Jorge Crowe
Credited for coordination and concept on the firmware's credits screen, the same role Ekoparty gave Jorge Crowe (monstruoMIDI) for the 2025 badge.
SourceEkoparty 2026 · Argentina · 2026
Ekoparty 2026 Champion Electronic Badge
Champion-tier nRF52840 LoRa Meshtastic badge
The Ekoparty 2026 electronic badge, included with the Champion ticket tier while supplies last. On October 3, 2026, four days before the October 7-9 Buenos Aires conference, badge-team member Nicolas Restbergs (Fábrica Marciana) published the ekoparty-badge-2026 repository, which calls itself the firmware for the official Ekoparty 2026 badge: a Meshtastic node on an nRF52840 with an SX1262 LoRa radio, a 0.96-inch OLED, Bluetooth pairing with the Meshtastic phone app, a piezo buzzer, six rear SK6812 backlight pixels, and a separate status pixel. The release v1.0.3 adds a schematic, pin map, user manual, and the EKOBOOT bootloader image; v1.0.4 followed on October 5, and an EasyEDA Pro project and a low-temperature-solder fragility warning were added on October 8, during the conference. By October 9, 2026 Ekoparty's own event page carried an EKO BADGE ELECTRÓNICO section describing the badge as a customized Meshtastic build that works off-grid and links to the badge team's guide, and an October 12 attendee writeup confirms the event took place with Meshtastic Eko Badges in hand. Production count and allocation stay unconfirmed.
EventEkoparty 2026
SeriesEkoparty
LocationCEC, Buenos Aires
CountryArgentina
People
Authors & Credits
Ekoparty
Official publisher of the EKO 22 event page and organizer behind the current Champion ticket offer used for this pre-event record.
SourceLucas Leal
Credited for hardware design on the firmware's bilingual credits screen; Ekoparty credited him for hardware and software development of the 2025 badge.
SourceNicolas Restbergs / Fábrica Marciana
Credited for visual identity and firmware adaptation on the credits screen and author of the October 3, 2026 marsfactory/ekoparty-badge-2026 commits and release.
SourceWhy It Mattered
It continues Ekoparty's electronic-badge line with the same team as the 2025 audio badge, now moving to an off-grid LoRa mesh messenger, and it shows a full firmware and hardware-documentation release ahead of the event while keeping a ticket-tier promise distinct from verified delivery.
Hardware
The published pin map and September 11, 2026 schematic describe the ekoparty_badge_v1 PCB with a discrete nRF52840, an Ai-Thinker Ra-01SH SX1262 LoRa module with an external LoRa antenna path, a chip antenna for Bluetooth, an HS96L03W2C03 0.96-inch I2C OLED, six chained SK6812mini-012 backlight pixels plus an independent status pixel, a passive piezo, one navigation button, a DFU button on P0.17 that opens the EKOBOOT UF2 drive, a battery-sense ADC input, and SWD pads. Power comes over USB-C with USBLC6 protection, a TP4056 charger for the battery, and an AP2112K 3.3 V regulator; the badge-team guide adds an 18650 battery slot and an optional external antenna connector. The guide says the boards were assembled with low-temperature solder because of special components, which makes them vulnerable to drops. An EasyEDA Pro project file was published on October 8, 2026; no Gerbers, BOM, enclosure, or production quantity are published.
Software & Apps
The firmware is a GPL-3.0 adaptation of Meshtastic 2.8.0, released as v1.0.3 on October 3, 2026 with SHA-256 sums and as v1.0.4 on October 5 (mesh positions received and kept so the Distance frame works without onboard GPS), preset to the ANZ LoRa region, the MEDIUM_FAST modem preset, the CLIENT_MUTE role, and USB ID CAFE:E001. Boot plays a 12-second audiovisual intro and then shows a QR code to the manual; a long press on the Ekoparty frame opens a local BADGE menu with five idle animations (Ojo, Logo glitch, Calavera, Risa, Mesh ARG), backlight brightness, status-LED filtering, a bilingual credits screen, intro replay, and a preference reset. The status pixel signals Bluetooth pairing, broadcast and direct LoRa messages, and critical battery. The separate EKOBOOT bootloader derives from the Adafruit nRF52 bootloader and is used for the first SWD flash.
