Syncro Bit Chameleon Helium Miner - Is the Lora onboard the main PCB? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 14, 2025, 09:14:49 pm
content: Hi there:Someone gave me a Syncro Bit miner/Lora gateway. I have zero interest in cryptocurrency. However, I'm wondering whether I could do something with the LoraWAN system. I haven't decided yet what to do with it.I watched a video in which someone disassembled one, and learned there was a Raspberry PI 4 CM inside it (albeit with 2GB RAM). That's nice, but I was hoping to use the Lora functions, if possible. Does anyone know if that's built into the mainboard? I'd prefer not to open it until I decide what to do with it. I may later consider selling it.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 18, 2025, 03:51:36 am
content: It looks like LoraWAN is part of the main Syncro Bit board, (though not the motherboard). The main computing is provided by a Raspberry Pi CM4 unit.However, I was told by someone that there would be no easy way to disable to mining functions and just use the LoraWAN functionality. Maybe I'll just take it apart and take the RPI 4 CM. Not sure.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 23, 2025, 04:58:32 am
content: Hmm..no replies.Can anyone tell me what's the likelihood I'd be able to just put generic Linux of some kind on this device, let Linux load drivers for the LoraWAN chips and just ignore or disable any mining functions? Anyone?

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 04:36:07 pm
content: I opened it up to take a few photos. Here are some shots of the whole inside, the mainboard, heatsink, Lora module and more. I have a lot more pictures if anyone wants to see the rest.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 04:40:35 pm
content: The Lora module appears to contain a Semtech SX1302 gateway chip with two SX1250 RF front ends. BTW, can anyone tell me which connector that Lora module uses?There's a 4-pin UART interface on the main PCB, near the fan connector. That could be useful to someone who wants to connect via a serial interface.Speaking of that, there's some mention on the web that you can connect to this via the Micro-USB (maintenance) port. I'm still researching for what's the proper procedure to do that. I'm wondering if you can program the PI via that USB port.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 05:31:13 pm
content: Here are a few more photos.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 08:24:51 pm
content: That's possibly a mini PCIe connector.All the LoRaWAN gateway hardware is on that card pretty much, so it would be possible to attach it to any Raspberry Pi yourself if desired. The board will be following Semtech's reference design mostly if not entirely. It may even be a third-party board, you could probably google and visually compare images to find who manufactured it (I didn't check, but from memory that layout looks much like the reference design, so I'm sure a manufacturer just took that and might have made a few tweaks here and there, but hopefully it should still be compatible). They are not that expensive these days, e.g. look at Seeed WM1302, it's close to the reference design too visually. Seeed also offer the Raspberry Pi HAT boards to accept the gateway board as a daughter card.You could then install open source software on you Pi to operate it (again, this uses reference code from the manufacturer). If you're good with Linux you could try it using your existing hardware, since a 2 GByte RAM Pi is more than sufficient for this purpose. It might be an uphill struggle if there's some customization here and there on the board, and if you're new to bringing up this sort of hardware/software.In any case, whether it's worth doing is up to you; as mentioned, known working gateway boards with full documentation plus LoRaWAN gateway HAT boards for the Raspberry Pi are not too expensive these days, and will come with all the steps to install the software and configure it, plus many will have done the same thing with hopefully identical hardware so you'll have the benefit of their experience on online forums etc too, and you'd likely be configured and done within half a day, for under $100 outlay, assuming you've got a Pi lying around (note: you may want an older Pi, rather than a Pi 5, in case software doesn't support the newer models, so it's worth checking what recommendations there are when looking at documentation).

