For those local to the Philadelphia area, a “jawn” can be nearly anything or anyone — and at least for this weekend, it can even be a hacker con building up steam as it enters its third year. Kicking off this Friday at Arcadia University, JawnCon0x2 promises to be another can’t-miss event for anyone with a curious mind that lives within a reasonable distance of the Liberty Bell.

The slate of talks leans slightly towards the infosec crowd, but there’s really something for everyone on the schedule. Presentations such as Nothing is Safe: An Introduction to Hardware (In)Security and Making the GameTank – A New, Real 8-Bit Game Machine will certainly appeal to those of us who keep a hot soldering iron within arm’s reach, while Rolling Recon & Tire Prints: Perimeter Intrusion Detection and Remote Shenanigans via Rogue Tire Stem RF and Get More Radio Frequency Curious will certainly appeal to the radio enthusiasts.

Speaking of which, anyone who wants to make their interest in radio official can sit in on the Saturday study group led by Ed “N2XDD” Wilson, the Director of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Hudson Division. After lunch, you can take your exam to become a licensed ham, and still have time to check out the lockpicking demonstrations from the local TOOOL chapter, the Retro Show ‘n Tell area, and rummage through the self-replenishing table of free stuff that’s looking for a new home.

Attendees can also take part in a number of unique challenges and competitions inspired by the shared professional experience of the JawnCon organizers. One of the events will have attendees putting together the fastest Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) broadband connection, as measured by era-appropriate commercial gear. Easy enough with a spool of copper wire, but the trick here is to push the legendary resilience of DSL to the limit by using unusual conductors. Think wet strings and cooked pasta. There’s also a Capture The Flag (CTF) competition that will pit teams against each other as they work their way through customer support tickets at a fictional Internet service provider.

We were on the ground for JawnCon in 2024, and even had the good fortune to be present for the inaugural event back in 2023. While it may not have the name recognition of larger East Coast hacker cons, JawnCon is backed by some of the sharpest and most passionate folks we’ve come across in this community, and we’re eager to see the event grow in 2025 and beyond.