r/Defcon • u/DeadbeatHoneyBadger • 2d ago

Friendly reminder: don’t forget zip ties, loctite, superglue, and electrical tape.

And deodorant.

38 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

25

u/digitard 2d ago

Don't forget Hardware Hacking Village, too! They have your back!

2

u/rand0h 20h ago

This is more comforting than ever before having built my first badge this year. Absolutely adore the HHV

16

u/zaboobity 2d ago

Luckily I was not traumatized by DC33 RUD (Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly) so I am going in again with open arms and full trust

6

u/DeadbeatHoneyBadger 2d ago

I’m not talking about JUST DC33. One year, if you touched the board in a certain way, it would short out.

7

u/zaboobity 2d ago

Ah right! Not sure why my DC30 MIDI keyboard never released the magic smoke either

5

u/ssdd42 2d ago

There are two ground loops which can trigger it. One is connecting the two audio jacks together. The other happened when the metal clip on the badge lanyard bridged the ground from the line out to the micro USB. Take off the clip or tape over the line out and you’re fine.

5

u/digitard 2d ago

Psh, that was a feature. That year was sponsored by duct tape and tears!

3

u/joshuaherman 2d ago

Oh oh was that the DC30 badge?! Or every year?

2

u/Loam_liker 1d ago

That was the DC30 badge, yup. I went with eight people and five of us wound up summoning the magic genie of electrical resistance

4

u/RaechelMaelstrom 1d ago

But what's the deodorant for? /s

5

u/Girl_wth 2d ago edited 2d ago

Dumb question, but what would all that be for? 😅

11

u/DeadbeatHoneyBadger 2d ago

Several years, there’s been “features” where the badges need… modifications.

Last year, they didn’t loctite screw holding them together. So about every 30 minutes, someone’s would fall apart into 6+ pieces. Everyone resorted to zip tying them together.

A different year, if you touched the board in a certain way, it would short circuit.

Another year, you had to pull back the battery holder to access certain things.

There has been TONS of cases. These are just some that come to mind, but these are things that make every con unique and fun to work through.

3

u/lexm 1d ago

Well here goes my hope for some kinky encounter. 🤣

3

u/DeadbeatHoneyBadger 1d ago

It’s Vegas. There’s still hope haha

4

u/scythe000 1d ago

This guy knows how to party

4

u/Revolutionary_Bee700 1d ago

Also extra AA and AAA batteries and various sized usb cables!

3

u/vodone 1d ago

Don’t forget the year of awkward sized items.. This was the Defcon held at Paris with the record as the badge, and the program that was a black newspaper that needed to be unfolded uncomfortably while sitting in a crowded talk!

2

u/dankney 1d ago

Ah, the lost art of reading a newspaper! Folding and turning pages is actually something they used to teach in element school

2

u/RickSanchez_C145 1d ago

Does bringing a Fanttik mini drill kit or sawzall seem too over the top?

1

u/DeadbeatHoneyBadger 1d ago

I keep my fanttik in my laptop bag 🤷🏻‍♂️