We added another dev board to our collection in order to help a client of ours write a logging library for their platform: the Teensy 3.6.
We were quite impressed by the capabilities of this tiny little development board. The price point is affordable, the specs are more than sufficient for many embedded projects, and the board is accessible to beginning embedded developers thanks to the Teensyduino effort. This is a great intermediate-level development board, especially if you are interested in eventually transitioning away from the Arduino ecosystem.
Table of Contents:
- The Teensy Lineup
- Teensy 3.6 Specs
- Programming the Board
- Teensyduino
- Libraries
- Documentation and Tutorials
- Purchasing
- Further Reading
The Teensy Lineup
The Teensy 3.6 development board is merely one in a family of Teensy boards produced by PJRC. Their development kits feature both 8-bit AVR and 32-bit ARM Cortex-M processors. Each Teensy version differes in size, performance level, and whether or not an SD slot is included.
When we purchased the development kit, the Teensy 3.6 was the highest performing board in the family. They’ve since released Teensy 4.0, which has a whopping 600MHz processor.
Teensy 3.6 Specs
The Teensy 3.6 sports impressive specs in a small package (6.1 cm x 1.8 cm) and at a low cost ($29.25 at the time of purchase):
- 180MHz Cortex-M4F processor
- 1024 kB flash memory
- 256 kB RAM
- 4 kB EEPROM
- SD Card slot
- USB port
- All pins are rated to 3.3 V
The pinout for the Teensy 3.6 is available on the PJRC website. The board also ships with a handy printed reference card detailing the pinout of the board.
Teensy boards can be purchased both with and without header pins. When header pins are supplied, you can use the Teensy with a solderless breadboard. PJRC also sells sockets and headers, so you can always rework a pin-less Teensy dev board.
Programming the Board
All programming is done with the USB port – no need for in-circuit programming tools with this board. PJRC provides a tool called Teensy Loader which is used to program new software. A simple GUI is available for Mac, Linux, Windows. Command line tools are also available for advanced users looking to integrate it with a continuous integration and testing system.
If you are using the Arduino IDE, the Teensy family can be flashed using the Arduino’s program button.
Teensyduino
We were asked by our client create an Arduino-compatible logger, and we were surprised that a non-Arduino board was used on their project. PJRC’s Teensyduino software enables the Teensy family to be used with the Arduino environment. This makes the board an interesting starting point for beginners, while giving them the possibility to transition off of the Arduino platform without changing development hardware.
Teensyduino implements support for all standard Arduino SDK functions. PJRC states that most Arduino programs will work on the Teensy, and many Arduino libraries are also compatible. They maintain a list of compatible libraries.
The Teensy provides the same built-in peripherals that the Arduino does: analog inputs, SPI, I2C, PWM, and serial ports. The Teensyduino platform also supports multiple USB device types. You can change the Teensy’s USB type using the Tools -> USB Type menu in the Arduino IDE.
Documentation and Tutorials
PJRC provides a getting started guide, a Teensy tutorial, and reference documentation on their website. Reference documentation includes a schematic and all relevant datasheets.
For intermediate users, they also have a How-To section full of useful tips for interacting with the hardware. There is also a Code Library featuring source code for different USB device drivers.
If you need additional support, PJRC runs a forum where you can ask questions.
Purchasing
We like to support creators directly when possible, so we purchased the Teensy 3.6 directly from the PJRC web store for $29.25.
You can also find the boards at other popular electronics stores, such as SparkFun, Amazon, Adafruit, and Digi-Key.