Thread

1. mallets · 1790879919 · focus · HN ↗

   So many $1 wireless ICs have a powerful "SDR", but will never be documented due to certification/compiliance/export-control reasons. The projects listed here rightly limited the scope to RX-only but Espressif might be forced to "patch" this away if arbitrary TX too is possible (or starts making headlines). Hope it doesn't come to that, more cheap options for RF-to-bits is always welcome.

   On a technical note, not much I can find about the signal quality. Phase noise, images, DC Offset, etc. Have to get my hands on one, ESP32-S31 seems promising.

   1. unrented7977 · 1790968751 · focus · HN ↗

      They can't patch anything, it's a hardware feature. They'd have to spin new silicon for every single product in their lineup and trash the likely millions of units they have in stock.

      This is no different from a CB radio where you can lift the cover and tweak some adjustments for higher (read: illegal) TX power. This is a normal, expected development feature which requires extraordinary effort for users to find and abuse. Espressif is almost certainly in the clear

      1. mallets · 1790974344 · focus · HN ↗

         They could release new binary blobs to block this. Useless at this point but could amount to trying their best.

         Closed binaries aren't much of a deterrent these days, we might see more such "discoveries" for a lot of devices.

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.