[Copy]Ideas for next year?

[bombnav]

Re: Ideas for next year?

Okay I do have the wife on board to hang in the village helping out with soldering. She is not too keen on giving a formal talk but is more than willing to hang out and show people how to solder. She is NASA certified in soldering and knows her stuff and can offer her skills on SMT as well. We are in the process of gathering up some equipment and supplies for SMT as well as soldering (won't have enough to hand out to all of course). It would be nice to get some corp sponsorship or swag for the village. Tyring to work on getting expired solder (didn't know it expired) from a source so we will have a supply to hand out. I am also trying to gather some "electronic junk" for a parts source but we need others as last year the junk box was a popular item in the HHV.

Hi all (SD, Afterburner, Smitty, Russ, A.......) I think the main points have been hit. Bottom line... people loved the HHV and for me it made the best DEFCON exp so far. I think if Joe is doing next years badge a simple heads up from him on what is mod-able on it (USB port) etc to us would let us bring a few extra items next year to help people out even more. I know next year I will bring 3 times more stuff to use in the village since we will have the space. Also I will start working on a side project to see if I can get any donations of free stuff (leds etc) or see how many samples I can "social engineer" for the HHV.

I tried to talk my wife into doing a SMT demo for next year but she has not warmed up to that yet but I think we need some kind of SMT rework ability for the "Badge Repair" station that was being run by (Can't remember his name SD help me out) as he fixed several badges.

A final shout out ot all those that came into the HHV. You listened, worked, shared with everyone the thrill of HHV. There were no incidents that I was aware of, everyone was great and no fires!!!! Thanks to all for a blast!!

BombNav

[LosT]

Re: [Copy]Ideas for next year?

I would just like to say again how awesome the CVORG guys are, and what a great job they did helping out with the HHV last year.

I'm working on a few surprises for next year, but I don't want to say anything just yet in case they don't pan out...

1057

[afterburn188]

Re: Ideas for next year?

"Why isn't there a fucking scope I can use" will you get an invitation to find other things to do at Defcon.

I had someone complain to me about a lack of multimeters. This one really kind of ticked me off, especially since there were ones you could borrow if you asked nicely...

Yeah and instead of complaining to the guys who were donating their time to make this thing happen, you could have waited and come over to the CVORG table when we had the scopes out...

[A]

Re: Ideas for next year?

A, if you've got it, let me know what you want to do. If you don't mind mailing it back to me, that would probably end up being the cheapest but the most hassle. Otherwise, I take PayPal. ;-)

I didn't want to see a nice dmm get tossed out with the scorched table cloths (anyone who uses the drapery as a sponge next year will be strung off of the railing by their toenails as an example to others), and no one up there when we were cleaning up claimed it. PM me your mailing docs and I'll get it back your way.

While I'm here, just thought I'd echo all of the good ideas people have had for next year. More space, more cool people, more cool things to do. Now to figure out what is technically/financially feasible.

Oh and one more gripe. For the most part people were awesome up in the HHV, but there were a few people who need to keep the following in mind for next year:

The HHV is a volunteer space at a volunteer conference. Respect and don't bitch about the gear other people have lent to you to use; we will have more space next year, consider bringing some of your own and letting others use it. "Why isn't there a fucking scope I can use" will you get an invitation to find other things to do at Defcon.

If the room is packed consider limiting your time on the tables to something reasonable, especially if you are borrowing gear that others have provided. I'm hoping that additional space next year will help alleviate this. If not, we might have to have a bouncer working the door to keep the crowd manageable and limiting the time at the tables.

Overall the HHV was an awesome experience and a nice addition to Defcon. Thanks to everyone that contributed.

[bombnav]

Re: Ideas for next year?

I believe you're talking about Fork (at least I'm 99% sure that was his handle) and yeah, he personally soldered about 60 of the little USB connectors for folks. I think he has a medical condition that keeps him from saying No. In any case he totally rocks.

It would be righteous if your wife could do something next year given her background. If nothing else just tell her we all think HW chicks are hot. Seriously, women are almost always under-represented in the tech areas and I know I saw more than a few come through the HHV. Some totally had it down, others had never soldered before in their lives. Might be cool for them to see someone as successful as your wife in a HW field.

SD

Yea that was him.... He ruled the desk that day.... mega shout out to him. My wife told me to buy a toaster oven and go for the smt... seriously we to include Joe and a badge repair center into the HHV.

[DJ Jackalope]

Re: Ideas for next year?

We (Russ and I) are kicking around the idea of putting the EEE PC MODS into the HHV since...well...its hardwares mods as well as software mods too... (Assuming of course, something that is cooler than then EEE doesn't come out)...

I am planning on doing a contest for the EEE Mods next year. This year I just wanted to get ducks in a row and check out interest and get people to socialize since we have an extreme lack of that in the Riv with how the space is built, etc.

(double posted in the EEE Mods thread)

[sugardaddy]

Re: Ideas for next year?

I tried to talk my wife into doing a SMT demo for next year but she has not warmed up to that yet but I think we need some kind of SMT rework ability for the "Badge Repair" station that was being run by (Can't remember his name SD help me out) as he fixed several badges.
BombNav

I believe you're talking about Fork (at least I'm 99% sure that was his handle) and yeah, he personally soldered about 60 of the little USB connectors for folks. I think he has a medical condition that keeps him from saying No. In any case he totally rocks.

It would be righteous if your wife could do something next year given her background. If nothing else just tell her we all think HW chicks are hot. Seriously, women are almost always under-represented in the tech areas and I know I saw more than a few come through the HHV. Some totally had it down, others had never soldered before in their lives. Might be cool for them to see someone as successful as your wife in a HW field.

SD

[TieShort]

Re: Ideas for next year?

