Queercon
The DEF CON 27-adjacent Queercon edition whose Q and C badge system used distinct electronic attendee artifacts, custom keyboard hardware, badge-to-badge token exchange, handler missions, and a shared ARG progress station.
Las Vegas, Nevada / DEF CON 27 · United States · 2019
The Queercon 16 Q Badge was an electronic DEF CON-adjacent social badge with a custom membrane keyboard, 2.9-inch e-paper display, RGB lighting, Bluetooth-capable TI CC2640R2 controller, Holtek LED driver, AA battery power, RJ12 6P6C badge-to-badge connector, and ARG mechanics across Q, C, and Handler badge roles.
Lifecycle
The badge combined a 2.9-inch 128x296 eInk screen, six side-view RGB LEDs beside the display, and twelve additional full-color edge LEDs.
The Q badge used a full-color custom membrane keyboard with embossed keys, LED windows, and a layout tailored to the conference ARG.
An RJ12 6P6C connector and cable linked Q and C badges so attendees could exchange digital tokens and advance the ARG across badge types.
Handler staff badges distributed missions and a chill-room base station reported aggregate progress, turning the badge game into a venue-wide social challenge.
Hackaday identifies the badge controller as a TI CC2640R2 with ARM Cortex-M3 core and Bluetooth capability, paired with a Holtek HT16D35B LED controller.
Operational history
The catalogue records verified hardware and social-game behavior while leaving firmware, challenge, and complete variant archaeology for a later pass.
The entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying article photography without a clear catalogue reuse basis.