I planned to use openSUSE, since I have had good experiences with it as a node OS. Unfortunately, the SBC used by Futurebit is an Orange Pi 4 which doesn't have great software support, so for best chances of success I stick with Armbian, which is what Futurebit ships (just an older version of it).

Download page: https://www.armbian.com/orange-pi-4/
Direct link: https://redirect.armbian.com/orangepi4/Bullseye_current (Armbian 22.05 Bullseye - May 28, 2022)

Burn on a new microSD card with 16GB or more using dd or BalenaEtcher (https://www.balena.io/etcher/).
The first boot of this microSD will require to plug in a HDMI monitor and a USB keyboard to create an admin (you can use something else, I just assume this name from here on forward) account and set your locale.

Otherwise just update the whole thing and proceed with miner and or node install guides, linked above.

Reserved

I purchased it, yes. It's the full unit, so it has the hashboard and a 1TB SSD with full node. I'll also write a review about it with more info, soon-ish, so we can discuss more questions over there..
The reason for this guide is that the full node is, well, just that. A full node. No Electrum, no Lightning. Updating the system and installing software is also discouraged since it 'may break something'. So I had to start with a fresh OS to install everything I'd want in a device like this.

Yeah, all in all it's a neat machine; it works well and reliably, it's not 'silent silent', but fairly quiet so as long as it's not in your bedroom, it won't get in your way.
I'll elaborate more in the review though. But I can say that stock, running at full speed, it's relatively loud - you're meant to run it in eco mode to get it quiet; however I found a 'hardware solution' for it (PC fans) and it's fine like that.

---

TL;DR, if you want real silence, the higher-efficiency ASIC chips in the Compac F (BM1397) may be a better choice. Though the price per hash is much higher there and you even need to buy a PSU and the GekkoScience USB hub separately.

I guess the question is other then configuring it the way you want and a slightly smaller footprint is there any real benefit to do it this way then getting a RPi and running the Apollo off of that?
Don't get me wrong I spend a lot of time doing things because I can, but I see running everything else while also mining as a way to loose some hash speed while the Pi is doing something else.

But still going to play with it. :-)

-Dave

Oh I see you were very busy with your new project  
So this means you actually started mining Bitcoin at your home?
How much Bitcoin can you earn with one of this devices in a month, and how much electricity would be spent for this operation... especially with ever rising prices :/

I am silence freak, so for me silent option would be something like Raspberry Pi without any fans, or it can be more noisy if device was in my basement or in some other room.

I never heard about it and I think it's expensive, but I saw many DIY solutions that work very well with simple putting asic miner in one well isolated box.

Did you voided your warranty by replacing your PSU and changing stuff like this?
Few years ago I replaced fans on one of my old desktop computers and I installed manual fan control that is even better tham PWM fans.
Main problem I had with noise was coming from plastic mesh combined with incoming air, so I had to cut that off one part of a plastic with a knife

Just want to leave a link to the review here, in case anyone's reading this in the future or can otherwise not find it:
https://bt.irlbtc.com/view/5403168

Good question; in my honest opinion, they're bloated and thus less maintainable for me. That's why I prefer to start with a fresh, lean Linux distro and install just what I need.
It's also possible that there are no Umbrel node-in-a-box distributions for this CPU. This is not a Raspberry Pi, but an OrangePi 4 and in fact, Armbian was the only distribution for which I could find a compiled ISO to download.

I'm not 100% sure that it will install on Armbian, especially Armbian on Orange Pi. But feel free to try! Technically, it's a subset of Debian, so it should work.

Honestly just quickly try it; flash Armbian, log into it and install Umbrel - would be great if you can report back how it worked out.

I don't have access to my Apollo right now, otherwise I'd try.

The definition of quiet or silent is very dependent on the environment and the person listening to it.

Personally I refer to quiet as being basically inaudible while standing about 1 or 2 meters from it.

At 2600 RPM the stock fan is definitely audible, but for some people that can still be quiet. It can definitely get way louder at 300W+

Thanks for writing this guide and the guides for the custom Linux miner and node install!

The miner and node install instructions are above my current skill level, although I could probably follow the instructions without understanding what I am doing.

However, I wonder if there is an alternative approach.

Do I understand this correctly when stating it as follows?

1) The miner and node install instructions are needed so that the Orange Pi can be operated while the cable between Orange Pi  and ASIC board is connected, and the Orange Pi is powered that way.

2) There are still software vulnerabilities involved when following the instructions.

3) The Orange Pi 4 could be dis-connected from the ASIC board, turning it into a Standard Apollo with a Orange Pi in the same housing. With a dumb 5V power supply to the USB-C port, the Orange Pi 4 could be powered up and run Armbian OS

4) This is where it gets tricky, potentially: Can the 'separated' Orange Pi 4 be connected via USB to USB micro cable to the ASIC board in the same housing, or does that create some ground loop that could fry things?

5) If I get a new PSU to power the 'separated' ASIC board on 12V and the 'separated' Orange Pi on 5V: Would that 5V supply be 'dumb' enough to provide sufficient power to the separated Orange Pi? And would that put the separated ASIC board and Orange Pi on the same ground connection so that a ground loop is prevented?

6) Can I then just install Bitcoin Core, Electrum, Electrs and a Lightning wallet and whatever else I want into the Armbian OS, keep it updated and secure, and run the 'separated' ASIC board by using the Apollo BTC Standard software in a terminal? https://bt.irlbtc.com/view/5340015.msg57091051#msg57091051

7) And can I then also run additional Standard Apollo units (each in a separate terminal, connected to the same (new) PSU on 12V?

Sorry to cause confusion and maybe concern for some readers. My fault for not really fully understanding the instructions, no doubt.

The stuff I picked up as potentially concerning was this: https://bt.irlbtc.com/view/5401730.msg60310493#msg60310493

I don't really know what that means, but I figured you highlighted it in red for some reason.



The other one is this: https://bt.irlbtc.com/view/5401730.msg60310485#msg60310485

With this one I am even more uncertain if I understand it correctly.

What I thought (while reading the instructions diagonally) this sentence means is this:

'This is a binary file' = no-one can tell what is in it, i.e. no source code provided and therefore we have to trust n0nce and/or jstefanop that the content is not malicious.
I probably misunderstood that one completely, my apologies, I'm not trying to accuse anyone of bad intentions.