ASICMiner Prisma

USER GUIDE AND SPECIFICATIONS
ASICMiner Prisma
ASICMiner Prisma is based on a proprietary X48 design for BE200. It greatly reduces power
consumption of the device per GH/s compare to the X24 design.
It takes the same cooling structure and similar form factor as the ASICMiner Tube, while being
even more efficient and compact. Also, we added cgminer support on Raspberry PI.
Figure 1. ASICMiner Prisma
1
2
3
4
PCI-E Plug Connector
3 Pin Connector for the Fan/BE controller power supply
3 Pin UART Connector
DIP Switch
Safety Information
⚠
Caution Do not operate the hardware in a manner not specified in this document
and in the user documentation. Misuse of the hardware can result in a hazard. You
can compromise the safety protection if the hardware is damaged in any way. If the
hardware is damaged, return it to ASICMiner for repair.
Clean the hardware with a soft, nonmetallic brush. Make sure that the hard ware is completely
dry and free from contaminants before returning it to service.
Hardware Overview
ASICMiner Prisma is an updated and expanded replacement to the well-received Tube. Each
hashing board has been expanded to house 48 BE200 chips, powered using a string layout.
Lightweight stands at each end allow the units to be stacked and 24 miners can be daisy chained
to BE controller, Windows PC or Raspberry Pi. A USB adapter or BE controller is included in the
package.
Connector Pinouts
ASICMiner Prisma is powered from two 6 pin PCI-E connectors per hashing board. The following
figure and table show the signals on the 6 pin PCI-E connector. Note that two of the PCI-E
connectors should be connected while powering on.
GND
GND
GND
GND
GND
2
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
4
5
6
12 VDC
12 VDC
12 VDC
12 VDC
12 VDC
GND
1
12 VDC
Figure 2. PCI-E Connector
The following figure and table show the signals on the 3 pin connector that is used for powering
the fan and BE controller.
1
2
3
GND
12 VDC
Signal
Figure 3. 3 Pin Connector
Each hashing board has two 3 pin UART connect, so that they could be daisy chained to the BE
controller. The following figure and table show the signals on the 3 pin UART connector.
1
2
3
1
2
3
Rx
Tx
GND
Rx
Tx
GND
Figure 4. 3 Pin UART Connector
DIP Switch
Each hashing board has a DIP switch that is used for the BE controller addressing. All of the
hashing boards should have a unique board ID if they are daisy chained to the same BE
controller. Otherwise the BE controller will not recognize the hashing board, and result in the
whole group will not work correctly. The following figure and table show how to set the DIP
switch for different board ID.
Figure 5. DIP Switch
Figure 6. DIP Switch Settings for Each Board ID
Board 01
1
2
3
4
Board 02
5
1
Board 05
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
4
5
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
5
1
1
2
3
4
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
2
3
4
5
Board 24
5
1
2
3
4
5
Board 28
5
1
Board 31
5
5
Board 20
Board 27
5
4
Board 16
Board 23
5
3
Board 12
Board 19
5
2
Board 08
Board 15
Board 30
5
3
Board 11
Board 26
Board 29
1
2
2
Board 04
Board 07
Board 22
Board 25
1
1
Board 18
Board 21
1
5
Board 14
Board 17
1
4
Board 10
Board 13
1
3
Board 06
Board 09
1
2
Board 03
2
3
4
5
Board 32
5
1
2
3
4
5
ASICMiner Prisma Physical Dimensions
Figure 7. ASICMiner Prisma Dimensions, Front
Figure 8. ASICMiner Prisma Dimensions, Side
Cables and Accessories
Table 1. Accessories Available from ASICMiner
Accessory
BE Controller
BE Controller Power Cable
USB Adapter
One to One Cable (Short)
One to One Cable (Long)
Fan
Description
An external 32bit PIC board is used as the controller, and
can handle 24 daisy chained Prismas.
Power cable of the BE controller, that could get power
from the hashing board.
An adapter can be used to connect to any cgminer based
device.
Short communication cable of the hashing board, which
could daisy chain the hashing boards.
Long communication cable of the hashing board, which
could daisy chain the hashing boards.
A single, high static pressure 120 mm fan.
BE Controller
An external 32bit PIC board is used as the controller, and can handle 24 daisy chained Prismas.
Figure 9. BE Controller
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Ethernet Port
Status LEDs
Reset Button
UART Port
ISP Port
5 VDC Port
Rack Mount Slot
Powering ASICMiner Prisma
The Prisma does not come with a power supply, and you will need a typical computer PSU with 8
PCI-E 6 Pin power connectors. In most cases, we plug 4 one to two power cables from the power
supply that has 4 output terminals to the Prisma.
📝
Note that two of the PCI-E connectors should be connected while powering on.
Figure 10. PCI-E Connectors
Powering the Fan
You could power on the fan by connecting the fan’s cable to the 3 Pin connector on the hashing
board.
Figure 11. 3 Pin Connector
Powering the BE Controller
There is a BE controller power cable shipped with the BE controller. You could power on the BE
controller by connecting the BE controller’s 5 VDC port and the 3 Pin connector on the hashing
board with the power cable.
Figure 12. BE Controller’s 5 VDC and 3 Pin Connector
Wiring Daisy Chained ASICMiner Prismas





