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RAK Hotspot Miner v2 Datasheet

Overview
Description
Hotspot Details

Efficient miner for a new cryptocurrency, Helium (HNT)

Complete set-up in minutes using a smartphone
LongFi technology maximizes range and battery life without Wi-Fi, cellular or Bluetooth
Low Power – only uses about the same amount as an LED light bulb (5W)
Easily manage Hotspots and tokens from the mobile app
LongFi™ Technology

Helium LongFi is a technology architecture that combines the leading wireless technology, LoRaWAN, and the
Helium Blockchain. LongFi is optimized for miles of range, and long battery life for IoT devices.

RAK Hotspot Miners earn Helium when devices connect, and for validating wireless coverage delivered by peers.
Using a system called Proof-of-Coverage, RAK Hotspot Miners earn more Helium when they're in range of other
RAK Hotspot Miners, but need to be at least 300 meters apart.

Range depends on the environment. For rural areas, up to 10 miles or more, but more dense areas, up to a
mile. Single RAK Hotspot Miners earn less as they can only issue Challenges over the internet, and can’t
participate in Proof-of-Coverage.

Deliver may square miles of coverage from a single RAK Hotspot Miner.
Based on initial testing, only about 50 to 100 RAK Hotspot Miners are needed to provide complete coverage for
an entire city.

Create a new global network for billions of devices.

Any IoT device can become Helium-enabled using readily available off-the-shelf hardware components,
software, and a reference design that is open source for anyone to improve upon.

Features
Computing with Raspberry Pi4 (Linux)
2 GB on-board RAM
32 GB SD card
Based on the LoRa Concentrator Engine: Semtech® SX1302
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Built-in Heat Sink for thermal heat dissipation management

Supports 5 V / 2.4 A power supply
IP30 housing
TX power up to 27 dBm, RX sensitivity down to -139 dBm @SF12, BW 125 KHz
LoRa Frequency band support: RU864, IN865, EU868, US915, AU915, KR920, AS923.
Includes Pi ready 'ID EE PROM', GPIO setup, and device tree can be automatically configured from vendor
information
Supports a fully open source LoRaWAN server
2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ac wireless LAN, Bluetooth 5.0, BLE

Specifications
Overview
The overview covers the RAK Hotspot Miner hotspot details and block diagram.

Board Overview
The outer dimension of RAK Hotspot Miner is 92 x 68.3 x 57.2 mm.

Figure 1: Device Dimensions

Hotspot Details
Figure 2 summarizes the basic building blocks of the RAK Hotspot Miner. The RAK2287 is an essential part of it as
it provides all LoRaWAN connectivity. It receives and transmits LoRa Frames and takes care of
modulating/demodulating the signals among others. The processing of the LoRa Frames, as well as higher-level
protocol-related tasks, is done by the embedded host system (Raspberry Pi). Received and processed LoRa
Frames are being sent to a LoRaWAN Server. The segmentation of protocol-related tasks is outside the scope of
this document.
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Figure 2: RAK Hotspot Miner System Structure

Block Diagram
The RAK Hotspot Miner is the central hardware solution for all LoRa based radio communication. It receives and
transmits radio messages. The processing of radio messages, as well as the protocol-related tasks, is done by the
embedded host system (Raspberry Pi 4). Received and processed radio messages are being sent to a LoRaWAN
server. Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the RAK Hotspot Miner.

Figure 3: RAK Hotspot Miner Block Diagram

📝 NOTE
The concrete segmentation of the protocol-related tasks is outside the scope of this document.

Hardware
Interfaces
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Figure 4: RAK Hotspot Miner Interfaces

RF Characteristics
Operating Frequencies
The RAK Hotspot Miner supports all LoRaWAN frequency channels as below. It is easy to configure while building
the firmware from the source code.

