ToorCon San Diego 13 · United States · 2011

ToorCon 13 Spectrum Analyzer Badge

2.4 GHz RF spectrum-analyzer badge

The ToorCon 13 badge was an open-source 2.4 GHz RF spectrum-analyzer badge from Great Scott Gadgets, with 13 LEDs representing the 13 Wi-Fi channels and public Project Ubertooth hardware and firmware archives under the `tc13badge` code name.

ToorCon United States San Diego 2.4 GHz Spectrum Analyzer WiFi Bluetooth ZigBee Ubertooth Renesas R8C CR2032 North America

EventToorCon San Diego 13

SeriesToorCon

LocationSan Diego Convention Center, San Diego, California

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

Project Ubertooth copyright holder

Michael Ossmann

The Project Ubertooth hardware README for the ToorCon 13 badge names Michael Ossmann as copyright holder.

Source

badge project publisher

Great Scott Gadgets

Publisher of the ToorCon 13 badge page, hacking-kit documents, and source-repository pointer.

Source

event and badge context

ToorCon

InfoconDB preserves the ToorCon San Diego 13 event metadata and the Great Scott Gadgets page documents the event badge.

Source

Why It Mattered

It fills an early ToorCon gap in the North American badge timeline and shows badge hardware crossing from event identity into practical RF instrumentation, Bluetooth/ZigBee/microwave-oven detection, and the wider Ubertooth ecosystem.

Hardware

Great Scott Gadgets documents a CR2032-powered badge whose LEDs map the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channels and whose optional large hacking kit could fully populate the board into an Ubertooth-capable passive Bluetooth monitoring device. The hardware archive identifies the board as a two-layer KiCad design under Project Ubertooth.

Software & Apps

The badge firmware used a Renesas R5F212L4/R8C microcontroller, sleep/wake behavior, a power-on LED self-test, optional wireless transceiver test with a nearby Ubertooth repeater, GCC cross-compiler workflow, FTDI serial programming, and DJ Delorie's flash tool.

Lore

The project page says small and large hacking kits were available at ToorCon: the small kit added USB power components, while the large kit supplied the rest of the parts required to turn the badge into an Ubertooth. The public source explicitly classifies the badge as entirely open source hardware and software.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

RF visualization source-backed

13-channel 2.4 GHz LED spectrum analyzer

The badge used 13 LEDs to represent the 13 evenly spaced Wi-Fi channels in the 2.4 GHz band, while also detecting Bluetooth, ZigBee, microwave ovens, and other in-band emitters.

Compatibility: ToorCon 13 Spectrum Analyzer Badge

Source

badge operation source-backed

CR2032 sleep/wake and self-test workflow

The project page documents CR2032 power, power-on LED self-test, button wake/sleep behavior, automatic sleep after several minutes, and a low-battery reset symptom.

Compatibility: ToorCon 13 Spectrum Analyzer Badge

Source

firmware workflow source-backed

Renesas R8C serial programming path

Great Scott Gadgets documents compiling R8C code with a GCC cross-compiler and flashing through a 3.3 V FTDI serial interface plus DJ Delorie's flash tool.

Compatibility: ToorCon 13 Spectrum Analyzer Badge

Source

hardware expansion historical

Ubertooth large hacking kit

The large badge-hacking kit supplied the components needed to turn the ToorCon 13 badge into an Ubertooth-capable passive Bluetooth monitoring device.

Compatibility: ToorCon 13 Spectrum Analyzer Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

kit-completion caveat note

The base badge worked as a spectrum analyzer, while full Ubertooth-capable behavior required a larger hacking kit and additional firmware installation on both microcontrollers.

The catalogue separates shipped badge behavior from optional kit upgrades and does not imply that every attendee badge was fully populated as an Ubertooth.

Confidence: primary source
Status: documented
Timeframe: ToorCon 13 badge hacking kits
Source note: Great Scott Gadgets ToorCon 13 badge page and Project Ubertooth source tree.

missing rights-cleared image note

No ToorCon 13 badge image is published because the available project-page and kit-documentation visuals have not been paired with complete original-photo provenance, explicit reuse rights, attribution, and processing notes.

The entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying project-page media or rendering KiCad files into approximate badge art.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, Great Scott Gadgets ToorCon 13 page, and Project Ubertooth source tree.

Resources

Project Ubertooth tc13badge firmware firmware source · Project Ubertooth firmware tree for the Renesas R5F212L4/R8C ToorCon 13 badge microcontroller code. Project Ubertooth tc13badge hardware hardware source · Project Ubertooth hardware tree containing KiCad schematic and board files for the ToorCon 13 badge. ToorCon 13 badge project page project page · Great Scott Gadgets project source for the 2.4 GHz RF spectrum-analyzer badge, Wi-Fi channel LEDs, Bluetooth/ZigBee/microwave-oven detection, hacking kits, programming path, and open-source hardware/software claim. ToorCon 13 kit assembly diagram assembly guide · Great Scott Gadgets assembly PDF linked from the badge page for the ToorCon 13 badge hacking kit. ToorCon 13 kit parts list bill of materials · Great Scott Gadgets parts-list PDF linked from the badge page for the ToorCon 13 badge hacking kit. ToorCon San Diego 13 InfoconDB record event metadata · InfoconDB source for ToorCon San Diego 13 dates, San Diego Convention Center venue, San Diego location, and schedule context.

Sources

GitHub / Great Scott Gadgets: greatscottgadgets/ubertooth tc13badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Source repository preserving ToorCon 13 badge hardware and firmware trees under the Project Ubertooth `tc13badge` code name. GitHub / Great Scott Gadgets: tc13badge hardware README Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Hardware-source evidence for the GPL-licensed Project Ubertooth design files, KiCad schematic/layout, and two-layer PCB production notes. GitHub / Great Scott Gadgets: tc13badge firmware README Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Firmware-source evidence for the Renesas R5F212L4/R8C code archive and build context. Great Scott Gadgets: ToorCon 13 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary project source for the 2.4 GHz spectrum analyzer behavior, 13 Wi-Fi-channel LEDs, Bluetooth/ZigBee/microwave detection, CR2032 use, hacking kits, Renesas R5F212L4/R8C programming, and open-source archive pointer. InfoconDB: ToorCon San Diego 13 (2011) Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Event metadata source for October 7-9, 2011 dates, San Diego Convention Center venue, and ToorCon San Diego 13 schedule context.