NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 — User Manual

⚠️ Safety Warnings

Open-source acknowledgement: The NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 is based on the open-source Nerd*axe hardware project. Firmware (NerdOS) is a fork of ESP-Miner, distributed under its open-source licence. All schematics, PCB layouts, and firmware source code are publicly available. Smart Mining S.r.l. does not claim ownership of the open-source components.

1. Product Overview

1.1 — Introduction

Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash operate using a process called proof-of-work mining. Specialised chips called ASICs perform trillions of SHA-256 calculations per second, competing to solve a mathematical puzzle. The first miner in the world to find the answer wins the current block reward — currently 3.125 BTC or 3.125 BCH — paid directly to the winner’s wallet. A new block is produced approximately every ten minutes, so a new draw takes place 144 times every day.

Solo mining means competing for the full block reward on your own, without splitting it with anyone. The NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 is part of the open-source Nerd*axe family, packing four BM1370 ASIC chips — the same silicon found in Bitmain’s industrial Antminer S21 Pro — onto a single desktop board. It delivers approximately 6 TH/s, placing it in a class previously occupied only by professional mining equipment costing thousands of euros.

This hardware family has a verified track record. Solo miners using NerdQaxe++ hardware have confirmed multiple full block wins on-chain, with the largest payout to date exceeding €297,000 at the time of the win. Every entry on the Bitcoin blockchain is permanent and publicly verifiable.

1.2 — Technical Specifications

NerdOS provides a browser-based dashboard — no app to install, no account to create. Every setting is accessible from any phone or laptop on your home network. Firmware updates are applied over Wi-Fi in under two minutes.

1.3 — Getting to Know Your Device

1.3.1 — What Is in the Box

• NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 6 TH/s device unit (4× BM1370 chips, premium heatsink, 2 brushless cooling fans)
• 12 V 15 A 180 W power adapter with XT30 connector
• Power cable with regional adapter
• 3D-printed black desktop stand
• A Quick Start Guide (step-by-step setup instructions in English and Italian)

1.3.2 — Device Diagram

1.3.3 — Component Identification

The heart of the NerdQaxe++ is four BM1370 ASIC chips arranged on the PCB. These chips perform the SHA-256 hashing calculations. Each chip has its own heatsink contact point, covered by a thermal pad and secured under a common heatsink assembly. Two 90 mm PWM fans — one drawing air in from the front and one exhausting from the rear — maintain airflow across the entire chip array.

An ESP32-S3 microcontroller manages Wi-Fi connectivity, runs the NerdOS firmware, drives the colour LCD display, and coordinates all four ASIC chips. A VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) on the PCB converts the 12 V input from the power supply to the precise lower voltages required by the BM1370 chips. The LILYGO T-Display S3 module — a compact colour LCD with two integrated buttons — is mounted on the front face and provides at-a-glance statistics without requiring a browser.

2. Before You Begin

2.1 — What You Will Need

• A Wi-Fi router with the 2.4 GHz band enabled (5 GHz is not supported)
• A phone, tablet, or laptop with Google Chrome (for initial setup and monitoring)
• A valid Bitcoin (BTC) and/or Bitcoin Cash (BCH) on-chain wallet address

2.2 — Your Wallet Address

Your wallet address is where the full block reward is sent if your NerdQaxe++ finds a block. It also serves as your worker identifier on the mining pool — no account registration is required. The address is public information and safe to share; what must never be shared with anyone is your wallet’s seed phrase (the 12 or 24 words generated when you create the wallet).

2.2.1 — Creating a Bitcoin (BTC) Wallet Address

Download a self-custody wallet such as Electrum (desktop, electrum.org) or BlueWallet (mobile, bluewallet.io). Create a new wallet, write down the seed phrase and store it securely offline, then copy a receiving address. Use a native SegWit address beginning with bc1q — Taproot addresses beginning with bc1p may cause compatibility issues with some solo mining pools.

2.2.2 — Creating a Bitcoin Cash (BCH) Wallet Address

Download Electron Cash (electroncash.org) for desktop or the Bitcoin.com Wallet for mobile. Create a new wallet, back up the seed phrase offline, and copy a receiving address. BCH addresses in CashAddr format begin with q (e.g., qp3w…) — this is the correct format for mining pool configuration.

2.3 — Device Placement and Ventilation

The NerdQaxe++ draws 98 W and generates significant heat. Proper placement is not optional — it directly affects performance, longevity, and safety. Place the device on a hard, flat, non-flammable surface using the included stand. Maintain a minimum clearance of 15 cm on the front fan-inlet side and 15 cm on the rear fan-exhaust side. Do not place the device in a drawer, cabinet, or enclosed shelf without dedicated forced ventilation.

