PhreakNIC 27 · United States · 2026
Pre-event recycled shelf-label badge in a floppy-disk frame with a LEGO-compatible shutter
A pre-event record for the PhreakNIC 27 badge ahead of the November 6-7, 2026 conference in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Tyler Crumpton's PN26 writeup announced a cooler MK.II electronic shelf-label badge, and the official PhreakNIC site now confirms it: a September 30, 2026 sneak peek describes a new frame, wireless features, a disk slot, and a LEGO-compatible customizable shutter slider; an October 9 schedule entry for his talk Shelf Label 2: Electric Badge-a-loo says the badge is built on the same recycled hardware as PN26's with conference customization, wireless communication, and battery-less operation; and an October 21 Badge Customizer lets attendees design and download STLs for their own floppy-disk shutter. Final electronics, firmware, and handout are not yet documented.
People
The CrumpSpace writeup records his plan for a cooler MK.II version, the September 30, 2026 sneak peek is signed tylercrumpton, the customizer's info box is signed tc and bundles his Eat Fruits font, and the PN27 schedule lists his Shelf Label 2 badge talk.
SourceIt preserves the second year of a small-conference reclaimed-ESL badge lineage as the organizers reveal it, without treating teasers, a talk abstract, or a shutter customizer as shipped hardware or copying the official reveal video and poster.
The official sources describe the PN27 badge as built on the same recycled electronic shelf-label hardware as PN26's, in a new floppy-disk-themed frame with a satisfying ka-chunk-y slot for the disk and a LEGO-compatible 2x4 socket on the front where a floppy disk's shutter would sit. The Badge Customizer's preview model is credited to an epop55-cassette-stl-socket-4.stl file from a pn27-badge project that is not public. The talk abstract adds wireless communication and battery-less operation. No shelf-label model, controller, radio, power source, PCB, BOM, or production count is published.
The PN26 writeup pointed toward EEPROM-backed image storage and UART or wireless station interaction for the next version, and the PN27 sneak peek and talk abstract confirm wireless features and conference customization. No firmware repository, protocol, station software, or attendee guide is public. The official Badge Customizer (Shutter 35 Studio) is a browser tool for drawing, adding text in five fonts, importing SVG artwork, and exporting multi-filament STLs for a printed shutter; it customizes the case, not the badge firmware.
PhreakNIC is a volunteer-led Nashville2600 hacker conference of under 200 attendees at the Clarion Inn in Murfreesboro. The PN26 project owner said the first ESL badge was enough of a hit that planning had already started for the next year's version. The September 30, 2026 sneak peek, signed by tylercrumpton, opens with Don't copy that floppy! (Or do, we're not the cops.), and the customizer's info box, signed tc, warns that a perfect fit with the printed shutter cannot be guaranteed and suggests testing against real LEGO bricks. Tyler Crumpton's 20-minute badge talk is scheduled for 11:30 on November 6.
Lifecycle
The badge frame has a LEGO-compatible 2x4 socket where a floppy disk's shutter would sit, and the official Badge Customizer exports STLs for a custom printed shutter with drawn, typed, or imported SVG artwork in several filament colours.
SourceThe public plan sketches badge stations for hardware hacking, puzzles, games, a photo booth, or similar event-specific interactions.
SourceThe project-owner plan calls out UART or wireless communication so stations can update badge state or behavior without reflashing a full image.
SourceThe next-version plan keeps the self-service update-station idea that was not fully reliable enough for PN26 field deployment.
SourceThe PN26 writeup lists EEPROM storage for image data as the first improvement target for the next version, avoiding PN26's full-firmware-patch workflow.
SourceOperational history
The planned record stays image-free rather than reusing PN26 article photos, generated art, screenshots, or speculative visuals.
The catalogue can track the announced lineage while keeping all final hardware, software, distribution, and production claims open until post-event sources appear.
Printed shutters may need adjustment; the record makes no fit or tolerance claim.
The record avoids naming a shelf-label model, controller, radio, or power design until the talk or a release documents them.