Cassard | July 9, 2016

Adrian | July 7, 2016

High Quality

For Electric Imp (IMP003) Development Board

This board is of High Quality and well documented. I'm actually using it to develop the hardware for a startup where I work. I needed a development board for the imp003 since the imp002 was obsoleted. It has worked wonderfully. There are a few pins that are not brought out and that I use, but no complaints other than that. I have already already ordered another two boards since the first one worked flawlessly.

Response from Pesky Products | July 7, 2016

Thanks for the kind words Adrian.

I am curious which pins do you use that are not broken out on the new board design? I thought I got all of them!

Blair | July 4, 2016

Ludger | June 28, 2016

Halfdan | June 20, 2016

Very useful combination of sensors.

For LSM9DS1+MS5611 breakout board

Excellent breakout board!
Combining the MS5611 barometric pressure sensor with the LSM9DS1 makes this board eminently useful for a wide range of applications (in my case for a meteorological application). Being an ultralight pilot, I will also be using it for a fairly pointless (but interesting) aviation application as well.
My only gripe is the lack of a 3.3V regulator on the board to allow a wider range of supply voltages.

Response from Pesky Products | June 21, 2016

Thanks for the review. Adding a 3V3 regulator is possible but since most applications involve the use of an MCU like a Teensy 3.2 or Dragonfly (3.5 < VIN < 6 V) to read the data this seems somewhat superfluous. Still, I am glad you found this breakout useful. And I would say no application is truly pointless if YOU think it is worth doing!

Zack | June 17, 2016

For advanced projects only

For BMX-055 9-axis motion sensor add-on for Teensy 3.1

Upsides: Tiny. Can be overlaid directly on a Teensy 3.x, adding only a few millimeters of height. BMX055 IMU is accurate, repeatable, and has a comprehensive manual. Pressure/temperature sensor is a nice bonus. Provided code reads registers and does adequate motion fusion. Low current consumption. Open schematics and drivers.

Downsides: No documentation provided for module or provided code. Provided code is not encapsulated into a driver or library. No guidance is provided for optimizing performance, configuring the microcontroller, or converting quaternions to Euler angles. Default parameters create unresponsive motion fusion results. Unclear documentation about refresh rates and interrupt behavior.

TLDR: The developer made a tiny breakout board and a basic library. You are expected to read the BMX055 manuals and do a lot of math yourself.

Response from Pesky Products | June 17, 2016

Thanks for the detailed review Zack!

I do not claim nor attempt to offer a complete solution to customers' orientation problems; everyone's application is different and will require some or a lot of customization.

I offer the hardware and enough code and documentation to give most people a big leg up on getting their problems solved.

And, of course, I will gladly answer specific questions about all products I offer.

Kirill | June 17, 2016

Zack | June 17, 2016

The definitive project IMU - if you have the time

For EM7180 SENtral Sensor Hub + 9 DoF Motion Sensor

Upsides: Tiny. Can be overlaid directly on a Teensy 3.x, adding only a few millimeters of height. BMX055 IMU is accurate, repeatable, and has a comprehensive manual. Pressure/temperature sensor and motion coprocessor are nice bonuses. Provided code reads registers, configures coprocessor, and does adequate software motion fusion. Low current consumption. Open schematics and drivers. Coprocessor is preconfigured.

Downsides: No documentation provided for module or provided code. Provided code is not encapsulated into a driver or library. No guidance is provided for optimizing performance, configuring the client microcontroller, or converting quaternions to Euler angles. Unclear documentation about refresh rates and interrupt behavior. Absolute bare-bones guidance on reconfiguring the coprocessor. Solder jumpers are not documented. Default parameters poll unnecessarily slowly.

One of these arrived with a faulty EM7180 coprocessor. The developer was responsive and it turned out that I could use this module without it.

TLDR: The developer made a tiny breakout board and a basic library. You are expected to read a lot of manuals and do a lot of math yourself. The power is there, but you will need to spend time on the module.

Response from Pesky Products | June 17, 2016

I appreciate you taking the time to write a detailed review.

The BMX055+EM7180 modules you bought are the first generation of these orientation solutions and I it is true I haven't put lot of effort into their documentation. I would recommend a better solution in terms of usability and accuracy here (https://www.tindie.com/products/onehorse/ultimate-sensor-fusion-solution/) that answers some of your critiques.

That Tindie store page has a link to exhaustive documentation of the board design and operation of this orientation solution as well as comparison of the orientation results using the EM7180 with different sensors including the BMX055. You can see this documentation here (https://github.com/kriswiner/EM7180_SENtral_sensor_hub/wiki).

