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Wireless Networking Hardware

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Detector Ring Project 248

Posted by CmdrTaco from the check-out-my-bling dept.
mohrt writes "The Wi-Fi detection ring was developed to give mobile computer users the ability to detect 802.11b/g signals, while providing a unique, fashionable and ultra-portable product package. The prototype circuit collects and rectifies an RF signal in the 2.4GHz range, whereafter an Atmel Tiny microprocessor, detecting the presence of a DC voltage, thusly engages a flashing LED. For those of you who have no excuse to wear a ring, well here it is."
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2.4GHz Wi-Fi Detector Ring Project More

2.4GHz Wi-Fi Detector Ring Project

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  • The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

    by ackthpt ( 218170 ) * on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:42PM (#11566730) Homepage Journal
    That is just SO damn cool! It is clearly the One Ring and easily shows the bearer as ubergeek.

    The last time a ring was this cool was with a decoder and a whistle and came in a cereal box.

    i see you, too, have the schwartz

    • Re:The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

      by cayenne8 ( 626475 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:47PM (#11566816) Homepage Journal
      Why don't they invent one even more useful to:
      • Detect when women are horny
      • Detect when a woman has had enough to drink and will sleep with almost anyone
      • Detect when a woman has just broken up with a boy friend, and wants to 'show him' by sleeping with another man..
      • Warn you when YOU are drunk and hitting on the boss's wife at a party
      • One that shows she's gonna sleep with you, and not just leeching drinks off you at the bar
      Just a few suggestions...

      • Re:The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

        by Tackhead ( 54550 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:55PM (#11566908)
        > Why don't they invent one even more useful to: * Detect when women are horny * Detect when a woman has had enough to drink and will sleep with almost anyone * Detect when a woman has just broken up with a boy friend, and wants to 'show him' by sleeping with another man.. * Warn you when YOU are drunk and hitting on the boss's wife at a party

        Because of convergence.

        You see, if you buy the WiFi detector ring that shows you when you have ready access to pr0n, you have one device that eliminates the need for all four of these separate devices.

        > * One that shows she's gonna sleep with you, and not just leeching drinks off you at the bar

        Speaking of convergence, I built one of those last week. All it took was about 3 inches of wire, a 3V battery, a current-limiting resistor, and an LED.

        • Re:The One Ring! (Score:4, Funny)

          by StalinsNotDead ( 764374 ) <umbaga&gmail,com> on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:06PM (#11567039) Journal
          Speaking of convergence, I built one of those last week. All it took was about 3 inches of wire, a 3V battery, a current-limiting resistor, and an LED.

          Please excuse my ignorance. But would that just be a lit LED, thus indicating that the subject is always just leeching drinks with no intention of sleeping with the bearer of said device?

          • Re:The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

            by ilikecaffeine ( 567091 ) <`adam' `at' `adamjansen.com'> on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:44PM (#11567406) Homepage
            Please excuse my ignorance. But would that just be a lit LED, thus indicating that the subject is always just leeching drinks with no intention of sleeping with the bearer of said device?

            Yeah, but eventually the battery dies. And *that's* when you make your move.

            • Re:The One Ring! (Score:2, Informative)

              by Anonymous Coward
              Yeah, but eventually the battery dies. And *that's* when you make your move.

              By the time that happens you're going to need a haircut, manicure, pedicure, a shower and shave, and probably a change of underwear.

        • Re:The One Ring! (Score:2, Insightful)

          by DavidBAlford ( 856298 )
          I interested in how you built one of the rings. Can you point me in the direction of where I could find the details to build one?
      • You never heard of Mood Rings [google.com]?

      • Re:The One Ring! (Score:4, Insightful)

        by The Tyro ( 247333 ) * on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:22PM (#11567210)
        Too funny... though I think you're aiming too low. Desperation is rarely attractive to a woman, and trolling for drunks and barflies is likely to be unfulfilling.

        I'd suggest holding out for some quality women instead of going for the low-hanging fruit... the fruit can be sweet, but the aftertaste can be permanent. Despite the commercials you see on TV, herpes still isn't curable, and taking valtrex every day for suppressive therapy is a drag, and expensive (not to mention what happens when your next hot date goes snooping in your medicine cabinet)
        • I'd suggest holding out for some quality women instead of going for the low-hanging fruit...

          I guess he came to the latter because the first tactique didn't work for him. And if you are unable to reach the goal you've set, it is really idiotic to hang it even higher instead of somewhere inside your capabilities.
        • "Too funny... though I think you're aiming too low. Desperation is rarely attractive to a woman, and trolling for drunks and barflies is likely to be unfulfilling."

