DEF CON 16 · United States · 2008

DEF CON 16 Badge

SD-card infrared file-transfer and TV-B-Gone badge

A DEF CON 16 electronic badge built as a hackable Freescale-based platform with SD-card storage, infrared file transfer, TV-B-Gone behavior, role-color variants, one-button state control, and published source, schematics, and development resources.

DEF CON United States Freescale Infrared SD Card TV-B-Gone North America

EventDEF CON 16

SeriesDEF CON

LocationLas Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

TV-B-Gone inspiration

Mitch Altman / Cornfield Electronics

The DEF CON 16 article identifies TV-B-Gone behavior as inspired by Mitch Altman's original TV-B-Gone product.

Source

badge design studio and source publisher

Grand Idea Studio

Publisher of the DEF CON 16 badge slides and project materials.

Source

badge designer and article author

Joe Grand / Kingpin

Author of the Nuts & Volts DEF CON 16 badge article and Grand Idea Studio slide materials.

Source

Why It Mattered

It marks the point where DEF CON badges pushed beyond decorative electronics into attendee-to-attendee data exchange, reusable development hardware, and a practical social feature.

Hardware

Joe Grand's article and slides document a Freescale Flexis design, SD-card socket, infrared transmit/receive path, pushbutton UI, badge role variants, approximately 8,500 pieces, and a cost-driven production process.

Software & Apps

The badge supported receive file, transmit file or TV-B-Gone if no SD card was inserted, and sleep states. The public materials emphasize source code, schematics, and development resources so attendees could modify behavior after the conference.

Lore

The design tried to keep the badge hackable and useful while reducing the over-engineered feel of earlier years. Its file-beaming concept borrowed the social idea of PDA-style exchange and made it a badge interaction.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge-to-badge interaction historical

Infrared SD-card file transfer

The DEF CON 16 badge could transfer attendee-selected files from an SD card to another badge over infrared, creating a PDA-style social exchange mechanic.

Compatibility: DEF CON 16 Badge

Source

infrared application historical

TV-B-Gone fallback mode

If no SD card was inserted, the transmit state used the infrared path for TV-B-Gone-style remote-control power-off behavior.

Compatibility: DEF CON 16 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

missing rights-cleared image note

No local DEF CON 16 badge photo has been added because the recovered Grand Idea Studio project images are not paired with a visible reusable image license, attribution string, and processing provenance for this catalogue.

The entry remains source-linked and image-free rather than copying project-page, press, or article images without complete rights clearance.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, Grand Idea Studio DEFCON 16 project-page/copyright context, Nuts & Volts article, and Grand Idea Studio slides.

prototype-photo caveat note

Early press coverage warned that preview photos showed a prototype whose production colors, USB/debug headers, and SD-card inclusion differed from final badges.

The catalogue avoids binding the record to a specific public preview photo until an exact production-badge image is cleared.

Confidence: secondary press source
Status: documented
Timeframe: pre-event coverage
Source note: Wired DEF CON 16 preview.

Resources

DEFCON 16 badge project page project page · Primary designer page with MC9S08JM60 hardware, infrared transfer, SD-card/FAT16 support, USB bootloader, role variants, documentation, contest, and official image-path context. DEFCON 16 badge slides slides · Grand Idea Studio slide source for role-color counts, production process, design goals, hardware, and firmware framing. Making the DEFCON 16 Badge article · Joe Grand's Nuts & Volts article covering DEF CON 16 design goals, SD-card file transfer, IR, TV-B-Gone behavior, cost, and production. Wired DEF CON 16 preview article · Pre-event coverage documenting prototype caveats, SD-card advice, designer context, and public badge expectations.

Sources

Grand Idea Studio: DEFCON 16 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary project source for MC9S08JM60 hardware, infrared transfer, SD-card/FAT16 support, USB bootloader, 8,500-badge production, role variants, contest links, and official page image paths. Grand Idea Studio: Making the DEFCON 16 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary slide source for role-color counts, 8,500-piece production framing, hardware choices, and source/schematic release context. Nuts & Volts / Joe Grand: Making the DEFCON 16 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary article source for DEF CON 16 design goals, Freescale platform, SD-card infrared file transfer, TV-B-Gone behavior, operating states, and production constraints. Wired: Exclusive Defcon 16 Badge Sneak Peek Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Secondary pre-event source for SD-card use, prototype caveats, Joe Grand and Jeff Moss context, and public badge positioning.