SAINTCON COMMUNITY

Hardware Hacking

Brought to you by @hamster and @professor__plum

The Hardware Hacking NG lab is a place for hacking hardware, circuit bending, and protocol snooping. We always have interesting devices available for those who want to practice hardware attacks. Additionally, If you have an embedded device of your own that you always wanted to know how it works or wanted to alter bring it by!

Additionally, we will have several flash talks on the above from the Chillout stage each day to discuss the above as well as give you some jumping off points.

Our goal is to help you better understand the electronic world around you, and have some fun while doing it.

Minibadges

We will have limited amounts of minibadge kits that you can acquire from us. Once you have the set, you can use the included instructions to assemble those badges in the Soldering Skills Community.

Once assembled, come back to the HVV to learn how a 555 timer works and use the included jumper wires to test out your own theories of operation.

Protocol Hacking

We will have multiple computers setup with some protocol sniffers connected to some hardware. Come sit down and poke at the data streams to learn how some popular communication protocols work.

Hours of Operation

See FAQ for Expo Area Hours

Hardware Hacking FAQ

Do I need to know how to wire stuff up to participate?
Nope. We’ll give you tips and howto.
Can I bring my own device that I was to hack on?

Yes, Please do! If you have some small embedded device that you’re curious about bring it and we’ll work together to see what we can discover!

Soldering is hard. Do you have pre-assembled minibadges?
We do not. But we bet you can convince someone to solder for you – though we encourage you to try it yourself.
What if I blow something up?
Very unlikely. The 555 is pretty robust and uncomplicated.
SPI? I2C? What is all this?
Chips on PCBs use a variety of well defined protocols to exchange data. We hope to demystify some of these protocols by sniffing real data streams and showing you what the difference between these protocols are.
Will I be able to learn more after the con?
You bet! We’ll have all the schematics, documentation and the like available after the con.