A guide for beginners on how to mine Helium.
Some cryptocurrency projects have been talked about and helped by the mainstream media, but most of the others aren’t. Helium is a blockchain project that not many people have heard of. It could change the way we access and use cellular data and wireless internet.
Helium, also known as “the people’s network,” is capable of combining blockchain, wireless networks, and IoT into a unified platform. Simultaneously, several crypto investors have been able to generate passive income through helium mining.
Learn more about the helium blockchain, its impact on wireless networks, and how to get started with it here.
Helium Network
The internet, which is a huge network of computer devices and other gadgets, is making the world more and more digital. Almost everyone stays connected today with WiFi and cellular data. Also, the Helium network is a lot like WiFi; the only distinction is that it is cheaper and works through peer-to-peer connections.
Also, Helium is a new cryptocurrency project with the goal of making public and decentralized wireless networks. Decentralized wireless networks would make a lot of changes in our world.
The Internet of Things is one of the newest technologies that reduce friction (IoT). The sensors and antennas built into IoT devices enable them to communicate and share data with one another. Many of the Internet of Things (IoT) gadgets available today are also very efficient, saving users both time and money.
The greatest difficulty in using all these smart gadgets is making sure they can be connected simply and reliably. Bluetooth and WiFi have limited ranges, and our computers and phones are already using too much of them.
So, this is the thing Helium wants to change. Helium has its own Radio Frequency (RF) technology that was made to cover a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. When compared to the typical WiFi networks we all use today, the Helium network stands out for a number of reasons, including its privacy and security, its dependability and scalability, and its willingness to foster new partnerships.
Proof-of-Coverage is a new algorithm that is used to run the network. In addition, the Helium team hopes to create extensive wireless coverage for Internet of Things devices by requiring its customers to install hotspots in their homes. It is expected that the network reliability will improve when additional hotspots are added. The native currency of the system, HNT, is given to hotspot owners as a reward for making their networks widely accessible through wireless networking.
Helium Tokens (HNT)
Helium (HNT) is an IoT-focused decentralized blockchain network. Unlike some other cryptocurrencies, it has real-life uses.
Helium Tokens, or HNT, are a new type of digital currency that hotspots can earn by providing and verifying wireless service.
The HNT coin was released in July 2019. Users who run nodes can mine and earn HNT tokens as a reward. The network nodes are “hotspots,” which are wireless gateways running on the LoRaWAN wireless protocol and blockchain mining hardware. Hotspot owners may generate HNT coins by helping to expand the Helium network and moving data from IoT devices.
How to Mine Helium
In normal cryptocurrency mining, powerful components of hardware like ASICs or GPUs are used. But in helium mining, radio waves are used instead. In this way, it uses a lot less power than traditional approaches to cryptocurrency mining.
To mine Helium tokens, you have to pass PoC challenges and get token rewards. Also, the exact number of HNTs a user can earn depends heavily on how busy their hotspot is and how many more hotspots are nearby. The more competition there is in their vicinity, the less they tend to earn. There may be fewer hotspots in a rural area, but there will also be much less traffic.
Token awards also change based on the hotspot’s function in the Proof-of-Concept challenge. Approximately 0.95 percent of all mining rewards made during a specific time period are given to challengers, 5.31 percent to transmitters, and 21.24% to hotspot witnesses.
What are the Requirements for Mining Helium?
Everything comes down to where you are. You need to be sure that your helium mining rig is in close proximity to another miner if you want to make a profit. The minimum required distance is 300 to 350 meters. At first glance, this doesn’t seem like it will have a big effect on how much HNT you can earn. However, a miner may earn much less without this.
Also, you are going to need a helium miner. Your choice of helium miner depends on a number of factors, such as your budget as well as your goals for power management. The following are two miners worth considering:
Bobcat Hotspot Miner
The Bobcat miner is widely regarded as the most powerful Proof of Coverage miner, as well as having the best 4dBi antennas available, making it a popular choice among those who want to mine Helium coins. The Bobcat hotspot miner is one of the best at mining helium because it is made to do as much work as possible while minimizing costs.
