All the Workshops, and the SMD Challenge Happening at Hackaday Remoticon

Last week we announced the first fifteen workshops happening at Hackaday Remoticon, November 6-8, 2020. The weekend really is packed full of these hands-on events, and you’re invited to participate from anywhere in the world. Today we’re excited to announce the rest of the workshops, all of which are currently open for registration.

Can we get a few hundred people to show off their soldering skills (or amusing lack of skills) from their own workbench during the event? We think we can, so we’re running the SMD Challenge virtually this year. All of this, plus keynote talks, demos, a show-and-tell, and more make for one wild weekend. Read on!

What’s the Deal with Tickets?

First things first, get your free Remoticon ticket right now. This lets us know how many people will be hanging around during the weekend for the keynotes, and to watch the soldering challenge and demo tracks. Everyone should have one of these tickets. If you happen to be in a giving mood, consider the “Pay as you wish” entry at the bottom of the ticketing options — it’s the same as the free ticket but your generous donation goes to charities that feed, clothe, and house people in need.

Now grab your workshop tickets. You’re invited to be one of the live, hands-on attendees of the workshops which will be held via video chat. Each workshop ticket is $10, and some call for you to source your own materials ahead of the event so read the description of each. In addition to those we announced last week, here are the rest of the workshops:

Announced today (brings total to 21 workshops):

• • Circuit Sculpture
  • Creative Code Experiments
  • Finding Sound and Making Microphones
  • Give Pigweed a Whirl
  • Making Glowy Origami
  • Radi-uhoh: What Is This SDR Thing, and How Do I Use It

What’s That SMD Challenge All About?

Surface mount components are not really meant to be hand soldered, it’s a hack. So let’s hack together and do it on camera! For the past two years we’ve used the excellent SMD Challenge board designed by MakersBox as the target of a head-to-head challenge at live events. At Remoticon, you can take the challenge from your own workbench.

Ballpoint pen for scale

Your $5 SMD challenge ticket covers the cost of the kit — you just need to pay for shipping. The bargain is that you must commit to soldering the kit live on camera sometime during the weekend of Remoticon. This is an exhibition challenge… we’re not looking for the best, we’re looking for the most fun. So failing to complete all the parts is perfectly fine, at least you tried and that’s the point. Please limit yourself to one ticket.

To help amp up the fun, we’ve invited several hardware badge teams from conferences all over the world to compete as well. More on that later, but all of this should make the SMD Challenge room a hot place to hang out all weekend.

Awesome People Make for Unforgettable Events

We’re sorry we can’t get together in person this year. However, lemons, lemonade, and all that — Remoticon gives us a lot of new opportunities. The most profound is that it breaks down the barriers of geography, time, and expense to attending conferences in-person. If you’ve never been to a live Hackaday event, now you can! It also alleviates the pressures of having enough physical space to hold a multitude of workshops, and make recordings of them available to amplify the number of people that benefit from them.

We want to invite you to join us in thanking everyone who submitted a workshop proposal. As always, the Hackaday community is packed with talented and caring people who are willing to share their time and expertise to help others level up. Remoticon would be nothing without them, and it won’t be nearly as enjoyable without you. So grab your tickets and let’s have some fun!