Today Paul Stoffregen announced the Teensy 3.2, the latest iteration of their sub-$20 development board.
This update, available now, isn’t a huge revision to the hardware design, but those looking to integrate the board with additional accessory Wi-Fi boards — such as the ESP8266 and OctoWS2811 — will welcome the beefier 3.3V voltage regulator now standard on the 3.2 board version. Additionally, Stoffregen’s voltage regulator upgrade helps on the input side of powering the device, since wiring a battery to the 3.2 will be much easier to accomplish.
The Teensy, a line of boards named for their diminutive dimensions — 1.4″ by 0.7″ — are Arduino compatible and frequently deployed for advanced light and sound projects such as faire booths. Users of the Teensy 3.1 can rest easy, as Stoffregen assures that the popular audio shield and OctoWS2811 adaptor are compatible with the new Teensy 3.2 board.
For those unfamiliar with the Teensy line of boards, it is worth spending a moment to gain familiarity with them, as they are both well documented and quite popular. Though the board does not have the form factor of an Arduino UNO, most of the Arduino libraries are compatible with the Teensy boards. Integration into the Arduino IDE is also an option with a software add-on known as Teensyduino.
Unlike many Arduino compatible board designers who do not give back to Arduino, Stoffregen has provided improvements and rewrites libraries, with performance increases. If you care to really geek out, check out a list of improvements.
Next time you are at a faire or conference and you see a large LED wall or hear an interesting audio experience, ask if there is a Teensy powering the project. Chances are good that the board powering the display might just be a Teensy.
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