Frequently Asked Questions

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PaulStoffregen

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Ok, it's time to start a FAQ. Please help me add to this list. Ideally, give links to prior threads where the question has been answered well.

I will edit this message. At some point in the future we'll (somehow) put this on the main website. I might (somehow) put it into the pages were people start new threads.



1: My Teensy Is Dead


2: Serial Port Not Found


3: Code For Arduino Uno or Mega Doesn't Work


4: Can I Use 5 volt Signals?


5: What Is The Analog Resolution / Performance


6: Generating Waveforms At Specific Frequency


7: Can I Use RTOS XYZ, or Other Multitasking


8: Do Not Like Arduino, Can I Use Something Else


9: Bare Metal Programming From Scratch


10: Using Teensy In Commercial Products
 
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6: What does 5V tolerant mean?

7: The Teensy ADC is supposed to be 16 bits but I'm receiving a maximum value of 1023.
 
Sort of #1 and #2, but programming a new teensy... my teensy does not show up.

Installation questions,like
Setup could not write a file: maybe virus detector
Teensyduino wont run on Linux - need to mark executable
Where are files installed on a mac

Some library code is not compiling or running correctly. Need to check that you are running the correct one and not one in your arduino libraries folder.
 
8: How do I use USB keyboard/mouse/midi/Audio / why doesn't the USB keyboard/mouse/midi example compile (set tools->board->teensy and tools->board->USB type).
9: why doesn't my Arduino Uno code work (32 bit variables, AVR registers, setting packed for structs)
10: write protect/read protect bit sets
somewhere down about 20: How do I use the non standard pins/what do the greyed out pin markings mean
21: what does the bootloader chip do/why can't I load via serial port
22: How do I do over the air updates - (short answer you don't, long answer you graft a bootloader into your existing code)
 
I'm wondering how long this FAQ should be?

My gut feeling is a short list (8 to 12 questions) encourages people to read the entire list.

Certainly some open source projects have extremely long FAQ lists. A very long list lets every question be answered in one place. But is having all the answers more valuable if the list is too long to easily read?
 
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I'm wondering how long this FAQ should be? Is a fairly short list more approachable, or more effective? Or is a long, very comprehensive list better?

Maybe both ;) - That is maybe have maybe the top 10 FAQs - Some of these might be generic, like I am having problems installing. Maybe have a few of the top answers local and then have a link to some place else (could be another sticky thread, could be page on main website, or could be some beginning of a WIKI)
 
#How to proper power a Teensy: USB / 5V Vin (trace cutting?) / 3.3V externally / using multiple power supplies (connect only grounds)

#My custom Teensy won't boot (Vout33 connected?)

I'm wondering how long this FAQ should be? Is a fairly short list more approachable, or more effective? Or is a long, very comprehensive list better?
I would make a long list, but divide it into topics (Programming tips, Power supply, Analog section, Custom boards etc.).
 
I believe too often open source and community driven projects fall into a trap of "bigger is better". This C++ FAQ site is probably an extreme example, though it is pretty well organized. Still, nobody can quickly read the list to see if their question is answered. Even many of the 2nd tier pages have dozens of questions, a time consuming process to read them all.

Personally, at least to get started, I want to keep Github's "anything added dilutes everything else" philosophy in mind. If the list needs to grow, I like the of a last question linking to a a couple forum threads like Tips & Tricks. Someday (who knows when...) those will become a wiki.

But for now, my hope on top level FAQ is to keep it short. That involves making painful trade-offs. But some of these questions are so very common that improving the effectiveness for those questions is probably worth the sacrifice of relegating many others to a 2nd tier of forum threads. If anyone wants to maintain a list of questions, please just start a thread in the tech support forum. When you've got it populated with questions and answers or links to answers, let me know and Robin or I will make it a sticky thread so it stays on the top.
 
Think that maybe a combo of things:
  1. FAQ should be short like Paul said, and limited to some of the common/repeated basic question like in post #1 and maybe add a few more. I like the one about size of ints going from an uno to Teensy - that one always gets me. UPDATE: Maybe where to find the documentation, manuals, data sheets.
  2. On specific pages like installation (need to probably update anyway) add common questions associated them on those pages. Guess that goes along the lines of post #7.
  3. Then maybe in the future add a page on programming hints/tips/tricks.

Of course a lot of this could be in the wiki to, but there is another thread that has all that stuff identified.
 
Q: "Where is the documentation on ...?"

E.g. "...how to read from, write to SD cards?"

The answer could indicate how the documentation is organized plus a list of topics that are not currently documented on the site and any thread that can fill in for the missing 'how to'.
Maybe some off-site links for non-Teensy specific references (minimal 'start here' links).
 
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