Lifecycle
Badge ecosystems keep moving after handout: apps, hexpansions, SAOs, antennas, cases, repair parts, firmware updates, and post-event hardware experiments.
The README says Wi-Fi settings are hard-coded and must be updated in wifi.h before building the watch firmware.
SourceThe README documents default CH32 OLED control and a cut-and-bridge jumper path for switching the display bus to ESP32 control.
SourceA static web page encoded settings by blinking full-page colors that the badge decoded through its ambient light sensor.
SourceThe badge README and firmware document a Wi-Fi configuration mode where the badge displays an SSID and password, then hosts a configuration flow for network settings and the custom message.
SourceReturning badge features included capacitive touch buttons, 2.4 GHz connectivity mostly as a Wi-Fi node, remote connectivity via IRC, and a serial interface.
SourceNodeWatch documents Chrome/Web Bluetooth programming through the Espruino Web IDE and links bridge examples for connecting watch behavior to other systems.
SourceChallenge solvers could receive a Challenge Accepted SAO; the writeup says only two were awarded, one for crypto and one for the counterfeit-badge contest.
SourceThe 2023 data export lists contest-category entries including Lockpick Village, Tamper Evidence, and Hackers Challenge records, preserving acquisition routes tied to challenge activity.
SourceElectronic Cats recommends soldering the ESP32 Wemos D1 module for the best badge experience, with OLED-routing jumpers available when moving display control from CH32 to ESP32.
SourceThe badge used multiple buttons for menu and challenge interaction, with GPIO support preserved in the public firmware.
SourceThe Mini Cyberdeck documentation and firmware notes describe interaction with the earlier BCD-0o27 badge.
SourceThe 2025 CH405 Labs firmware post publishes the BalCCon2k24 BCD-0o27 image with a Pong routine that lets the 2023 cyberdeck play against a human through a connected MC-0o00.
SourceThe official site offers remaining 2025 E-Badges through 2026 ticketing and instructs buyers to pick them up at the April 2026 conference.
SourceThe Euphoria CTF page says the first challenge is on the badge after Shady Tag registration at the Shadytel Experience Center.
SourceThe Build-A-Badge software lets users choose images, configure LED patterns, set a badge name, program the device, and upload WASM applications.
SourceHackaday described the badge as a prototyping board or PCB canvas where builders removed the placeholder grid and added electronics they had on hand.
SourceThe Eagle schematic and board preserve SWD, UART, I2C display/front connectors, jumpers, and a four-pin right-angle header for badge hacking and add-on work.
SourceThe schematic maps J1 to VCC, GND, RST, PWM0, PWM1, CAP0, and CAP1-related nets, preserving a six-pin header trail for programming or badge hacking.
SourceDAP mode presents the badge as a CMSIS-DAP probe for pyOCD, OpenOCD, Keil, and SWD target debugging while keeping a CLI serial interface available.
SourceSkyler Mansfield's Goosespansion is a named PCB hexpansion with published files, showing how the Tildagon gallery tracks both creator attribution and reusable fabrication data.
SourceTiff's Ducks hexpansion records the purely expressive side of the ecosystem: camp-lore ornamentation using the same connector format as active electronics.
Sourcelornajane's Petals use multiple decorative hexpansions around a badge, illustrating how the connector can turn the badge silhouette into a larger wearable object.
SourceThe 2018 badge software turned the device into a BASIC and CP/M/Z80 playground for demoscene entries, games, music, serial experiments, keyboard apps, color-display work, and flash-storage hacks.
SourceThe DEF CON media server published badge add-on specifications and test-fit assets for building physical customizations around the DC31 badge.
SourceThe SDR guide documented GNU Radio, gnuradio-companion, osmocom_fft, Gqrx, SDR#, udev rules, kernel-module workarounds, and cross-platform setup for using rad1o as an SDR peripheral.
SourceThe badge tested cable continuity and ordering through head and remote LED banks while activities showed how to make the remote removable.
SourceThe FAQ documents USB-C Ethernet access and SSH to root@192.168.100.1, with Wi-Fi and USB-C platform caveats called out separately.
SourceThe badge exposed a 115200 8n1 serial menu for starting apps or dropping into a Python shell, plus a START-on-boot recovery path to restore the homescreen as the default app.
SourceThe repository description and README document 2024 badge firmware and emulator/simulator build paths.
SourceThe repository documents a simulator build target for local badge software development.
SourceThe README documents an SDL simulator build for local app development and debugging.
SourceThe README points Arduino developers to the project wiki and links the Arduino Mbed RP2040 core as the programming route for the badge.
SourceThe firmware developer guide documents required Arduino libraries, RP2040 and ESP32-S3 pin edits, production pin changes, and compile/flash commands for both board targets.
SourceThe badge could be connected to a laptop by USB-C for development, with RIOT OS documenting Serial/JTAG flashing and manual bootloader recovery steps.
SourceThe public README documents building a Posix-style SDL simulator for app development and debugging on a computer before flashing badge hardware.
SourceJonTheNiceGuy's WiFi Scanner app scans nearby access points and includes a connection doctor that decodes STAT_* failures, a practical post-event network-debugging upgrade.
Sourcewebboggles' Tildagon WiFi Radar turns a single badge into a directional WiFi radar: rotate the badge to sweep and nearby APs appear as blips on a polar display.
SourceThe 37C3 Hub page states that assemblies could create badges that visitors might find during the event.
SourceThe 39C3 documentation lists General, Explore, and Help categories for badges created by assemblies through the Hub backoffice.
SourceThe 38C3 Hub page states that assemblies could create new badges in the backoffice and that the redeem function is disabled after archival.
SourceThe 38C3 Hub page groups badges into categories such as General, Exploration, and Help while listing assembly and community badge names.
SourceThe 39C3 page documents Hub profile display, pending badge acceptance, default visibility, per-badge visibility choices, and badge management controls.
SourceThe 39C3 page says assemblies could provide redeem tokens with URLs and QR codes so participants could collect badges through the Hub.
SourceThe archived 37C3 page preserves the Redeem badge workflow but says the function is no longer available after archival.
SourceThe badge used a wooden board, large components, wrapped wire, an NE555 clock signal, and a few cycling LEDs.
SourceThe badge turns the 35C3 Refreshing Memories theme into a simple flip-flop memory circuit with two orange LEDs and button-controlled state.
SourceThe badge included two addressable RGB LED strips with 12 LEDs each, used for animated eyes and unlocked challenge feedback.
SourceThe article and schematic document two 0.96-inch SSD1306 OLED displays, PCA9539PW joystick expansion, two joysticks in the supporter kit, and five ESP32 touch buttons.
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