Ghostbusters Wi-Fi Scanner

The film Ghostbusters made its debut in 1984, and through a number of sequels, spinoffs, and toys, the franchise is still very much in the public consciousness as of today in 2022. In addition to official toys and content, makers have added to the Ghostbusters universe with their own take on movie props, including the iconic PKE meter. Kevin McAleer’s PKE meter(-ish) device, as seen here, is a fun take on the prop for detecting not ghosts but Wi-Fi signals.

The device uses a Raspberry Pi Pico W to scan for local Wi-Fi signals, listing them on a Pico Display Pack 2.0 from Pimoroni. This also provides a ready-made user interface via its four onboard buttons. As different networks are selected, the scanner’s arms change position to indicate network strength. Power is provided by a 400 mAh LiPo, boosted up to 5V via its charging unit.

The scanner features a number of 3D-printed parts, with a meshed gear setup that allows both arms to be controlled by a single servo. Print files are available via the project writeup, and code can be found on GitHub for your perusal.

For a full explanation of how the device works, check out the video below. If you’d just like to see it in action, however, fast forward to around the 47 minute mark, where McAleer boots it up for a demo. Seeing the arms pop out at startup is entertaining, and they are quite responsive when scrolling through networks.