I would be surprised if you find any product offered at Tindie with more extensive documentation than this product.

It is unfortunate your experience with the EM7180 appears to be a negative one. May I send you one of the recommended USFS modules to try as compensation for your troubles? Please send me a PM at onehorse@earthlink.net to arrange shipping if you are interested.

Kris
Pesky Products

Zack | June 17, 2016

The definitive Teensy 3.x LiPo

For STBC08 High-Current LiPo Battery Charger

Upsides: Overlays directly on a Teensy 3.x, adding only a few millimeters of height. Includes standard JST connector. Has a number of LED's. Has a power switch. Can charge LiPo cell through the Teensy's USB port. Open hardware. No configuration or sequencing necessary.

Downsides: LED's are not documented. LED's consume current unnecessarily and are not jumpered. No feedback to Teensy about the battery's status. Possibly no inbuilt undervoltage lockout. Unclear documentation that requires pre-existing knowledge. Blocks a couple of IO pins. Unclear documentation about jumpers. JST socket is mounted to the top of the board and adds unnecessary height. Switch is very fragile. No pads provided to add a panel-mount switch.

Note: The battery's voltage is fed directly into the Teensy's VIN pin. The Teensy itself regulates it to 3.3V No 5V rail will be available on the Teensy. You must cut the VIN/VUSB jumper on the Teensy to charge the battery.

TLDR: If you want to power a Teensy off a LiPo, this is your solution.

Response from Pesky Products | June 17, 2016

I usually mount the JST connector between the battery charger and the Teensy. I am surprised you can mount it on top.

Of course, in many applications the battery can simply be soldered directly to the battery charger and simply be charged when the USB cable is plugged in.

I do expect that people who use my products will look at the schematic and read the corresponding data sheet to understand the details of the chip function, if they need to know them. For most people though, the use of the battery charger seems to be intuitive enough to avoid this step.

Please ask me specific questions if anything about the function of this charger is unclear and I will be happy to answer them. Thanks for the detailed review!

Kris
Pesky Products

Kirill | June 17, 2016

Sam | June 13, 2016

Thomas | May 23, 2016

Simon | April 30, 2016

Great product, incredible customer support

For MPU9250 Teensy 3.X add-on shields

I've ordered a few of these MPU9250 add-on shields to experiment with, my ultimate aim being to build and program my own flight controller for a micro aerial vehicle. Like many other reviewers, I've been delighted with the experience: extremely fast shipping, product works as advertised, and near-immediate response from Kris when you have a question. When I messed up my Teensy board the first time with my noobie soldering skills, he even offered to solder the headers for me! (I was more careful the second time, and am now happily using the code Kris wrote for the shield.) Thanks to makers like Kris, I've become a devoted customer of Tindie, and I look forward to buying and using more of his inventions.

Response from Pesky Products | May 25, 2016

Thanks for the kind words Simon! Customers like you keep me at it!

Paul | April 22, 2016

Rungun | April 21, 2016

We are having problems

For Micron SPI Flash Memory Add-On for Teensy

We are using this board with a Teensy 3.2 and are having problems. It works sometime and does not work sometimes. We have checked all the connections and it seems to be fine. Any help or pointers would be great. We are planning on testing it with just an arduino - will post the results
(I would like to change the ratings once we get it working)

Response from Pesky Products | April 21, 2016

Please PM me at onehorse@earthlink.net with some details of your problems and i will try to help.

Kris
Pesky Products

Hunter | April 17, 2016

Michael | April 11, 2016

Max | March 13, 2016

Anton | March 10, 2016

Bradley | March 7, 2016

Josh | Feb. 23, 2016

Josh | Feb. 23, 2016

Gilbert | Feb. 22, 2016

David | Feb. 15, 2016

Oscar | Jan. 22, 2016

Awesome

For LiPo battery charger add-on for Teensy 3.1

These things work really well. So nice.

I also suggest allowing an order without the switch soldered on. It'll make it easier for putting it inside of a case.

Also, you should consider having a version that has all the USB pinouts exposed for soldering on a USB cable to a USB panel mount.
This would be particularly helpful for those of us who are keeping things appallingly small, and don't want to use a micro-USB to USB Type-B panel mount (like what's on the teensy store).

Oh, and any chance (for an addl fee) throw in the matching counterpart for the JST-battery connector with the 2 pins to attach wires? It is really hard to find those things.

I'm going to order 5 more, and was wondering how I can order w/o the switch soldered on. I'd like to keep the switch if I could though, so if it could just be thrown in, that would be great.