The optimal ambient temperature for sustained operation is 15–30 °C (59–86 °F). At ambient temperatures above 30 °C, monitor chip temperatures from the dashboard and consider reducing the operating frequency. Keep the device away from moisture, direct sunlight, curtains, and other flammable materials. Dust accumulation on the fans and heatsink will increase temperatures over time — inspect and clean the device monthly using compressed air.

3. Initial Setup

3.1 — First Power-On

Connect the XT30 connector from the included power supply to the XT30 port on the rear of the device. Plug the power supply into a wall outlet. The two fans will start, the colour LCD will light up showing the NerdOS splash screen, and within 15–30 seconds the device will display its SSID — a network name in the format Nerdaxe_XXXX, where XXXX is a unique identifier. The device is now ready for Wi-Fi configuration.

3.2 — Connecting to Your Home Wi-Fi

1. On your phone, tablet, or laptop, open Wi-Fi settings and scan for available networks.
2. Connect to the Nerdaxe_XXXX network. No password is required for this initial hotspot.
3. A setup page (captive portal) should open automatically in your browser. If it does not, open Chrome and navigate to http://192.168.4.1
4. In the setup portal, enter your home Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password. Remember that only 2.4 GHz networks are supported.
5. Tap Save, then tap Reset / Restart.
6. The device reboots and connects to your home network. After 15–20 seconds, the IP address assigned by your router appears on the LCD screen — for example, 192.168.1.45.

3.2.1 — Wi-Fi Troubleshooting

3.3 — Accessing the Web Interface

Ensure your phone or laptop is connected to your home Wi-Fi — not to the Nerdaxe hotspot. Open Google Chrome and type the IP address shown on the LCD screen into the address bar (e.g., http://192.168.1.45). The NerdOS dashboard loads immediately and updates in real time. Bookmark this address for future access.

3.4 — Configuring Mining Settings

3.4.1 — Selecting a Mining Pool

In the NerdOS dashboard, navigate to Settings. Under the Stratum Settings section, enter the URL and port of your chosen mining pool in the Stratum Host and Stratum Port fields. The miner is preconfigured to dual mine Bitcoin (BTC) with the Europe Solo CKPool (Pool 1), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with Solopool.eu (Pool 2) simultaneously. These are two of the most popular mining pools that offer low latency for users in Europe, low difficulty that is ideal for the NerdQaxe++, and no registration requirement.

Dual mining does not increase power consumption; it divides the existing 6 TH/s between the two coins according to your split configuration. To mine BTC or BCH singularly, change the Pool Mode pulldown from Dual Pool to Failover (Primary/Fallback). Select different pools by entering the Stratum Host and Port in the Pool 1 and Pool 2 fields, and set the hashrate split with the Pool Balance slider — for example, 70% BTC and 30% BCH.

Solo mining means your NerdQaxe++ competes for the complete 3.125 BTC block reward on its own. Pool mining splits rewards across thousands of participants and pays out small, predictable amounts. The vast majority of buyers of this hardware choose solo mining.

3.4.2 — Entering Your Wallet Addresses

In the Username field, enter your Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash wallet address exactly as copied from your wallet app, followed by a period and the name you want to give your miner. This is the address that receives the block reward if your device wins. Leave the Stratum Password field blank or enter the letter x — no real password is required for Stratum V1 pools. Do this for both the Pool 1 and Pool 2 settings.

3.4.3 — Saving Settings and Starting Mining

After entering all settings, click Save and then Restart. The device reboots and begins hashing within 30–60 seconds. On the dashboard, the displayed hashrate will fluctuate significantly during the first five to ten minutes — this is normal while the rolling average builds up. Do not adjust settings based on readings taken in the first few minutes. After ten minutes, the hashrate display stabilises at approximately 6 TH/s.

3.4.4 — Pool Monitoring

To monitor your Bitcoin (BTC) mining pool, navigate to stats.ckpool.org (or your pool URL if you selected a different BTC pool) and enter your BTC wallet address. To monitor your Bitcoin Cash (BCH) mining pool, navigate to solopool.eu/miner/ (or your chosen BCH pool) and enter your BCH wallet address.

Pool-side data updates every few minutes — do not expect second-by-second accuracy. Your Best Difficulty score is the most meaningful long-term indicator: the higher it climbs, the closer you are getting to solving a full block.

4. Device Interface

4.1 — Physical Buttons

The NerdQaxe++ has two buttons on the front panel, integrated into the LILYGO T-Display S3 module. The lower button switches off the screen, and the upper button cycles through the display screens.

4.2 — The Colour LCD Display

The 1.9-inch colour LCD displays real-time mining statistics across four screens. Unlike a smartphone notification, these screens are not interactive — they are read-only status indicators. All configuration is performed through the web interface.

