Blog Posts

Everybody* loves rhythm games, and everybody* loves roller coasters, which is why the two were combined so gloriously in the unique arcade game Groove Coaster.

Originally a touchscreen game, the arcade version added two giant “BOOSTERs” as inputs, which is what GitHub user vikbez recreates with their Groove Coaster Controller project.

Consisting of a Teensy 3.2, two Seimitsu LS32-SE joysticks, two giant 60mm buttons, some 3d-printed parts, a plywood box, and some simple hardware to hold it all together, the result is an incredible likeness of the unique arcade interface. CAD files, code, BOM, and assembly instructions can all be found in the GitHub repo!

*OK, maybe not everybody, but it sounds better that way!

With over ten thousand unique Eurorack modules out in the wild, the level of innovation and expanse of creativity is immense. This VEGA module from FASELUNARE is a prime example.

The button layout is designed to mimic the pattern of four stars in the Lyra Constellation: Sulafat (γ Lyrae), Sheliak (β Lyrae), Zeta Lyrae (ζ Lyrae), and Delta Lyrae (δ Lyrae).

The four-voice, 6HP, Teensy 4.1-based unit is designed for creating percussive sounds, with each channel able to operate as a synthesizer or play samples from the onboard SD card, and the unique interface providing 12 parameters per voice.

While the module is currently sold out, you can sign up for their newsletter to get notified when the next batch is available for pre-order, imagine it in your rack right now via ModularGrid, or preview its capabilities on YouTube.

We see a lot of gaming console emulators for Teensy, but Ryzee119’s Nintendo 64 Controller Emulator caught our attention for its mimicry of accessories for use with a real N64.

In addition to emulating up to four controllers at once, this Teensy 4.1-powered marvel can emulate controller accessories, such as memory Paks, Transfer Paks (for Game Boy data exchange), mice, keyboards, and the Rumble Pak haptic device.

The device takes advantage of Teensy’s USB host capabilities (and cable), and only requires SRAM and a microSD card for basic usage, plus N64 Controller Extensions to connect to the console. An optional display, PCB, and case enhance your emulation experience further. Since it is USB-based, most Xbox-compatible wired controllers should work, as well as Bluetooth 8BitDo controllers via their Wireless USB Adapter, and Xbox 360 Wireless via PC USB Receiver. Firmware, schematics, and detailed usage instructions can all be found on GitHub.

Kinesis are known worldwide for their ergonomic keyboards, and Michael Stapelberg’s replacement controller for the Kinesis Advantage is almost as well known.

When the Kinesis Advantage 2 was released in 2017, Michael created a new Teensy-based replacement controller board for both Kinesis models, using it as well as a chance to switch from Eagle to KiCad for PCB layout.

The PCB houses a Teensy 3.x or 4.x, as well as the required connectors, directly replacing the original electronics. It supports the popular open-source QMX keyboard firmware, meaning a plethora of features out of the box, and extensive customization potential. More about the project can be found on Michael’s blog, with source, KiCad/Gerber files, and extensive instructions on GitHub. A lengthy stream covering even more detail can be found below.

Teensy’s raw power makes it a great candidate for audio analysis and processing projects. Instructables  user Fezder realized it would have the power to do real-time audio calculations and fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) required for their Surrounding Sounds Feedback Box (SSFBB) project.

The project consists of two 2.2″ ILI9341-based LCD displays plus an analog panel meter, in addition to the Teensy 3.2 and Audio Adaptor Board. LEDs and a TI LM3915 driver, plus Microchip MCP6002 op-amp and electret microphone with Maxim MAX9814 amplifier round out the package. In addition to the FFT display, scrolling and average peak meters are incorporated. The MCP6002’s built-in automatic gain control (AGC) helps smooth out ambient sounds. Find out more on the project’s Instructables page.

While most of our featured projects are Teensy-centric, occasionally we play a supporting role to another board, and that’s OK! There’s nothing wrong with being Jamie Lee Curtis to another board’s Michelle Yeoh, as is the case in Hackaday user Fabio Balzano’s FreeBSD Robot + Teensy 3.1.

The bulk of the bot’s brains come from a Beaglebone Black running FreeBSD. A web-based GUI enables control and video streaming over Wi-Fi, while the Teensy acts as a speed control plus drives the steering servo via PWM. Find out more on the project’s Hackaday page.

Teensy ends up in a lot of keyboard projects.  Choosing the “best” Teensy-based keyboard is difficult, this is strong contender for “slowest!”

Everybody’s favourite hardware necromancer, foone, has created an outrageously arduous input device that uses 29 unique floppy disks to painstakingly “key” in letters, one at a time.

The device consists of a PC floppy drive, with a USB adapter, which is in turn connected to a Raspberry Pi. The Pi reads the floppy’s volume label on insertion, and then uses a Teensy LC to send the character to a connected host as if it were a normal USB keyboard.

The whole thing is then shoved into a SCSI Magneto Optical drive for good measure. 29 disks provide A-Z, !, space, and a shift modifier. Marvel at the video below, in which they manage to spell out “Hello world!” in…well under five minutes!

Stroboscopic tuners allow precision tuning of musical instruments by illustrating the difference between the desired and actual frequency using a rotating disk against an LED strobe.

in the resulting rotation indicates how off-pitch it is, or lack of rotation when perfectly in tune.  Benjamin_hh designed a guitar tuner based on this concept.

Instead of a rotating disc, Benjamin uses two SN74HC595 8-bit shift registers as a 16-bit ring buffer, connected to 16 LEDs. duff2013’s implementation of the YIN algorithm for the Teensy Audio Library is used to detect the plucked string, and an LM358-based amplifier brings in the guitar signal for comparison. The Teensy Audio System Design Tool for Teensy Audio Library was used to wire the audio blocks. Firmware, wiring, and more can be found in the project’s GitHub repo.

We see a lot of great Teensy-based synth projects, but this triple-voice wavetable synthesizer from Nanopolis absolutely blew us away with its sound and ease of use.

Hardware-wise, this Eurorack module-to-be consists of a Teensy 4.1 (overclocked to 816MHz!), a 16-level greyscale OLED display, 16MB of RAM for the wavetables, four endless potentiometers, and a fifth incremental encoder. With 2048 Serum-compatible 32-bit WAV samples (128 waves per wavetable) on microSD, and one wavetable per oscillator, a truly incredible range of sounds are possible. Six CV inputs make it easy to integrate with other gear, and one output per voice plus main mix give you complete recording flexibility. We can’t wait to see the final product, and highly recommend you indulge in the almost half-hour demo below.

Japreja alerted us to this utterly horrifying build, on the Basicmicro forums, and after hiding under our desks for a while, we’ve finally summoned the strength to write about It…

It is quite literally a nightmare-inducing full-scale recreation of Stephen King’s Pennywise clown, weighing in at 150 lbs, with the most menacing self-balancing we’ve ever seen, powered by a pair or Teensy 3.2 boards! A Basic Micro MCP233 controller drives NPC T64 motors to give the bot horizontal mobility, with a 9-axis MEMS sensor helping the “lower” Teensy keep things upright. Basic Micro’s RoboClaw 2x30A drives a windshield wiper worm gear motor to provide the clown’s terrifying vertical motion. A 12-channel RadioLink transmitter and receiver provides remote control. Not much else is known about this build or its creator — we’re hoping It didn’t turn on them — but you can see It in action below…if you dare!