          No not desperation...but, all the time, I hear "you won't meet nice women in bars". Where the hell else do you meet them? The few chicks that work in computer centers...are far from good looking. And besides..I know nice people go to bars...I'm nice and I go there...and it does help to get them a bit 'lubricated' with alcohol...and less inhibit

      • Re:The One Ring! (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        My problem...by the time she's leeched enough drinks off of me to be drunk enough to sleep with me, sleep is about all she's capable of anymore.

      • Re:The One Ring! (Score:4, Interesting)

        by proverbialcow ( 177020 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:42PM (#11567387) Journal
        Why don't they invent one even more useful to: ... Detect when a woman has had enough to drink and will sleep with almost anyone

        Liability, probably. Sex with someone who is not able to give consent is rape. Legally (though IANAL), a woman who's had enough to drink so she'll sleep with anyone is not sober enough to give consent.
      • Trust me, wearing that ring, you will NEVER detect a woman ready to have sex with you.

      • Re:The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

        by Steffan ( 126616 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @07:19PM (#11567734)
        "Why don't they invent one even more useful to:
        * Detect when women are horny
        * Detect when a woman has had enough to drink and will sleep with almost anyone
        * Detect when a woman has just broken up with a boy friend, and wants to 'show him' by sleeping with another man..
        * Warn you when YOU are drunk and hitting on the boss's wife at a party
        * One that shows she's gonna sleep with you, and not just leeching drinks off you at the bar"
        Answers:
        • 1. If you have to ask, she isn't
        • 2. If you need a ring for this, it won't be with you, anyway.
        • 3. See #2
        • 4. If you don't know if you're hitting on a woman or not, the answers to 1-3,5 shouldn't surprise you.
        • 5. She's not going to sleep with you, and yes, she is just leeching drinks off of you.
        • If you have to ask, she isn't

          You always have to, unless you want to risk being jailed for sexual harassment, like it happened before to men being that arrogant.
      • This ring does practically all of those, too. When the LED is on, it indicates all of those conditions (with the exception of drunken hitting on the boss' wife) are FALSE.
      • You are using the wrong techniques. When I go to clubs, I never buy girls drinks. Try dancing with them instead of wasting your money. You can tell if they are in to you if they dance closer/grind harder.. and that doesn't cost anything : )
      • Detect when women are horny

        Just as often as men. Probably more often, because it's taboo.

        Detect when a woman has had enough to drink and will sleep with almost anyone

        Or did you mean, when you can take advantage of them and hopefuly they won't remember it?

        Detect when a woman has just broken up with a boy friend, and wants to 'show him' by sleeping with another man..

        Try the "conversation method."

        Warn you when YOU are drunk and hitting on the boss's wife at a party

        Now that's actually a good idea
        • Just as often as men.

          If that was true, it would be easier to get laid for a man than for a woman, because there are more women than men. But a simple reality check reveals that it is in fact much easier for a woman, although the number of possible mates is less.
    • Just the thing to rul3 them all... just the thing to f1nd them...

    • Re:The One Ring! (Score:5, Funny)

      by xargs ( 411592 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:59PM (#11566960) Homepage
      And using the One Ring Lord Sauron [golden-knots.com] ventured into the hotel lobby in search of a hot spot. There shall be no WiFi outside his reach.

    • A whistle? (Score:4, Funny)

      by Mr. Underbridge ( 666784 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:10PM (#11567076)
      The last time a ring was this cool was with a decoder and a whistle and came in a cereal box.

      Let me guess what frequency it blew, Cap'n...

    • Precious (Score:4, Funny)

      by Petronius ( 515525 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:20PM (#11567183)
      ubergeek is when you go around calling it "my precious".
    • Oh yea! Awesome! This way we can each have The One Ring.

      Er...

  • Lack of range (Score:3, Interesting)

    by fembots ( 753724 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:42PM (#11566736) Homepage
    The maximum detection range appeared to be roughly 40 feet (line of sight), which is not exactly great, but this can likely be blamed on the antenna...

    He [gotfuturama.com] doesn't mind

    However, who would want to detect a Wi-Fi if he's not going to use it? If you're already a mobile user, it might be easier to just use your device's auto-detection software.

    I agree that there are times when I wish I could have detected the signal before I take out my laptop, but I usually solve that problem by starting up my PDA first.

  • The ring's oath (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:42PM (#11566737)
    In brightest day, in darkest night
    No Wi-Fi shall escape my sight
    Let those who worship broadband's might
    Beware my power, my ring's LED light!