Did people enjoy the CVORG setup? Should we(/would anyone have us back) to do it again next year? How would you have liked it done differently? Was having the high end equipment there any good? I know a few people played with the equipment but it didn't seem to get much use. Maybe next year we should see if we can get some more low end equipment loaned that can be used out on the tables?

There were definitely a lot of noobs, so the high end stuff probably was a bit over kill. That being said, I also think is was also an issue of a tool for the tools sake. I saw the scopes, but nothing really to read. I think with a number of the mini contests being talked about a present or two on how to use a scope and some sample circuits to poke, the equipment would be much more appreciated. Given the number of noobs, the lower end stuff is probably the way to go.

And thanks to everybody who ran the show up there. I stopped by a number of times to partake of the goodness, but wasn't around long enough to really help out. Hope to change that for next year.

[afterburn188]

Re: Ideas for next year?

Yea I saw a few of those. I wonder what the RIV thought about the burnt table cloths!!

Anyone know if it was us who ended up setting off the fire alarm? I figure it wasn't but was just making sure. Maybe some fans for next year would be helpful, considering we're hoping to increase the number of stations?

[bombnav]

Re: Ideas for next year?

"No incidents." Well, I do have a few more blisters on my fingers from the soldering iron...

;-)

Yea I saw a few of those. I wonder what the RIV thought about the burnt table cloths!!

[SmittyHalibut]

Re: Ideas for next year?

A final shout out ot all those that came into the HHV. You listened, worked, shared with everyone the thrill of HHV. There were no incidents that I was aware of, everyone was great and no fires!!!! Thanks to all for a blast!!

"No incidents." Well, I do have a few more blisters on my fingers from the soldering iron...

;-)

[bombnav]

Re: Ideas for next year?

Hi all (SD, Afterburner, Smitty, Russ, A.......) I think the main points have been hit. Bottom line... people loved the HHV and for me it made the best DEFCON exp so far. I think if Joe is doing next years badge a simple heads up from him on what is mod-able on it (USB port) etc to us would let us bring a few extra items next year to help people out even more. I know next year I will bring 3 times more stuff to use in the village since we will have the space. Also I will start working on a side project to see if I can get any donations of free stuff (leds etc) or see how many samples I can "social engineer" for the HHV.

I tried to talk my wife into doing a SMT demo for next year but she has not warmed up to that yet but I think we need some kind of SMT rework ability for the "Badge Repair" station that was being run by (Can't remember his name SD help me out) as he fixed several badges.

A final shout out ot all those that came into the HHV. You listened, worked, shared with everyone the thrill of HHV. There were no incidents that I was aware of, everyone was great and no fires!!!! Thanks to all for a blast!!

BombNav

[sugardaddy]

Re: Ideas for next year?

First off I want to say thanks to SD, Bombnav, A and everyone else who stocked the HHV the whole weekend. It was truly a blast and an enjoyable experience! Of course thanks to LosT and Russ for heading this up! Also a big thanks to Russ for the shoutout to all the HHV guys on the back of the program! (Did you guys all see that?)

I did not see the shout out but I'm going to look now.

On a side note: Did everyone enjoy the CVORG contests? I know they were pretty lame but I hope the prizes were considered cool...
The reason I ask is I was wondering if we should petition the vendors for these prizes again next year...

I thought they were cool. Geek/HW trivia was a nice touch. A HUGE thanks to you guys (the CVORG group) for totally sweet O-scope. I'm looking forward to getting home so I can start re-learning how to use one.

7. More kits would be awesome. As Russ and LosT said the turn out was overwhelming...if any help is needed here to design a few, CVORG is willing to donate some PCB design. Maybe designing a cheap FPGA board would be cool?

I didn't get much of a chance to see your stuff due to the crowds we had but I thought the FPGA stuff sounded cool. I've seen talks about them at Shmoo as well. If there was a kit out there that let folks experiment with them on the same level as the BS/PIC/etc kits I think that would go a long way toward getting folks more involved with them.

A few of my own:

Did people enjoy the CVORG setup? Should we(/would anyone have us back) to do it again next year? How would you have liked it done differently? Was having the high end equipment there any good? I know a few people played with the equipment but it didn't seem to get much use. Maybe next year we should see if we can get some more low end equipment loaned that can be used out on the tables? I just think that a few multichannel scopes would be better used than a mixed signal one as it seems no one was at the level of needing that complex of equipment. Our original idea was to show people the tools that were out there but i feel it came across as a sales pitch instead... This is why I'm asking for feedback in this respect. We wanted to attract attention to the HHV and hardware in general so this is why we asked for this equipment.

--AfterBurn

I think you're right about the high end vs. low end equipment. I don't know how many folks could appreciate the high end equipment unless there was an easy way for them to push buttons and make things happen. I think having CVORG there was a great contribution. While it's great to get folks more hands on with hardware there is an underlying security aspect that can't be forgotten either. Your talk about hardware trojans is a great match to Defcon given it's security implications.

[SmittyHalibut]

Re: Ideas for next year?

Just want to point out a new thread: https://forum.defcon.org/showthread.php?t=9769 for discussing Mini-contests.

[SmittyHalibut]

Re: Ideas for next year?

LOL. I think the meter you're describing IS the one A was coveting all weekend long. He might have ended up with a different one. We couldn't figure out if it was yours or not. I recommend next year doing what I did and writing your name on it somewhere with a sharpy. If I had known it had a freq counter too I might have had an eye on it myself. ;-)

Hehehe. Yeah, I really should have labeled everything. Ah well. It's not the end of the world.

A, if you've got it, let me know what you want to do. If you don't mind mailing it back to me, that would probably end up being the cheapest but the most hassle. Otherwise, I take PayPal. ;-)