{
 "slug": "chameleon-lite",
 "name": "Chameleon Lite",
 "maker": "RFID Research Group",
 "category": "rfid",
 "categoryLabel": "RFID & NFC",
 "status": "listed",
 "statusLabel": "Listed by maker",
 "description": "A low-cost RFID emulator holding eight high-frequency and eight low-frequency tags, with six months of battery life.",
 "goodFor": "Carry a handful of test credentials for authorised access testing.",
 "youNeed": "Cards you are authorised to clone or emulate.",
 "tradeoff": "Emulation only; it cannot read and crack like a Proxmark.",
 "tags": [
  "RFID emulator",
  "MIFARE",
  "Bluetooth",
  "Long battery"
 ],
 "price": "€59",
 "priceShort": "€59",
 "priceFrom": null,
 "checked": "2026-09-17",
 "url": "https://gadgets.sh/devices/chameleon-lite/",
 "shortUrl": "https://gadgets.sh/chameleon-lite",
 "markdown": "https://gadgets.sh/devices/chameleon-lite.md",
 "image": "https://gadgets.sh/assets/chameleon-lite.jpg",
 "cutout": "https://gadgets.sh/assets/cutouts/chameleon-lite.webp",
 "shareCard": "https://gadgets.sh/og/chameleon-lite.jpg",
 "shops": [
  {
   "merchant": "Lab401",
   "label": "Buy from Lab401",
   "kind": "shop",
   "orderable": true,
   "url": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-lite&utm_content=api",
   "note": null
  },
  {
   "merchant": "MTools Tec",
   "label": "Buy from MTools Tec",
   "kind": "shop",
   "orderable": true,
   "url": "https://shop.mtoolstec.com/product/chameleon-lite?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-lite&utm_content=api",
   "note": "In stock at MTools Tec when checked on 2026-09-29."
  }
 ],
 "specs": [
  {
   "group": "Core hardware",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Processor and memory",
     "value": "Not published by the maker",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Display",
     "value": "None",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Radios",
     "value": "13.56 MHz MIFARE and ISO 14443A emulation · 125 kHz EM4xx emulation · Bluetooth for updates and control",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Power",
     "value": "90 mAh LiPo lasting about six months",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "group": "Details from the product page",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Tag slots",
     "value": "8 high-frequency and 8 low-frequency slots",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Emulation",
     "value": "Near-native precision for MIFARE chipsets",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Controls",
     "value": "Two physical buttons",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Connectivity",
     "value": "USB 2.0 Type-C and Bluetooth",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Size and weight",
     "value": "61 × 36 × 8.8 mm · 8 g",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Software",
     "value": "Works with the ChameleonUltra UI and CLI tools; fully open source",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "group": "Buying",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Price",
     "value": "€59 on lab401.com",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    },
    {
     "label": "Availability",
     "value": "In stock on the day of review",
     "source": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "docs": [
  {
   "label": "Distributor product page",
   "url": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-lite"
  }
 ],
 "blueprint": {
  "openness": "open-hardware",
  "opennessLabel": "Open hardware",
  "summary": "RfidResearchGroup publishes a schematic PDF and Gerber fab files for the Chameleon Lite in the same GitHub repo as the firmware; no separate BOM file is included.",
  "files": [
   {
    "kind": "schematic",
    "label": "Lite board schematic (PDF, rev 1.0)",
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/blob/main/hardware/lite/Chameleon_nrf52_lite_V1.0.pdf",
    "format": "PDF"
   },
   {
    "kind": "gerbers",
    "label": "Lite board Gerbers (rev 1.0)",
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/blob/main/hardware/lite/Chameleon_nrf52_lite_V1.0.zip",
    "format": "ZIP"
   }
  ],
  "repos": [
   {
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra",
    "role": "hardware",
    "official": true,
    "license": "GPL-3.0",
    "stars": 3041,
    "pushed": "2026-09-11"
   }
  ],
  "parts": [
   {
    "part": "Nordic nRF52840",
    "role": "MCU + BLE radio",
    "datasheet": "https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf52840"
   }
  ],
  "notes": "Verified via gh api tree listing on RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra (hardware/lite/*) and by downloading and unzipping the .zip (contains Gerber/NC-drill files, no BOM). Per RRG's own ChameleonUltraDocs hardware.md, the Lite omits the MFRC522 HF-reader chip that the Ultra/Devkit have, so it can only simulate, not read/write, HF tags.",
  "checked": "2026-09-27"
 },
 "sourceFiles": null,
 "firmware": [
  {
   "name": "ChameleonUltra Firmware",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra",
   "tag": "RFID / NFC",
   "description": "Universal RFID/NFC emulator firmware with card sniffing, emulation, and key dictionary cracking."
  }
 ],
 "chips": [
  "nrf52840"
 ]
}