DEF CON 34 PCB Badge Giveaway
Aug 162026Work in progress: I'm still adding photos, build notes, and a few details I forgot to write down during DEF CON. Check back later for updates and more information.
If you received one of my PCB badges at DEF CON 34, you found the right page.
2026 has been a year where I've tried to finally do some of the things I've put off for a long time. One of those things was learning more about the electrical engineering side of computing. When I went to college, I originally tried studying both computer science and electrical engineering, but I couldn't keep up with the workload of both and eventually dropped EE. I stayed on the software side professionally, but I never really lost interest in circuits, electronics, and how the hardware underneath all of that software actually works.
I actually tried making a PCB for DEF CON once before, back in 2023. That project turned into one mistake after another and eventually I ran out of time. Since that was also the year DEF CON switched to the plastic badge, I pivoted instead, learned some basic 3D modeling, bought a 3D printer, and made something that way. I wrote about that project elsewhere on this blog, but I always wanted to come back and take another shot at making an actual PCB.
This year I kept the electronics intentionally simple. The basic idea was a CR2032 battery powering four self-flashing RGB LEDs. No microcontroller, no firmware, no display, and nothing especially fancy electrically. Even with a circuit that simple, though, there was a lot more to learn than I expected once I started turning the idea into a real board.
I designed the PCB in EasyEDA Pro and slowly worked through the whole process: choosing footprints, placing components, routing traces, working with copper pours, adding silkscreen, checking the netlist, and running the design-rule checker until I finally got the board down to zero DRC errors. There were plenty of little mistakes and revisions along the way, which was probably the most useful part of the project.
I was also lucky to have friends at DEF CON who knew a lot more about PCB design than I did and were willing to look over the board. Some of their suggestions were things I probably would not have thought about on my own, like adding clearer labels for assembly and rearranging traces and components to make the boards easier to put together by hand. That turned out to matter quite a bit once I actually had the boards in front of me.
The schedule was getting very tight by the time the design was ready, so I ended up having the boards shipped directly to DEF CON instead of receiving them at home first. That meant I didn't really get the comfortable prototype stage where I could assemble a few, find everything I hated about the layout, revise it, and then order the final batch. I was basically learning the assembly problems while assembling the real boards.
That was where I learned how important design for assembly is. A board can be electrically correct and perfectly manufacturable, but that doesn't mean it is pleasant to assemble. When you're soldering the same parts over and over, small things like component spacing, polarity markings, labels, and where the traces run suddenly become much more important. A mildly annoying step on one board becomes a very annoying step when you repeat it dozens of times.
The odd-looking battery holder on the back is a good example of another lesson from this project: sometimes the best part is simply the part you can actually get in time. I originally wanted a normal CR2032 holder, but with the deadline approaching I needed something I could source quickly. Amazon had LilyPad-style CR2032 modules, so I used those instead. They aren't the cleanest-looking solution, but they worked, they were available, and they also gave me an on/off switch without adding another part that had to be hand-soldered.
I made three versions of the badge: a Data Duplication Village version, a Goon appreciation badge, and a Whiskey Pirates appreciation badge. The electronics are basically the same, but changing the solder mask, silkscreen, and artwork made each one feel like its own badge.
I also got a quick lesson in the economics of PCB manufacturing. Once the deadline became critical, I looked into getting the boards made in the United States with a very fast turnaround. The rush pricing got expensive very quickly, so I went back to JLCPCB and had the final boards manufactured overseas and shipped directly to Las Vegas. It was a little nerve-racking, but they made it.
The finished badge is still a very basic circuit, but that's not really what mattered to me. The part I wanted to accomplish was going through the entire process myself: starting with an idea, making the schematic, laying out the PCB, fixing mistakes, getting it manufactured, sourcing the parts, assembling it, and finally handing out working badges at DEF CON.
In 2023 I tried to make a PCB and didn't finish it. In 2026 I did. That's probably the part of this project I'm happiest about.
I'm very grateful to the friends and advisors who helped me get across the finish line and pointed out better ways to do things. I learned a huge amount from this first attempt, and it has made me want to keep going. Next year I'd like to start much earlier, leave enough time for proper prototypes and revisions, and try something a little more complex. For now, though, I'm happy that my first real PCB made it out of the computer, onto a fabrication line, and eventually onto people's lanyards at DEF CON.
Bookmark azizc.com/blog/ddv/dc34 and check back later. I'll continue adding more photos, notes, and details from the build.