In terms of signal strength and range, the Bobcat hotspot miner is unmatched. So, you can push the limits of how close you need to be to mine helium profitably but still, stay within the recommended range. The range of the bobcat hotspot miner’s signal is believed to reach up to ten miles. The storage on the minder may expand to a maximum of 64GB.
Nebra Hotspot Miner
The Nebra hotspot miner is an excellent option for mining HNT coins if you have enough space outside to put a hotspot miner there. The Nebra hotspot miner’s selling point is that it gives the user a choice between indoor and outdoor installation options, giving them maximum flexibility in terms of where and how the equipment is kept. These two choices are made differently and have different benefits.
Nebra’s outdoor miner has more features and better abilities. You can put the miner anywhere, and it will pick up signals from hotspots nearby. It comes with a 3dBi antenna made of fiber-glass. This antenna is the same as the indoor antenna, but it is made of plastic instead of fiber-glass. If you want to connect to the internet outside, you will need a mini-card with 4G coverage.
Rakewireless Hotpot Miner
While the other two miners are more powerful, the Rakewireless miner is a more cost-effective choice and may still be used to successfully mine helium. The rakewireless miner has a 2.8 dBi antenna and up to 32 GB of storage space. So it would be a great choice, especially for people who live very close to other people who mine in hotspots.
How Long Does Mining Helium Take?
On average, it takes about 48 hours to mine an HNT, but this is only true for powerful mining equipment. Taking everything else into account, the strength of the hotspot miner is one of the most important factors that affect how long you can mine helium. Remember that mining is a race and that everyone on the network is in it together to win it.
That implies only one miner may collect the helium reward at a time. Since there could be tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of helium miners connected to the network right now, the odds of getting the reward by yourself are average but much better than in the case of BTC. After everything is said and done, you may easily generate enough profit to cover your initial investment.
How Much Can You Make From Helium Mining?
People who help the helium network earn helium tokens by mining and building The People’s Network coverage with a compatible hotspot. The number of Helium tokens you can earn varies depending on where you go. In February 2022, one user said he made more than $400 a month.
The Helium Network is designed to encourage wide coverage, and a reward scale metric is used to achieve this goal. As a general rule of thumb, Helium suggests that there should be a helium hotspot around every 300 to 500 meters.
A reward scale is a value between 0 and 1 that multiplies challenge rewards. If you’re too close (within 300m) to several hotspots, your reward scale will go down because there will be more people trying to get the same rewards as you. This means you’ll get less HNT from challenges or tasks.
The Helium Explorer makes it easy to find out how many hotspots there are in a certain area. The explorer also displays how much HNT a certain hotspot has mined in the last 30 days. With this data, you’ll be able to estimate how much you can earn based on where you live.
The Best Place to Store Your HNT
Although most cryptocurrency exchanges take security and safety seriously, there have been incidents of hacking and theft. When you keep your digital assets in an exchange wallet, you are basically storing your assets with them. If anything were to happen to your wallet, you would no longer have access to your money.
As a result, a hardware wallet is the safest place to keep your HNT coins. A hardware wallet gives you a security phrase of 12 to 24 words. This wallet can only be opened by the person who has this phrase.
The Ledger Nano S is one example of a hardware wallet that may be used to hold HNT tokens. This hardware wallet is very safe, and you can keep HNT coins and other crypto assets in it.
So, if you want to keep your HNT coin for a long time, get a Ledger Nano S. Don’t ever share a screenshot online that shows your security phase. Instead, you should jot down your security phase and keep it hidden.
Final Thoughts
Helium is a realistic and ambitious blockchain project. It’s a decentralized wireless network system that isn’t run by a big provider but is made possible by thousands of local hotspots.
Helium has a big future if its network gets more popular. It’s a powerful network that most people may be able to use right away, which you can’t say about many other coins.
