The archive · Hardware & Devices · Product decision · 2024–2026
RF Hunter bets a ~$100 DIY ESP32 scanner can find hidden cameras; #1 on HN
Open-source ESP32 + AD8317 RF scanner for sweeping rooms for hidden cameras and bugs; the Show HN drew 594 points and the repo 1.2k stars.
RFHunter (Matthew Rogers)
What the business is
RFHunter is a free, GPLv3 open-source hardware project: a handheld ESP32 + AD8317 RF detector with OLED readout, sensitivity dial and buzzer for finding hidden cameras, wiretaps and other transmitting devices in rooms and Airbnbs.
How it started
Matthew Rogers, "a simple hacker from the United States," built the scanner from an ESP32, an AD8317 RF power detector, an OLED display and a handful of commodity parts. In the Show HN thread he said existing tools did not cover the use case — "I have an SDR as well and I just got a TinySA, neither really do this" — and the repo's About line names the target: "RFHunter is a device to find hidden Cameras at AirBNBs."
What happened
Posted to Hacker News on 2024-10-24, RF Hunter drew 594 points and 175 comments; the author logged 2024-10-28 as the day it hit #1 on Hacker News that week and 2024-10-30 as the first "Tag from the Wild" from a user on X. V4 was presented as ready for prime time: zero-tool assembly, an internal battery and charge controller, and a boost converter replacing the 9V battery. In thread replies the author said builds detect cell phones, laptops and cameras, that a short 915 MHz antenna picks up signals around 50 feet away, and that the BOM runs about $100; commenters debated antenna directivity and suggested modifications such as dropping the boost converter, while the author hinted that more products were in the works.
How it ended up
Still live as a single-maker open-source project at the 2026-09-04 crawl: the repo carried 1.2k stars and 46 forks, with GPLv3 firmware and build documentation; no company, product sales or revenue is disclosed in the material.
Background
RFHunter is an open-source RF signal scanner for finding hidden cameras, wiretaps and other transmitting devices: an ESP32 reads an AD8317 RF power detector and shows signal strength on an OLED screen, with a sensitivity potentiometer and a buzzer that sounds on strong signals. The V4 design snaps together with zero tools, carries its own battery and charge controller, and is documented part-by-part with a full wiring guide and one-line PlatformIO flashing.
The bet is that a ~$100 detector assembled from commodity parts can give ordinary travelers the room-sweeping power that used to require commercial bug-sweeping services or expensive dedicated gear. Creator Matthew Rogers built it after finding his SDR and TinySA could not do the job, aimed it at the Airbnb-era fear of hidden cameras, and published everything — GPLv3 firmware, an Amazon parts list with no affiliate links, and build instructions — so anyone could make one.
The Show HN on 2024-10-24 drew 594 points and 175 comments, and the author's update log records hitting #1 on Hacker News that week on 2024-10-28 and the first "Tag from the Wild" from a user two days later. By the 2026-09-04 crawl the repo carried 1.2k stars; the project remains a hobby-scale open-source build with the author hinting at more products, not a company.
What has to be true
- Verifiable traction with dates: 594 points and 175 comments on the 2024-10-24 Show HN, the author's own note of #1 on HN on 2024-10-28, and 1.2k GitHub stars at the 2026-09-04 crawl.
- A distinctive product bet: commodity parts and radical documentation replace a costly commercial service in a fear-driven niche.
- Concrete product iteration: V4 went from a 9V battery to a single rechargeable cell with a boost converter and zero-tool assembly, responding to real build feedback.
- Real-world signal: within six days of launch a user posted the first "tag from the wild," evidence the device was actually built and used.
What can be applied
A niche fear with a comprehensible fix rewards radical transparency: publish every part, wire and line of code, price at commodity cost, and let the community improve the build.
Aftermath
As of 2026-09-05 RFHunter remains a live single-maker open-source project: the RamboRogers/rfhunter repository carried 1.2k stars, 46 forks and 10 commits at the 2026-09-04 crawl, with GPLv3 firmware, the V4 zero-tool hardware design, a full bill of materials and an open issues section collecting builder feedback. The update notes still point to the #1 Hacker News week in October 2024 and the first user "tag from the wild," and the README says more products are in the works. No company, funding, sales channel or revenue is disclosed in the material.
Sources
- Show HN: RF Hunter – Find hidden cameras and other devices
- RamboRogers/rfhunter — RFHunter V4.0 repository README (1.2k stars at 2026-09-04 crawl)
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