  • But that's not all! (Score:4, Funny)

    by b1t r0t ( 216468 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:43PM (#11566742)
    It also can tell you if your microwave oven is working! (and how much leakage you're absorbing by standing in front of it)
  • Just plant a 2.4ghz bug on him?

  • Wedding ring? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Jason_D_Berg ( 745832 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:44PM (#11566772)
    The perfect nerd wedding ring!!! Now all I gotta do is find a girl that'll be ok with that.

  • My fiancee thinks she wants a diamond... (Score:5, Funny)

    by mfender9 ( 725994 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:45PM (#11566785)
    ...but I'm sure she'll prefer one of these!
  • I think it's great. My laptop is not very portable, and my PDA is from the stone ages. It'd be cool to see where the hotspots are, whether I've got a device with me or not -- just for future reference. =) What would be really neat is if hotspots were visible on a map that I could access from anywhere. Does anything like that exist yet?

  • Cordless Phones (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ThurstonMoore ( 605470 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:46PM (#11566800)
    Wouldn't cordless phones set this thing off constantly?

    • Don't forget microwaves... (Score:4, Informative)

      by PMJ2kx ( 828679 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:51PM (#11566857) Journal
      From the article: "Due to the simplicity of the circuit design, the prototype unit does not discriminate between other sources of 2.4GHz RF, eg. "leaky" microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc. Future production units would feature surface-mounted components to decrease the detector profile and microcontrollers that discriminate between other RF sources, as well as indicate whether the Wi-Fi nodes are open/closed/encrypted, etc."

      Yes, but they're going to fix that.

    • RTFA (Score:2, Insightful)

      by SlayerofGods ( 682938 )
      Due to the simplicity of the circuit design, the prototype unit does not discriminate between other sources of 2.4GHz RF, eg. "leaky" microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.
  • Im gonna make one for my girlfriend.. I'm sure she will love it :)
  • Ear-, nose- and belly button- rings will be available soon!
  • Pardon me for pointing out that this is overly complicated. You've got a tuned-circuit detector looking for a particular frequency. That's rectified into a DC voltage. Why didn't they use an analog comparator chip to light the LED? You can't tell me that the A/D plus CPU-and-software is a simpler solution.

    They mention a future revision doing interpretation of the open/closed/encrypted state of the WiFi node, but that's going to need a real front-end, not just a diode power detector. If they decoded t
    • RTFA. Right now they are only using a basic signal detector, but at the bottom of the page it states that they are hoping to add other features such as encryption detection and signal filtering that would require a CPU.
      • It'll require some additional logic and (i suspect) a more powerful CPU. It's not like you'll be able to flash this design and make it more capable.
      • I did RTFA. Great, a future application may need a microprocessor. Why is one in there *now*? It's not like a software upgade will magically transform the diode dettector into a superheterodyne receiver.

        If you're trying to cram functionality into a restricted space, like a ring, you don't go adding extra cruft willy-nilly. If they intend to get anywhere near to what the pretty concept drawings look like, they're going to need to shave a metric crapload of cruft off the existing design. And that's b
        • It is more of a proof of concept. After all, they want to make sure they can fit and power a CPU in the form factor they want before they spend years writing its OS in assembler and binary to fit in its teeny memory. Once they know the hardware works, they start working on the software. Oh, and firmware upgrades would be easy. Simply put it next to your microwave and punch in the exact right defrost program, and volla!, version 2.0.
  • What about marriage?

    Never mind...

  • Married (Score:5, Funny)

    by MonkeyCookie ( 657433 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:55PM (#11566907)
    Perfect for the geek who wants to be married to technology rather than another person.

    Nothing says commitment to your true love technology like one of these rings.

    • Re:Married (Score:3, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      'Wifi is forever'

    • Re:Married (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      We met in a chatroom, now our love can really bloom
      Sure the world wide web is great, but you, you make me salivate
      Yes I love technology, but not as much as you, you see
      But I still love technology

  • And... (Score:5, Funny)

    by jfroot ( 455025 ) <darmok@tanagra.ca> on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:55PM (#11566922) Homepage
    it looks great too!

  • It's a Reverse Wedding Ring (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rude Turnip ( 49495 ) <valuation AT gmail DOT com> on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:56PM (#11566925)
    Rather than signalling to women around you that you've already got someone willing to spend the rest of her life with you, this ring indicates (and guarantees) that pretty much that no woman will ever want to be with you.

  • should make a watch instead (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 03, 2005 @05:59PM (#11566959)
    The designers should consider making this a watch instead of a ring. That way they can also design a UI for the watch's display, and you would have more room for bulk on your wrist than on your finger.

