This Animated Stargate Badge Is Immensely Satisfying

Stargate is one of the most popular science fiction franchises of all time. Stargate SG-1 had more than 200 episodes, Stargate Atlantis had 100 episodes, and even Stargate Universe had 40 episodes. That’s before you even get into the handful of films and webisodes that have been made. All of these feature the titular “stargates,” which link locations all around the universe through wormholes. To celebrate that iconic piece of science fiction technology, Sarif built this fantastic animated Stargate Badge that every Stargate fan would like to get their hands on.

I am a huge Stargate fan myself, and even designed and built my own desktop Stargate PCB art. But I can say without hesitation that Sarif’s badge puts my project to shame. Sarif has been involved in the #BadgeLife community for years, and decided to make this the first of their own designs. It was originally an indie badge for DEF CON 27, but can now be purchased through Sarif’s Tindie store. The badge feature a large number of LEDs that are used for the animations. When the button is pressed, the gate will begin “dialing” by lighting up each of chevrons around the perimeter of the gate. After they have all been locked, the blue LEDs in the center will light up to represent the wormhole splash.

The badge is running on an NXP MKL27Z64VLH4 32-bit microcontroller with an Arm Cortex-M0+ processor. Normally that runs at 48MHz, but Sarif has it slowed down to a more energy efficient 4MHz. A total of 104 LEDs — 38 for the chevrons and 66 for the wormhole — are controlled through a set of five 74HCT595 shift registers. The PCB is completely custom, of course, and looks exactly like it should. It even includes a Wormhole X-treme-branded lanyard that the true fans should get a kick out of. If you want your own Stargate Badge, they currently cost $65 through Sarif’s Tindie store.