I have published this article as an introduction to the “Helium project” for people who intend to get involved and use the miners of this network. I have tried my best to clarify the doubts and questions as much as possible so people can enter this path with open eyes. This article is by no means a financial recommendation.

What we are going to cover in this article:

What is Helium?

What Helium does and how it achieves its objectives?

What are the Helium project tokens.

How Helium miners work and earn money.

What is the Helium Explorer Website.

What are the Important and influential items on income.

What is Helium and how it works:

Helium was introduced to the public in 2019 with the slogan of “The people’s network”. The goal was to create a blockchain-based network for the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and to expand it through a distributed network of long-range wireless hotspots around the world.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a global network that any device can connect to (think of toasters, dog collars, light bulbs, scooters, home appliances, various weather and traffic sensors, and almost anything compatible with the network).

This idea can provide many additional features to a large number of devices٬ and it became even more popular with the spread of the idea that devices can even talk to each other.

Smart devices that connect to a “hub” such as “Google Home”, “Alexa” or “Amazon” fall into this category. These products are the most recognizable IoT devices. Of course, there is a lot of debate about what devices need to be connected to the Internet and the various restrictions on privacy. And this is where Helium seeks to create a global, reliable, decentralized network that supports IoT devices.

Mobile and public Wi-Fi networks, currently provide a framework for the Internet of Things, however they also have problems such as high prices or network coverage.

Helium uses LongFi hotspots (a combination of LoRaWAN wireless and a helium blockchain network) to transmit its signals up to 200 times the Wi-Fi coverage. Hotspots that do this, under certain conditions, are rewarded with the network token called $HNT as a gift. Consumers of this network must spend a token called $Data-Credit in the network to receive services.

Network tokens:

$HNT token: has a limited max supply of 223 million, all of which are created by mining, and the miners’ bonus is halved every 2 years (halving happens). The allocation of the tokens is also variable in the network, which is fully explained in the following network official video (https://youtu.be/9Kc6t4uHOag).

$Data-Credit token: This token is designed to support services for consumers who need to send information and data within the network. The price of this token is fixed (1 Data-Credit = $ 0.00001) ٬ it is not transferable and can only be purchased and paid to the network. This token is created by burning the $ HNT token.

Helium miners(Hotspots):
Before jumping to the details of Helium miners, installation and configuration, it is crucial to know few vital information about the hotspot devices in the market. Due to high demand for these products and their limited production, the time to receive these hotspots from the manufacturer is around 12 to 25 weeks, however there are many people who have bought the device before and now are taking advantage of the hype and demand in the secondary market. There are a lot of risks involved in buying these kind of products. There have been quite a few reports about counterfeit devices sold in the original packaging, physically damaged and broken devices, problems related to connectivity to the network and many more. Although not all the devices in the secondary market are damaged or counterfeit, the utmost vigilance is due when going through with this option.
Keep in mind that the installation of these devices is not complicated but fairly sensitive and there are many people out there who don’t comply with the proper process and end up damaging their hotspot before even starting earning a dime. So what happens to all these useless hotspots! Yup, they are being sold in the secondary market.
If you decided to buy these hotspots, my advice is to have some patience and order them directly from the manufacturer. However if you absolutely must have them immediately then be hyper vigilant and make sure that your seller is trustworthy.
Preparing miners (hotspots):
This part is extremely important. Improper installation might cause serious damage to the device.
Although many hotspots use LoRaWAN technology, not all of them are capable of getting connected to the Helium network. Only devices whose manufacturers are approved by the Helium and the name of their company and websites are mentioned on the official helium website, can connect to this network.
Miners (hotspots) ‌are responsible for sending and receiving signals. They generate revenue based on three methods:
1- Participating in the Proof Of Coverage algorithm
2- Data transfer volume
3- Consensus group

Participating in the Proof Of Coverage:

This is currently the main source of revenue for most helium miners.

The steps for proof of coverage are as follow:

1- witness: a hotspot sends a signal from a certain location, your hotspot receives it and announces on the network that it has received it from that location.
2- Beacon: When your hotspot sends a signal to announce its location, other hotspots can witness and announce it on the network so the network can make sure that the announced signal is correct and the hotspot is in the desired range.
3- Challenger: When a hotspot randomly calls another hotspot to perform step 2.
By completing these three steps, the hotspot will receive $ HNT as a reward or token.
It is obvious that in order to complete the Proof Of Coverage process, there must be at least 2 hotspots in the area covered by the network so that they can complete all three steps.

