Hi all,
We're still heavily into the planning stages for this, but I wanted to toss some information out there for you all so you can get an idea of what we're planning. So what is the Hardware Hacking Village?
To state it most simply, it's a way to give all the Defcon attendees that like electronics a place to play. It's also intended to be a place for everyone that thinks "Wow! That looks cool! I wish I knew how to do that!". It's also going to be the headquarters for Joe Grand (kingpin) so he can talk about hacking past badges and such. It should be a great place to hang out. We do ask that you bear with us for this first year as we determine the actual level of interest. That will determine how much space we'll need next year, etc. But we're doing our best.
-Where will it be?
We're still making that determination but we'd like it to be in the general conference area so it's easy to find, easy to get to, and high traffic.
- How large will it be?
It's not likely to be the size of one of the speaking rooms. :-) But there might be a couple of small side rooms that we can put together. I'd like to be able to fit 50 people in the room at a time.
- Who's running the HHV?
Well, it's really a group effort. It started as a conversation between l0sTboy, myself, and A and eventually lead to Joe being interested in getting involved as well. If you're a big electronics geek and think you can lend a hand, please let me know at russ(at)defcon{dot}org. And as always, Charel has been our cheerleader and cat wrangler.
- What does the HHV involve?
Our current plans are to cover badge hacking and a variety of other electronics activities. For example, if you've got the last couple years worth of badges, you may be aching to fiddle with them. So bring a kit with some parts and see what you can do or learn while you're there. We're also working on a Defcon specific electronics kit. I can't tell you exactly what's in it right now, but we're working on a number of parts. The kits will be at cost to attendees, but we're likely only going to be able to afford a limited number of them up front. They'll contain microcontrollers, LEDs, caps, resisters, PCBs, etc. You can certainly bring your own parts, as well. We'll know more in a couple of weeks, so look for more information in these forums.
There is also some discussion of teaching the attendees to build their own microcontrollers based on the Parallax BS2. It's not set in stone, but would certainly keep costs down and allow attendees to learn more while in the HHV.
-When will it be?
Operating hours for the HHV will be the same as the rest of the contest area. Any kits sold in the HHV will be strictly at cost. We're not trying to make money here. If you, or someone you know, has the ability to donate a ton of bit parts, please let me know at the email address above. We appreciate all the help.
Thanks for your interest. We're looking forward to a great con this year and we think the HHV will be a resounding success.
-Russ
We're still heavily into the planning stages for this, but I wanted to toss some information out there for you all so you can get an idea of what we're planning. So what is the Hardware Hacking Village?
To state it most simply, it's a way to give all the Defcon attendees that like electronics a place to play. It's also intended to be a place for everyone that thinks "Wow! That looks cool! I wish I knew how to do that!". It's also going to be the headquarters for Joe Grand (kingpin) so he can talk about hacking past badges and such. It should be a great place to hang out. We do ask that you bear with us for this first year as we determine the actual level of interest. That will determine how much space we'll need next year, etc. But we're doing our best.
-Where will it be?
We're still making that determination but we'd like it to be in the general conference area so it's easy to find, easy to get to, and high traffic.
- How large will it be?
It's not likely to be the size of one of the speaking rooms. :-) But there might be a couple of small side rooms that we can put together. I'd like to be able to fit 50 people in the room at a time.
- Who's running the HHV?
Well, it's really a group effort. It started as a conversation between l0sTboy, myself, and A and eventually lead to Joe being interested in getting involved as well. If you're a big electronics geek and think you can lend a hand, please let me know at russ(at)defcon{dot}org. And as always, Charel has been our cheerleader and cat wrangler.
- What does the HHV involve?
Our current plans are to cover badge hacking and a variety of other electronics activities. For example, if you've got the last couple years worth of badges, you may be aching to fiddle with them. So bring a kit with some parts and see what you can do or learn while you're there. We're also working on a Defcon specific electronics kit. I can't tell you exactly what's in it right now, but we're working on a number of parts. The kits will be at cost to attendees, but we're likely only going to be able to afford a limited number of them up front. They'll contain microcontrollers, LEDs, caps, resisters, PCBs, etc. You can certainly bring your own parts, as well. We'll know more in a couple of weeks, so look for more information in these forums.
There is also some discussion of teaching the attendees to build their own microcontrollers based on the Parallax BS2. It's not set in stone, but would certainly keep costs down and allow attendees to learn more while in the HHV.
-When will it be?
Operating hours for the HHV will be the same as the rest of the contest area. Any kits sold in the HHV will be strictly at cost. We're not trying to make money here. If you, or someone you know, has the ability to donate a ton of bit parts, please let me know at the email address above. We appreciate all the help.
Thanks for your interest. We're looking forward to a great con this year and we think the HHV will be a resounding success.
-Russ
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