Lore
Ekoparty identifies this as EKO 22, held October 7-9, 2026 at CEC in Buenos Aires, and its Champion ticket included an electronic badge while supplies last. The event page's badge section promises a mesh network formed among badge holders that gets more interesting the more devices join, and says that will not be lacking at the EKO. Matias Zapf's October 12 writeup notes that the Eko Badge ran its own build of Meshtastic and shows his badge signed by Chema Alonso. The firmware's credits screen says the badge was created for Ekoparty 2026 by Lucas Leal (hardware design), Nicolas Restbergs (visual identity and firmware adaptation), and Jorge Crowe (coordination and concept), the same three people Ekoparty credited for its 2025 badge. The manual's QR code points to fabricamarciana.com/eko.
Lifecycle
Add-ons & Upgrades
badge firmware feature
badge-team firmware release, pre-event
Local BADGE menu and animations
A long press on the Ekoparty frame opens a menu with five idle animations matched by rear backlight patterns, backlight brightness, manual QR visibility, status-LED filters, a bilingual credits screen, intro replay, and a reset of these preferences only.
Source
bootloader
badge-team release
EKOBOOT UF2 bootloader
A separately published bootloader derived from the Adafruit nRF52 bootloader. Holding the DFU button at power-on opens an EKOBOOT USB drive for UF2 firmware updates; a HEX image is used for the first SWD flash.
Source
event context
held per attendee source; official page still pre-event
October 2026 three-day conference context
Ekoparty's official page identifies EKO 22 as the October 7-9, 2026 CEC Buenos Aires conference, and an October 12 attendee writeup confirms it took place; this is event context, not a completed badge-delivery record.
Source
pre-event ticket tier
official current ticket offer
Champion ticket electronic-badge inclusion
The current organizer-linked ticket page says the Champion tier includes an electronic badge for Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026.
Source
radio firmware feature
badge-team firmware release; attendee-confirmed at the event
Meshtastic LoRa messaging
The badge runs as a Meshtastic client node on the SX1262 radio, pairs with the official Meshtastic phone app over Bluetooth using a PIN shown on the OLED, and sends and receives broadcast and direct messages without internet or cellular service.
SourceOperational history
Issues & Camp Impact
hardware and firmware archive gap
note
The badge team's repository publishes firmware source, releases v1.0.3 and v1.0.4 with checksums, a schematic, a pin map, a manual, and since October 8, 2026 an EasyEDA Pro project file, but no exported Gerbers, BOM, or production count. Ekoparty's event page links the badge team's guide but not the repository, and the ticket page still does not.
The record describes the published design and firmware as badge-team evidence, now linked from the official event page, and keeps fabrication quantity and the link to the Champion allocation open until Ekoparty or further post-event sources confirm them.
- Confidence
- current public source pass
- Status
- firmware, schematic, and EasyEDA project published; Gerbers and BOM absent
- Timeframe
- source pass as of 2026-10-15
- Source note
- Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 event page, organizer-linked Champion ticket page, and marsfactory/ekoparty-badge-2026, checked 2026-10-21.
low-temperature solder fragility
low
The badge team's guide warns that, because of special components, the badge was assembled with low-temperature solder, which is more susceptible to impacts, so a bump or a fall can detach components and leave the badge unusable. The guide also warns against water, loose storage with keys or clips, and conductive surfaces such as aluminium laptops.
Owners should handle and store the badge gently; component loss after a drop is a known risk rather than a defect of an individual unit.
- Confidence
- badge-team guide
- Status
- documented durability caveat
- Timeframe
- from 2026-10-08
- Source note
- marsfactory.github.io/ekoparty-badge-2026 guide and the October 8, 2026 docs(web) commit.
missing rights-cleared image
note
No Ekoparty 2026 badge image is published. The official event page and ticket listing show no badge image, and the badge-team repository's top-side photo sits in a GPL-3.0 firmware repository without a separate image licence, explicit reuse permission, or photographer attribution.
The planned Argentine record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying ticket artwork, event media, social-media photos, screenshots, placeholders, or generated approximations.
