Exploring Documentation of ASIC Chips

Planning to get into modern closed source ASIC chips like BM1387 and BM1397. Got a few in hand already and wanna document their pinouts and sizes. Gonna make some breakout PCBs too, fingers crossed it won’t take too many tries...

Totally agree, there’s no proprietary issue with documenting pinouts or what they do. Just gotta credit existing datasheets if you use them. The physical sizes are standard anyway, so no drama there. Even Bitmain’s SOT packaging is fair game.

Sweet, that makes me feel better about sharing my findings. I'm curious though, you mentioned standard sizes but the chips I have have some big pads underneath... is that normal?

Welcome to the world of power ICs! Most are standard sizes, but connections? That’s a different story. Signals usually run along the edges while power pads sit in the middle for cooling.

Cool! I can pull some pinouts from manuals and guides. My main worry was the packages, but if there’s some standardization, I should be good.

Props for the project! I remember some similar threads from back in the day about the A1 chip and Universal Miner. I’ll find those links later. Just keep an eye on thermals, heavy copper planes are key for cooling.

Thanks for the merit! I’ll look into those threads. Planning to use thick traces on my PCB anyway, didn’t realize cooling was so critical from the backside too. I’ve seen that in stepper drivers before, good to know!

Sounds like a dope project. Is this site legit? whasminer.net? I could grab a couple of chips and help out if needed. Also, should we check out the BM1391? Seems cheaper and decent.

A Compac F with BM1397 might not do well since USB isn’t good for more than 15 watts. One chip handles that easily. If you go multi-chip, remember they can’t share heatsinks unless they’re grounded the same. BM1391 has fewer issues but is slower.

Thanks for the feedback! I don’t know about that site either. If anyone has info, I’d love to get chips from there too! Donations sound good but I need to figure out a private way to do it.

Hey sidehack, big fan! You’re spot on about the USB power. If I design a miner, maybe barrel connectors could help with power. Impressed you got NDA access, but I totally get wanting to keep plans under wraps.

Didn’t know the Si wafer was copper-flashed and grounded. That’s interesting! I wonder why BM did that, seems like a weird choice unless it cuts down on interference.

As mentioned earlier, some links to past projects: the Wasp Universal Miner aimed for multiple ASIC chips. And Zefir’s work on the A1 chip is worth checking out too. The chip was decent but the layout? Not so much.

And from the software side... check this link for more info.