Tindie

An old hand at electronics, yet new to the world of microcontrollers. Built an analog Synthesizer in the late '70s - not from a kit. Loads of fun but shelved it a couple of years later. A couple of years ago, allowed myself to be bitten by the old Synth bug again and collected a clutch of Roland synths and other goodies which led to my first Arduino project, using a Mega clone in a pedal controller. I trashed four ancient ('70s - '80s) for the optical pedals and yeah well.. it works!

Then I came across this:- https://cs.gmu.edu/~sean/projects/gizmo/ and of course put one together, then another etc until now I have this 5-Pack of Gizmos. Next is to pop a T_3.5 in the box with 'em to give the 5-pack a class compliant USB interface, and control surface consisting of forty something buttons, 19 pots, and an encoder etc.

So far I've got one working using a T_3.2 plugged into a Sparkfun adapter with a 3.3volt hacked Sparkfun Midi shield.

Tall Dog's T_3.5 breakout enables me to have access to all pins in a stripboard-friendly way as that's what I'm using.
All pots will be wired direct to analog pins and some muxes are gonna join the party for the buttons.

All the holes have been installed in the box, boards loaded with pots, buttons and it all fits! What remains is laying out and wiring up T_3.5 and associated bits and pieces, more holes and so on. Then to wear out my code training wheels a little more. Hmm the greater part of the task is no doubt the mechanical details.

As for the the Tall Dog breakout. First time I ever ordered stuff from the U.S. Am surprised how quick it arrived. Excellent quality pcb. I read thru the docs and got the gist but am a bit fussy about how things get put together so spent a little time figuring out how to set up an alignment jig and a sequence of where to start and what goes next etc. No stress is best for reliability.

So, thank you Daniel for an excellent product. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Pat

Aubrey | Nov. 11, 2018

Excellent product for the money

My partners and I are working on a project that requires access to most, if not all the pins on the Teensy 3.2 and this fills the bill nicely. It is a little difficult to get the 14 pin SMD header soldered in place exact enough to fit the holes in the breakout board but it isn't impossible. Took a while also to get the "POGO" pins figured out and that I should solder the tantalum capacitor for USB Host Mode on the breakout board, not the underside of the Teensy. The Documentation needs to have things like this highlighted so a quick glance for experienced constructors will find it first, not later.

I really like the 2 switches for controlling VIN and VUSB on one side and USB-USB Host on the other side. Also leaving the side header strips on allows one to customize multiple connections to pins that need it. It's easy enough to cut the little between hole jumpers to isolate pins or sets of pins and using 30 gauge wire-wrap wire to make necessary connection to the Teensy's pins on the underside of the breakout board.

It would be really nice if the 4 corner holes were sized for 4-40 instead of 2-56 screws though. Not a lot of people have 2-56 standoffs or other hardware on hand but do have 4-40 in large quantities, myself included.

The board system does have a few "warts" but not sufficient to drop it down from a 5 star rating as once you get it constructed is is really easy to work with.

The actual makeup of the breakout PC Board itself is EXCELLENT! Super quality and with the gold plated solder points, soldering is easy and very easy to clean the flux off if desired.

The only suggestion I have is for you (especially someone new to this type of system) to read the construction manual through several times before starting to put it together. Even experienced builders need to do this (don't ask me how I figured this out - LOL) to make sure you get the steps right. It's very difficult, if not impossible to un-solder the Teensy to get at it's underside if you leave a step out. With the need for the POGO pins, it's impossible to use a socket for the Teensy and it would be really nice if a way were to be found to allow for socketing the Teensy and still have access to all of those pins.

Jeffrey | Sept. 19, 2018

Beautifully designed and manufactured!

Beautifully designed and manufactured, well thought out organisation and packaging of the various parts. Iv'e been too busy with trying to finish a couple of older projects, so have yet to tackle assembly, so I haven't sought out the instructions. I got versions for the 3.2 as well as the 3.5/6 teensy models. Shipment was reasonably quick and I was glad to see them show up on my front step! The PJRC Teensy products are well supported, and thoughtfully designed . They are a nice gateway into the Arm Cortex universe for your average users, so they are a great choice for this seller to make things for. Teensy ARM boards have lots of extra connections, so TallDog, has made access to them much neater and easier!

