Kernelcon

Kernelcon 2026

The April 7-10, 2026 Kernelcon event in Omaha, with the main conference on April 9-10 and an official off-grid ESP32 weather badge with quest and crank-power behavior.

Hilton Omaha Downtown, Omaha, Nebraska · United States · 2026

Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge

Kernelcon's 2026 Off Grid badge is an ESP32 weather-prediction and quest badge with BME280 temperature, humidity, and pressure sensing, twenty addressable RGB LEDs, AAA and hand-crank power modes, BLE/proximity scanning, and MicroPython firmware.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge historical

event quest

Narrative quest kiosks

The 2026 activities guide describes venue kiosks, SCAN mode, crank-built charge, printed clues, tasks, and LED animation rewards.

Compatibility: Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge

Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge source-backed

soldering add-on

USB charge module kit

The official activity guide documents a small PCB kit that lets attendees harness the badge crank output to charge devices through USB-A.

Compatibility: Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge note

missing rights-cleared image · local project policy · open

No Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid image is published because the official `badge.png`, `badge_schematic.png`, repository PDFs, SVG layer exports, STEP/STL models, and KiCad material have not been paired with a reusable image or documentation license, attribution, and processing notes.

The current badge record remains image-free until a rights-cleared original photo or official raster render can be proven.

Kernelcon 2026 Off Grid Badge note

repository-license caveat · repository audit · documented

The repository README says the project is released for educational purposes and to see individual files for specific licenses; no top-level LICENSE file was recovered in this pass.

The catalogue cites the repository for evidence but does not use repository images locally or claim a single reuse license for the whole project.

Resources

Kernelcon 2026 badge repository hardware and firmware archive · Public ZonkSec repository preserving MicroPython firmware, KiCad files, Gerbers, BOMs, 3D models, flyers, and badge variants. Kernelcon 2026 badge site official badge page · Official badge site for the off-grid weather badge, source-release note, activities, BOM, and quest results. Kernelcon 2026 registration page official event registration · Official registration source for April 7-10, 2026 event dates, April 9-10 main conference dates, and Hilton Omaha Downtown location. Kernelcon past badges list official lineage index · Official current badge site listing the 2019 K, 2020 HackMaster, 2021 Hacker Hotkey, 2022 Watch, 2023 radio, 2024 cable-tester, and 2025 Race Condition badge lineage.

Sources

Kernelcon badge site: Off Grid badge about page Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary source for weather prediction, BME280 sensing, ESP32, battery/crank modes, 90:1 motor, buck-boost plus regulator power path, LEDs, and manufacturing credits. Kernelcon badge site: Off Grid badge activities Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary activity source for assembly, quest kiosks, SCAN/CHRG modes, weather training, and USB charge-module kit. ZonkSec GitHub repository: Kernelcon 2026 Badge README Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Primary repository source for ESP32-WROOM-32E, BME280, SK6812 LEDs, crank generator, MicroPython firmware, BLE scanning, quest files, KiCad files, BOMs, Gerbers, 3D models, and license caveat.