- Confidence
- local project policy
- Status
- needs licensed original replacement
- Timeframe
- pre-event source pass as of 2026-08-04
- Source note
- badge.gallery image policy, Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 event page, and organizer-linked Champion ticket page.
post-event confirmation gap
note
EKO 22 was scheduled for October 7-9, 2026 and an October 12 attendee writeup confirms it took place with Meshtastic Eko Badges in hand, while the badge team's October 8 guide says the badges were assembled. Ekoparty's own event page describes the badge but still read pre-event on October 21, and no source states how many badges were made, how many Champion tickets were fulfilled, or whether stock ran out.
The record treats the badge as a real event artifact without asserting attendee-wide or Champion-wide delivery, and the edition is not marked completed until Ekoparty publishes post-event evidence.
- Confidence
- official event page, badge-team guide, and attendee writeup
- Status
- held per attendee source; official wrap-up and allocation unpublished
- Timeframe
- post-event as of 2026-10-15
- Source note
- Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 event page, organizer-linked Champion ticket page, marsfactory web guide, and zapf.dev writeup, checked 2026-10-21.
Resources
Ekoparty 2026: Embrace the Chaos
attendee post-event writeup · Matias Zapf's October 12, 2026 attendee summary of the October 7-9 conference, which says the 2026 electronic Eko Badge ran its own build of Meshtastic and shows the author's badge, signed by Chema Alonso. Photos are not reused here.
Ekoparty Badge 2026 v1.0.3 release
firmware release · First public firmware release, October 3, 2026: Meshtastic 2.8.0.169c28b built from a clean tree, UF2 and HEX images, the EKO_FIRST_FLASH.hex bootloader image for first SWD flashing, BUILD_INFO, and SHA256SUMS. The notes record validation on the final PCB, including the ANZ region, MEDIUM_FAST preset, and CLIENT_MUTE role.
Ekoparty Badge user manual
user manual · Spanish user manual covering first boot and the 12-second intro, Meshtastic Bluetooth pairing, button navigation, the local BADGE menu, status-LED meanings, power and battery behaviour, UF2 updates through EKOBOOT, troubleshooting, and the scope of each reset option.
Ekoparty Badge v1 pin map and schematic
hardware documentation · Pin map for the ekoparty_badge_v1 PCB (nRF52840 to SX1262, OLED, SK6812 pixels, piezo, button, ADC, DFU button, SWD) linking the September 11, 2026 schematic PDF. No Gerbers or BOM are published.
Ekoparty Badge v1.0.4 release
firmware release · October 5, 2026 release, two days before the conference, that keeps physical GPS excluded but lets the badge receive and keep mesh positions, so the Distance frame works from a fixed position or the phone's shared location. The notes record Distance behaviour confirmed on the final PCB and a clean ekoparty_badge_v1 build at 89.9 percent of flash, with EKOBOOT unchanged.
Ekoparty Badge web guide
badge-team user guide · GitHub Pages guide published by the badge team from October 4, 2026, in Spanish, English, and Portuguese from October 7. It summarises the hardware (nRF52840, Ra-01SH SX1262, OLED, six decorative LEDs, piezo, 18650 battery slot, LoRa and Bluetooth antennas with an optional external antenna connector), the Meshtastic workflow, care warnings, and credits; on October 8, 2026 it added a warning that the badge was assembled with low-temperature solder.
Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 Champion tickets
official ticket page · Current organizer-linked ticket page that identifies the Champion tier as including an electronic badge for the planned three-day conference. The September 28 and October 4, 2026 rechecks found the wording unchanged: Entrada Champion (incluye badge electrónico hasta agotar stock), an electronic badge included while supplies last.
Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 event page
event page · Official Ekoparty event page for the planned EKO 22 Buenos Aires conference, listing October 7-9, 2026 at CEC and current programme context. The September 28 and October 4, 2026 rechecks found the full main-track agenda published alongside the ticket call, with still no badge mention anywhere on the page. The October 15, 2026 recheck, six days after the scheduled last day, still found the countdown, ticket call, and Próximamente inscripción wording, with no wrap-up, attendance figure, or 2026 results. The October 21, 2026 recheck (page last modified October 16) found an EKO BADGE ELECTRÓNICO section describing a customized Meshtastic badge that works off-grid without Wi-Fi, mobile data, or internet and linking to marsfactory.github.io/ekoparty-badge-2026; the Internet Archive shows the section absent on October 2 and present on October 9, 2026.
