44CON
The September 18-19, 2025 44CON edition at Novotel London West whose public Electronic Cats repository documents the 44CON 2025 RF-detector badge hardware and firmware.
Novotel London West, London · United Kingdom · 2025
The 44CON 2025 badge is a public Electronic Cats hardware and firmware project that can run with a CH32-style shield for an OLED mini-game or with an ESP32 Wemos D1 module plus optional buzzer, MT3608 boost converter, AD8317 RF detector, and add-on board.
Lifecycle
The repository includes a separate KiCad add-on project, and the README notes the add-on location on the badge front side.
The README documents default CH32 OLED control and a cut-and-bridge jumper path for switching the display bus to ESP32 control.
Electronic Cats recommends soldering the ESP32 Wemos D1 module for the best badge experience, with OLED-routing jumpers available when moving display control from CH32 to ESP32.
The recommended build includes a buzzer, and the RF-detector behavior can use audible alerts when signal detection warrants it.
The README says the badge can operate with the shield installed, where it drives the OLED display and runs the built-in mini-game without the ESP32 path.
The MT3608 boost converter raises the badge's 5 V supply to the 9 V rail used by the RF detector, and must be adjusted before the RF module is connected.
The README describes an AD8317 RF detector path that measures RF signal strength, displays results on the OLED, and is intended to detect hidden wireless devices.
Operational history
The badge page preserves the original power-safety context for the AD8317 RF detector instead of presenting the module as a no-risk plug-in.
The record separates the minimal shield/display experience from the ESP32 and RF-detector build path instead of treating every configuration as identical.
The catalogue links repository images, diagrams, and hardware files as evidence but does not copy media or collapse the software, hardware, documentation, and artwork license boundaries.
The badge remains image-free until an explicitly reusable 44CON 2025 badge photo or render is cleared.