Steven | Sept. 1, 2018

Nice kit

I enjoyed assembling this board. The only issue I had was that as a complete Teensy newb, it wasn't clear what I had to cut for the VIN/VUSB switch. I did figure it out, but a diagram would have been a plus.

Also, I started with a Teensy with the side pins already installed, which made installing the center 14-pin header a pain. In retrospect it would have been easier to desolder the side pins. This isn't a knock against the kit, since the Teensy normally comes with no pins.

In all, I found this easy-to-assemble and well-made.

Michael | Aug. 18, 2018

No problems - great product

Great product. I've bought both numerous pre-assembled and kit versions. No issues. Requested support once and received quick and helpful response.

Peter | May 24, 2018

A Quality Product Requiring Careful Assembly

For µBraids SE (uBraids, microBraids) Eurorack [Rev C]

The board is manufactured to the highest standard, that's a plus.
What I ordered was exactly what I got in the bag, that's another plus.
The documentation is not great, that's a minus. According to the old saying a picture is worth a thousand words, and although I don't expect a small-volume product to be supported with professional artwork a few simple photos would have helped me a lot. Show me, don't tell me.
Assembling the board is a significant fine soldering challenge. That's not a plus or a minus, it's a caution to novices. Careful checking and double-checking is required before the solder flows because mistakes are very difficult to remedy. If I were to tackle another one it would be a piece of cake, of course, and I would be full of confidence.

My Tips

You know that glossy double-sided card that came with your Teensy? Hope you didn't throw it out because it helped me a lot in following Tall Dog's instructions.
There are a couple of Teensy PCB tracks to cut, and the instructions suggest doing that with a razor blade. Yikes! Please don't do that, use the point of a craft knife or, as I did, the tip of a 1mm jewellers screwdriver.
And take it slow and careful, use an illuminated magnifier to check, double-check, and triple-check every joint before moving on the next stage.

Russell | April 30, 2018

Awesomely Gorgeous!

Gorgeous Piece Of Gear! Delivered without fuss from USA to UK! Customs Charges Sucked Balls! But that’s Queen Lizzys Fault! All Good Otherwise!

Austin | April 7, 2018

Good product... I just messed up

I personally couldn't get the surface mount stuff to line up. I ended up breaking the suface mount pads on the bottom of the teensy...

The seller gave me a discount on another board! Thank you Tall-Dog!

Spencer | March 31, 2018

Very useful and well thought out board

I have not traced ever connection so i am just assuming that there are no errors on the board. works well in everything tested so far. it is really useful to have all the pins available. i put sockets on my board and everything aligned well enough to do this. i used very strong sockets so i hope i can get the board off if i ever need to. since this will most likely be necessary only if the teensy fails i am not too concerned. i wanted to have screw terminals on my board so i soldered them on the bottom as recommended and they fit. it is very convenient to have silk screen on both sides of the board so you can identify locations by reference the side of the board that is not covered with headers etc.

Jeremy | March 4, 2018

Great product and build quality

I found these boards during a web search and put myself on the wait list immediately. As soon as they were available I ordered two for a Teensy 3.2 project I am working on - one for prototyping and one for potential permanent install. The boards arrived fairly quickly and are of great quality and design.

I'm not a novice builder, but I know that is it always a good idea to read instructions a couple of times, especially for somewhat specialized stuff like this. This was even more important for me in this case because I did not plan on using the board 100% exactly as intended. I wanted to use longer pins to allow insertion into a Teensy audio board.

