Lifecycle
Badge ecosystems keep moving after handout: apps, hexpansions, SAOs, antennas, cases, repair parts, firmware updates, and post-event hardware experiments.
The unpopulated SAO v1.69bis header and rear IO pads made the LED-matrix badge useful for soldered extensions.
SourceThe architecture notes list four output bits, four input bits, an external connector, serial mention, and an SAO port as the public expansion surface.
SourceThe extension-header docs preserve the badge's SAO surface, tying MCH2022 into the wider badgelife add-on ecosystem.
SourceThe CrikeyCon 8 badge could be built with coin-cell power, 2x3 SAO-header power, three LEDs, resistors, and optional normal or reverse LED mounting.
SourceThe CactusCon 12 board file includes a Badgelife SAO v1.69 footprint for add-on expansion.
SourceThe BOM and board pinout document an SAO v2 connector plus SAO I2C and GPIO assignments available to firmware and badge hardware experiments.
SourceBCD-0o27 documents an I2C add-on connector, case files, assembly instructions, and firmware hooks for continued hacking.
SourceThe badge itself is a protoboard, so attendee-added circuitry is the primary expansion model.
SourceThe main badge exposed six SAO connectors with individually accessible GPIO and split left/right I2C buses for experimenting with add-on peripherals.
SourceThe front and back of the badge left space intended for a Teensy expansion.
SourceThe large badge-hacking kit supplied the components needed to turn the ToorCon 13 badge into an Ubertooth-capable passive Bluetooth monitoring device.
SourceAttendees received PS/2 adapters and a VGA connector and could add them in the Hardware Hacking Village to turn the Propeller badge into a small computer system.
SourceThe badge exposes two Shitty Add-On V1.69bis connectors and an IR pairing connector, giving attendees both add-on and badge-to-badge interaction surfaces.
SourceBSidesSLC lists Micro-USB or three-AA power, three mini-badge expansion slots, a UART point, reset and flash buttons, and a USB/battery power switch. The source does not establish final electrical limits, safe modification procedures, or every delivered configuration.
SourceThe kit advertised a prototyping area and explicitly invited attendees to hack the hardware in wearable and other forms.
SourceThe hardware guide documents two 10-pin side ports with power, ground, and GPIO for external modules, lanyards, or hardware modifications.
SourceThe guide documents slow RF signal processing on GPIO19 and a faster-data wiring path from RF module DATA OUT to RX1.
SourceThe official badge documentation identifies a 12-pin connector with I/O and multiple power options, plus an optional SAO connector for physical expansion boards.
SourceThe board source contains two footprints labelled Header_SAO, 3 mm mounting holes, and unassigned plated through-holes; its own board text says users can customize the badge with their own circuits and mount rear LEDs through bare substrate. It does not establish an SAO version, pinout, voltage, host compatibility, included peripheral, or safe modification procedure.
SourceThe repository hardware directory exposes Eagle schematic and board files plus exported PDFs for the badge design.
SourceThe winning contest entry connected badge LED behavior through a stereo plug into an analog synthesizer as event generators and added piezo debug output.
SourceThe official page explicitly notes that hacking the hardware to turn all LEDs on would probably also deserve the cool swag.
SourceThe Compass wrap-up says it was possible to play sound from the badge by soldering headphones to the RX pin.
Source28C3 included USB missile launchers for a competition to combine launcher hardware with r0ket; the first 100 published hacks could keep the launcher.
SourceThe FTDI log documents the badge's FT2232H channel split, with one channel for UART/JTAG/SPI/I2C/bit-banging hardware work and the other for the badge SoC serial terminal.
SourceThe badge wiki documents avrdude/ISP flashing for ATTiny44A with t44 part flag and low/high/extended fuse values, pointing deeper work to the firmware Makefile.
SourceThe WLED guide maps eight capacitive pillar controls and a rooster-crest touch control, and exposes GP14/GP15 pads for user modifications such as 3.3 V I2C sensors or an I2S microphone.
SourceThe official HHV page required attendees to bring a 3.3V USB-UART adapter, and the EasyFlag writeup shows UART boot output used to interact with the badge challenge.
SourceThe documented discrete 2N7000 output stage provides normal CLK and inverted nCLK outputs for slow digital-logic or teaching experiments, with an LED pulse indication.
SourceThe public firmware maps 44 WS2812B LEDs to IO10, directional buttons to IO4/IO3/IO0/IO2, and identifies separate BOOT and RESET flashing controls. The store names ESP32-C3 with 4 MB flash; the repo does not establish every production-board part or measurement.
SourceA Veritas attendee report describes the 2024 HCV badge as an integrated-circuit electronic badge with a four-line LED screen and joystick, powered by battery or USB-C.
SourceThe badge exposed infrared transmit/receive hardware, touch-pad buttons, LEDs, USB programming, and accessible I/O so attendees could interact during the event and keep hacking afterward.
SourceThe Hack the Badge page lists LEDs around the circumference, star, and SecOps logo plus buttons for LED control, programming mode, binary 0, and binary 1.
SourceDEF CON 18 coverage documented USB connectivity as part of the badge's intended hackable interface.
SourceThe village description says the kit included a PCB, components, and more, with the built circuit powering up through a battery and switch.
SourceThe maker describes a beginner-friendly kit in which the bridge and back-layer NeoPixels are pre-soldered and the builder solders header pins plus through-hole chip parts. The listed board set is the back layer, bridge, top SAO, city, water, and frame PCBs.
SourceThe official abstract framed the badge around electronics, microcontrollers, LEDs, embedded devices, and practical hardware-hacking education.
SourceThe repository provides CERN Open Hardware Licence v1.2 text for the hardware documentation. The licence file is treated as a hardware-documentation basis only, not an automatic licence for firmware, photos, readme graphics, logos, event branding, or trademarks.
SourceTeam r0ket brought RGB flame m0dules to 28C3 as a purchasable hardware extension for the badge.
SourceThe repository preserves the KiCad project, board files, schematic, generated Gerbers, and position files needed to study or reproduce the badge PCB.
SourceThe official badge page lists public Best Hardware Mod submissions, including 3D-printable battery holder and case approaches for carrying or protecting the badge.
SourceSecurity Fest hosted a soldering village so attendees could solder their own LEDs in chosen colours and personalize the badge.
SourceThe work-in-progress BOM lists USB-C connector and protection parts, a charge-controller section, power switch, AA connectors, regulator parts, and charge/status LEDs without documenting the final board or battery assembly.
SourceThe BOM documents alternative display modules, an RP2350 section, and an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1-N8R8 option, while the separate pinout is explicitly for an ESP32 version. These are development choices, not a confirmed final badge configuration.
SourceRaspberry Pi's article and the PamirAI user guide identify the badge around a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 5 platform intended to run local, private, interactive edge AI.
SourceThe Hackbat README documents the ESP32-C3 WROOM module as the badge core, with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, BLE 5.0, and Arduino IDE or ESP-IDF programming paths.
SourceThe workshop page describes the supplied hardware as an ESP32 badge board, and the board README documents an ESP32-S3 demo board for Aranya Embedded.
SourceThe official page lists Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 hardware with ESP32-S3FN8, SX1262 915 MHz LoRa, UC6580 GPS, TFT display, user button, RGB LED, buzzer, and 450 mAh battery.
Source