see if the LDO is short-circuited or has a cold solder joint.
Check the chip’s resistance over the ground if there is a 0.8V output. If the resistance is accurate, the chip has been harmed.
Read Bitmain Antminer S17 manaul to get more information.
What Voltage is S17 Hashboard?
If it’s the S17 hash board, J6-J7 should have a voltage of 18.5V when testing the fixture.
What is the Failure Rate of Antminer S17?
Cryptocurrency miners relying on the Bitmain S17 and T17 Antminer have said that the rigs have failure rates between 20-30% where they would normally be roughly 5%.
