The final stages of this project came together quickly, so there wasn't time to document things until the dust settled. Now that the badges have shipped out, I'll wind back the block a bit and explain how this project got started and go over some of the highs (and lows...) along the way.

Usually it's tricky to determine exactly when and how a project pops into my head, but in this case, the exact moment was documented. On January 6th, I made a post on Mastodon showing off a concept I was working on -- a badge Simple Add-on (SAO) that used right angle 1204 SMD LEDs to backlight the exposed fiberglass substrate of a PCB.  The idea was that you could make SAOs with different logos/icons just by changing the front copper layer. 

As an example, I used the logo for SomaFM and tagged their Mastodon account. This got some attention on the post, and eventually General Manager Rusty Hodge commented on it. We went back and forth for a few messages, and at one point he mentioned that he'd always wanted to have an electronic badge for SomaFM DJs to wear when they went to events such as DEF CON.

Admittedly, it doesn't take much to get me headed down a rabbit hole in the first place. But in this case, I saw a unique opportunity to give something back -- there's rarely a day that I don't have SomaFM playing in the background, and if there was something I could do to show my appreciation for everything they do, I was eager to dive in.