Like other users I had some confusion about the VIN VUSB cut that you need to make on the Teensy, but a quick email to Daniel got me on the right track. My only real challenge with this build was the 14-pin double row header. While the instructions say to not worry about lining it up too much, this really does need to line up perfectly with the 5-pin header above it or the Teensy and Breakout wont sandwich together. Luckily, with some foresight I avoided a major issue by using a female header to hold everything in place. In the end I actually had more trouble from the A11,A10,AREF,VUSB header, but with a little gentle bending got everything together.

The 14-pin header soldering area is tight once the 5 pin header is installed. I would recommend knocking your soldering iron down a notch in this area. Melting the plastic can lead to pins sliding all over the place. Good light and a magnifying glass are *extremely* helpful here. This was my first time working with the 14-pin right angle header design that connects to pads and to conventional pins. Even for an experienced builder may grow impatient with this. Take breaks!

Altogether the build took me 2 hrs. That was after reading the instructions 3 times in separate sittings. When you consider the cost of this board, the Teensy and your time, you don't want to mess up. After I was done, all pins tested fine and I now have a great board that is perhaps too good to use for some projects! This breakout offers more functionality at your fingertips than most people would use in small projects.

It's possible there are complete photos of the build somewhere, but I was working from the text-only PDF which was OK for an experienced builder. Since my implementation is a bit different, I plan to post some picts of my build soon at: https://www.jeremydeprisco.com/electronics-projects/

David | Feb. 4, 2018

Well made, instructions marginal

The boards were well made and all parts were provided. The instructions, however were a bit marginal. Previous boards for the Teensy 3.1/3.2 from this vendor had much better instructions. Some photos would help, not just line drawings.

Rob | Jan. 21, 2018

Bought 2x, shipped to UK, great

As per title, bought 2x, will probably buy more in the future, well made, well packaged. Communication listed as ok, simply because we didn't have any, plus none was required.
Thanks very much.

Martin | Dec. 26, 2017

Lovely Breakout

Ah! I love it a lot, now i can easily access a lot of the pads on my 3.5. It may be too much choice but it's exactly what I wanted and had nice and excellent documentation included. If you need to get to all those pins and pads on your teensy, this is the board!

Kurt | Nov. 18, 2017

Nice board for prototyping also nice to have USB Host.

This is a nice little board that allows you to use most if not all of the IO pins of the Teensy 3.5 and 3.6

This board is also nice for those who wish to experiment with the USB Host support of the Teensy 3.6 as it both has a connector to allow you to plug in your USB device, it also has IO pins that make it easy to hook up an analyzer.

Bruno | Oct. 11, 2017

Few remarks

Excellent product, you have to solder carefully, but the result is there !!!! with this kit it's possible to connect to all the hardware resources of the teensy 3.6

Gary | July 7, 2017

Teensy 3.2 Breakout board solves several problems...

I am working on a design using the Teensy 3.2 board and needed a reliable method of connecting to all the pins on the board - not just the exposed on the side! I my searches I ran across the Breakout Board for the Teensy 3.2 board. This board fit my needs perfectly - it has allowed me to put the Teensy board on a breadboard with ALL the connections available for use! The board is very well made with attention to detail! I will definitely keep this board in mind for all of my projects needing a Teensy 3.2 as I can not think of an easier way to gain access the the terminals on the bottom of the Teensy 3.2 board without resorting to fly-wiring (which I despise with a passion!). Check out the images that are posted on the website. If you don't feel you are good at soldering then go with the pre-built unit but for those of us who have over half a century solder this board is a breeze!

Jeff | June 28, 2017

This things a beast! (In a good way)

I would love to see a version of this with all the pins broken out into screw terminals. As it is, I'm going to end up cutting some of those proto boards from adafruit to give myself enough room to mount some. I know they make boards that are just rows of tied together pin holes (the name is escaping me), but they all seem to come in tiny or huge..

Awesome stuff though. Would have liked to seen on the pinout sheet what the pins in the center of the board did (I figured it out, but it wasn't as obvious as I'd hoped)

Thanks!
JJ

Kurt | May 29, 2017

Nice board to use with breadboard

I have designed and built several different boards for the Teensy processors, including a few different ones for the Teensy 3.6/5

But I wanted a quick and dirty one to use to do some more breadboard testing, so I thought I would give one of these a try.

