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Bobcat 300 Miner – Armbian Build

Version: v26.02 rolling
Hardware: Bobcat 300 (RK3566)
Kernel: Linux 6.18.4-current-rockchip64

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Overview

Custom Armbian image for the Bobcat 300 Miner running on Rockchip RK3566 hardware.

⚠️ Important: Boot behavior differs by model.
Please read the correct section below for your device.

🛑 Before you run apt upgrade / apt full-upgrade: Bobcat 300 hardware is not yet mainlined in Armbian, and a free kernel/U-Boot upgrade can break your boot. Jump to Upgrade Safety and hold those packages first — do this right after your first successful boot, before you forget.

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Supported Models & Downloads

• Bobcat 300 G280 (SD Boot Version- NO WIFI)

  https://github.com/sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian/releases/download/1.0/BobcatArmbian280.img.xz

• Bobcat 300 G285 (SD Boot Version)
  https://github.com/sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian/releases/download/1.0/BobcatArmbian285.img.xz

• Bobcat 300 G290 (eMMC Flasher)
  https://github.com/sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian/releases/download/1.0/Bobcat29X_EMMC_Flasher.img

• Bobcat 300 G295 (eMMC Flasher)
  https://github.com/sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian/releases/download/1.0/Bobcat29X_EMMC_Flasher.img

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G280/285 – SD Card Boot (No eMMC Flash Required)

The G280 / G285 boots and runs entirely from the SD card.
Nothing is written to internal eMMC.

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Installation (G280/285)

1️⃣ Flash the Image to SD Card

Linux

xz -d BobcatArmbian285.img.xz
sudo dd if=BobcatArmbian285.img of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress conv=fsync
sync

macOS

xz -d BobcatArmbian285.img.xz
diskutil list
diskutil unmountDisk /dev/diskX
sudo dd if=BobcatArmbian285.img of=/dev/rdiskX bs=4m
diskutil eject /dev/diskX

Windows

Use Balena Etcher:

1. Select BobcatArmbian285.img.xz
2. Select your SD card
3. Click Flash

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2️⃣ Boot Device

1. Power off the Bobcat
2. Insert SD card
3. Power on device
4. System will boot directly from SD card
   ✔ No eMMC flashing
   ✔ No waiting process
   ✔ Safe & reversible (remove SD to restore stock)

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G290 / G295 – eMMC Flasher Image

The G290 and G295 use a flasher image.
This image boots from SD and automatically flashes Armbian to internal eMMC.

⚠️ This will overwrite the internal OS.

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Installation (G290 / G295)

1️⃣ Burn Image to SD Card

Flash:

Bobcat29X_EMMC_Flasher.img

Use:

• Linux dd
• macOS dd
• Windows (Balena Etcher)

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2️⃣ Flash eMMC

1. Power off the Bobcat
2. Insert SD card
3. Power on the device
4. The device will automatically begin flashing eMMC
5. Wait up to 10 minutes
6. The LED will begin flashing when complete
   ⚠️ Do NOT power off during flashing

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3️⃣ After Flash Completes

1. Power off the device
2. Remove SD card
3. Power on again
4. System now boots from internal eMMC

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First Boot

Default Login:

Username: root
Password: 1234

You will be prompted to:

• Change root password
• Create a new user
  🛑 Next step: before you run any apt upgrade, go hold the kernel/U-Boot packages — see Upgrade Safety below.

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Helium Installation (Only for 285/29x)

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sicXnull/Bobcat-Armbian/refs/heads/main/install_helium.sh
chmod +x install_helium.sh
./install_helium.sh

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Upgrade Safety — Holding Kernel/U-Boot Packages

Bobcat 300 hardware is not yet mainlined in Armbian. Letting apt freely upgrade the kernel, DTB, or U-Boot packages can break boot. For those reading this later:

1. Once you get a good Armbian boot and want to make it safe to sudo apt upgrade, do this:

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

This holds the kernel updates back. This works (holds those 3 packages from upgrading) for sudo apt upgrade, but may not work for sudo apt full-upgrade (i.e. full-upgrade may not hold — not sure, not tested, but beware).

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Notes

• G280 / G285 → Runs fully from SD card
• G290 / G295 → SD card flashes eMMC
• First boot may take several minutes
• See Upgrade Safety above before running apt upgrade/apt full-upgrade

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