Screen 1 — Mining Summary. The home screen shows the device’s current IP address, the uptime since last restart, your best difficulty (BD — the highest-difficulty share your device has ever submitted, your closest approach to finding a full block, which climbs over time), the current hashrate in TH/s, the fan RPM speed, the ASIC chip temperature, the power settings, and the power efficiency.

Screen 2 — Settings and Pool Status. Shows the device’s current IP address, the current voltage (Vc), frequency (Hz), fan setting, best difficulty (BD), the current hashrate in TH/s, the pool URL and port, and the hashing shares accepted and rejected by the pool.

Screen 3 — Live Bitcoin Price. Shows the current hashrate in TH/s, the ASIC chip temperature, and the live Bitcoin (BTC) price in USD.

Screen 4 — Global Mining Stats. Shows the percentage of the current Bitcoin block until the halving, the halving block, the network difficulty, the network hashrate, and the current Bitcoin block.

If you are lucky enough to mine a BTC/BCH block, a Block Found notification is shown on the display.

5. Web Interface

The NerdOS web dashboard is your primary tool for monitoring and configuration. Access it by typing the device’s IP address into Chrome on any phone or laptop connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The dashboard updates every few seconds.

5.1 — Dashboard: Main View

The main dashboard shows your current total hashrate and the hashrate for each of the two pools (if dual mining), your all-time best difficulty, your best difficulty since last reboot, pool mining data including a share counter (accepted and rejected), mining difficulty, pool URLs and ports, pool latency and network packet-loss percentage, current power details, temperatures of the ASIC chips and the voltage regulators, the fan RPM, and the fan speed percentage. For rejected shares, a value below 2% is normal and acceptable; values above 5% may indicate thermal stress or an unstable overclock.

5.2 — Settings Screen

The Settings screen is where the mining configuration is defined. The Wi-Fi section changes the home network name and password. The Stratum Settings section changes the pool configuration (see Section 3.4). The Mining Settings section controls the core frequency and core voltage (see Section 6). The Fan Controller defines the fan settings and the overheat shutdown temperature thresholds. The Misc. Settings allow modifications to the integrated display. The Language section sets the UI language. Lastly, Release & Update / Legacy Update updates the device firmware (see Section 7).

6. Performance Tuning

6.1 — Understanding Frequency and Voltage

Every BM1370 chip operates at a clock frequency measured in MHz. Higher frequency means more SHA-256 calculations per second — more hashrate. The relationship is roughly linear: raising frequency from 525 MHz to 700 MHz increases hashrate by approximately 33%. However, higher frequency also requires higher core voltage to remain stable, and produces more heat. The NerdQaxe++ is preconfigured to overclock settings of ~745 MHz / ~1240 mV — settings that balance hashrate, efficiency, and long-term reliability.

6.2 — Underclocking

Underclocking reduces frequency and voltage, trading hashrate for lower power consumption, cooler temperatures, and quieter fans. This is the right choice if the device is running in a warm room (above 30 °C ambient), or if you want to reduce electricity consumption. To underclock, navigate to Settings, reduce the frequency in steps of 25–50 MHz, click Save, and Restart.

6.3 — Overclocking

Overclocking increases hashrate, heat, power consumption, and component wear. Smart Mining’s 12-month guarantee does not cover damage caused by overclocking beyond safe parameters. Run the device at the preconfigured settings for at least 24 hours before attempting any tuning.

6.3.1 — Step-by-Step Procedure

1. Open NerdOS Settings. Set fan mode to Manual and fan speed to 100%.
2. Note your current frequency and voltage — write them down or take a screenshot.
3. Raise frequency by 25 MHz. Click Save, then Restart. To select values not present in the Frequency and Core Voltage dropdowns, click the Danger Zone button on the right.
4. Wait 10 minutes after restart. Let the hashrate and temperature stabilise.
5. Check: maximum power draw is 120 W with the supplied power adapter — the power draw must stay below this value, or you risk damaging the adapter. Chip temperature must stay below 65 °C. Error percentage should ideally stay below 2%. The device must not reboot spontaneously.
6. If stable, return to step 3 and repeat. If unstable: reduce frequency by 25 MHz and increase voltage by 25 mV before trying again.
7. Run the confirmed stable settings for at least 6 hours before considering them confirmed.

6.3.2 — Community-Documented Settings

These are starting points, not guarantees. Every unit is different — this is called the “silicon lottery”. Your NerdQaxe++ may be stable at higher or lower settings than those listed.

7. Firmware Updates

NerdOS is actively developed by the open-source community. Keeping the firmware current ensures you have the latest performance improvements, bug fixes, and features such as dual mining support and improved pool compatibility.

