# ESP32 Bit Pirate 1.8 adds experimental SDR using internal Wi-Fi radio

> **Key takeaway:** ESP32 Bit Pirate 1.8 turns the ESP32-S3's internal Wi-Fi radio into an experimental software-defined radio capable of raw I/Q sample capture and browser-based spectrum analysis.

**Published:** 2026-10-16T02:02:39+00:00 
**Source:** LinuxGizmos 
**Category:** open-hardware 
**Canonical URL:** https://fosswire.org/news/esp32-bit-pirate-18-adds-experimental-sdr-using-internal-wi-.html 

## Summary
ESP32 Bit Pirate 1.8 introduces experimental SDR functionality that accesses undocumented low-level radio functions on the ESP32-S3, bypassing standard Wi-Fi and Bluetooth stacks to capture raw I/Q samples. The release also adds browser-based firmware extraction tools for NVS partitions and LittleFS filesystems, improves I2C sniffing via the RMT peripheral, and expands Zigbee support for ESP32-C5 and ESP32-C6 through the companion ESP32 Bus Expander 0.3.

## What's new in Bit Pirate 1.8
- **Experimental SDR**: Uses ESP32-S3's internal 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to capture raw I/Q samples by accessing undocumented low-level functions, bypassing standard protocol stacks
- **Web ESP SDR tool**: Browser-based interface with two modes—Wideband Analyzer for scanning frequency ranges and Live SDR for detailed narrowband signal examination; includes spectrum and waterfall visualization
- **Operating range**: Most reliable within 2.4GHz ISM band; practical range approximately 2.2–2.8GHz; low-level tuning possible between 100MHz–6GHz but unreliable outside intended range
- **Web ESP Tool expansion**: Browser-based extraction of NVS partitions and LittleFS filesystems; inspect configuration data, NVS keys/values, and browse recovered files
- **I2C improvements**: Sniffer now uses ESP32-S3 RMT peripheral with optional address filtering; new passive frequency measurement command reports SCL clock frequency, period, and timing
- **Companion update**: ESP32 Bus Expander 0.3 adds reworked Zigbee mode for ESP32-C5/C6 with IEEE 802.15.4 network scanning, device discovery, and traffic monitoring
- **New hardware support**: ESP32-S3 SuperMini (4MB flash), Unexpected Maker ProS3, M5Stack Cardputer ADV CC1101 accessory, ILI9341 SPI display driver, infrared on M5StickS3

## Why it matters
The SDR implementation offers a low-cost entry point for signal exploration using commodity ESP32 hardware, though the developer emphasizes it complements rather than replaces dedicated SDR hardware. The browser-based tooling continues the project's trend of eliminating desktop software dependencies for embedded analysis workflows.