Parallax Propeller on DEF CON 20 Badge Start Here!

Installing the VGA and PS2 Connectors

The DEF CON 20 Badge can be programmed like a small computer. The Propeller has eight cores and a video generator so it can easily interface with VGA and PS2 ports. Here is how you can install the two PS2 adapters and VGA connector.

1. Collect the two PS2 adapters and VGA connector.

Attachment 94489

2. Get out your soldering iron.

Attachment 94499

3. Heat up the battery pack’s leads from the front of the badge PCB and “walk” it out one side at a time.

Attachment 94498

4. Set the battery pack aside.

Attachment 94500
 
5. Put in the two PS2 adapters and VGA connectors, soldering them in place.

Attachment 94501

6. Put the battery pack back on and solder it in place.

Attachment 94502

7. Add back the solder bridge from the battery pack’s positive terminal to the adjacent capacitor.

Attachment 94508


VGA, Mouse and Keyboard Example
(download the code for this in the prior post)

Attachment 94506

Attachment 94507

Manufacturing

From a process standpoint, manufacturing the badges works like this:

1. Inspect PCBs.
2. Apply solder paste through stencil with squeegee.
3. Pick and Place operations.
4. Visual inspection of any fussy parts.
5. Reflow oven.
6. Visual inspection for any fussy parts.
7. PCB separation by sawing.
8. Firmware loading.
9. Battery pack attachment.
10. Battery test and electronic test.
11. Packaging.

A large manufacturing process is never without major hurdles. Some examples of our challenges, most of which were a result of a short timeline:

• Ordering the same component (a regulator) from four different sources, some of which included component brokers.
• Lead time for a single prototype only, and then we went straight to production boards.
• Rework. Easy failure modes include bad LEDs or voltage regulator that didn’t reflow (easy replacement). More complex rework might include replacing an EEPROM or voltage regulator.

What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas
(including your hard drive contents)

As DEF CON newbies we heard some interesting things about this convention - don’t put your computer on WiFi, that the ATM in the lobby may not be from your bank, and that your credit cards should be left at home. Who would want to go to such a place? We do! None of us had been to DEF CON and we wanted to see the presentations, to help modify the badges, and of course to fly quadcopters. It’s a rare opportunity for our team to go to a convention and not be an exhibitor, and wander around like anonymous people.

So we gathered for a pre-DEFCON photo.

Shown left to right:

• Thomas, our PCB Layout Engineer for the DEFCON 20 Badge, and the guy who will drive a 16’ truck to Las Vegas.
• Emily, our Marketing Assistant who so deftly handled our logistics and planning.
• Nick, Tech Support Engineer and all-around technical expert.
• Jim, Sales Manager who sees opportunities none of us would have caught.
• Myself, nervous most of the time without this and going to DEFCON to catch up on sleep.
• Jessica, Engineering Manager and our DEFCON 20 Badge leader.

So we gathered for a pre-DEFCON photo.

Attachment 94505

But wait - we have yet another Parallax DEF CON participant: Chuck Gracey, aged 76. A few days before DEF CON I was showing Chuck how the badges interact. Being a Propeller programmer, he just couldn't resist the lure of the 'CON to see the badges being hacked as intended. With no hotel reservation and no return airline ticket, Chuck boarded Thomas' Budget rental truck at 3:00 am to drive to Las Vegas. Do we need to be concerned? Not at all! Chuck has been to hundreds of conventions around embedded design, aerospace, and robotics. He's a world traveller and gets around with confidence, even in 110F heat of Las Vegas. But could he protect his iPhone?

Below Thomas captures a photo of Chuck with our truck somewhere south of Tehachapi, California in the high desert.

Attachment 94618

At the CON
(to follow)

DEF CON 20? Are we defining 20 constants, or is there a particularly low defense readiness condition today?

Oh, you must mean the 20th annual DEFCON hacker's conference currently in Las Vegas!

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-574...hacker-family/

That's the Con he's referring to. And DEF CON, DEFCON and Defcon are all accepted spellings. DC20 is also good.

Here's an article on Wired this morning: http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/201...efcon20-badge/

That badge is AWESOME! And I thought the Expo S2 "learn to solder" blinkies were cool...! (And they are, my twins still fight over who gets to wear it)

That is awesome you guys! Congrats on getting the manufacturing gig and having the Propeller included.

I can see the "Uber" that's not on the Wired page.

Now we just need Joe Grand to do another next year with the Propeller 2, that will be available...when?

Ken, you should wear steel toed sandals around the PNP machine. Imagine the pain if a 0602 resistor fell off of one of those reels.

Jim

Sweet!!!!

Thanks for the write up. I've always wanted to attend one of those events. Anyone here go? Do tell!

Ken, looks seriously cool!!

-- Gordon

This is awesome stuff. GO PARALLAX!

That's very cool.
I think all forum members should be given one.

16,000+ Reallly???!!!???

Awesome!!!

Congratulations Parallax.

Please, Please!! Are you planning to sell those badges on parallax store?

Regards

Hector

Sell? No, we have earned them!

Originally Posted by Heater.

Sell? No, we have earned them!

Blessed are those who have gone to Las Vegas .. because they shall inherit .. the Defcon badge


Regards

Hector

Amazing guys!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Great write up, fun to know about the badges. I overwrote the firmware on the badge, and I'm not sure how to reset it. What code do I need to push to the badge to put it back to the way it came?

Originally Posted by whosdadog

Great write up, fun to know about the badges. I overwrote the firmware on the badge, and I'm not sure how to reset it. What code do I need to push to the badge to put it back to the way it came?

First hack!

16,000+ Reallly???!!!???

Yes, Really !!!

That's part of why our whole team has been so quiet. We've had an amazingly, overwhelmingly, awesome time doing this, plus trying to keep up with *regular* product stock levels.

Our Production Crew was/is amazing! They worked two shifts everyday for weeks, to make sure we didn't let *regular* inventory levels drop precipitously. Just about everyone here was involved in some aspect whilst it was going on - and we had to keep it all TOP SECRET.

"Engineering" has been amazingly versatile and productive to turn a "concept" into a product in no-time-at-all...
"Kitting" has been going on for weeks...imagine bagging 100,000 "AAA" batteries by hand?!
"Mechanical Manufacturing has been cutting battery holder leads for weeks...
"Production" has been pic-n-placing for who-knows-how-long...
"Everybody Else" was involved at some level - without the Entire Team, it would/could not have happened.

And it's all done right here, in the Good-ol'-USA !!!

-MattG

Originally Posted by whosdadog

Great write up, fun to know about the badges. I overwrote the firmware on the badge, and I'm not sure how to reset it. What code do I need to push to the badge to put it back to the way it came?

From reading Ken's first post, full code won't be released till the conference is over. You could try some social engineering on one of the event organizers? I'm sure someone has a copy of the code they can upload for you. Another option would be to copy the EEPROM from another attendee's badge. The simplest way for me would be to grab 2 wires to link the boards, load two copies of the i2c_basics.spin from the Badge objects archive, and write a copy loop. There may also be a utility or two hiding in the forums that can copy the EEPROM to a PC.

Lawson