Learn how to mine helium and find out if you can make your own helium miner like Bobcat Miner 300 in this article.
Helium is an innovative network that works on blockchain technology. It is useful for many things and issues Data Credits and HNT, its own cryptocurrency.
You cannot construct your own helium miner. HNT mining is limited to hotspots sold by authorized vendors. To learn more justifications and how to begin mining helium, keep reading.
Table of Contents
Can You Build Your Own Helium Miner?
No, you cannot construct a hotspot that mines HNT and integrates with the blockchain. However, you can construct a hotspot to route data for LongFi devices. However, this is something that might occur in the future.
People who successfully created their own hotspots and connected to the network can be found online. However, earlier versions of Helium experienced something similar.
At the moment, getting a hotspot authorized by Helium is necessary for mining HNT. In due time, we will go into detail.
Anybody should soon be able to create their own hotspots and join the network using Helium, according to an old response by one of the developers to a Reddit post. However, if you know what you’re doing, building a hotspot can save you money.
In that post, the dev explains that “This can’t happen until we release the data credit (DC) infrastructure” and “To join the network, a hotspot must be staked and have a DC.
All Hotspots joining the network are currently receiving DCs from Helium. Soon, you’ll be able to construct complete miner hotspots and provide your own DCs.”
Q1 probably referred to early 2020 since the response was provided in late 2019. People cannot currently access the network without using an authorized hotspot, though.
Can You Mine Helium on PC?
Helium can only be mined through a hotspot. Different from GPUs and CPUs which mine using processing power and consuming plenty of electricity, these hotspots use radio signals and mine through a consensus protocol called Proof of Coverage (PoC).
How to Start Mining Helium?
The first thing you need to do if you want to mine Helium is getting a hotspot. There are many models, and the official website of Helium can tell you which manufacturers are authorized hotspots. Since right now Helium is still not approving DIY models, you should only acquire hotspots that figure in the list:
- Helium, Inc.
- Nebra Ltd
- SyncroB.it
- RAK Wireless/CalChip
- EasyLinkin/Bobcat
- Kerlink
- HeNet BV/LongAP
- Smart Mimic
- FreedomFi
However, other businesses are free to create their own hotspots and apply for approval.
How Mining Works
Before diving into the different options of hotspots that you can choose from, let’s understand how the mining of HNT works. As mentioned earlier, it utilizes radio signals and works with Proof of Concept.
Helium hotspots actually emit a signal known as Helium LongFi, or just LongFi. It has 200 times the Wi-Fi’s range. Most of them use the LoRaWAN protocol (one of them uses 5G).
The block time that Helium aims for is 60 seconds. An epoch is made up of 30 blocks, and miners only receive rewards after an epoch has been successfully completed. As you can see, this works differently from many popular cryptocurrencies, where rewards are given after each block is mined.
There is no way to predict exactly how much money you will make, claims the Helium FAQ. You can, however, get pretty darn close.
This blockchain rewards hotspots for securing the network and providing coverage. Helium tokens ($HNT) are used as payment for rewards.
Reward distribution occurs as previously mentioned, roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of each epoch. There are 20 different types of transactions, and each block needs hotspots to carry out various tasks. Rewards, then, are given according to the task performed:
| Reward type | Percentage of reward | Total HNT Earned |
| PoC Challenger | .95% | 32.53427 |
| PoC Challengees | 5.31% | 181.849446 |
| Witnesses | 21.24% | 727.397784 |
| Consensus Group | 6% | 205.4796 |
| Security | 34% | 1164.3844 |
| Network Data Transfer | Up to 32.5% | Up to 1113.0145 |
Once you see the words “challenger”, “challengees”, “witness” you might think that you will be required to perform actions. Well, you won’t.
All you need to do is set up the hardware and ensure that it continues to function properly, just like when mining on a computer using CPUs, GPUs, or ASICs. Depending on the demands of the network, your hotspot will carry out the various tasks as needed.
Power Consumption
According to the Helium website, these hotspots only consume 5w. Therefore, this is a fantastic alternative to Proof of Work mining.
It makes sense that obtaining one of those hotspots is difficult. Since they are uncommon, you will typically order your model to arrive in just a few months from the maker’s website.
Storing Your Coins
When you buy your hotspot, you need to set up a wallet where your $HNT will go to. You have three options to choose from: the Helium app wallet, the command line interface wallet, and the ledger wallet. You can learn about each of them here.
