DEF CON 29 Schedule & Info

Village Info | DC29 Schedule: Fri / Sat / Sun | As CSV



Village Information

This year, the village will be organized on the BOTH the DEF CON Discord server and In-Person, with live presentations, demos, and talks streaming over Twitch. Here are the discreet channels we have on discord:

Channel Name Description
#hrv-announcements-text Announcements of talks, demos, and other pertinent village info.
#hrv-ask-an-elmer-text General chat and "hang-out" space in the village. Have a ham radio question? Ask other experienced "elmer" hams here for help!
#hrv-presentation-text Channel for discussion and Q&A for live talks/presentations/demos
#hrv-k3k-special-event-station-text Spots and Chat about special event callsign K3K
#hrv-exams-text Discussion around ham exams, test questions, studying, resources, etc.
#hrv-get-on-the-air-voice Voice/Video channel for practicing good operating skills, practice nets, hanging out, etc.
#hrv-ask-an-elmer-voice (Human Plus Only) Have a ham radio question? Ask other experienced "elmer" hams here for help!

DEF CON Schedule

Friday, August 6th

Village Opening Remarks

10:00 - 10:15 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

Welcome to Ham Radio Village @ DEF CON 29

Ham Radio USA License Exams (In-Person)

09:00 - 16:00 PT

Ham Radio Village(Ballys Bronze 1)

Come stop by the Ham Radio Village to get your amateur radio license during our free license exams! Online registration is required, click here to register.

"Ask a Ham" Q&A

11:00 - 11:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-voice / #hrv-presentation-text

Got a question about anything ham radio? Come ask us in this open forum of all things ham radio!

Spectrum Coordination for Amateur Radio

12:30 - 13:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

In this presentation we'll cover the basis for coordination of repeater and other other stations in the amateur radio service. The theory will focus on the practices used in Florida, but generally are applicable to other coordination bodies.

Bryan Fields, W9CR, is one of the founding members of the Florida Amateur Spectrum Management Association ("FASMA") and operates a number of wide coverage repeaters in the Tampa Bay region. Bryan holds several FCC licenses, he was first licensed in 1995 at age 10, and holds a GROL+RADAR license as well. He's served as a technical committee member to ARDC, the holder of 44/8 ("AMPRNET"), and is a founding member of AllStarLink. Professionally Bryan has worked in the carrier networking space, focusing on IP/MPLS networks and wireless communications. Currently he is a senior consulting engineer with a major router vendor.

Discord Practice Net

14:30 - 14:45 PT

#hrv-get-on-the-air-voice

In this "demo", we'll be hosting a practice "net" (ham-speak for on-air meeting) on the #hrv-get-on-the-air-voice channel in the village. All persons, even non-hams, are invited to join us in this practice so you can become familiar with expected etiquette.

Ham Radio USA License Exams (Remote via Zoom)

16:00 - 18:00 PT

#hrv-exams-text

For those participating in DEF CON remotely, the HRV is offering remote ham radio exams as well as in-person exams! Register, as well as study for the exam online though ham.study. Registration can be completed online here.

Saturday, August 7th

Amateur Radio Mesh Networking: Enabling Higher Data-rate Communications

11:00 - 12:00 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

Amateur radio encompasses a broad range of activities and applications. From contests and events to emergency communications and public service, hams have many different interests they can explore. One area that is being enabled by modern wireless technologies is mesh networking. Typical digital radio modes, such as those based on AX.25, offer low data rates. While fairly robust and widely used, the low data rates of these modes limits their capabilities. Mesh networking, such as AREDN, can supplement and empower many aspects of your amateur radio operations - and the entry cost is quite low! This presentation will talk about what mesh networking is, how it is being used by amateur radio operators, and how you can get started with mesh networking yourself!

Tyler Gardner holds a General class U.S. amateur radio license. He received his first license in 2017 and enjoys participating in ARES, contesting, public service events, and digital modes. While attending college in Logan, Utah, Tyler was a member of the Bridgerland Amateur Radio Club. He now participates in amateur radio organizations in Dayton, Ohio, including the Miami Valley Mesh Alliance. Professionally, Tyler holds a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering and works as a research engineer.

