HELIOS_HUNTER is multi-coin mining firmware for the ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display. It combines an independent SHA-256d Stratum miner with balance pages for Cheetahcoin, WojakCoin, DigiByte, Bitcoin Cash, and Bitcoin.
HELIOS_HUNTER was not created by HeliosPool and is not an official HeliosPool product. I am simply a big fan of HeliosPool and wanted to create something for its community.
For support, I can be reached in the SOLO_HUNTER channel of the HeliosPool Discord server.
Two display versions are available:
HELIOS_HUNTER_ILI9341_v1.0.7_merged.binfor ILI9341 panelsHELIOS_HUNTER_ST7789_v1.0.7_merged.binfor ST7789 panels
Use only the firmware version that matches the display controller in your CYD.
- Recovered the fast native SHA engine, with observed peaks around 920 kH/s on tested CYDs. Speed varies with the device and network activity.
- Full startup digest checks and software verification of candidate hashes remain enabled; FAST mode is never forced past a failed check.
- More noticeable BLOCKS counter beside the main-screen share counter.
- Expanded screen layout and full-size, unabridged CHTA balances with the
CHTAlabel. - Rear-LED enable/disable and screen-sleep controls in the web UI. Mining continues while the screen sleeps.
- Persistent balance baselines and pending balance-increase alerts across reboots.
- Clearer Wi-Fi retry/setup behavior and device diagnostics for uptime, last reset, reconnects, and memory.
Pool reconnects can still occur, and long-term restart stability remains under observation. This release does not promise zero watchdog resets. See CHANGELOG.md for details.
- Hardware-accelerated ESP32 SHA-256d mining
- User-configurable pool, port, username, worker, and password
- Mining remains independent from the selected balance screen
- Screen order: HeliosPool, CHTA, WJK, DGB, BCH, BTC
- Swipe navigation and matching rear-LED colors
- Live hashrate, accepted/rejected shares, and best difficulty on every page
- Address balances and a selectable USD, CAD, or GBP value
- Block-found style notification when a tracked balance increases
- Browser-based setup and management UI
- Persistent Wi-Fi, mining, wallet, currency, brightness, and rotation settings
HELIOS_HUNTER is designed for the:
- ESP32-2432S028R Cheap Yellow Display
- ILI9341 or ST7789 320x240 display
- XPT2046 touch controller
HELIOS_HUNTER is provided as a ready-to-flash merged ESP32 firmware image. Arduino IDE is not required to install the firmware.
Download the merged .bin file that matches your display from the latest GitHub release:
HELIOS_HUNTER_ILI9341_v1.0.7_merged.binHELIOS_HUNTER_ST7789_v1.0.7_merged.bin
Use an ESP32-compatible flashing tool and connect the CYD to your computer with USB.
Flash the selected merged firmware file at:
0x0000
Because the provided file is a merged firmware image, the bootloader, partition table, boot application data, and HELIOS_HUNTER firmware are already contained in a single file.
You do not need to manually flash separate files at 0x1000, 0x8000, 0xE000, or 0x10000.
Make sure you use the correct firmware for your display controller.
Back up your Wi-Fi, mining, and balance-address settings before updating. Flashing a merged image can clear saved settings.
- ILI9341 display → use the ILI9341 firmware
- ST7789 display → use the ST7789 firmware
Flashing the wrong display version may result in a blank, distorted, incorrectly colored, or unusable screen.
- Flash the merged firmware file that matches your screen at
0x0000. - Restart the ESP32 Cheap Yellow Display.
- Connect a phone or computer to the
HELIOS_HUNTER_SETUPWi-Fi network. - Select the Wi-Fi network the miner should use.
- Once connected, open the IP address shown on the Helios screen.
- Use the Mining tab to configure any compatible SHA-256d Stratum pool.
- Use each coin tab to save the address whose balance should be displayed.
Changing or viewing a coin does not change the active mining pool.
Mining is global and continues while the balance pages and web interface are in use.
The HELIOS_HUNTER source code is included in this repository for both supported display versions.
Separate source folders are provided for:
- ILI9341
- ST7789
Most users do not need to compile the source code. The precompiled merged .bin files can be flashed directly using an ESP32 flashing tool.
The source is provided for development, modification, troubleshooting, and community contributions.
Balance pages display public network data for the configured addresses. They do not represent unpaid pool earnings.
The firmware checks:
- Cheetahcoin (CHTA)
- WojakCoin (WJK)
- DigiByte (DGB)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
through multiple independent explorer or Electrum sources. The firmware refreshes periodically and automatically tries a fallback when a provider is unavailable. DigiByte public data may occasionally be delayed by its provider.
The balance-increase notification assumes an increase may represent a mined reward. Incoming transfers can also trigger the notification.
Wi-Fi credentials, wallet addresses, and mining settings are entered after flashing and stored in the ESP32's local nonvolatile storage.
They are not embedded in this repository or in the released firmware files. Release binaries are built from the public source and checked for personal wallet addresses, Wi-Fi credentials, pool usernames, access tokens, email addresses, and local computer paths before publication.
The release copies also remove personal compiler/debug paths from read-only strings and update the ESP32 image checksums. Executable instructions are unchanged. Settings, filesystem, and core-dump partitions are checked to be blank; release images are not dumps from configured devices.
HELIOS_HUNTER does not require your wallet seed phrase or private keys.
Never enter a wallet seed phrase or private key into HELIOS_HUNTER. Only public wallet addresses are required for balance tracking.
Most users should install the release .bin with an ESP32 flasher. Arduino instructions are provided separately in BUILDING.md only for developers who want to compile the public source themselves.
HELIOS_HUNTER is distributed under GPL-3.0-or-later.
See LICENSE.