In order to locate miners all around the world, check their distances and other information, you can use the website explorer.helium.com By clicking on each of the miners on the map you would be able to see their geographical location٬ name٬ owner wallet٬ information about the antenna, altitude and etc.

There are 4 pages on your miner dashboard on which you can find the following information:

First page (statistics):

General revenue statistics and hotspot status.

Second page (activity):

All the activities that Hotspot has done on the network. ( witnessing, sending beacons, providing data, challenge participation…).

Third page (witnesses):

all the hotspots that have had a connection with the your miner.

Page four: list of the nearby hotspots.

Statistic page:

(Transmit Scale) is a coefficient that is given to the income of witnesses who receive your hotspot signal, which is related to the density of hotspots in the area.

(Sync Status) indicates that the hotspot is updated with the network(Synced). If the hotspot is off or not connected to the network (due to a problem with the antenna or internet connection or…), the status will be offline or syncing instead of synced.

(Rolling Earning) Hotspot revenue chart in time intervals.

(7D Avg Beacons) are the average beacons witnessed by Hotspot?

(Total Witnesses) A total number of hotspots which witnessed in 5 days.

Activity page:

(beacons) witnessed and sent beacons.

(data) transferred packets of data.

(reward) received rewards from activities.

(all activity) Total activities

If there is only one hotspot in the area and the device can not communicate with other hotspots, the income becomes very insignificant and remains as such until more hotspots are found In the area.

if you are in a place where there is no other hotspot around, you can install at least 2 or more hotspots in different locations, or alternatively find some like-minded people, form a team, buy several miners and make a network so that you can all use the advantage of this algorithm. Open the sample photo.

Sometimes there is a hotspot around but no communication is established which can be due to:

1-Hotspots are switched off.
2-Their signals are blocked (for example, if the antenna is indoor, under a table or where the signals can not leave the environment or relayed status.
Factors affecting the amount of income:
1- Proper placement of hotspots relative to the Transmit Scale. This is an extremely important factor because when the density of hotspots in a range is more than a certain amount Transmit Scale becomes less than one. Since the income obtained from the witnesses in the area is multiplied by Transmit Scale ,if it is less than one, it reduces the income level.
2- Antenna: What antenna you choose can greatly affect your income ٬ Many people think that the more powerful the antenna the more the income. however, it is not the case at all. you need to choose the best option according to your area coverage, the distance between you and other miners, the altitude of your antenna, and other factors.
3- (relayed status): This mode happens when your hotspot can not communicate directly with other miners and requires an intermediate interface to do so, this interface can be another hotspot. Relayed status may occur due to firewall settings. The way to fix it is to create a TCP port in the settings (port forwarding).
As you see, it is of utmost importance that we do the proper placement and installation of our hotspots so that we can send and receive the maximum signal to and from the surrounding hotspots and complete the proof of coverage algorithm.

1-Hotspots are switched off.
2-Their signals are blocked (for example, if the antenna is indoor, under a table or where the signals can not leave the environment or relayed status.
Factors affecting the amount of income:
1- Proper placement of hotspots relative to the Transmit Scale. This is an extremely important factor because when the density of hotspots in a range is more than a certain amount Transmit Scale becomes less than one. Since the income obtained from the witnesses in the area is multiplied by Transmit Scale ,if it is less than one, it reduces the income level.
2- Antenna: What antenna you choose can greatly affect your income ٬ Many people think that the more powerful the antenna the more the income. however, it is not the case at all. you need to choose the best option according to your area coverage, the distance between you and other miners, the altitude of your antenna, and other factors.
3- (relayed status): This mode happens when your hotspot can not communicate directly with other miners and requires an intermediate interface to do so, this interface can be another hotspot. Relayed status may occur due to firewall settings. The way to fix it is to create a TCP port in the settings (port forwarding).
As you see, it is of utmost importance that we do the proper placement and installation of our hotspots so that we can send and receive the maximum signal to and from the surrounding hotspots and complete the proof of coverage algorithm.

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