When we attended the Lions Thanksgiving game in 2024, we got these wristbands.

You’ve probably wore one at a game or concert or at least seen them on TV. When everyone at a venue wears one, they create cool lighting effects. They were still flashing when we got home that night and I took a video.

I’ve always wondered how they work. A few weeks ago I found them in a box and dove in. They’re made by a Canadian company called PixMob.

Inside the plastic case is a small circuit board powered by a couple of CR2032 coin cell batteries.

Some models work via Infrared (IR) and others by Radio Frequency (RF). Almost every remote control you’ve ever had uses either IR or RF. This board actually says RF on one of the battery contact points. After putting in new batteries I found RF captures on GitHub and used my Flipper Zero to broadcast the RF signals.

Pretty neat. I doubt I’ll ever do anything with them, but now I know how they work.’