{
 "slug": "chameleon-ultra",
 "name": "Chameleon Ultra",
 "maker": "RFID Research Group",
 "category": "rfid",
 "categoryLabel": "RFID & NFC",
 "status": "listed",
 "statusLabel": "Listed by maker",
 "description": "A compact, programmable RFID card emulator.",
 "goodFor": "Experiment with supported RFID card emulation.",
 "youNeed": "A compatible client and your own supported tags.",
 "tradeoff": "Supported operations depend on firmware and tag type.",
 "tags": [
  "LF RFID",
  "HF RFID",
  "Emulation",
  "Bluetooth"
 ],
 "price": "€129",
 "priceShort": "€129",
 "priceFrom": "lab401.com",
 "checked": "2026-09-15",
 "url": "https://gadgets.sh/devices/chameleon-ultra/",
 "shortUrl": "https://gadgets.sh/chameleon-ultra",
 "markdown": "https://gadgets.sh/devices/chameleon-ultra.md",
 "image": "https://gadgets.sh/assets/chameleon-ultra.jpg",
 "cutout": "https://gadgets.sh/assets/cutouts/chameleon-ultra.webp",
 "shareCard": "https://gadgets.sh/og/chameleon-ultra.jpg",
 "shops": [
  {
   "merchant": "Lab401",
   "label": "Buy from Lab401",
   "kind": "shop",
   "orderable": true,
   "url": "https://lab401.com/products/chameleon-ultra?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-ultra&utm_content=api",
   "note": null
  },
  {
   "merchant": "Hacker Warehouse",
   "label": "Buy from Hacker Warehouse",
   "kind": "shop",
   "orderable": true,
   "url": "https://hackerwarehouse.com/product/chameleon-ultra/?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-ultra&utm_content=api",
   "note": "In stock at Hacker Warehouse when checked on 2026-09-29."
  },
  {
   "merchant": "MTools Tec",
   "label": "Buy from MTools Tec",
   "kind": "shop",
   "orderable": true,
   "url": "https://shop.mtoolstec.com/product/chameleon-ultra?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-ultra&utm_content=api",
   "note": "In stock at MTools Tec when checked on 2026-09-29."
  },
  {
   "merchant": "RFID Research Group",
   "label": "Source repository",
   "kind": "repo",
   "orderable": false,
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra?utm_source=gadgets.sh&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=chameleon-ultra&utm_content=api",
   "note": "The maker publishes this as a project, not a product listing."
  }
 ],
 "specs": [
  {
   "group": "Core platform",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Processor",
     "value": "Nordic nRF52840",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra"
    },
    {
     "label": "Firmware",
     "value": "Open-source ChameleonUltra firmware and command-line tools",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "group": "Hardware",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Dimensions",
     "value": "24 × 40 × 8 mm",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Radio hardware",
     "value": "13.56 MHz HF and 125 kHz LF antenna boards with ferrite shielding",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Emulation",
     "value": "Hardware supports simultaneous HF and LF emulation",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Reader hardware",
     "value": "MFRC522 provides HF ISO 14443-A read/write capabilities on Ultra",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Controls",
     "value": "A and B buttons; eight slot indicators",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Connection",
     "value": "USB-C for charging and data",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Battery",
     "value": "Internal rechargeable LiPo; capacity not stated in this guide",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Serviceability",
     "value": "Four-screw assembly",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Package",
     "value": "USB adapter cable, 3.5 hex driver, two spare screws and keychain are shown in the hardware guide",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "group": "Software & versions",
   "rows": [
    {
     "label": "Clients",
     "value": "ChameleonUltraGUI, MTools BLE, iOS beta and Sailfish community clients",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    },
    {
     "label": "Ultra vs Lite",
     "value": "Reader hardware and supported operations differ; Ultra specifications must not be applied to Lite",
     "source": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
    }
   ]
  }
 ],
 "docs": [
  {
   "label": "Maker specifications and product details",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra"
  },
  {
   "label": "Project documentation",
   "url": "https://rfidresearchgroup.github.io/ChameleonUltra/"
  },
  {
   "label": "Project hardware guide",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki/Hardware"
  },
  {
   "label": "MFRC522",
   "url": "https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/data-sheet/MFRC522.pdf"
  },
  {
   "label": "wiki",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/wiki"
  },
  {
   "label": "docs",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/tree/main/docs"
  },
  {
   "label": "firmware",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/tree/main/firmware"
  }
 ],
 "blueprint": {
  "openness": "open-hardware",
  "opennessLabel": "Open hardware",
  "summary": "RfidResearchGroup publishes schematic PDFs and Gerbers for both the main and antenna boards in its firmware repo; no dedicated BOM file, no editable KiCad/Altium source.",
  "files": [
   {
    "kind": "schematic",
    "label": "Main board schematic (PDF, rev 1.0)",
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/blob/main/hardware/ultra/Chameleon_nrf52_ultra_V1.0.pdf",
    "format": "PDF"
   },
   {
    "kind": "gerbers",
    "label": "Main board Gerbers (rev 1.0)",
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/blob/main/hardware/ultra/Chameleon_nrf52_ultra_main_V1.0.zip",
    "format": "ZIP"
   },
   {
    "kind": "gerbers",
    "label": "Antenna board Gerbers (rev 1.0)",
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra/blob/main/hardware/ultra/Chameleon_nrf52_ultra_ant_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"
   },
   {
    "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltraDocs",
    "role": "docs",
    "official": true,
    "license": "GPL-3.0",
    "stars": 27,
    "pushed": "2026-09-16"
   }
  ],
  "parts": [
   {
    "part": "Nordic nRF52840",
    "role": "MCU + BLE radio",
    "datasheet": "https://www.nordicsemi.com/products/nrf52840"
   },
   {
    "part": "NXP MFRC522",
    "role": "HF (13.56 MHz) reader/writer front end",
    "datasheet": "https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/data-sheet/MFRC522.pdf"
   }
  ],
  "notes": "Verified via gh api tree of RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra plus downloading and unzipping both hardware zips (Gerbers present, no BOM). The Devkit variant shares the same hardware/dev-tools/*.pdf+zip in the same repo but isn't in this batch.",
  "checked": "2026-09-27"
 },
 "sourceFiles": null,
 "firmware": [
  {
   "name": "ChameleonUltra Official Firmware",
   "url": "https://github.com/RfidResearchGroup/ChameleonUltra",
   "tag": "Firmware & CLI",
   "description": "Open-source firmware and CLI for LF/HF RFID emulation, sniffing, and nested card cracking."
  },
  {
   "name": "ChameleonUltraGUI",
   "url": "https://github.com/GameInstance/ChameleonUltraGUI",
   "tag": "GUI App",
   "description": "Cross-platform desktop and mobile management GUI for card slot dumping and firmware updates."
  }
 ],
 "chips": [
  "nrf52840"
 ]
}