TL;DR
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An open-source GitHub project uses the radio in a Gemtek W1700K or W1700K2 Wi-Fi 7 router as a software-defined receiver, capturing 14-bit IQ data at rates up to 320 Msps and sending it to a Linux host over 10 GbE. The maintainers say the project supplies its own radio firmware and disables the transmit path; installation replaces the router’s stock operating system and requires compatible hardware and a 10 GbE connection.
An open-source project called w1700k-sdr turns compatible Gemtek W1700K and W1700K2 Wi-Fi 7 routers into wideband software-defined radio receivers, capturing raw 14-bit complex samples at rates up to 320 million samples per second and streaming them to a Linux computer over 10 GbE. The project’s maintainers say the receiver runs their own firmware, disables the radio’s transmit path and can display a live spectrum and waterfall in a browser.
The system uses the router’s MediaTek MT7996 radio to capture in-phase and quadrature (IQ) samples, while the Airoha AN7581 system-on-chip sends the data over the router’s 10-gigabit Ethernet port. According to the project documentation, the receiver supports 40, 80, 160 or 320 Msps on its supported bands, with 14-bit complex IQ output. On the 2.4 GHz band it also offers a 640/2 mode: it samples at 640 Msps and keeps every other sample, which the maintainers describe as flat to ±155 MHz, while warning that signals farther from the tuned frequency can fold into the captured range.
On a connected Linux host, w1700k-stream receives the router’s data and makes it available to other programs. The accompanying spectrum service can calculate a 262,144-point FFT and display a live browser-based spectrum and waterfall, with controls for tuning, gain, sample rate and filtering. The documentation describes a rate of 100 spectra per second; it also says the supplied recording runs at 50 frames per second. A separate recorder can save the stream.
At the maximum stated sample rate, the project says radio data is sent through a 1 GiB ring buffer in the router’s DRAM and exported in UDP datagrams over 10 GbE. To fit the link, the radio’s processing cores pack half the data slices to 28 bits per sample pair, which the maintainers describe as lossless. Their example status display reports a 9.75 Gbit/s link rate. These are project specifications and demonstrations; the source material does not provide independent performance testing.
A Router Becomes a Wideband Receiver
The project repurposes radio hardware already present in a consumer networking device for a different task: capturing a broad slice of radio spectrum and delivering it to general-purpose software. A 320 Msps capture can cover a wide frequency span at once, which can help users observe multiple signals or short bursts without retuning between each one. The browser interface and shared host stream also give users a way to inspect data and run other receiver tools alongside the live display.
The approach may interest radio experimenters and developers who can obtain the specified router and build the software. But it is not a plug-in feature for ordinary stock firmware: the project requires replacing the router’s operating system, connecting a serial adapter for installation, and using a host with a compatible 10 GbE network interface. Its practical value will depend on receiver performance, hardware availability and how reliably the full data path works in a user’s setup.
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Custom Firmware and Hardware Requirements
The repository describes a complete software stack, including a modified Linux 6.18 system for the router, a driver, radio firmware, host control tools, a stream service and a spectrum server. The maintainers say their MT7996 firmware consists of a ROM patch and their own WM and WA components, with no MediaTek firmware code. They say it initializes the radio from a cold start and handles tuning, capture, streaming, gain and filter commands from the host.
Installation is documented for the W1700K hardware revision 1.x and W1700K2 revision 2.1; the project says both use the same images. The setup calls for a 3.3-volt USB serial adapter and an Ethernet connection for installation, then a 10 GbE connection between the router’s WAN port and the host for streaming. The installation procedure backs up the router’s NAND and saves radio calibration, but it also replaces the stock operating system. The project provides instructions for updates, recovery and returning to stock.
Hardware details can affect installation. The documentation says most units use one NAND type, while some W1700K2 units use another that is supported but has not been tested on a physical unit by the maintainers. For those units, the installer stops unless a user supplies an override; the maintainers ask for a raw NAND dump to help investigate.
“The MT7996 runs only our own firmware: a ROM patch, WM and WA built from this repository, with no MediaTek code.”
— The w1700k-sdr project documentation
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Performance and Installation Caveats
The source material is the project’s own repository and documentation. It does not give an independent test of capture fidelity, sustained data loss, receiver sensitivity or performance across all supported bands. Screenshots and status figures are project-provided examples, rather than third-party measurements. The documentation also does not state how widely the software has been tested or how frequently it is updated.
The maintainers say the firmware disables transmission and report that a monitoring run at 5250 MHz detected no burst during loading, contrasting that with a full-power burst they attribute to MediaTek firmware. That account is a project claim, not an independent safety certification. Users should treat the system as radio equipment and follow the project’s warning about attenuators and sensitive instruments.
It is also unclear how many compatible routers are available, what the system’s receiver performance is compared with dedicated SDR hardware, and whether all listed band and tuning features behave consistently across individual units. The repository flags one NAND variant as supported but not yet tested on a physical device by its maintainers.
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Testing and Project Development
The repository points users to its architecture and roadmap documents for implementation details and planned work, but the supplied material does not identify a dated next release or test milestone. Interested users can review the installation and recovery instructions, build the components from public sources and run the project’s test suite before installing on a router.
Further evidence about real-world performance would come from repeatable measurements of signal response, sample continuity and operation across hardware revisions and frequency bands. Until those are available, the headline rates and feature set should be read as specifications and demonstrations reported by the project, rather than independently established benchmarks.
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Key Questions
Which routers does w1700k-sdr support?
The project lists the Gemtek W1700K hardware revision 1.x and W1700K2 revision 2.1. Its documentation says both revisions use the same software images.
What is the maximum sample rate?
The project lists 320 Msps of 14-bit complex IQ across its supported bands. On the 2.4 GHz band, it also describes a 640/2 mode that samples at 640 Msps and retains every other sample, with stated limits on the flat capture range and aliasing.
Does the receiver transmit?
The maintainers describe the firmware as receive-only and say it disables the radio’s transmit path. This is a claim in the project documentation, not an independent certification; the project also warns users not to connect an antenna port directly to sensitive equipment without an attenuator.
What equipment is needed to stream data?
The documented setup uses a compatible router, a Linux host, a 3.3-volt USB serial adapter for installation and a 10 GbE connection between the router’s WAN port and the host. The router’s stock operating system is replaced during installation.
Is the reported performance independently verified?
The supplied source is the project’s GitHub repository. Its sample rates, throughput figures and demonstrations are maintainer-reported; the material does not include independent performance testing.
Source: hn
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