Region Frequency (MHz)

Europe EU868

North America US915

Asia AS923

Australia AU915

Korea KR920

India IN865

Russia RU864

LoRa RF Characteristics
Transmitter RF Characteristics
The RAK Hotspot Miner has an excellent transmitter performance. It is highly recommended to use an optimized
configuration for the power level configuration, which is part of the HAL. This results in a mean RF output power
level and current consumption.
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PA Control PWID Control Power

0 10 -6 dBm

0 13 -3 dBm

0 17 0 dBm

0 20 4 dBm

1 0 8 dBm

1 2 10 dBm

1 4 12 dBm

1 7 14 dBm

1 9 16 dBm

1 10 17 dBm

1 12 19 dBm

1 13 20 dBm

1 16 23 dBm

1 18 25 dBm

1 20 26 dBm

1 22 27 dBm

📝 NOTE
Normally, there is a ±1.5 dB difference between the actual test value and the table data.

📝 NOTE
If nothing else is stated, T=25 ℃, VDD=5 V (Typ.).
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Parameter Condition Min Typ. Max

Frequency Range 863 MHz 870 MHz

Modulation Techniques FSK/LoRa

TX Frequency Variation vs. Power Level Setting :

-3 KHz +3 KHz
Temperature 20

Power Level Setting :

TX Power Variation vs. Temperature -5 dBm +5 dBm
20

TX Power Variation -1.5 dBm +1.5 dBm

Parameter Condition Min Typ. Max

Frequency Range 902 MHz 928 MHz

Modulation Techniques FSK/LoRa

Receiver RF Characteristics
It is highly recommended to use optimized RSSI calibration values, which is part of the HAL v3.l. For both Radio 1
and 2, the RSSI-Offset should be set at -169.0. The following table gives the typical sensitivity level of the RAK
Hotspot Miner.

Signal Bandwidth (Khz) Spreading Factor Sensitivity (dBm)

125 12 -139

125 7 -125

250 12 -136

250 7 -123

500 12 -134

500 7 -120

Antenna Specifications
LoRa Antenna
Overview
The LoRa Antenna with RP-SMA Male connector shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5: LoRa Antenna

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Antenna Dimension

Figure 6: LoRa Antenna Dimension (mm)

Antenna Parameters

Items Specifications Specifications

Frequency Range 863~870 MHz 902~928 MHz

Peak Gain 2.8 dBi 2.3 dBi

Voltage Standard Wave Ratio (VSWR) ≤1.5 ≤1.5

Efficiency >80% >80%

Feed Impedance 50 Ohms 50 Ohms

Working Temperature & Humidity T: -35~+75 ºC, H: 5~95% T: -35~+75 ºC, H: 5~95%

Electrical Requirements
The RAK Hotspot Miner operates at 5V/ 2.4A

Parameter Min. Typical Max

LoRa Tx Mode - - 950 mA

Standby Power - 550 mA -

Burn Test Mode - - 940 mA

📝 NOTE
LoRa Tx Mode: The LoRa module works at the maximum transmit power state.
Burn Test Mode: Raspberry Pi CPU and memory are running at full capacity.

Environmental Requirements
The table below lists the operation and storage temperature requirements:
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Parameter Min. Typical Max

Operation Temperature Range -10 ºC +25 ºC +55 ºC

Storage Temperature Range -40 ºC +85 ºC

Software
Firmware
Model Raspberry Pi Board Firmware Version Source

RAK Hotspot Miner Raspberry Pi 4

LoRaWAN
Supports class A, C
Supports connect to TTN server Supports LoRa package forward
Supports build-in ChirpStack® LoRaWAN Server

Network Protocol Stack

Supports 802.11ac
Supports Wi-Fi AP mode and Client mode Supports DHCP

Certification

FCC Caution
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the
user's authority to operate the equipment.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This
device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including
interference that may cause undesired operation.
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📝 IMPORTANT NOTE
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, according
to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used following the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation.
If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined
by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

FCC Radiation Exposure Statement

This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. This
equipment should be installed and operated with a minimum distance of 20 cm between the radiator & your body.

📝 ISEDC Warning
This device complies with Innovation, Science, and Economic Development Canada licence-exempt RSS
standard(s). Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. this device may not cause interference, and

2. this device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of
the device.

The device complies with RF exposure guidelines, users can obtain Canadian information on RF exposure
and compliance. The minimum distance from the body to use the device is 20 cm.

Last Updated: 9/17/2021, 11:16:42 AM