Hacker Con Badges

JawnCon

JawnCon 0x3

The completed October 16-18, 2026 JawnCon 0x3 edition at Arcadia University's Commons Building, starting a day earlier than past editions. Before the event the official badge page published the JawnCon0x3 Badge user manual, bill of materials, and soldering-station build notes for an ATmega328P four-digit calculator kit badge, and Hackaday's October 13 preview described the same badge. The official homepage, updated on October 17 during the conference, says this year's badge sold out and previous years' badges serve as admission, and points attendees to a reprogrammer in the Chillout space and a downloadable firmware fix from Jorj. On that in-event organizer statement and the elapsed dates the edition is marked completed; no wrap-up, attendance figure, or badge count has been published.

Arcadia University Commons Building, Glenside, Pennsylvania · United States · 2026

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge

The JawnCon 0x3 badge, documented on JawnCon's official badge page ahead of the October 16-18, 2026 conference at Arcadia University. The JawnCon0x3 Badge is a four-digit, seven-segment calculator kit built around an ATmega328P-P with a 16-key keypad. Every key plays a touch-tone (DTMF) pair, typed codes unlock hidden games, a USB-serial menu renames the badge and shows high scores, and a wired serial link lets two badges introduce themselves and count links. A 20-pin edge connector lets attendees plug in their own hardware. The page has attendees assemble the kit at the JawnCon soldering station. During the conference the official homepage said this year's badge had sold out and published a fixed firmware image, with a reprogrammer in the Chillout space. Kit counts and how many attendees received one are not published.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge official manual and firmware image

badge games

Hidden calculator games

Typing 1337, 1338, or 0203 followed by = starts Higher or Lower, DTMF Tone Recall, or Hex Recall, with high scores saved across power cycles; the manual says at least one more game is hidden, hinted by a LOCKED high-score line, and may need a friend. The October 17 firmware image lists a fourth high-score line, Vault - fewest attempts to crack.

Compatibility: JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge official manual

badge interaction

Badge-to-badge serial link

From the serial menu, two badges joined by crossed TX/RX (pin 16 to pin 15 in the October 19, 2026 manual, after pins 10 and 8 in the October 15 copy) and ground handshake at 9600 baud, show each other's boot text, and add to a permanent link count; the connector style is left to the builder, and something may change after the first link.

Compatibility: Two JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badges

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge official print files

case

3D-printed badge case

Front case STLs for single- and multi-colour printers and a back-case 3MF with integrated supports, fastened with M3x6 screws.

Compatibility: JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge official in-event notice

firmware update

Chillout-space reprogrammer and firmware fix

On October 17, 2026 the official homepage said Jorj had found bugs and fixed them in the badge, and invited attendees to reflash at a reprogrammer in the Chillout space or to load the published jawncon-badge.hex themselves. The notice does not list the bugs.

Compatibility: JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge (ATmega328P)

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge note

design and firmware archive gap · official badge page · BOM, manual, and firmware image published; schematic, PCB, and firmware source absent

JawnCon publishes the bill of materials, manual, case files, and since October 17, 2026 a firmware HEX image, but no schematic, PCB files, firmware source, or badge designer credit, and the case files are marked © 2026 JawnCon, LLC without a reuse licence.

The record cites the official manual for behaviour and the HEX image for its strings, and leaves circuit details beyond the BOM, firmware source, and reuse rights open.

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge low

in-event firmware fix · official homepage notice · fix published; bug list absent

During the conference JawnCon announced that Jorj had found and fixed bugs in the badge and offered a reprogrammer in the Chillout space and a downloadable HEX image. The notice does not say which bugs, and the manual's link pins changed from 10 and 8 to 15 and 16 in the October 19 revision.

Badges not reflashed during the event may still run the original firmware; owners can load the published image themselves.

JawnCon 0x3 Calculator Badge note

post-event distribution gap · official in-event homepage notice · sold out; count unpublished

The official homepage said on October 17, 2026 that this year's badge had sold out and that previous years' badges would serve as admission, so not every attendee held a 0x3 badge. No source gives the number of kits, how many were assembled on site, or whether any were sold assembled.

The record treats the badge as distributed at the event without asserting a quantity or attendee-wide availability.

Resources

JawnCon 0x3 Kicks Off In Philadelphia This Friday media preview · Hackaday preview by Tom Nardi, October 13, 2026, describing the calculator-style ATmega328P-P badge, its DTMF generator, games, badge linking, edge connector, assembled or kit options, bare-PCB distribution, printable cases, and on-site Zebra ID printers. JawnCon0x3 Badge: User Manual official badge manual and BOM · Official badge page with the user manual (calculator, tones, secret game codes, serial menu, badge-to-badge link wiring), the full bill of materials, and soldering-station build instructions. The October 19, 2026 revision gives the link wiring as RX on pin 15 and TX on pin 16. JawnCon 0x3 badge case printing official case files · Official STL and 3MF files for single- and multi-colour front cases and a supported back case, with orientation and bridging notes and M3x6 screws; marked © 2026 JawnCon, LLC without an open licence. JawnCon 0x3 official site official event page · Official site for the October 16-18, 2026 conference at Arcadia University's Commons Building. The October 15, 2026 check still read Badge information coming soon! on the homepage. The October 21, 2026 recheck found the MOTD updated on October 17, during the conference: this year's badge has sold out, previous years' badges serve as admission, and Jorj has found and fixed bugs in the badge, with a reprogrammer in the Chillout space and a firmware download. The page still carries the TICKETS ON SALE NOW! link and has no wrap-up. jawncon-badge.hex official firmware image · Intel HEX firmware linked from the official homepage on October 17, 2026 as the fixed badge code that attendees could load themselves or flash with the Chillout-space reprogrammer. 60,396 bytes as text and 21,462 bytes of AVR program data, SHA-256 bc1250a87f4d7acfb1601d1c1cd9c998d7e4c5395213caf2c3fe06fb87d4249d, served with an October 17, 2026 last-modified date. No source or licence accompanies it.

Sources

Hackaday: JawnCon 0x3 Kicks Off In Philadelphia This Friday Retrieved 2026-10-15 · Secondary pre-event media source corroborating the ATmega328P-P calculator badge and adding that it comes assembled or as a kit and is distributed as a bare PCB. JawnCon, LLC: JawnCon 0x3 Retrieved 2026-10-21 · Primary official source for the October 16-18, 2026 dates and the Arcadia University Commons Building venue. The October 17, 2026 MOTD, written during the conference, says the badge sold out, accepts previous years' badges as admission, and offers Jorj's firmware fix through the Chillout-space reprogrammer; it is the basis for marking the edition completed. It gives no badge count. JawnCon, LLC: JawnCon 0x3 badge case printing Retrieved 2026-10-15 · Primary official source for the printable case files and screws; it establishes the case design, not its distribution. JawnCon, LLC: JawnCon0x3 Badge: User Manual Retrieved 2026-10-21 · Primary official source for the badge's functions, game codes, serial menu, link protocol and pinout, bill of materials, and kit build process. The October 19, 2026 revision corrects the link pins to 15 (RX) and 16 (TX). It names no designer and publishes no schematic. JawnCon, LLC: jawncon-badge.hex Retrieved 2026-10-21 · Primary official firmware artifact, inspected locally: an AVR image whose strings include the badge menu, boot-text rules, high scores for Vault, Hex Recall, DTMF Recall, and Higher-or-Lower, the keypad-not-found error, and the badge-to-badge link prompts. It documents the fixed firmware, not what each badge shipped with.