Ham Radio USA License Exams (In-Person)

12:00 - 17:00 PT

Ham Radio Village(Ballys Bronze 1)

Come stop by the Ham Radio Village to get your amateur radio license during our free license exams! Online registration is required, click here to register.

Amateur Radio Digital Modes Primer

13:30 - 14:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

Amateur radio operator Jon Marler, callsign K4CHN, presents an introduction to many of the digital modes available to amateur radio operators. Jon will be discussing the modes available for voice and data, as well as many of the hardware options available. Jon will also be presenting a very simple design for a way to connect a Raspberry Pi to your radio safely. A demonstration of slow scan television (SSTV) will be made to end the presentation before Q&A.

Jon is a product manager at SecureTrust with a true passion for information security. Jon is an amateur radio operator, lockpicker, phreaker, repairer of all things, and maker. As a result of his long-standing commitment to open source software, Jon has offered his expertise as a package manager for the Debian GNU/Linux OS distribution since 1998.

How to Contact the ISS with a $30 Radio

15:00 - 15:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

This presentation will go over the basics of how to listen to the international space station using a handheld ham radio. We will also cover how to utilize the repeater on the ISS, Capturing SSTV images from the ISS, and what equipment you can use to maximize your contacts.

Gregg Horton K6XSS is a security professional by day and by night explores the airwaves with ham radio. He got his general license in January 2021 and is very interested in digital modes like JS8CALL. When not playing with antennas, He enjoys gardening and getting beat at pokemon cards by his 5 year old son.

Getting started with low power & long distance communications - QRP

16:00 - 16:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

Solar minimums have you down? Anxious to get out of the shack? This talk is for the ham who wants to take their gear on the go and still have reliable and long distance communications. Be prepared to be amazed at just how far 5 watts will truly go. I'll be covering the hardware, software, and configuration for the shack that will fit in a backpack.

Eric is a seasoned pentester and a Security Principal Consultant at Secureworks. On a daily basis he attempts to compromise large enterprise networks to test their physical, human, network and wireless security. He has successfully compromised companies from all sectors of business including: Healthcare, Pharmaceutical, Entertainment, Amusement Parks, Banking, Finance, Technology, Insurance, Retail, Food Distribution, Government, Education, Transportation, Energy and Industrial Manufacturing. His team consecutively won first place at DEF CON 23, 24, and 25's Wireless CTF, snagging a black badge along the way. Forcibly retired from competing in the Wireless CTF, he now helps create challenges! Before entering the cyber security arena, Eric attained both a BS and MS in Civil Engineering along with his Professional Engineering license. Professional hacker by day, amateur operator (W6WD) by night!

Ham Radio USA License Exams (Remote via Zoom)

17:00 - 19:00 PT

#hrv-exams-text

For those participating in DEF CON remotely, the HRV is offering remote ham radio exams as well as in-person exams! Register, as well as study for the exam online though ham.study. Registration can be completed online here.

Sunday, August 8th

NEW! Ham Radio USA License Exams (In-Person)

11:00 - 14:00 PT

Ham Radio Village(Ballys Bronze 1)

Come stop by the Ham Radio Village to get your amateur radio license during our free license exams! Online registration is required, click here to register.

An Introduction to RF Test Equipment

11:00 - 12:30 PT

Twitch / #hrv-presentation-text (Q&A)

An overview covering several common pieces of equipment used in RF and Ham Radio testing, focusing on oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, and vector network analyzers. I cover the basics of each and demonstrate common uses of the equipment for RF testing on both homebrew and commercial equipment. I also introduce other testing tools, including temperature controlled oscillators, dummy loads, and attenuators.

Kurtis Kopf is a software engineer, technology enthusiast, and perpetual hobby collector. He is a video game industry veteran, working in Los Angeles. When he's not building games or playing them with his kids, he's in the garage tinkering. He has been taking interesting things apart to see how they work since childhood, and sometimes has even managed to put them back together.

Village Closing Commentary

14:00 - 14:15 PT

Ham Radio Village

As our village wraps up for this year, a huge thank you to everyone for participating!