2026: Rand0h

### Overview In this presentation delivered at a cybersecurity conference in Glasgow (Hack Glasgow), speaker Danny (known widely as "Rand0h") recounts his journey of designing and manufacturing his first custom hardware electronic conference badge. Built to celebrate the 10th anniversary of DEF CON's meme-driven contest "Whose Slide Is It Anyway?", the badge is modeled directly after the contest's iconic 4-foot etched symphonic gong. While walking through the technical hardware architecture, software development, and fabrication pitfalls, Rand0h emphasizes the human side of "Badge Life"—underscoring how community mentorship, peer support, and perseverance enabled a non-coder to bring an ambitious hardware concept from a napkin sketch to a 125-unit production run.

### Key Topics - **Origins and Lore of "Whose Slide Is It Anyway?":** Originating as a variant of slideshow roulette where presenters speak to unseen meme-heavy slides, the contest evolved over a decade at DEF CON. The contest integrated a physical symphonic gong used by judges to disqualify participants, which directly inspired the badge's thematic design. - **Learning Curve and Electronics Fundamentals:** Starting with minimal hardware experience, assembling LEGO lighting kits, and completing multiple Hacker Boxes (such as the 20-panel icosahedron "Tessellate"), Rand0h practiced surface-mount device (SMD) soldering and iterative breadboarding concepts via educational resources such as DigiKey and "30 Days Lost in Space." - **AI-Assisted Engineering Workflow:** Relying on Claude (both claude.ai and Claude Code) to "vibe code" and bridge knowledge gaps in Python, C, and C++, the speaker developed 764 lines of code covering 44 functions. However, the talk highlights critical AI limitations, such as hallucinated PCB trace layouts, unworkable schematics, and incorrect pin assignments. - **Manufacturing, Assembly, and Logistics:** Navigating PCB fabrication platforms (PCBWay, JLCPCB), ordering custom component reels, handling tariffs, and coordinating with an assembly line in Kansas City (Malmet) utilizing pick-and-place machines and automated solder paste printing.

### Technical Details - **Microcontroller & Audio Architecture:** The badge runs on an ESP32-C3 microcontroller. Audio playback uses a W25 flash memory chip providing 8 MB of storage containing downsampled audio tracks. The ESP32 reads audio data and clocks it out to a MAX audio amplifier chip driving an onboard speaker. - **Lighting and Interface:** The badge integrates 24 peripheral LEDs in a chained configuration along with 3 physical interactive buttons. - **Interactive Features & Connectivity:** The device stores five base songs (with custom tracks programmed for early buyers), cycling audio snippets and memes. A specific audio sequence triggers an onboard Wi-Fi access point hosting a secret web server containing blogs, clues, and hidden challenges. - **Failure Analysis & Design Flaws:** - A footprint mismatch caused by an AI pinout hallucination on the MAX audio amplifier package bridged the 5V rail (powering LEDs and the amplifier) into the 3.3V rail (dedicated to ESP32 logic), causing voltage to creep upward and destroying downstream components. - The development required three major revision cycles, resolving severe battery drain through multiple firmware rewrites days before DEF CON.

### Takeaways - **AI as a Tool, Not an Engineer:** Generative AI is a powerful assistant for rapid prototyping and firmware development, but builders must verify schematics, read manufacturer data sheets, and understand the core behavior of their designs. - **Community and Collaboration:** Complex hardware projects require collective mentorship. Friends and experienced community members (such as Blinkster and one_dark_one) were indispensable in fixing schematics, routing traces, creating artwork, and performing quality assurance. - **Resilience Against Scope Creep and Logistics:** First-time hardware designers should expect delays, avoid late scope additions (like physical vibration hit sensors), order surplus boards to account for component loss, and accept that real-world troubleshooting happens hands-on at the workbench.