Cyber City Circuits
The official 2023 badge page states assembly was done by Cyber City Circuits in Augusta, Georgia.
SourceKernelcon 2023 · United States · 2023
Kernelcon 2023 1337 kHz Radio Badge
Analog TA7642 AM radio badge
Kernelcon's 2023 1337 kHz badge was an old-school analog AM radio badge based on the TA7642 radio IC, a 1.5 V design, small transistor amplifier, headphone output, RF gain knob, and hacker-playground prototyping area.
EventKernelcon 2023
SeriesKernelcon
LocationEmbassy Suites Omaha Downtown Old Market, Omaha, Nebraska
CountryUnited States
People
Authors & Credits
Kevin Neubauer / bl4cksmith
The official 2023 badge page credits Kevin Neubauer with design and prototyping.
SourceTyler Rosonke / zonksec
The official 2023 badge page credits Tyler Rosonke with design and prototyping.
SourceWhy It Mattered
It broadens the North American corpus with a badge that intentionally avoided a microcontroller during the component-shortage era but still gave attendees a hackable radio circuit, CTF context, and hardware modification surface.
Hardware
The official badge site documents a 1.5 V analog design, TA7642 AM radio IC, small transistor amplifier suitable for headphones, mono audio to both headphone channels, RF gain control, single-inductor capacitor tuner, labeled VCC/GND/audio/headphone jumpers, and an unlabeled prototyping playground.
Software & Apps
The official site explicitly says there is no microcontroller and no flash storage inside the badge. This record therefore does not claim firmware, apps, or hidden software, while preserving the CTF and hardware-hacking activity context.
Lore
The badge site credits Kevin Neubauer and Tyler Rosonke for design/prototyping and says assembly was done by Cyber City Circuits. The activities page provided badge bling, amp/volume-control, and hardware-modification paths.
Lifecycle
Add-ons & Upgrades
analog feature
source-backed
RF gain and headphone-radio path
The radio badge used RF gain control, a small transistor amp, mono audio sent to both headphone channels, and a hackable AM tuner path.
Source
hardware expansion
historical
Hacker Playground
The official badge site documents labeled voltage, ground, audio, headphone, and jumper pads plus unlabeled prototyping pins.
SourceOperational history
Issues & Camp Impact
missing rights-cleared image
note
No Kernelcon 2023 radio badge image is published because the official page imagery has not been paired with explicit reusable license, attribution, and processing notes.
The entry remains image-free rather than copying source-site photos or diagrams.
- Confidence
- local project policy
- Status
- open
- Timeframe
- current catalogue build
- Source note
- badge.gallery image policy and Kernelcon 2023 badge site.
no-firmware classification
note
The official page states the badge has no microcontroller and no flash storage.
The record treats this as an analog electronic badge and does not invent firmware, app, or hidden-code behavior.
- Confidence
- official badge page
- Status
- documented
- Timeframe
- 2023 badge
- Source note
- Kernelcon 2023 badge about page.
Resources
Kernelcon 2023 1337 kHz badge site
official badge page · Official badge site for the 1337 kHz AM radio badge.
Kernelcon 2023 InfoconDB record
event metadata · InfoconDB source for April 12-15, 2023 dates and Embassy Suites Omaha Downtown Old Market event context.
Kernelcon 2023 badge activities
activity guide · Official activity page for badge bling, amplifier/volume-control, and hardware-hacking paths.
Sources
Kernelcon badge site: 1337 kHz badge about page
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary source for analog design, TA7642 radio IC, 1.5 V power, transistor amp, headphone output, RF gain knob, hacker playground, credits, and no-microcontroller statement.
Kernelcon badge site: 1337 kHz badge activities
Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary activity source for hardware-hacking paths and badge modification context.