Bobcat Flashing – Self (DIY) Install

“This process is DIY, which means you are fully responsible for being able to and correctly following these procedures and you assume all responsibilities for the outcome and any errors or mistakes made in this process.“

This article explains the process of using BHS self install flashing for Bobcat (Region US915 Only for now) G285/G290/G295 devices.

Bobcat 300 devices come with a 64GB EMMC storage onboard. Most Raspberry pi platform miners lack any onboard storage as such require flashing a SD card which the raspberry pi platform boots from. Bobcat devices utilize their onboard EMMC storage for running its operating system. This guide will provide instructions to interact with the bobcat 300 internal storage (EMMC) and flash BHS Luna operating system to it.

First and foremost, you will require the following items to complete this task:

1. T9 screw driver to disassemble your bobcat device (has 4 screws).
2. Micro USB to USB-A  (USB Standard 2.0 recommended) cable.
   1. Must be data capable, most are for charging only.
3. Windows PC.
   1. Microsoft windows 7 or above.
4. Bobcat Miner
   1. + Power Supply
   2. + Stock Antenna.

This process will require the following steps in a brief overview before further explanation:

• Have a ethernet cord plugged into your Bobcat miner.
• Have Lorawan antenna plugged in before you start the flashing process.
• Install RK Driver Assistant
• Run RKDevTool
• Put Bobcat device into Loader Mode
• Switch from Loader Model to Maskrom Mode
• Perform EMMC (disk and LBA Erase) using BHS Mini Loader Image file
• Perform Firmware Upgrade Erase using BHS Mini Loader Image file
• Power cycle device and verify EMMC is erased successfully
• Load BHS firmware loader image and BHS Luna firmware image
• Initialize Luna

Install RK Driver Assistant

• Download, unzip and install RK Driver Assistant. This step will install the needed RockChip drivers.
• Once extracted you should have a RK Driver Assistant installer EXE, which you can run to complete this part.
• Download >> RK Driver Assistant

Run RKDevTool

• Download >> RKDevTool
• Unzip the downloaded .zip archive and run “RKDevTool.exe” to start RKDevTool App.

Put Bobcat device into Loader Mode:

• To complete this step you will need to disassemble your bobcat device.
• Remove 4 screws (bottom side).
• Remove the top cover from your bobcat 300 miner.
• This will expose the main board for your board for your bobcat miner.
• Locate (labelled clearly in some versions as “recovery”) button on the board.
  • Some versions of bobcat have only one “recovery” button.
  • Others have a recovery and a reset button.
  • Few versions do not have a label for reset or recovery on the main board.
• Connect your micro USB cable to your pc (not the front ports or via any usb expander, connect to one of the back USB ports).
• Plugin other side of this cord into the “COM” port on your bobcat 300 miner.
  • Make sure an ethernet source is plugged in at this time.
  • COM port is located towards the back side (next to ethernet and power, is labelled COM).
• Do not plugin power yet.
• Now locate, press and hold the “recovery” button on your bobcat main board.
• While the “recovery” button is still pressed down, plugin power.
• Wait 1-2 seconds and let the “recovery” button go.
  • You may have to repeat the above steps to get the timing right (for bobcat to show up in loader mode).
  • If it does not then simply remove power plug and start this process again.
  • If all else fails, verify that your usb cord is a data capable version and not just for charging. You can verify this by plugging in an older android device to your pc, it should show up as a mass storage device (or ask what to do with the plugged in device).
• Notice on RKDevTool (at the bottom of the app window), your bobcat will show as being in “loader mode”.

Switch from Loader Model to Maskrom Mode:

• On the RKDevTool app, click “Advanced Function” tab.
• Click “Go Maskrom”
• Notice that the device will switch to Maskrom mode.

Perform EMMC (disk and LBA Erase) using BHS Mini Loader Image file:

• Observe RKDevTool App (at bottom) showing device being in Maskrom mode.
• Click the “……” in front of “Boot” to show file explorer.
  • Download >> BHS_MiniLoaderAll.bin
  • Select BHS_MiniLoaderAll.bin
  • Click “Download” button.
• Once BHS MiniLoader BIN file has been loaded, click the “Erase All” button.
• Once the “Erase All” function has completed (it will never reach 100% erase, EMMC does not report back like a normal disk).
• Click “Erase LBA”.
• Repeat these two steps if needed.

Perform Firmware Upgrade Erase using BHS Mini Loader Image file:

• Click “Upgrade Firmware” to access the middle tab.
• Click the “Firmware” button this tab.
• Select BHS_MiniLoaderAll.bin
• Click “Erase” button and wait for the process to complete.

Power cycle device and verify EMMC is erased successfully:

• Unplug power to your bobcat 300, wait a few seconds and plug it back in.
• Notice that the device should now enter Maskrom mode without having to press and hold the “recovery” button.

Load BHS firmware loader image and BHS Luna firmware image:

• Click “Download Image” to access the left most tab (one which shows when you started RKDevTool).

• Download >> bhs_luna_rk356x_spl_loader.bin
• Select bhs_luna_rk356x_spl_loader.bin for loader.
• Select BHS Luna Bobcat 300 firmware file for image.
  • To download firmware image go here.
• Click “Run” button and wait for the flashing process to complete.

Initialize Luna:

• Leave the device powered on and ethernet plugged in (must have valid internet connection without any f/w blocks) for about 20 minutes.
• Power cycle the device (unplug power, plug it back in).