For one Prisma, separate three of the short one to one cables.
Starting on any of the four hashing boards (Board A), plug one end of the cable into the
3 Pin UART connector near the fan end of Board A and the other into Board B.
Repeat with Board B to C and C to D.
After prepared several Prismas, plug in a long one to one cable from one Prisma’s Board
D or A to another Prisma’s Board D or A.
Repeat with every Prismas.
Figure 13. UART Connector
Wiring the BE Controller



Plug in a long one to one cable from one end Prisma’s Board D or A to one of the UART
port on the BE controller.
Plug in an Ethernet cable from Ethernet port on the BE controller to your router.
Make sure each mining board sharing a BE controller has a unique 5 bit switch code. See
the DIP Switch for all the codes.
Figure 14. 3 Pin UART Connector
Configuring the BE Controller



Power on the BE controller.
Make sure your router’s subnet is 0, i.e. 192.168.0.x. If not then change it to 0, this is
just temporary.
Using a browser, navigate to http://192.168.0.254:8000, this will go to the Prisma’s
configuration page.
Navigate to the Settings.








Change the IP to something memorable, and on your preferred subnet.
Change the gateway to the IP of you router.
Change the secondary DNS to “8.8.8.8”.
Enter the pool URL in the format as shown in table 2.
Enter the port of your pool.
Enter your miner username and password.
Set the ASIC clock at 240 MHz for stock speeds.
Click the update and restart button.


Navigate back the IP of the miner you set to check mining started.
You can then change your router subnet back whatever you are used to using.

Table 2. Pool URL Format
Pool
GHash IO
BTCGuild
F2Pool
BTCChina
📝
Servers
us1.ghash.io
stratum-lb-usa48.btcguild.com
stratum.f2pool.com
stratum.btcchina.com
Port
3333
3333
3333
3333
User
username.worker
username_worker
username.worker
username.worker
Password
any password
any password
any password
any password
Note With latest firmware, we support to set two pools. If you only have one pool
to be set, you need to type the pool information twice with comma separated. i.e.
“Pool URL,Pool URL”.
Figure 15. Settings Example
FAQ
How do I reset the settings to default?
Hold and press the reset button on the BE controller.
How do I set up more than one Prisma on one BE controller?
First, you need to daisy chain the Prismas. Then there is a DIP switch on each hashing board
which must be configured to be unique in order for the BE controller to detect it.
Why there is no hash rate after I powered on?
You have to check the following list:
 The DIP switch code of each hashing board should be
unique.
 The settings of the controller should be correct,
especially the format of the pool settings.
 The worker should be created if the pool does not
create the worker automatically.
Why there are some hashing boards missed?
You have to check if the DIP switch code of each hashing board is unique and the one to one
cables are connected correctly.
On the configuration page, what does the UARTBUS: X mean?
The UARTBUS: X is the UART 3 port on the BE controller, the UARTBUS: Y is the UART 2 port, and
The UARTBUS: Z is the UART 1 port.