AfricaHackOn 2017 · Kenya · 2017

AfricaHackOn 2017 Badge

Kenyan ESP8266 OLED MQTT conference badge

A limited-run AfricaHackOn 2017 electronic conference badge built around an ESP8266-01, 0.96-inch 128x64 I2C OLED display, LEDs, resistors, hand-built mounting-board construction, Arduino firmware, WiFi scanning, and MQTT schedule updates.

AfricaHackOn Kenya Nairobi ESP8266 OLED MQTT WiFi Arduino Africa

EventAfricaHackOn 2017

SeriesAfricaHackOn

LocationNairobi

CountryKenya

People

Authors & Credits

assembly support

Anne and Newton

Named in the primary writeup for soldering help and pre-solder assembly support.

Source

badge builder, firmware publisher, and writeup author

CKN / iamckn

Author of the primary AfricaHackOn 2017 badge writeup and owner of the public badge-code repository.

Source

badge-making support

Laura Tich

Named in the primary writeup for help in several aspects of the badge-making process.

Source

event and badge-cost supporter

AfricaHackOn

The writeup credits AfricaHackOn with covering most of the badge cost and frames the badge as an AfricaHackOn conference artifact.

Source

mounting-board advice and procurement

Shiro Njagi

Named in the primary writeup for advice, procurement, and preparation of the mounting board used as substitute PCB material.

Source

Why It Mattered

It adds Kenya to the African badge map with a primary author writeup that explicitly frames the badge as an attempt to seed local hardware-hacking and conference-badge culture.

Hardware

The primary writeup documents ESP8266-01 modules, 0.96-inch I2C OLED displays, assorted LEDs, 10k resistors, an intended 3.7 V 600 mAh LiPo plan, improvised AA batteries after shipping delays, breadboard prototypes, mounting-board substitute PCBs, and unsoldered ESP8266 serial pins for programming.

Software & Apps

The badge used Arduino IDE firmware, ESP8266 Arduino support, SSD1306 OLED libraries, PubSubClient MQTT, WiFi scanning and connection logic, MQTT subscription to an event topic, talk-detail display on the OLED, serial programming at 115200 baud, and a public GitHub repository for the badge code.

Lore

Only about 20 units were produced for speakers and selected people, with the writeup preserving the very practical local constraints: OLED sourcing difficulty, shipping delays, hand assembly, improvised battery choice, and the intent to move future AfricaHackOn badges to all attendees and professional PCBs.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge app source-backed

MQTT talk schedule display

After WiFi connection, the badge connected to an MQTT server, subscribed to an event topic, and displayed current talk details on the OLED.

Compatibility: AfricaHackOn 2017 Badge

Source

badge app source-backed

WiFi scan and connection workflow

The badge boot flow displayed the conference title, scanned wireless networks, waited for a programmed network, connected, and displayed IP and network details.

Compatibility: AfricaHackOn 2017 Badge

Source

firmware workflow source-backed

Serial Arduino programming path

Badge owners could modify firmware through the ESP8266 serial pins, programming switch, Arduino IDE, ESP8266 board support, SSD1306 OLED library, and PubSubClient MQTT library.

Compatibility: AfricaHackOn 2017 Badge

Source

lineage roadmap historical plan

Future all-attendee badge plan

The writeup explicitly planned to make badges a mainstay at future AfricaHackOn conferences, move from about 20 selected units to all attendees, and transition to a professional PCB.

Compatibility: AfricaHackOn 2017 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

missing rights-cleared image note

No local AfricaHackOn 2017 badge photo has been added because the writeup images have not been paired with explicit catalogue reuse rights, attribution, and processing notes.

The Kenyan entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying blog photography without a full provenance record.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy and CKN badge writeup.

prototype-run caveat note

The 2017 badge was a limited test run of about 20 units for speakers and selected people, with mounting-board construction and AA battery improvisation after LiPo shipping delays.

The record does not imply universal attendee distribution or a polished PCB production batch.

Confidence: primary author source
Status: documented
Timeframe: AfricaHackOn 2017 production
Source note: CKN AfricaHackOn 2017 badge writeup.

Resources

AH2017 badge-making talk deck slides · Repository slide deck for Chrispus Kamau's badge-making talk, documenting ESP8266-01, 0.96-inch OLED, LEDs, 600 mAh LiPo plan, Arduino/MQTT software, paperboard construction, production cost, and next-badge goals. AfricaHackOn 2017 badge writeup project page · Primary project writeup documenting the limited run, ESP8266/OLED hardware, Arduino/MQTT software, hand-built construction, costs, challenges, and future badge plan. AfricaHackon 2017 badge repository source · Public GitHub repository for the AH 2017 conference badge Arduino code and related materials.

Sources

CKN: The 2017 Africahackon Conference Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary author source for the AfricaHackOn 2017 limited-run badge, ESP8266/OLED hardware, MQTT schedule display, production constraints, and future badge-culture goals. Chrispus Kamau / GitHub: The AH2017 Badge and Hacking with the ESP8266 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary slide-deck source for the badge-making talk, ESP8266-01 and OLED concept, WiFi and MQTT logic, Arduino/Mosquitto tooling, breadboard and paperboard prototyping, cost review, sourcing challenges, and future all-attendee badge plan. GitHub: iamckn/AfricaHackon-2017-Conference-Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary source repository for AH 2017 badge code and related material.