The instructions for assembly were clear and it works well. While I will continue to do my own boards, I will next assemble the 2nd one I purchased with a T3.5, so that I have a breadboard version to try out code changes on that chip as well.

Again nice board.

David | May 16, 2017

Does not work

For Micro SD Breakout

It seems not all pins are wired, so the microSD extension failed to boot our RPi2/3/Zero boards.
It should be written on the extender description.

Response from Tall Dog | May 17, 2017

Hi David,

First, thanks for taking the time to leave a review here. I'm sorry to hear that the kit isn't working out for you.

If there's any problems with the parts themselves, I want to know about it so I can make things right. Even if you're just unhappy with the purchase, I'd still really like to provide you with a refund. I take customer satisfaction to heart.

Perhaps, after getting more info from you, I might even be able to improve the kit to better suit your needs.

Please contact me ASAP at contact@tall-dog.com so that we can get the ball rolling.

Take care,
Dan

David | May 11, 2017

Thanks For Making This!

I needed to make one of these expansion boards, but I found yours, and I'm very happy with it.

I bought a few different packages, but I am currently using the presoldered dip64 populated with a T36, and I couldn't be happier with it.

Thanks again for making my life easier, any time I need a new teensy I am going to order it through you with an expansion board.

I hope you order the teensys from PJRC!!! I want Paul to get as much money as possible for these excellent microcontrollers.

Response from Tall Dog | May 11, 2017

Thanks very much for the kind words! I'm so glad you like using the board.

I order the virtually all the Teensy boards for assemblies from PJRC directly.

Dave | April 18, 2017

Works great!

For Switching Breadboard Power Supply

I've used this on several breadboard projects, both 5v and 3v, and it works great. Super handy when you need to try your prototype somewhere away from your bench power supply.

Travis | March 15, 2017

Great!

For Teensy 3.5/3.6 Socket Kit

I was really surprised at how well documented and packaged this kit was.

I expected a manila envelope with some printed paper, but I got a nice card and pinout diagram. Super impressed!

Travis | March 15, 2017

Great!

I was really surprised at how well documented and packaged this kit was.

I expected a manila envelope with some printed paper, but I got a nice card and pinout diagram. Super impressed!

Michael | Feb. 15, 2017

Dialog on the website was misleading

The pictures on the website show the unit with the carrier rails removed and with headers
installed, and show the kit as including 4 40-pin headers. I ordered the unit assembled and
left the selection as "leave carrier rails on." When I received the unit it the packing slip listed
the 4 headers but the unit did not have headers on it nor were there loose headers in the
package. I thought that an error had been made and the headers had not been put on, but
when I went back to the web page and looked at the other choice, I saw that it was "remove carrier rails
and install headers" which implies that the default which I had left unchanged when I ordered
meant rails but no headers. It would be clearer if the default option was "leave carrier rails on
and do not install or include headers" and if the packing slip with the package did not list headers
which are in the photos on the web page but are not in the package.

Response from Tall Dog | March 15, 2017

The buyer and I discussed this situation and were able to reach a resolution. The order was missing the extra pin headers which would typically be included with an order of this type. I offered to send additional pin headers to the buyer at no cost, but they declined this offer. I also sent an extra free parts kit to this buyer to compensate them for the trouble and thank them for taking the time to leave detailed feedback.

Linar | Feb. 1, 2017

Perfect bridge between proof of concept and prototype!

For Teensy 3.2 Breakout (Revision B, Standard)

Having one Teensy 3.6 mounted with all pins readily accessible without having to spend all your time soldering temporary breakouts is really great. This board makes it so much easier to quickly test running all six UARTs or all four I2Cs if you're feeling up to it. The savings in time pays back in your first use and the board will continue to same more through all following prototyping projects.

