QuadRF can spot drones and see WiFi through my wall(jeffgeerling.com)
743 points by speckx 62 days ago | 234 comments
tl;dr: QuadRF is an open-source handheld phased-array SDR built on a Raspberry Pi 5 and FPGA, covering 4.9–6 GHz and using the Pi's MIPI lanes for >5 Gbps I/Q streaming. It can visualize WiFi signals through walls in AR, track drones in flight, and daisy-chain with other modules—part of a larger project aiming at a Moon-scale antenna array for EME experiments. Available on Crowd Supply starting at $499; the UI is rough but the hardware reportedly works impressively well.
HN Discussion:
  • Creator engages with community, offers demos and acknowledges UI improvements needed
  • Concern about surveillance implications and government capabilities using such tech
  • Interest in extending the concept to other domains like acoustic sensing
  • Excitement about practical applications like drone defense, hidden camera detection, and EMC testing
  • Desire for expanded form factors and frequency coverage (smart glasses, more bands)