Had a coworker mention he was having good luck mining HNT
Here is the extent of my research so far, this sort of internet diving is what I do when I'm bored:
- If have a position to mount an antenna that will cover a large range is your best option
- Looks like the purpose of "mining" here is to give LoRaWAN access to "paid" users, so IoT devices would be using this, scooters
- Seems like high scooter usage might be a driving factor too (as that is one user of the network)
- All the miners have you pay first, with no refunds, so some could easily be scams (and/or failed ventures)
- I'm assuming the whole point of this "mining" is providing a LoRaWAN access point, aka translating LoRaWAN into internet traffic
As of today, only approved Hotspots can participate in mining HNT. However, any LoRaWAN Gateway can be converted to route packets to the Helium Network for development and production applications.
- So LoRaWAN gateways can earn smaller amounts, since they are not allowed to take part in "proof of coverage" (I guess not open-hardware, only open source software??, pft)
- They seem to be discouraging that on their pages (by not offering information on how to do that), best info: https://docs.helium.com/mine-hnt/data-only-hotspots/ and https://docs.helium.com/use-the-network/setup-a-packet-forwarder/
Any device that can run an 8 channel LoRa front-end (such as SX1301 or SX1302) can be used to participate in the Helium Network
- Need RPi4 (~$50?)
- https://store.rakwireless.com/products/rak2245-pi-hat?variant=22914482733156%20 ($95+$27 currently in-stock)
- https://store.rakwireless.com/collections/wislink-lpwan/products/rak2287-lpwan-gateway-concentrator-module?variant=39662118928582 ($120 - out of stock)
- Or https://store.rakwireless.com/collections/wisgate-developer ($100-300)
- Seems like you can research what you MIGHT get for usage for any given location via: https://explorer.helium.com/ Some apps also have that feature
- One friend got this one https://www.bobcatminer.com/shopping ($429.00) said the "Estimated shipping time is 12-20 weeks from order date." was accurate enough
- As of this writing HNT is $25, no clue what one HNT relates to in real-world terms (TODO)
- Mostly not in an area with many scooters