Michael | Jan. 17, 2017

I love these breakout boards

The documentation is detailed and easy to follow - rare for this business. I am a total amateur but the quality of the PCB looks high. The board works perfectly and I have breadboarded with it using every single I/O pin.
I must say that I now prefer the breakout board, rev. C because: 1. the usb-Vin switch is on top and 2. the rev.B board is very wide and covers all the holes on my breadboard making insertion of breadboard wires difficult.
Excellent product.

David | Jan. 4, 2017

It's a great little kit

For Teensy 3.2 Breakout (Revision B, Standard)

I finished assembling my Teensy 3.2 Breakout (Revision B, Standard) kit and it went smoothly. The directions are well written, complete, and easy to follow. The PCB is top quality as are the other parts. I just wish I hadn't already soldered headers on my Teensy 3.6 or I would have one coming for it too.

Harry | Dec. 29, 2016

Great seller

This guy is really on point with his breakout boards. They work perfectly every time. oasf;oindasoin;oind;oidnsa;odinsad;oin

Response from Tall Dog | Dec. 29, 2016

Thanks!

Joseph | Aug. 31, 2016

A model product.

TLDR version: If you have found this product via a search for "Teensy breakout" or "how to mount Teensy 3.x" then you have found the exact product you are looking for, look no further.

Not to overuse the classic "I never write reviews but..." line, but I really don't. Okay, I almost never write product reviews unless I feel compelled to convince others not to buy some sort of ersatz garbage, but today that is not the case.

I spend my days working as an engineer, and my evenings as a mad scientist (okay, just a different sort of engineer) working on a prototype robotics development platform, and I love the Teensy boards, they are truly what Arduino should be, and after using my first board I cannot see myself going back. That said, I am a perfectionist, and although I am working on a prototype, I also view it as a sort of physical manifestation of my resume, and as a result I care a lot about form/fit/function simultaneously, and as-is the Teensy boards do not share in my mentality as they do not have any sort of proper means to mount them. I could go on for pages about how that was a massive glaring design oversight, but I won't, the boards are what they are (which is just good enough to make it into my prototype in a few spots supporting the main controller) and that is where this breakout board comes in.

I have purchased two of these boards so far, and in two separate orders, if nothing else that should say something about the product.

These boards are an example of good engineering and great product development, I know, I know, those are strong words for such a simple product but really it's the simplicity that makes these boards great. They are made of [apparently] high quality materials, all the pins line up, and it does exactly what it was supposed to do, with no frills, added features, or anything else to get in the way of things.

The closest competing product that I could find (which is priced almost the same) is a breakout shield which gives the Teensy the same form factor as a standard Arduino Uno. Sure, the competing product performs an almost identical function, but it was clearly designed with added features in mind, and to make it so that less-motivated folks can stick to their pre-packaged Arduino add-ons instead of [gasp] breaking out the soldering iron one more time. Disclaimer: I actually own one of these boards, but I have yet to assemble it, I prefer the smaller package of this breakout.

This product was also my first Tindie purchase, and was the reason I found Tindie in the first place (Tindie is pretty sweet).

I would have given all 5 stars, but I didn't want my review to seem manufactured so I gave only 4 stars for shipping because (don't hate me) Amazon is faster. That said, Daniel shipped me my second order while out of town thousands of miles away, and that is dedication.

Response from Tall Dog | Sept. 1, 2016

Wow Joseph, I don't know what to say! Thanks for the glowing review! I'm also a perfectionist, and I tend to use the prototyping phase to resolve form & fit issues too. I guess I want my prototypes to accurately represent the quality of my finished work. This can slow things down sometimes, but it can also make the process much more rewarding and fun. Doing this also tends to surface usability issues that wouldn't otherwise become apparent with a jumble-of-wires prototype unit. I think both approaches have their place, even within the scope of the same project! Finally, I'd just like to add that I think the Teensy is incredibly well engineered, it just happens to prioritize its (small) size over other concerns (hence the name Teensy). I see this breakout as providing a subtle re-balancing between size and convenience.