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 15, 2025, 10:18:04 pm
content: Wow, that's a great answer. I have seen a few references to this Lora card/module on the web, but under different brand names. In each case, they refer to it as using a MiniPCIe connector. AFAICT, the card model is M-GW1302S.If that's correct, then this would appear to be the spec sheet for that card:https://cdn.robotshop.com/rbm/5f9aa92a-8d4c-4ace-b785-d77a555e49b5/9/9d579791-3dc8-4081-bc33-8cfded93daf6/15b8cda1_sx1302-pci-e-board.pdfWhen you wrote that "it would be possible to attach it to any Raspberry Pi yourself if desired." I'm not sure what you meant. Technnically, it's already attached to a PI, just not through one of the common IO/carrier boards. Did you have something else in mind, like the I/O board, or ??I'm really not good with Linux, I'm more of a Windows guy. And yes, I'm very new to this stuff. That being said, there's no big urgency for me to do this, so I wouldn't mind putting in a few hours every week for a month or two.My ultimate goal would be to setup some kind of Meshtastic station. I'd like to experiment with that.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 12:34:16 am
content: Those connectors come in different widths, i.e. different amount of connections. You could for sure try to use your existing hardware (i.e. as-is attached to the CM4) I just don't know if the mnfr will have done anything 'extra', e.g. using some GPIO for controlling any other circuitry in the product. But there's no harm in experimenting, e.g. trying to log in, or trying to install a Raspberry Pi image on it, since the mnfr may have locked down access with the existing installed image. You might have access via a USB port, or via a UART to which you could attach a UART-to-USB adapter.Since you're new to Linux, you might need to see if there's any Raspberry Pi tutorials to get up-to-speed with some basics, otherwise, it would be highly recommended to find 'Linux admin' type of online training (I don't know of what to recommend unfortunately, but there might be online reviews). It's good background training even if you find you don't need to use much of it when just installing software.Even if you're willing to experiment, it is sometimes still worth purchasing hardware for which you can follow online guides, because then in the best case you end up with two LoRaWAN gateways, and you then have known working hardware/software to compare with. But no harm in experimenting with what you already have too.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 02:38:53 am
content: Some posts on Reddit claim you can put the device into a different mode (debug? USB mass storage?) by connecting the Micro-USB to a PC and pressing the reset button while connecting power, or something like that.I'm going to try that, but I need to find a 12V 1A AC adapter, as apparently, it won't work if you do it via PoE. Thanks for all your help so far.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 16, 2025, 09:15:14 pm
content: Can anyone tell me: Is that a (Micro)SD or eMMC slot in the later pictures?

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 22, 2025, 09:39:14 pm
content: I tried pushing the hardware button on the case, while connecting a Micro USB cable from my PC to the Chameleon. I held the button down for 30 seconds. It took maybe 1 minute before the case LED strip alternately flashed white, then red. Supposedly, that meant it was in DFU mode.I tried using the RPI flash tools, but apparently, I was misguided.I asked Google Gemini what the situation was, and it told me I'd have to use a flash stick or carrier/IO board, because it was highly unlikely full flash process was exposed to the Chameleon's case USB port. I told it that I had likely got it into DFU mode, but I still couldn't flash it.Here's what Gemini said about that:============================================================================Based on common Syncro Bit Chameleon troubleshooting and information from the Helium miner community, the "firmware upload mode" you're likely referring to is specific to:Updating the miner's Helium-specific firmware: This mode is designed to update the existing operating system (ChameleonOS, which is a specialized Linux distribution) that manages the Helium mining functions. This often uses a DFU (Device Firmware Upgrade) mode, which is a standard for many embedded devices to allow for flashing their main application firmware.Updating the Nordic MCU firmware:The Syncro Bit Chameleon (especially the "Ultra" model) also has a Nordic Semiconductor microcontroller (MCU) for handling things like the NFC/RFID emulation features. This MCU also has its own firmware that can be updated via USB, often through a specific button press sequence.Why this is different from flashing Raspberry Pi OS:Target Device: When you're in the Syncro Bit's "firmware upload mode" via the external USB, you're usually interacting with the Nordic MCU or a specific bootloader on the CM4 that's designed to accept its own type of firmware update, or a very specific image provided by Syncro Bit (or Nebra, if you're using their fork).eMMC Access: This mode does not typically expose the entire Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4's eMMC storage as a mass storage device to your computer. The rpiboot tool works by bypassing the normal boot process of the CM4 entirely, forcing it into a state where its eMMC acts like a USB drive. The "firmware upload mode" on the Syncro Bit via its external USB port is highly unlikely to be the same as the low-level rpiboot mechanism.Jumper Requirement: The fundamental requirement for rpiboot is to set the nRPIBOOT pin on the CM4 to ground. This is a physical connection on the CM4's carrier board. The external "firmware upload mode" is usually a software-controlled mode initiated by a button press, which is distinct from a hardware boot-mode jumper.What you can likely do in "firmware upload mode":Update the miner's Helium-specific operating system (e.g., to Nebra firmware if you're switching). This is often done using specific Syncro Bit or Nebra tools that leverage the DFU mode.Update the Nordic MCU's firmware (for NFC/RFID features).What you cannot do directly in this mode (without disassembly):Flash a generic Raspberry Pi OS image (like the ones from raspberrypi.com) onto the CM4's eMMC. You won't be able to see the eMMC as a drive in tools like Raspberry Pi Imager or Balena Etcher.To flash Raspberry Pi OS, you will almost certainly still need to:Open the Syncro Bit Chameleon.Remove the CM4.Place the CM4 on a dedicated CM4 IO board or flashstick.Set the eMMC disable boot jumper on that board.Then use rpiboot and Raspberry Pi Imager.The "firmware upload mode" on the Syncro Bit is for its intended purpose (updating its miner software or internal components), not for general-purpose OS flashing of the underlying CM4 hardware.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 05:58:33 pm
content: Okay, just in case it helps anyone, Meshtastic daemon supposedly doesn't work properly with the Semtech SX1302 chipset. It only works with SPI-based hats.That being said, I've seen cards based on the SX1302 concentrator chipset that claim to be SPI-based, so that makes me wonder if it still might be possible.Any comments?

