COTX Networks — X3 Hotspot
Let’s take a deep dive into one of the newest helium hotspot (future) makers COTX.
COTX Network has proven to be a true pioneer within the helium network, even while currently being under probation by the MOC (Manufacturing Oversight Committee). COTX X-3 Hotspots continue to be onboarded and sold with the approval of the MOC. All while continuing to update their hardware and software capabilities and are pushing to become a full on maker for the helium network just as Bobcat, RAK, and SEEED (Sensecap) are.
I have been following COTX since they first applied for the MOC and helium systems to audit them for their ability to work on the network via HIP 19 (Approval Process for Hotspots found here). Their capacity and understanding of IoT needs on an enterprise scale are quite impressive. With products ranging from asset tracking, advanced IoT security, and other custom LoRaWAN enabled solutions.
Now that you have some background on what COTX Networks is comprised of, I’d like to showcase their product which is the COTX-X3.
COTX — X3
Physical specifications
Product size (H*W*D)
⚫ H*W*D：95*79*29mm
Product weight
⚫ 265g Material of accessories
⚫ Aluminum alloy Fixing way
⚫ Wall-mounted, desktop or outdoor placement Operating temperature
⚫ 0℃~50℃ Protection level
⚫ IP41
You might notice something special about this unique looking hotspot, it is extremely small. Even to what I might call a “mini” or “micro” hotspot and when it comes to finding quality helium hosts (especially indoors) the size of the hotspot and equipment involved plays a large role in that host agreeing to host the equipment.
There is only one other hotspot that compares to this size which would be the Kerlink Helium Network Compatible Wirnet iFemtoCell, but from what I have seen. These Kerlink hotspots barely perform due to their ridiculously low onboard memory, so they cannot even be considered a comparison to the COTX X3 in my opinion.
Now that we are on the topic of memory, let’s go over the internals of the COTX-X3. Running off a Linux Operating System 4.9 and here are the hardware specifications.
32GB of eMMC storage
2GB LPDDR4–3200 SDRAM
Quad-core Cortex-A72 @ 1.5GHz
2.4 / 5GHz 802.11AC (WiFi)
Bluetooth 5.0
10/100/1000Mbps Ethernet
This hotspot runs off a 5V — DC Micro-USB connection for it’s power supply so powering this hotspot will be breeze with a PoE Splitter Gigabit 5V — Micro USB these devices to have tendencies to fail, so the link I provided is a 4 pack of splitters. A Gigabit Power Over Ethernet PoE+ Injector | 30W | 802.3 af/at will then supply both power and data to the splitter which provides the proper connections for your hotspot. You can find a recommended injector from Fiz-Tech.Net (US).
Some points to make about this unit that might benefit you over choosing a different hotspot include:
⚫ Fast in synchronization. COTX Hotspot is fully adapted to Helium official miner Mirror Program and updates simultaneously with Helium platform.
⚫ Stable and secure and system. It is tested and utilized by many open source communities, Helium platform as well as application developers.
⚫ COTX Hotspot maintains minimum updates that synchronizes with the official updates. It reduces mining losses from recurring updates of compilation.
⚫ Based on the Raspberry PI open platform, COTX Hotspot is expandable and constructive and offers high system configuration of 2G/4G memory. X3 has outstanding memory capacity far ahead of its peers.
I hope you enjoyed going over the COTX-X3 if you would like to connect more directly with COTX Networks feel free to reach out to them from multiple social media facets including facebook, linkedin, twitter, and a dedicated discord server.
