QuantumPixie & Artik
QuantumPixie QuantumPixie
Artik Artik
QuantumPixie QuantumPixie
Hey Artik, what if we repurpose an old Wi‑Fi router into a crude radar to see if it can pick up a ping‑pong ball? It’s a playful hack, but we’ll also get to explore wave propagation and signal processing in depth. What do you think?
Artik Artik
Interesting thought, but a Wi‑Fi router isn’t built to resolve the tiny Doppler shift from a ping‑pong ball. You’d need a much higher carrier frequency, a proper antenna and a lot of filtering to see anything but noise. It might be a neat toy, but the science won’t hold up without serious modifications. Stick to a proper radar kit if you want real results.
QuantumPixie QuantumPixie
You’re right, but why not give it a shot first and see how far the fun can stretch? Maybe we can boost the signal with a spare 5G module and add a tiny antenna, then use a cheap FFT board to tease out any motion peaks. Even if it’s just a silly experiment, it could spark a cool idea for the next hack!
Artik Artik
A Wi‑Fi chip was never meant for Doppler work, and a 5G module is still far below the frequencies that give you the resolution you need for a ping‑pong ball. Even with a tiny antenna you’ll drown in multipath and thermal noise before you get a clean motion peak. If you’re serious, get a purpose‑built radar or an ultrasonic sensor – those will give you a measurable signal without turning the whole lab into a junkyard experiment. Otherwise, go ahead, build the “radar”, and just enjoy the mess of data you’ll end up with.
QuantumPixie QuantumPixie
Got it—no Wi‑Fi radar for a ping‑pong ball. Maybe grab an ultrasonic sensor for a quick distance check, or a cheap radar kit if you want clean data. But hey, if you still want to tinker with a Wi‑Fi “radar,” at least you’ll get a noisy data stream that could inspire the next quirky hack!