The range of Helium hotspots is gradually increasing, thankfully. While many users are still waiting on backorders of their Nebra and Rak hotspots, new brands such as Bobcat and SyncroB.it have managed to fulfil orders much faster.
Demand is still high, though, and all brands have a relatively long lead time for delivery.
The latest hotspot to lunch is the FinestraMiner by Mimiq.
This new Helium hotspot aims to differentiate itself from the others by using adhesive micro-suction on the base of the hotspot, allowing it to stick directly to windows.
This then includes a 2.6 dBi antenna gain using the RP-SMA female connector.
This design should allow users to get the best possible performance from a stock indoor antenna and it should be handy for people recruiting hosts that are perhaps reluctant to have an external antenna installed.
Of course, most users will upgrade the Helium Hotspot antenna using a higher gain outdoor antenna and low loss cable for maximum profits. This has become increasingly important now that the returns from Helium hotspots have declined.
The new FinestraMiner hotspot will be available Q4, 2021. No specific date has been provided, but Q4 starts in October, and the hotspot has already achieved FCC certification.
The price has not been revealed either. Currently, the Bobcat has a 4-5 month lead time and sells for $429.00 while the SyncroB.it won’t shit until Q1 2022 and costs $650
Mimiq Inc. (formerly Smart Mimic), a connected consumer device company, today launched the FinestraMiner, the first community and FCC-certified Helium hotspot designed from the ground up for the mainstream consumer. The sleek, easy-to-use, consumer-friendly cryptocurrency miner and IoT gateway installs in seconds – either directly on a windowpane or shelf-top – providing optimum coverage and performance from indoors, avoiding the risks of exterior installation. It will be available to the market in Q4, 2021
The FinestraMiner builds on the groundbreaking legacy of Mimic GO, the first consumer device using the LoRaWAN network. With the new device Mimiq is expanding its consumer product family and underscoring its commitment to mainstream customers and business owners. It has designed the miner to address consumer ease-of-use needs while ensuring seamless end-to-end connectivity between all its devices, from small IoT products to the LoRaWAN gateway within the miner. Fast and simple to set up, Finestra enables anyone to mine Helium Network Tokens (HNT) and easily participate in Helium’s People’s Network.
With its unique window-mount design, the FinestraMiner is also referred to as the ‘miner with a view.’ The device uses an advanced reusable adhesive surface that allows it to be placed and moved around from window mount to wall mount to a shelf – in search of the best coverage location – without leaving glue patches or messy holes in drywall.
The device connects with LoRaWAN-equipped devices in its coverage area, and in turn connects to the in-premises broadband router via Wi-Fi or Ethernet to provide cloud connectivity. The crypto mining capability is delivered via the Helium Network. FinestraMiner incorporates Semtech Corp chips designed for LoRa-based wireless communications and devices.
“This is the only gateway and miner designed first with the consumer in mind,” said Noyan Berker, CEO and co-founder, Mimiq. “Mimiq recognized the disruptive nature of Helium’s People’s Network early on and we wanted to help the network grow through our Mimiq mainstream devices. Consumer products are in our DNA, beginning with the Mimiq GO (previously Mimic GO) that connected via LoRaWAN to the cloud. Now, with the FinestraMiner gateway, we have extended our commitment to the LoRaWAN standard, the People’s Network by Helium and our distribution and E-Commerce partner CalChip. We believe it starts a new phase in our growth as we continue to add new Mimiq products in 2022 that will not only be part of the Helium ecosystem but work more uniquely and intelligently with our gateways.”
While integrated within a contemporary consumer-friendly design, the FinestraMiner incorporates unique engineering, including the capability to operate flawlessly without a fan, ensuring continuous mining capability. “We built the FinestraMiner with a fanless design from the get-go,” said Serdar Serttop, co-founder and CTO, Mimiq. “This device had to work even in the summer on a window in say Phoenix, Ariz. It was necessary to implement radical and proprietary heat dissipation techniques adopting a ‘whole of product’ approach.
With FinestraMiner, Mimiq establishes itself as a leader in fifth generation IoT– using lean edge Intelligence to develop situation awareness; incorporating privacy first design into edge and cloud services; and enabling a mindlessly free Connected experience. This approach to IoT devices requires the highly specialized chipsets made by industry leaders such as Semtech.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I am also part of AWIN and other affiliate websites. Any links to online stores should be assumed to be affiliates (though I will link to the best recommendation whether I earn money from it or not).