Best Miners in the Market
Selecting the ideal hotspot maker is essential because there are already a lot of them available. We will assist you by providing a succinct list of three excellent hotspot miners.
Bobcat Miner 300
Bobcat Miner 300 is one of the most popular Helium hotspots because of its hardware that stands above the average. Its price is a little higher as a result, as you might anticipate.
Features:
- Enhanced 4dbi antenna (other hotspots come with 2dbi antennas)
- Quad-core processor
- 64GB storage
The aforementioned features make the Bobcat Miner 300 superior to its rivals. While most hotspots count with 2dbi antennas, the 4dbi antennas of Bobcat 300 can give 150% wider coverage.
Its quad-core processor is also a unique feature since most hotspots are built on Raspberry Pi.
Furthermore, compared to other hotspots, its storage is higher. More memory means the miner can compute more at the same time, as well as longer device life expectancy.
SenseCAP M1 Indoor Hotspot Miner
It is a high-performing and ready-to-use LoRaWAN indoor gateway. You can quickly and easily connect the SenseCAP M1 to The People’s Network and create low-cost LoRa applications with it. For LoRa/LoRaWAN devices, the SenseCAP M1 offers miles of wireless network coverage and a fast data transfer rate. You can do this to support The People’s Network’s infrastructure while also taking advantage of the advantages of the Helium community.
Features:
- Dashboard for tracking all technical information, such as block height, temperature, health, and sync status.
- Support for WiFi, Bluetooth, 2GB, 4GB, or 8GB of RAM, as well as EU868 and US915 frequency support.
- Raspberry is equipped with a cooling fan and a heat sink.
- 64GB eMMc storage.
- 2.6 dBi antenna gain.
Browan MerryIOT Hotspot Miner
The MerryIoT Hotspot Miner by Browan has 32 GB of eMMC fast flash storage and 4 GB of RAM, which complies with the most recent hardware requirements for mining HNT. Although Browan Merryiot already has an internal antenna, adding an external one can increase the range. Additionally, its eMMC storage, which stands for ultra-fast beacon discovery, makes it distinctive.
Features:
- 140X110X20mm; weight 160g.
- 4GB RAM.
- frequency support for US915 and EU868.
- Bluetooth 5.2, WiFi 2.4 GHz, and a built-in antenna, with a 2 dBi antenna gain.
- Built-in antenna.
- quad-core Cortex-A55 Rockchip RK3566 processor.
- eMMC 32 GB/64GB
Which Miner is the Best to Buy?
As soon as manufacturers have enough inventory to sell, Helium hotspots are currently sold out. Consequently, whichever miner you can get your hands on is the best one to buy.
Since Helium is such a remarkable network, it emits far less pollution than Bitcoin or any other significant PoW. It will also be simple to turn a profit if you reside in a city where others have hotspots.
The three hotspots we listed above are excellent choices if you want to begin looking for hotspots.
You can find deep reviews about them online and confirm that they do the job well. You do not, however, have to rely solely on them because other businesses are working hard to produce excellent products.
Final Thoughts: It’s Impossible to Build Your Own Helium Miner
Cryptocurrency is all about innovation. Blockchain networks’ capabilities are still being explored, and they still have a lot to offer.
Helium is incredible because it uses little energy and enables a decentralized network of Internet of Things devices. Getting a hotspot seems like a great deal if you are into cryptocurrencies or just tech in general.
You cannot currently construct your own helium miner. HNT can only be mined by hotspots sold by authorized vendors.
FAQs
How Much Does a Helium Miner Cost?
Helium miner cost varies depending on make, region, and provider. But the price point of most hotspots rests in the $500-$1,000 range. In other words, it might require a sizeable investment from a single consumer.
Can You Still Make Money Helium Mining?
This earns $1.10 per day, or about $400 per year, at a market price of 10 USD for each HNT. With helium miner prices plunging it’s very possible with some due diligence to buy a new miner , upgraded antenna and some high quality LMR400 coax cable for about $400 which equates to a one year ROI.
How Much Does a Bobcat 300 Miner Make?
Consider that you are purchasing a 300-pound bobcat. It costs $526 dollars in total after shipping, taxes, and taxes. My daily earnings are about 0.04 helium, but the network’s average daily earnings are about 0.097 helium, if I compare them to my own earnings. Your profitability is significantly influenced by the typical daily output.
