DEF CON 32 · United States · 2024

Hackbat DEF CON 32 Badge

Unofficial ESP32-C3 handheld-style DEF CON 32 badge

The Hackbat Badge is an unofficial DEF CON 32 badgelife board documented by the Hackbat project page and GPL-3.0 GitHub repository, with ESP32-C3 Wi-Fi/BLE, OLED display, WS2812 LEDs, six buttons, AA-cell case support, and production files.

Hackbat DEF CON DEF CON 32 United States Unofficial Badge ESP32-C3 OLED WS2812 KiCad GPL-3.0 North America

EventDEF CON 32

SeriesDEF CON

LocationLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

Image Provenance

Asset: optimized WebP from official upstream repository render
Status: licensed official upstream raster render
Source: doc/3d.png
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
Attribution: theHackbat / defcon32_badge repository contributors
Notes: Original 750x748 PNG upstream 3D render downloaded from the public GPL-3.0 thehackbat/defcon32_badge repository and preserved in Public/images/source. The published WebP delivery asset is metadata-stripped and keeps the official repository render of the Hackbat DEF CON 32 badge; this is an official upstream raster render, not generated content, placeholder art, article screenshot material, or a synthetic approximation. The published badge.gallery delivery file is an optimized WebP generated from the rights-cleared local derivative/source with metadata stripped, WebP quality 82, and a maximum side cap of 1600 pixels when the source is larger; upstream source URL, license, and attribution remain unchanged.

People

Authors & Credits

badge hardware and source publisher

theHackbat

Publisher of the Hackbat DEF CON 32 badge repository and Hackaday.io project used for the hardware, documentation, production-file, license, and image-provenance trail.

Source

Why It Mattered

It captures the independent DEF CON 32 badgelife layer alongside the official RP2350 badge and adds a rights-cleared repository render rather than leaving a source-backed badge image-free.

Hardware

The README documents an ESP32-C3 WROOM module with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and BLE 5.0, OLED display, four WS2812 smart LEDs, six push buttons, USB connector, Game Boy-like board layout, backside case space for three AA cells, KiCad production files, centroid, and BOM. The DEF CON 32 first-run version has a documented D9 diode-placement battery/USB erratum that the repository says was fixed in the published revision.

Software & Apps

The public README says the ESP32-C3 can be programmed with Arduino IDE or ESP-IDF, and the repository preserves source, KiCad, production, and documentation assets under GPL-3.0. This pass does not claim a shipped challenge firmware or final event app beyond the public source tree.

Lore

The Hackbat project says the board was designed specially for DEF CON 32 and that people who received the badge at DEF CON should read the first-run diode warning. The repo also provides a Get Yours path through JLCPCB using the production files.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge interface source-backed

OLED and six-button handheld layout

The documentation describes a Game Boy-like badge layout with OLED display and six push buttons for attendee interaction.

Compatibility: Hackbat DEF CON 32 Badge

Source

hardware platform source-backed

ESP32-C3 WROOM badge core

The 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.

Compatibility: Hackbat DEF CON 32 Badge

Source

lighting surface source-backed

WS2812 badge LEDs

The Hackbat documentation lists four WS2812 smart LEDs on the badge board.

Compatibility: Hackbat DEF CON 32 Badge

Source

manufacturing archive source-backed

JLCPCB production-file release

The repository README documents compressing the production files and using the centroid and BOM files to order boards through JLCPCB.

Compatibility: Hackbat DEF CON 32 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

first-run diode errata warning

The README warns that the DEF CON 32 received version had D9 misplaced, leaving USB 5V directly connected to the battery; the repository says the current revision fixes the problem.

The catalogue preserves the battery/USB safety erratum and does not treat all Hackbat boards as identical to the fixed public revision.

Confidence: primary README
Status: documented fixed-revision note
Timeframe: DEF CON 32 first-run badge distribution
Source note: Hackbat DEF CON 32 README diode-placement warning.

image provenance upgrade note

The Hackbat visual uses the GPL-3.0 `doc/3d.png` render from the official theHackbat/defcon32_badge repository.

The record has a rights-cleared official upstream raster render with source URL, license, attribution, local source preservation, and optimized WebP delivery while avoiding generated or placeholder imagery.

Confidence: repository license and exact raster source
Status: licensed official upstream render applied
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: theHackbat/defcon32_badge `doc/3d.png`, repository LICENSE, and badge.gallery image policy.

unofficial distribution scope note

Hackbat was designed specially for DEF CON 32 and source text references people who received it at DEF CON, but the public sources do not make it the official DEF CON 32 attendee badge or state a complete distribution quantity.

The catalogue keeps Hackbat as an unofficial DEF CON 32 badgelife record separate from the official RP2350 DEF CON 32 Badge.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: classification caveat
Timeframe: DEF CON 32
Source note: Hackaday.io Hackbat project page and thehackbat/defcon32_badge README.

Resources

Hackbat DEF CON 32 README badge documentation · Primary documentation source for ESP32-C3 WROOM, OLED, four WS2812 smart LEDs, six buttons, AA-cell case support, Arduino IDE or ESP-IDF programming, JLCPCB production-file use, and the D9 erratum. Hackbat DEF CON 32 repository hardware and firmware source · Public source repository for the Hackbat DEF CON 32 badge, including KiCad material, documentation images, production-file workflow, and source publication context. Hackbat project page project page · Hackaday.io project source stating that the Hackbat Badge was designed specially for DEFCON32 and summarizing the ESP32-C3, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, LEDs, OLED, and first-run D9 diode warning. Hackbat repository license license · Repository license source for GPL-3.0 reuse basis used by this catalogue for the upstream 3D badge render. Hackbat upstream 3D render image source · Official repository `doc/3d.png` raster render retained locally as the image source and served as an optimized WebP delivery asset.

Sources

GitHub / theHackbat: DEFCON32 Badge README Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary hardware documentation source for ESP32-C3 WROOM, OLED, WS2812 LEDs, buttons, AA-cell case, programming options, production-file workflow, and the fixed-revision note. GitHub / theHackbat: thehackbat/defcon32_badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Repository source for the open hardware/source tree, documentation images, KiCad/production files, and upstream 3D render. GitHub / theHackbat: thehackbat/defcon32_badge LICENSE Retrieved 2026-05-15 · GPL-3.0 license source supporting local publication of the official upstream repository render with attribution and source preservation. Hackaday.io / theHackbat: Hackbat Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Project-owner source describing the Hackbat Badge as designed specially for DEFCON32 and warning DEF CON recipients about the D9 diode placement issue.