  • Reverse Wedding Ring (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    This can be the reverse-wedding ring. As a wedding ring indicates that you're taken, this ring can indicate that you are most definitely single. After all, no sane girlfriend/fiance/wife would allow you to step out the door with your "WiFi detecting ring" no matter how cool you thought your witty references to the Lord of the Ring were.

  • Atmel's AVR Tiny (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Atmel's AVR Tiny is a microcontroller, not (just) a microprocessor. Small but important difference!

  • Finally (Score:5, Funny)

    by Elwood P Dowd ( 16933 ) <judgmentalist@gmail.com> on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:01PM (#11566988) Journal
    Finally, a resolution to all those wedding ring & diamond related discussions on slashdot.

  • The Downside... (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...is that the Eye will find you and send out the ringwraiths when you wear it. Bummer.
    • ..is that the Eye will find you and send out the ringwraiths when you wear it. Bummer.

      I was not aware we were calling network security folk Ringwraiths now.

      However, I have to admit that it does not seem totally out of line... :-)

  • Three rings (Score:4, Informative)

    by rlp ( 11898 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:04PM (#11567023)
    That'll look real nice right next to my Java ring [sun.com]. :-)

  • Silliness. Using a processor is massive overkill! (Score:4, Insightful)

    by b0s0z0ku ( 752509 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:04PM (#11567025)
    Why use a microprocessor when you can have the DC voltage from the rectified 2.4Ghz signal turn on a transistor which activates a flashing LED (or an analog flasher circuit). Surely that kind of arrangement would use much less power than running a processor (even a "tiny" one) all of the time.

    -b.

    • To be able to add the future ability to differentiate between a hotspot and a microwave?
    • Actually, you might discover (through experimentation, or whatever) that inserting a processor in-line with an 'LED flasher' circuit can actually save significant power over just blinking the LED itself.

      This is due to some esoteric details of how an LED is most efficiently driven. I learned when I was developing firmware for some small hand-held medical devices that used a Microcontroller (an NEC 4-bit controller) that you can actually get greater efficiency (more light output per power consumed) by drivi

  • Well... (Score:3, Funny)

    by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:07PM (#11567053) Homepage
    ...it's better than this secret decoder ring I've been using since I was 8.

  • Wrong solution to wrong problem (Score:3, Funny)

    by Locke2005 ( 849178 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:19PM (#11567174)
    I'm married. I need a reason NOT to wear a ring!
  • Due to the simplicity of the circuit design, the prototype unit does not discriminate between other sources of 2.4GHz RF, eg. "leaky" microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.

    It's the one ring to detect them all?
  • I might not be the only one who'd like to build someting similar.

  • Ob. LOTR (Score:4, Funny)

    by xRelisH ( 647464 ) on Thursday February 03, 2005 @06:26PM (#11567237)
    One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them (Wi-Fi networks)
    One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. ( Download porn! )
  • Due to the simplicity of the circuit design, the prototype unit does not discriminate between other sources of 2.4GHz RF, eg. "leaky" microwave ovens, cordless phones, etc.

    Considering WiFi networks are just one type of device running on 2.4 Ghz, expect many false positive. In a urban setting, the ISM band is pretty much saturated so your LED will most probably stay a solid green.

    Also, I have doubts about the sensitivity of their antenna design.

  • Why not just use a keychain [thinkgeek.com] that does that?

  • I really like this from the cool factor point of view, but it raises a practical question for me.

    I have never understood the keychain access point finders. Since they can't tell me if the net is open (much less if it's a protected one I have a key for) it isn't much more than, well, a radiation detector.

    Worse, because of (3-space) registration issues, interference, etc. it can find access points that are from a practical standpoint electrically inaccessible to my laptop.

    But this ring, that's something

    • I have a Hawking one. Looks very much like a cell phone. I have used it mostly as a toy but it is directional and is very useful when doing a security audit. I can quickly find transmitters without having to play games every time I loose a connection.

      I wish it had LCD which would display SSID/channel info.

  • If I need network access, I either want to have it right at the moment or at least know where to go to get online for sure. I can not imagine lugging a notebook all over the place just in case I get lucky. Better to get bluetooth interface to a GPRS phone in addition to WiFi. But then the ring will only be marginally useful. Of course maybe it's intended just as a curiosity anyway.

  • I thought I saw Angelina Jolie wearing one of these at the awards shows...

    This has to be the height of Geek Moron...

  • Thank goodness there's a processor in that thing. How else could it sense a DC voltage and light up an LED?

    Ubergeeks are so cool...

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