Build a fun Ghostbusters PKE style Wi-Fi scanner using a Raspberry Pi Pico, a couple of electronics and some 3d printed parts. The scanner will scan and display a list of all the local Wi-Fi hotspots, and change the position of the arms depending on the signal strength.
You will also need the following electronics:
Item | Description | Qty | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Display Pack 2.0 | Pimoroni Display Pack for Pico | 1 | £18.90 |
Pico W | Raspberry Pi PicoPico W | 1 | £6.30 |
DS-929MG Digital Servo | DS-959MG Servo | 1 | £9.60 |
Pico Proto | Pico Proto board | 1 | £2.10 |
4x M2 screws | 2M 8mm screws | 4 | £1.00 |
4x 2M 12mm screws | 4x 2M 12mm screws | 4 | £1.00 |
1x M2.5 screw and nut | M3 nut and bolt | 1 | £0.25 |
3 male Dupont cables | To connect the servo to the protoboard | 1 | £0.30 |
Galleon Battery | Pimoroni 400mAh LiPo Battery | 1 | £7.50 |
LiPo Amigo Pro | Amigo Pro LiPo battery charger | 1 | £8.40 |
JST-PH cable | To connect the Pico Proto board to the LiPo Amigo Pro | 1 | £0.50 |
The Scanner is made up of several components:
servo
into the hole on the base
LiPo Amigo pro
, the Galleon battery
onto the back
, connecting up the battery
to the LiPo Amigo Pro
LiPo amigo Pro
, though it can just float around in the compartmentmiddle section
on top of the base
left arm
and right arm
on the underside of the Top
sectionmiddle layer
on top of the left arm
and right arm
servo
cable through the hole in the top
section and middle layer
Pico W
on to the top
section with the pins facing upPico Proto board
as described above and push this onto the Pico W
Display pack
on top of the Pico Proto board
Servo
to the 3 pin dupont cable
JST-PH
power cable from the Pico Proto board
to the device
connector of the LiPo Amigo Pro
Although this picture of the wiring looks a little complicated, its actually pretty straight forward:
VCC
and GND
from the device
connector the LiPo Amigo Pro connects to the VBus and GND of the PicoVCC
and GND
from the device
connector the LiPo Amigo Pro connects to the Servos 5V and GNDGPIO Pin 0
connects to the Servo signal pin
Display pack
pushes on top of the Pico W
with the Pico Proto board
sandwiched inbetweenPico Proto board
VCC
and GND
connect to the JST-PH
connectorJST-PH
connector from the Pico Proto board
connects to the LiPo Amigo Pro
The files you need to copy to the pico can be found here: https://github.com/kevinmcaleer/ghostbusters_wifi. The files you need to upload to the Pico W are:
arms.py
background.jpg
gui.py
list.jpg
scanning.jpg
splash.jpg
The user interface is made up of a couple of simple screens:
Use the Y
and X
buttons on the Pico Display Pack 2.0 to move the list selection up
and down
. Press the A
button to reset the program.
You can download the STLs for 3d printing here:
top.stl
- Top Sectionback.stl
- Backmiddle_section.stl
- Middle Sectionback_layer.stl
- Back Layerhandle.stl
- Handleleft_arm.stl
- Left Armright_arm.stl
- Right ArmThe arms are best printed in white PLA+, the rest of the parts can be printed in black PLA+.
The author marked this model as their own original creation.