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 06:16:51 pm
content: Hi,I can't see where you're trying to go with this. It's a gateway board, so it's no surprise that a mesh network might not work on it (I know nothing about meshtastic so I could be wrong, but looking at the supported ICs, this seems to corroborate that you'd need a normal LoRa-capable transmitter/receiver, not a LoRaWAN gateway board).Anyway, the SX1302 chip datasheet shows it uses SPI, so yes, it is SPI-based, but that doesn't mean you can use it with meshtastic. If you wish to use the board as a LoRaWAN gateway, then there's a good chance that is feasible (perhaps there is something non-standard on the board, but to me it visually looks very similar to the reference design that every gateway manufacturer uses to some degree or other), but as mentioned earlier, if you just wish to have a known working solution at low cost, then they don't cost a lot with full documentation how to set them up with a Pi.

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 06:20:10 pm
content: Yeah, that's what I thought, especially for someone who's a real Linux newbie, like me. I may post more info here, in case it helps someone who wants to use the contents of this box for some other type of project.Thanks.

author: shabaz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 06:31:03 pm
content: (Just to elaborate on the earlier comment): The hardware on that card can only be used for LoRaWAN (it's a LoRaWAN specific chipset), and can work with a Raspberry Pi, and typically does use Linux, mainly because the reference software for the gateway chipset is Linux-based.LoRa on the other hand, which can be used for peer-to-peer direct comms (or, alternatively to connect to a LoRaWAN network), uses much cheaper ICs not present in that device, the modules can be picked up for a few $, and will work with (say) Raspberry Pi, or even non-Linux devices like microcontrollers such as Pi Pico (but I don't know what compute resources meshtastic requires).

author: Hogwild
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 24, 2025, 07:23:52 pm
content: EDIT:I emailed a photo to Rejeee, who confirmed that they manufacture this board. Its model number is: M-GW1302S. They also confirmed that this model is an SPI-based board.I got it wrong earlier. This is a Lora concentrator module, not a LoraWAN module. Meshtastic runs on top of Lora. Therefore, it may be compatible with Meshtastic. However, the SX1302 chip is a concentrator, and I wanted a node for Meshtastic.Oh well, it might still be fun to experiment with this. Also, it is not officially supported on Raspberry Pi. To use Meshtastic on Raspberry Pi, the organization states that generally, only Pi HATs are supported. I suppose it might work with plain Linux.Also, for reference:Lora = Physical layer of OSI model;LoraWAN = MAC and Network layers or OSI model