DEF CON 32 · United States · 2024
Retrospectively documented independent ESP32-S3 electronic badge
Retia, LLC's public repository is currently named `DefconBadge2026`, but its immutable first source-release commit calls the project `DEF CON badge (2024)` and its README is titled `DEF CON Badge (2024) — ESP32-S3`. That source snapshot includes KiCad and fabrication material named `2024_def_con_badge_v1`, a badge photograph, and high-level hardware documentation. The official DEF CON archive identifies the 2024 event as DEF CON 32, so the record is attached to that existing edition as a retrospectively documented independent artifact; neither Retia nor DEF CON source reviewed here calls it an official Human badge, an attendee entitlement, or a confirmed event handoff.
People
The Retia, LLC GitHub organization publishes the DefconBadge2026 repository and its 2024-labelled badge source snapshot. This records the visible repository-publisher role, not physical manufacture, individual authorship, DEF CON organizer status, recipient allocation, delivery, or image-reuse authority.
SourceIt preserves a newly published retrospective hardware archive while preventing the repository's later 2026 label from silently moving a source-described 2024 artifact into the wrong DEF CON edition or turning source files into a distribution claim.
Retia's immutable 2024-labelled README documents an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1, 2.4-inch color touch display, RFM95W LoRa radio, microSD slot, face buttons, NeoPixel LEDs, piezo buzzer, SAO/Qwiic/header expansion, and two-AA or USB-C power surface. The same first source release contains KiCad 8 source, a schematic PDF, and fabrication-output files. These are source-published design claims, not proof that every 2024 physical unit used one final revision, component population, power configuration, radio setting, or test result.
The later public archive includes examples and several optional firmware/source packages. Its visible releases are dated July 2026, after the 2024 event, and no reviewed source maps a particular package, build, or release to an event unit. This catalogue records no flashing, connection, configuration, radio-use, recovery, or operating instructions.
Retia's own source labels the design as a 2024 DEF CON badge, while the later repository name reads `DefconBadge2026`. DEF CON's official 2024 archive establishes the existing DEF CON 32 event context. The year-to-edition association is therefore an explicit calendar mapping rather than a Retia or organizer statement using the exact `DC32` label; no organizer publication, sale, giveaway, quantity, recipient, credential, or delivery record was recovered.
Source-backed hardware metadata
Structured technical signals seeded from public badge documentation, repositories, schematics, firmware notes, or event evidence. These fields are designed for filtering, API use, repair planning, preservation, and future Companion Gear matching.
Retia's immutable source snapshot is titled DEF CON Badge (2024) — ESP32-S3 and documents a physical electronic badge design. It was published later and does not establish DEF CON organizer issuance, a recipient allocation, or final-unit parity.
Signal sourceThe Retia 2024-labelled README identifies an ESP32-S3-WROOM-1. It does not establish the controller fitted to every physical unit or a final production revision.
Signal sourceThe source README names a LoRa radio design surface. It does not establish a final unit's radio configuration, allowed operation, range, performance, compliance, or user-data handling.
Signal sourceThe source README lists an SAO v2 expansion surface. It does not establish compatibility, connector orientation, electrical limits, host behavior, or safe accessory operation.
Signal sourceThe source README documents native USB-C. It does not establish final connector construction, supported accessory behavior, safety, or a user operating procedure.
Signal sourceThe source README documents a color touch TFT display. It does not establish final display sourcing, calibration, durability, or physical-unit parity.
Signal sourceThe source README documents a two-AA power option. It does not establish final cells, boost design, protection, runtime, electrical limits, safety validation, or physical-unit parity.
Signal sourceThe source README also lists USB-C power. It does not establish a final power path, charging behavior, supported supplies, safety validation, or physical-unit parity.
Signal sourceRepair, preservation, and legal lab context
Parts, tools, and supplies that match this badge's documented hardware, protocols, or preservation needs. These are category-level recommendations, not compatibility guarantees.
Headers and connector supplies for SAO repair, add-on testing, and preservation.
This badge has a documented SAO connector. Matched technical signals: SAO.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Display modules and related parts for repair and preservation planning.
This badge has a documented display signal. Matched technical signals: TFT.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
I2C adapter supplies for badge add-ons, sensors, and lab documentation.
SAO workflows often use I2C-compatible add-on testing and bench documentation. Matched technical signals: SAO.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Extension wiring and jumper supplies for testing or displaying SAO add-ons away from the main badge.
Extension wiring is useful for testing and displaying SAO add-ons. Matched technical signals: SAO.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Headers, sockets, and connector supplies for display repair or replacement work.
Display headers and connectors are useful for repair and preservation planning. Matched technical signals: TFT.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Lifecycle
The immutable README describes an ESP32-S3, color touch display, LoRa radio, storage, buttons, LEDs, sound, expansion, and two-AA or USB-C power surface. It is a documented design summary, not a final-batch bill of materials, final hardware revision, safety claim, or configuration guide.
SourceThe first public source-release commit preserves KiCad 8, schematic, and fabrication files whose paths identify 2024_def_con_badge_v1. This demonstrates a source-published hardware archive without proving the date of manufacture, board quantity, assembled population, test results, physical distribution, or a right to manufacture derivatives.
SourceThe repository's public releases visible in the reviewed source pass are dated July 2026, after the 2024 event. They establish a later public software trail without identifying software installed on any 2024 unit or a current supported operating path.
SourceRetia's current repository name says DefconBadge2026, but its metadata calls the project a Retia 2024 DEF CON badge and the immutable first source-release commit/README explicitly say 2024. This records the source conflict and 2024 provenance without treating the repository label as a 2026 event association.
SourceOperational history
Source-backed component and interface references remain a bounded design trail rather than a universal physical-badge specification, safety certification, performance claim, manufacturing record, or operating guidance.
The catalogue cites the source archive but does not copy its badge photo, board images, code, fabrication files, artwork, logos, trademarks, screenshots, or a generated approximation.
The United States record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying source-page media, documentation screenshots, event photos, social media, placeholders, or generated approximations.
The catalogue treats this as an independently documented event-associated badge, not an official DEF CON 32 attendee badge, credential, universal handout, completed distribution, or organizer-endorsed artifact.
The record links historical source evidence without presenting a later archive as confirmed 2024 event software, a secure deployment, a supported modification workflow, or operational instruction.
The record preserves the source's 2024 identity and its catalogue placement without silently converting a later repository name into a 2026 badge, an official DEF CON classification, or a verified contemporaneous event artifact announcement.