DEF CON 34 · United States · 2026
Independent ESP32-S3 BLE and Wi-Fi scanner badge offered for DEF CON 34
DC801's live Helgatchi product page identifies a $120 portable, rechargeable BLE-beacon and Wi-Fi-access-point scanner/hunter with configurable alerts. It names a XIAO ESP32-S3, 8 MB flash, a 400 mAh 3.7 V LiPo, 1.69-inch 240 by 280 Waveshare LCD, six RGB LEDs, vibration motor, and external SMA-RP 2.4 GHz antenna path. Pips801's public repository contains separate hardware and firmware/UI trees, while the public DEF CON 34 Badgelife response identifies DC801 + 801 Labs' Helgatchi as a new badge associated with the August event. The listing remains an independent seller artifact with planned July pickup/shipping terms—not official DEF CON issuance, a Human badge, admission, confirmed recipient delivery, a fully audited detection device, an open-source license, or a rights-cleared image.
People
The public Badgelife response identifies DC801 + 801 Labs for the new Helgatchi badge, and the DC801 store publishes the current product listing. This credit records source-named team/seller context only, not sole design, manufacture, DEF CON organizer status, completed distribution, or image-reuse authority.
SourceThe public GitHub repository is published under Pips801 and contains the cited project, hardware, firmware, and UI source trees. This credit records the visible repository-publisher role only, not sole authorship, final production responsibility, DEF CON issuance, or image-reuse authority.
SourceHelgatchi is a current BadgeLife record whose maker documentation is unusually concrete about the production hardware and its alert configuration, while its public repository provides a useful engineering trail. The entry preserves the difference between a configurable 2.4 GHz scanner sold around DEF CON 34 and a validated surveillance, safety, regulatory, privacy, or conference-credential product.
The DC801 listing names a XIAO ESP32-S3 with 8 MB flash, a 400 mAh 3.7 V LiPo, a Waveshare 1.69-inch 240 by 280 LCD, six RGB LEDs, a vibration motor, and a XIAO-to-u.FL-to-back-PCB-to-SMA-RP 2.4 GHz antenna path; it gives the physical size as 50 by 80 mm. The public repository has distinct drawings, spacer, front-PCB, back-PCB, and test-jig directories. It does not publish a reconciled final manufactured revision, component BOM, schematic, Gerbers, charger/protection design, battery certification, voltage/current limits, antenna gain or matching data, RF emissions/compliance evidence, environmental/mechanical testing, safety instructions, or a host/accessory compatibility matrix.
DC801 names PlatformIO plus Arduino firmware with LVGL graphics, NimBLE BLE, and FastLED LED components. The public repository has a Helgatchi-Firmware PlatformIO tree and UI material; its Software README describes an older ESP32-S3/SPI-screen build-and-flash workflow, including erasing flash and uploading a filesystem image, while the LVGL section remains marked TODO. The reviewed repository root has no explicit license file or GitHub license metadata, and its public code does not establish a final production firmware revision, signed update path, recovery guarantee, security review, data-retention policy, or support commitment.
The seller presents Helgatchi as a handheld companion that must be kept alive, and frames its configurable alerts around nearby BLE devices and Wi-Fi access points. The public DC34 Badgelife response submitted by DC801 + 801 Labs describes it as a new badge with a $120-to-$150 range and passive BLE/Wi-Fi scanning/hunting behavior. The live store uses a $120 price and says local pickup emails were to be sent July 20, remote orders were targeted to ship by July 27, and later orders might arrive after DEFCON. Those are seller and self-submission statements for an upcoming event, not a confirmed August handoff, official village allocation, or conference credential.
Lifecycle
The live DC801 page lists the badge at $120, says local-pickup scheduling emails were planned for July 20, targets remote shipping by July 27, and warns that orders placed after July 23 may arrive after DEFCON. These are seller terms and targets, not proof of inventory, payment, manufacture, shipment, pickup, arrival, refund, replacement, support, or event-time handoff.
SourcePips801 publishes drawings, front/back PCB and test-jig directories plus firmware and UI trees; the Software README names an older PlatformIO build/erase/filesystem/upload path. The current public archive does not itself establish final production parity, a stable release, a complete build environment, a warranty-safe flashing path, an explicit license, or permission to republish source media.
SourceThe product and repository describe configurable matching against BLE and Wi-Fi identifiers such as MAC/OUI/manufacturer/device-name/service/SSID fields, with LED, vibration, screen-wake, and scan-setting choices. They do not publish detection range, radio state timing, false-positive/false-negative rates, rule precedence, actual target databases, data retention, export, device consent, security controls, or a universal detection guarantee.
SourceDC801 + 801 Labs' public Badgelife response labels Helgatchi as a new badge for DEF CON 34 and supplies approximate pricing and feature wording. It is a visible maker/team submission, not a DEF CON organizer issuance, venue authorization, registration inclusion, Human-badge replacement, access entitlement, or completed distribution record.
SourceOperational history
The dossier records the advertised research/detection surface without claiming reliable identification, safety, legal compliance, privacy preservation, target classification, or suitability for surveillance, counter-surveillance, or emergency use.
The record retains source-named components without presenting the badge as electrically complete, radio-compliant, safe to charge/carry, or suitable for every configuration.
The catalogue can link the public engineering trail without representing the badge as fully open source, reproducibly buildable, support-guaranteed, secure, licensed for reuse, or equivalent to every shipped unit.
The directory structure is recorded as a useful maker trail without treating it as a complete released hardware package or confirmation that all sales share one documented revision.
The catalogue records a real independent badge/event association without turning it into an official conference credential, organizer-issued hardware, access item, or universal attendee handout.
The 2026 record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying store photos, repository previews, self-submission media, screenshots, placeholders, or generated imagery.
Readers can distinguish an active maker listing and planned timeframes from a completed DEF CON distribution or a finished production report.