Lonely Hackers Club at DEF CON 33 · United States · 2025

Lonely Hackers Club DC33 Meshtastic Badge

Limited LoRa mesh badge for DEF CON 33 pickup

Lonely Hackers Club's Meshtastic Badge 2025 was a limited 50-unit community badge offered for DEF CON 33 pickup, built around a Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 LoRa radio board, preconfigured LHC channel behavior, and attendee pairing workflows.

Lonely Hackers Club DEF CON United States Meshtastic LoRa SX1262 ESP32-S3 GPS Heltec Mesh Networking North America

EventLonely Hackers Club at DEF CON 33

SeriesLonely Hackers Club

LocationLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

badge publisher and mesh-community organizer

Lonely Hackers Club

Official publisher of the LHC Meshtastic Badge page and Meshtastic guide used for this record.

Source

community badge announcement publisher

LHC DEF CON forum poster

The DEF CON forum announcement connects the limited LHC Meshtastic Badge release to DEF CON 33 pickup.

Source

Why It Mattered

It records a source-backed DEF CON community badge where Meshtastic moved from off-the-shelf mesh nodes into an event-specific wearable with a dedicated channel, lanyard, badge graphics, game-like pairing, and small-run community distribution.

Hardware

The official badge page lists a Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 platform, 915 MHz LoRa, SX1262 radio, ESP32-S3FN8 8 MB flash controller, UC6580 GPS, 0.96 inch 160x80 TFT display, user button, RGB LED, buzzer, 3D-printed case, lanyard, hardware stylus and typeface elements, and a 450 mAh battery. It also says the device is not waterproof and includes two hours of battery life plus USB-C charging.

Software & Apps

The badge page says the badge ships with the LHC channel preprogrammed and uses Meshtastic firmware 2.6.11 with TLS/canned-message features; the LHC Meshtastic guide documents app pairing, channel setup, QR-code onboarding, and direct-message behavior for the club mesh.

Lore

The product page frames the badge as a DEF CON 33 pickup item with no shipping, limited in-person sales if any are left, a pairing ritual for finding other LHC badges, QR-code reveal behavior when paired, and an assurance that it can work as a normal Meshtastic node after the event.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge interaction documented

Badge pairing and QR reveal

The official page describes pairing with other LHC badges, after which the badge reveals a QR code on the Meshtastic channel.

Compatibility: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025

Source

distribution source-backed

DEF CON 33 pickup and 50-unit limit

The badge page states that only 50 units were available, shipping was not offered, and pickup was at DEF CON 33 with possible in-person sales if any were left.

Compatibility: DEF CON 33 LHC pickup

Source

hardware platform source-backed

Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 badge core

The official page lists Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 hardware with ESP32-S3FN8, SX1262 915 MHz LoRa, UC6580 GPS, TFT display, user button, RGB LED, buzzer, and 450 mAh battery.

Compatibility: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025

Source

mesh network configuration documented

Preconfigured LHC Meshtastic channel

The badge ships with the LHC channel preprogrammed, while the LHC guide documents QR-code onboarding and Meshtastic channel setup.

Compatibility: Lonely Hackers Club mesh

Source

reuse path documented

Post-event normal Meshtastic node mode

The page says the badge can be used as a normal Meshtastic node after the event, keeping the artifact useful beyond DEF CON 33.

Compatibility: Meshtastic network

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

community-badge classification note

The LHC badge page ties pickup to DEF CON 33 but does not describe the badge as an official DEF CON attendee badge or official village badge.

The catalogue treats it as an unofficial/community DEF CON 33 badge release, separate from the mainline DEF CON 33 badge and village-issued badges.

Confidence: primary badge page
Status: documented
Timeframe: DEF CON 33
Source note: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025 page and DEF CON forum announcement.

distribution-count caveat note

The official page states only 50 badges were available and that there was no shipping, but this pass did not recover a final sold count, full pickup ledger, or post-event availability report.

The record preserves the limited-run status without overclaiming final distribution.

Confidence: primary badge page
Status: documented
Timeframe: DEF CON 33 pickup
Source note: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025 page.

hardware-source caveat note

The public page gives concrete module/specification details, but this pass did not recover a custom schematic, case source, firmware patch repository, manufacturing files, or bill of materials beyond the listed hardware platform.

The catalogue records verified hardware and firmware configuration while avoiding unsupported custom-board or source-release claims.

Confidence: official product specs but incomplete archive
Status: needs schematic or firmware archive
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025 page and LHC Meshtastic guide.

missing rights-cleared image note

No LHC Meshtastic Badge image is published because the official page and forum imagery have not been paired with a visible reusable image license or explicit permission basis, attribution, and processing notes.

The record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying product photos, site graphics, forum media, screenshots, or generated imagery without complete provenance.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, LHC Meshtastic Badge page, and DEF CON forum announcement.

Resources

DEF CON forum LHC badge announcement forum announcement · DEF CON forum announcement for the limited LHC Meshtastic Badge with DEF CON 33 pickup context. LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025 badge page · Official Lonely Hackers Club source for the 50-unit DEF CON 33 pickup badge, Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1 hardware, LoRa/Meshtastic configuration, battery, pairing behavior, and sale/pickup caveats. LHC Meshtastic guide user guide · Official LHC guide for Meshtastic app setup, QR-code onboarding, channel configuration, direct messages, and DEF CON mesh behavior.

Sources

DEF CON Forums / Lonely Hackers Club: LHC Meshtastic Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Community announcement source tying the LHC Meshtastic Badge to DEF CON 33 pickup and limited community distribution. Lonely Hackers Club: LHC Meshtastic Badge 2025 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary badge source for limited 50-unit availability, DEF CON 33 pickup, Heltec Wireless Tracker V1.1, SX1262, ESP32-S3FN8, GPS, TFT display, battery, Meshtastic 2.6.11, LHC channel, pairing behavior, and no-shipping caveat. Lonely Hackers Club: LHC Meshtastic Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary user-guide source for app pairing, LHC channel setup, QR-code onboarding, and direct-message behavior on the club mesh.