7.1 — OTA Update via Web Interface

1. Open the NerdOS web interface and navigate to the Release and Update section at the bottom of the Settings page.
2. If the version shown in the Select release dropdown is higher than the Current Version, click INSTALL FROM GITHUB. Make sure the Keep Settings checkbox is selected to preserve your configuration. Avoid loading pre-releases (Show pre-releases checkbox) if you want to be sure of a stable firmware.
3. If manual upload is required: download the .bin firmware file from GitHub, and in the Legacy Update section select the file with the Browse button, then click Flash.
4. Wait approximately 4–8 minutes. The device loads the latest firmware and reboots automatically once the update is written. If after around 10 minutes the interface still shows “updating” but the device is clearly mining, simply refresh the webpage.

7.2 — Emergency Firmware Recovery

If the device is unresponsive after a failed update and does not broadcast its Wi-Fi hotspot, it can be recovered by flashing firmware via the USB-C debug port. Connect the device to a PC or Mac using a USB-C cable. Open the ESPHome Web Flasher at web.esphome.io in Google Chrome, or use the Espressif esptool-js at espressif.github.io/esptool-js. Select the correct .bin file for NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 and follow the on-screen instructions. If you are uncertain about this process, contact support@smartmining.com before proceeding.

8. Troubleshooting

8.1 — Device Does Not Power On

8.2 — Wi-Fi Issues

See the full Wi-Fi troubleshooting table in Section 3.2.1.

8.3 — Low or Unstable Hashrate

8.4 — Overheating

8.5 — Pool Connection Issues

8.6 — Display and Interface Issues

9. Regulatory Compliance

9.1 — Regulatory Compliance

9.1.1 — CE Declaration of Conformity

Smart Mining S.r.l. declares that the NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 complies with the following EU Directives: 2014/30/EU (Electromagnetic Compatibility); 2014/35/EU (Low Voltage); 2011/65/EU as amended by 2015/863/EU (RoHS); and 2014/53/EU (Radio Equipment Directive, applicable to the Wi-Fi module). The CE mark affixed to the product confirms this conformity.

9.1.2 — FCC Statement

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to: (1) this device may not cause harmful interference; (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Changes not expressly approved by Smart Mining S.r.l. could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

9.1.3 — UKCA Declaration

This product complies with the UK Radio Equipment Regulations 2017, the Electromagnetic Compatibility Regulations 2016, and the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016.

9.2 — Environmental Information

9.2.1 — WEEE (EU 2012/19/EU)

This product is marked with the crossed-out wheeled bin symbol, indicating that it must not be disposed of with unsorted municipal waste. At the end of its useful life, dispose of this product through an authorised WEEE collection point or return it to Smart Mining S.r.l. for recycling. Incorrect disposal may cause environmental harm due to potentially hazardous substances in electronic components. For WEEE disposal in Italy, contact your local Comune or visit www.cdcraee.it.

9.2.2 — RoHS Compliance

This product complies with EU Directive 2011/65/EU (RoHS) as amended by 2015/863/EU (RoHS 3), restricting the use of hazardous substances including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, PBBs, and PBDEs in electrical and electronic equipment.

9.2.3 — Battery Information

This product contains no user-replaceable batteries.

10. Support and Warranty

10.1 — Smart Mining Commercial Guarantee

Your NerdQaxe++ Rev 6.1 is covered by a 12-month commercial guarantee from the date of delivery, in addition to the statutory legal guarantee of conformity under D.Lgs. 206/2005 (Italian Consumer Code). The commercial guarantee covers manufacturing defects and hardware failures under normal operating conditions.

What’s covered:

• Dead-on-arrival (DOA) units that fail to power on or hash correctly out of the box
• Component failures under normal operating conditions (fan, ASIC, PCB defects, LED display issues)
• Firmware issues directly attributable to the pre-installed software
• Power supply failures

What’s not covered:

• Physical damage from drops, liquid exposure, or electrical surges
• Damage resulting from overclocking beyond manufacturer specifications
• Modifications to hardware or firmware by the user
• Use of third-party power supplies
• Operation outside the specified temperature range
• Normal wear and tear (fan dust and noise increase over time, thermal paste degradation)

EU consumers have additional statutory warranty rights under EU Directive 2019/771, which may extend or complement the above terms. To make a claim, email support@smartmining.com with your order number and a description. We respond within 2 business days.

10.2 — Open-Source Community

The NerdQaxe++ is part of a large and active open-source mining community. For firmware discussions, overclock settings, and community support, visit the NerdOS GitHub repository at github.com/shufps/ESP-Miner-NerdQAxe, or search #NerdQaxe and #OpenSourceMining on Twitter/X. The r/BitcoinMining subreddit is also a helpful resource for setup questions and performance tips.

10.3 — Contacting Smart Mining S.r.l.

Appendix A — Glossary