Maurice | Aug. 12, 2016

Good idea that works perfectly. Well executed.

Teensy has been my "go to" microcontroller for small/medium projects for several years starting at the 3.0 version. At times I wish I was able to use the extra pins for a couple more inputs or outputs but it was inconvenient to get to those underside pins. This breakout board solved that problem very well. And the result is still proto boardable with a spare row of pins on each side. The board was well engineered and nicely documented. It took me about an hour to assemble one. So far my testing has been successful. Good job. Thanks!

Response from Tall Dog | Sept. 1, 2016

I went through the same sequence of events and found myself frustrated with soldering little wires onto the bottom pads. Glad I could make things easier for you Maurice! Thanks so much for leaving a review.

Alistair | Aug. 6, 2016

Excellent product that extends Teensy 3.2 functionality

Recent work with Linear Technologies' ADC and DAC hardware got me wondering about using the other SPI config on the Teensy 3.2 and for some reason, I found the 3.2 Breakout board online. It immediately struck me as a useful addition perhaps for future projects, so I decided to buy a few and check out the setup and potential usefulness of access to all pins.

Shipping was relatively quick (Australia) and the packaging and documentation excellent.
I was immediately struck by how thoughtful everything seemed to be packaged and presented.
The board is very good quality, well marked and the components even though small fitted with no problems.

Although it initially takes some time to construct, due to a lack of familiarity, it is a straightforward process that I still would not rush.
I could even see some scope for variation of header components but building it for breadboard use is a logical starting point.
The construction documentation was good and easy to follow. Some aspects of it I wondered about but that could be just me.

The Breakout board will though come into its own when used in special projects where getting the most out of the Teensy 3.2 is important, if not critical.

It is relatively pricey compared to the Teensy 3.2 itself but clearly, production volume would be a factor in this.
Overall, an important contribution to the Teensy world and I'm glad I found out about it.

Response from Tall Dog | Sept. 1, 2016

Thanks for the thoughtful review Alistair! My goal is to keep things simple, clear, and concise. That said, the documentation, especially the assembly instructions, are always going to be a work-in-progress. As I assemble more and more boards, my own process tends to evolve, and these changes are reflected whenever I revise the docs. Look for some major revisions coming soon! Also, I tend to keep stock low to remain flexibility, and this does increase the cost a little bit, but not by very much. Most of the extra components, especially the optional ones, are basically sold at cost. Finally, I love to hear about alternate header setups. Some folks have requested pins facing up instead of down, and I'm always happy to accommodate these kinds of variations. I've also assembled "socketed" variations using female headers (as have others) and I'm considering offering the necessary components as another kit option. There will also be a "carrier" version of the board soon as well!

Corey | July 31, 2016

These are great!

I've used a few of these, in various versions, and they are great. The only 'simple' breakout I've found that gets all the pins plus a few other features without making me buyoff on an Arduino Uno layout or large footprint that includes breadboard areas and interfaces that I don't always want. Not to mention breadboard compatibility.

Response from Tall Dog | Sept. 1, 2016

Breadboard compatibility is the first priority, but I want these boards to be versatile beyond that while still remaining as small as possible.

Brooks | June 29, 2016

Three cheers for Daniel Gilbert's Teensy 3.2 Breakout board!

It's not often that I feel compelled to announce my admiration for a product, but I must tell you that Daniel Gilbert's Teensy 3.2 breakout board is just outstanding.

It's a board that the Teensy 3.2 permanently mounts to, increasing the footprint of the Teensy to 2.4" x 0.9". Considering that the Teensy is, well, teensy, the small size increase is not a big deal.

What IS a big deal is that the pads on the bottom of the Teensy are now brought out to the edge of the breakout board. Now all the pins of the Teensy are readily accessible. I [U]wanted[/U] those pins! Now I can have them.

www.tall-dog.com. $12. Worth every cent!

Response from Tall Dog | Sept. 1, 2016

Woo hoo! Thanks for the kind words Brooks!

Ryan | May 26, 2016

Great product, great documentation