Any chance you can be a reseller of teensy's? Everytime I order your stuff, I have to go order some teensy's too. :)

Follow-up:
I think I'll just end up using a micro-USB cable and plug into teensy, and cut the other end and solder it to a micro-USB panel mount.

Response from Pesky Products | Jan. 22, 2016

Thanks for the review and kind words.

If you want any kind of special order just send me an e-mail. If you want
switches included but unmounted with your LiPo Battery Charger order just
say so in the comment section of the order form. I will consider a version
with the USB pinout. It would be larger and there has to be sufficient
demand to make it worth the effort. You're the first to ask...

Michael | Jan. 17, 2016

Christoph | Dec. 31, 2015

John | Dec. 31, 2015

amazing small/light package

For Ultimate Sensor Fusion Solution - MPU9250

Getting a full orientation solution in such a small package is great. I haven't put it into real-world use yet, but in bench testing it appears to be amazingly accurate with low drift.

Response from Pesky Products | Dec. 31, 2015

Thanks for the feedback; I'm glad it's working for you John.

Coming soon will be added host-side coding to allow warm start so the accuracy is achieved from power on without the need to recalibrate every time, and pressure sensor fusion which will provide drift-stabilized altitude estimation. This last will likely require that a new configuration file be loaded into the EEPROM; I'll post instruction for how to do so. Of course, not everyone will bother since altitude is only really useful for UAVs and robotics, as well as dead reckoning and motion tracking, etc.

Matthew | Dec. 19, 2015

Alan M | Nov. 14, 2015

Great "appallingly small" unit

For LiPo battery charger add-on for Teensy 3.1

I giggled at his "appallingly small" description when I first read it. And he is right, but it is exactly as described, works perfectly and I'm very happy. Bought 2 of them as soon as they came into stock again. Will be buying several more.

For documentation, the text here is more than enough. So just read it carefully. I did print the Tindie page and filed it for future reference just in case.

In my particular case, on one of my projects I needed a more robust remote mounted switch.. so just popped off the microscopic one and tacked in two leads to a larger one mounted on the case. Real easy to do, although as with working on the Teensy itself a Magnifying glass is critical. "Appallingly small" is an understatement.

Great product, thank you for making it !

Response from Pesky Products | Nov. 14, 2015

Thanks for the kind words!

If you want this or the STBC08 chargers delivered sans switch I am happy to oblige.

Charles | Oct. 26, 2015

Alf | Oct. 22, 2015

Very cool board. Some tips for startup.

For BNO-055 9-axis motion sensor with hardware fusion

Hi, I have a few hints to get you up and running really quickly. Nothing new, but this may help you anyway:
1. You can solder the board directly onto a Teensy 3.1 or TeensyLC board. You can solder it on top of the pushbutton or underneath the PCB, where the pushbutton sits. Important: The Teensy chip and the BNO-055 chip must both be facing upward.
2. Kris' software runs without any changes for I2C. I cannot agree with Clint's comment.
3. For I2C driver I use i2c_t3 library, found here: https://forum.pjrc.com/threads/21680-New-I2C-library-for-Teensy3
4. Before starting, you need to solder the 3-fold jumper in the left upper corner! This activates the 4k7 pullup resistors needed for both I2C lines SDA and SCL. Put a solder drop to short all 3 pads. Don't forget this, it may cause you a bad headache.
5. Standalone use: You only need 4 wires: GND, 3V3, SCL and SDA.
6. Use the 2 adjacent pins on the side of the board to power it. (If you decide to use the power pins in the row of 5, you will need to short 2 other jumpers on the back.)
7. I tried breadboarding the BNO-055 board to the Teensy, but never succeeded. Lesson learned: Always solder the 4 connections, use short wires.
8. "Mag Calibration: Wave device in a figure eight until done!" Here is how you do it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo1ZE7mpKVg

Kris, your board rocks!

Regards,
Alf

Response from Pesky Products | Oct. 22, 2015

Thanks for the kind words Alf, and the detailed review and advice for others!

The BNO055 offers many configuration choices to the user and I tried to make them all available. Unfortunately this makes using this board somewhat more challenging than simpler boards available here at Tindie. I hope your comments make it a bit easier for those people who are having trouble. Of course, I am always happy to answer any questions to help you make use of this or any Pesky Product.

FWIW, I use hooked test leads I buy from Amazon to test all of these boards before I ship them out without soldering wires to the boards (that would ruin them for any buyer in my view). This usually works well with the Teensy on a breadbord.

Gunnar | Oct. 19, 2015

Erlend | Oct. 9, 2015