Turn a WiFi 7 Router into a 320Msps Software Defined Radio Receiver(github.com)
414 points by djfergus 1 day ago | 122 comments
tl;dr: A hacker reverse-engineered the Gemtek W1700K Wi-Fi 7 router into a wideband SDR receiver, using the MediaTek MT7996 radio to capture 14-bit IQ at up to 320 Msps across 2.4/5/6 GHz bands and streaming it over 10 GbE to a Linux host for live spectrum/waterfall display in the browser. The project runs entirely on custom firmware (no MediaTek code), with the LO tunable in ~3 Hz steps from 2.08–7.58 GHz and retunable mid-stream in ~1 ms. It's receive-only; the repo includes U-Boot, a Linux 6.18 build, the MT7996 driver, and full register documentation.
HN Discussion:
  • ↑Excitement about democratizing SDR access via common Wi-Fi hardware
  • ↑Enthusiasm for hardware extension possibilities like service monitors and up/down converters
  • •Noting hardware compatibility with similar chipsets like Banana Pi R4
  • ↓Skepticism that narrow bandwidth limits practical SDR use cases
  • •Curiosity about practical applications of SDRs for average users