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Bobcat Miner 300: Armbian and Meshpoint Install

Guide for repurposing a Bobcat Miner 300 (Helium-era LoRa miner) as a Meshpoint. These units use a Rockchip RK3566 host (not a Raspberry Pi), onboard eMMC, and an SX1302-class concentrator. Meshpoint runs after you flash community Armbian and apply the SPI/GPIO configuration below.

Status (July 2026): Community-validated on model G295 (2 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC). Meshtastic TX/RX confirmed; MeshCore companion via a powered USB hub reported working. Model G290 (also SX1302, 2 GB / 64 GB) is expected to follow the same path; G285 is untested here. This is not plug-and-play like a RAK Hotspot V2: expect manual local.yaml, systemd overrides, and kernel pin holds.

Compare with other miners in Hardware Matrix. For Pi 4 + microSD installs see Onboarding.

What you need

Item Notes
Bobcat Miner 300 G295 validated; G290 likely compatible
Host Rockchip RK3566, aarch64
Storage Onboard eMMC (typically 64 GB)
LoRa antenna Connect before applying RF power
USB OTG / hub Onboard micro-USB is for flashing; MeshCore USB may need a powered hub
Ethernet or Wi-Fi For dashboard access and optional Meshradar upstream

Step 1: Flash Armbian (do not upgrade the kernel)

Use the community image and instructions:

sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian

That build targets Bobcat hardware. Do not run a generic kernel upgrade after install: hold the shipped kernel packages so SPI overlays keep working.

After first boot:

sudo apt-mark hold linux-image-current-rockchip64 \
  linux-dtb-current-rockchip64 \
  linux-u-boot-bobcat-29x-current

Step 2: Enable SPI (concentrator bus)

Edit /boot/armbianEnv.txt and add the SPI overlay:

sudo nano /boot/armbianEnv.txt

Add:

overlays=spi5-m1

Save and reboot:

sudo reboot

After reboot the concentrator should appear on /dev/spidev5.0 (and /dev/spidev5.1 for the secondary chip select if present).

Step 3: Clone Meshpoint and run the installer

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y git
sudo git clone https://github.com/KMX415/meshpoint.git /opt/meshpoint

Before running the installer, edit scripts/install.sh and comment out the apt-get upgrade line. On Bobcat-Armbian, a full distro upgrade can replace the pinned kernel and break SPI.

sudo nano /opt/meshpoint/scripts/install.sh
# Comment out: apt-get upgrade -y -qq

Run the installer. Do not reboot when it finishes (you still need config):

sudo bash /opt/meshpoint/scripts/install.sh

Step 4: Setup wizard (config file only)

Run the wizard to create config/local.yaml. The wizard may not detect the concentrator yet; that is expected.

sudo meshpoint setup

Do not start the service at the end of the wizard.

Step 5: Point capture at the Bobcat SPI bus

Edit /opt/meshpoint/config/local.yaml. Set the concentrator block:

capture:
  sources:
    - concentrator
  concentrator:
    board: "sx1302"
    spi_path: "/dev/spidev5.0"
    reset_pin: 149

Save the file.

Add the service user to the dialout group:

sudo usermod -aG dialout meshpoint

Step 6: Systemd overrides (SPI symlinks, GPIO, reset)

Meshpoint defaults assume /dev/spidev0.0 and Pi-style GPIO numbering. On Bobcat, create a systemd drop-in so each service start prepares the bus before the concentrator opens.

sudo systemctl edit meshpoint

Paste the block below above the line that says discarded lines are ignored (### Lines below this comment will be discarded):

[Service]
ExecStartPre=

ExecStartPre=+/bin/bash -c "cp /opt/meshpoint/config/sudoers-meshpoint /etc/sudoers.d/meshpoint && chmod 440 /etc/sudoers.d/meshpoint"
ExecStartPre=+/bin/chown -R meshpoint:meshpoint /opt/meshpoint/config

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c '[ ! -e /dev/spidev0.0 ] && ln -sf /dev/spidev5.0 /dev/spidev0.0 || true'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c '[ ! -e /dev/spidev0.1 ] && ln -sf /dev/spidev5.1 /dev/spidev0.1 || true'

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'chown root:dialout /dev/spidev5.* && chmod 660 /dev/spidev5.* || true'

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c '[ ! -d /sys/class/gpio/gpio149 ] && echo 149 > /sys/class/gpio/export || true'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c '[ ! -d /sys/class/gpio/gpio147 ] && echo 147 > /sys/class/gpio/export || true'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sleep 0.2

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio149/direction'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo out > /sys/class/gpio/gpio147/direction'

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio147/value'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio149/value'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sleep 0.3
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo 1 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio149/value'
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sleep 0.3
ExecStartPre=+/bin/sh -c 'echo 0 > /sys/class/gpio/gpio149/value'

ExecStartPre=+/bin/sleep 1.5

GPIO 147 enables the TX amplifier rail; 149 is the concentrator reset line. Save and exit.

Reboot:

sudo reboot

Step 7: Verify

  1. Open http://<device-ip>:8080, complete /setup if prompted (v0.7.3+).
  2. Enable TX on the Radio tab if you plan to send traffic.
  3. Check logs:
journalctl -u meshpoint -f

Look for chip version 0x10 (SX1302), lgw_start() success, and RX lines. Send a test message to another Meshtastic node on your bench.

Upgrades

Use the normal Meshpoint update flow, but keep apt-get upgrade disabled in install.sh (or re-comment it after each pull) so the pinned Armbian kernel stays in place.

cd /opt/meshpoint
sudo git fetch origin
sudo git checkout main
sudo git pull origin main
sudo bash /opt/meshpoint/scripts/install.sh
sudo systemctl restart meshpoint

Community reports: v0.7.3.1 to v0.7.4 upgraded cleanly with only the apt-get upgrade guard in place.

MeshCore USB companion

The front micro-USB port is primarily for flashing. USB OTG for a MeshCore companion is unconfirmed on G295 (a dedicated OTG cable did not enumerate as host). A powered USB hub with a self-powered companion radio (for example a T-Deck) has been reported working under Armbian.

Configure MeshCore in local.yaml or the setup wizard once the serial port is stable. See Hardware Matrix > MeshCore USB.

Known limits

Area Status
Meshtastic concentrator TX/RX Validated (bench / limited RF environment)
Long-range / multi-hop soak More field testing welcome
MeshCore on-board USB OTG Use powered hub; native OTG not confirmed
G285 hardware Untested
install.sh without edits Not supported (kernel upgrade risk)
Bluetooth / Meshtastic phone app Not used; use the Meshpoint web dashboard

Troubleshooting

Chip version 0x00: Re-check SPI overlay, symlinks, GPIO reset sequence in the systemd drop-in, and that kernel packages are still held. Power-cycle with antenna connected.

Permission denied on /dev/spidev5.0: Confirm meshpoint is in dialout and the chmod 660 ExecStartPre lines run (see drop-in above).

Service fails after apt upgrade: Kernel drift. Reflash or restore Bobcat-Armbian, re-apply apt-mark hold, and avoid uncommenting apt-get upgrade in install.sh.

For general Meshpoint errors see COMMON-ERRORS.md and TROUBLESHOOTING.md.