Ekoparty badge 2026 EasyEDA Pro project
hardware design file · EasyEDA Pro project file for the badge PCB added to the repository on October 8, 2026, the second conference day. It is the first published layout-level design file; no exported Gerbers, BOM, or production quantity accompany it.
marsfactory/ekoparty-badge-2026
badge-team firmware and hardware repository · GPL-3.0 repository published on October 3, 2026 by Nicolas Restbergs (Fábrica Marciana), describing itself as the firmware for the official Ekoparty 2026 badge. It holds the Meshtastic-derived source with an Ekoparty module, build scripts, the badge-hardware folder with the September 11, 2026 schematic PDF and PNG, a pin map, a top-side photo, and the user manual.
Sources
Ekoparty: Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026
Retrieved 2026-10-21 · Primary official source for EKO 22, the October 7-9, 2026 CEC Buenos Aires event, and the surrounding programme context. The September 28 and October 4, 2026 rechecks found the main-track agenda live with no badge reveal, and the October 15 and 21 rechecks found the page still in pre-event wording with no wrap-up. Its EKO BADGE ELECTRÓNICO section, archived by October 9, 2026, is Ekoparty's own statement that the badge is an off-grid customized Meshtastic device and links the badge team's guide.
Ekoparty / Eventbrite: Ekoparty Buenos Aires 2026 Champion tickets
Retrieved 2026-09-28 · Organizer-linked current ticket source that states the Champion tier includes an electronic badge while supplies last (incluye badge electrónico hasta agotar stock), reconfirmed unchanged on September 28 and October 4, 2026; it does not identify final hardware or confirm delivery.
Fábrica Marciana / GitHub: Ekoparty Badge 2026
Retrieved 2026-10-04 · Primary badge-team source, published October 3, 2026, identifying the firmware as made for the official Ekoparty 2026 badge on the ekoparty_badge_v1 PCB with an nRF52840, SX1262 radio, and OLED, and documenting the pin map, schematic, manual, build steps, and GPL-3.0 Meshtastic provenance. It is not an Ekoparty-hosted page and does not state production quantity or allocation.
Fábrica Marciana / GitHub: Ekoparty Badge 2026 v1.0.3
Retrieved 2026-10-04 · Primary firmware release source for the October 3, 2026 build, its event profile (ANZ region, MEDIUM_FAST, CLIENT_MUTE, USB CAFE:E001), the EKOBOOT first-flash image and its pinned source, and the validation notes on the final PCB.
Fábrica Marciana / GitHub: EkopartyBadgeModule credits text
Retrieved 2026-10-04 · Firmware source for the bilingual Acerca de screen, which says the badge was created for Ekoparty 2026 by Lucas Leal (hardware design), Nicolas Restbergs (visual identity and firmware adaptation), and Jorge Crowe (coordination and concept), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Fábrica Marciana / GitHub: Ekoparty Badge v1.0.4
Retrieved 2026-10-15 · Primary firmware release source for the October 5, 2026 position-handling change, its validation on the final PCB, and the public and ported development commits; it does not state production quantity or allocation.
Fábrica Marciana / GitHub Pages: Ekoparty Badge 2026 guide
Retrieved 2026-10-15 · Primary badge-team source for the 18650 battery slot, antenna arrangement, care warnings, credits, and the October 8, 2026 statement that the badge was assembled with low-temperature solder that a bump or fall can break loose. It names no production count and carries no separate image licence.
Matias Zapf / zapf.dev: Ekoparty 2026: Embrace the Chaos
Retrieved 2026-10-15 · Secondary first-hand attendee source, published October 12, 2026, confirming that the October 7-9 conference took place and that at least this attendee held a 2026 electronic Eko Badge running a Meshtastic build. It does not give a badge count, the share of Champion tickets fulfilled, or any field issues.