The Aerospace Village Unveils Its DEF CON 29 Badge — But Keeps the Source Code a Secret
Source code being kept under wraps so DEF CON 29 attendees have a chance to winkle out its secrets the hard way.
The Aerospace Village has unveiled its badge design for the DEF CON 29 conference — and it's going to be keeping the source code a secret, at least for a while, to give people a chance to play around with it first.
"We are offering another custom-designed badge for DEF CON 29," the organisation explains. "Just as with our 2020 badge from DEF CON 28, this is a great souvenir and excellent teaching tool for a STEM project with kids to learn about the inner workings of the source code and parts."
The badge is built around a Microchip ATmega8-16AU microcontroller, while the surrounding board includes two RGB LEDs, two each of blue, white, and green LEDs, three yellow LEDs, and a single red LED. A battery holder takes three AAA batteries to keep the device ticking.
Those looking to solder the kit together themselves will need experience in surface-mount devices; Aerospace Village is also providing a fully-assembled version, for those less confident in handling the compact components required.
Designed by US Navy test pilot and software engineer Dan Allen, details of exactly what the badge does are being kept a secret until after the event. "We will post the source code AFTER DEF CON 29 ends," the organization explains, "so those looking for its hidden secrets have time to search without any peeking!"
The board is available on the Aerospace Village Tindie store at $35 for the kit or $40 fully-assembled. DEF CON 29, meanwhile, takes place as a "hybrid conference" with in-person and virtual features opening on the 5th of August.
