New Supplier for Teensy - ProtoSupplies.com

KenHahn

Well-known member
Hi everyone

My name is Ken Hahn, and I would like to introduce myself and my company ProtoSupplies.com as another option for buying Teensy products and related accessories. We are an official distributor but haven’t been added to the list on the website yet.

We love Teensy (doesn’t everyone?) but find that it can be a bit intimidating for new users to get started with and difficult to find the misc parts that may be needed to put a system together.

To help with that, we are offering many of the parts such as headers, PSRAM and Flash chips that are optionally used with the Teensy modules. We also offer the Teensy 4.1 Fully Loaded with PSRAM and Flash chips installed and tested along with the headers soldered on to make it plug-n-play for those that don't want to mess with soldering SMD parts. We will try to keep a couple in stock ready to ship, but can be made as needed.

Here is a link to the Teensy 4.1 product page: https://protosupplies.com/product/teensy-4-1/

We are also planning a baseboard to make it easier to work with the Teensy for experimenting and prototyping. Something along the lines of this one we did for the Mega Pro board: https://protosupplies.com/product/mega-2560-pro-mcu-proto-boardpro-series/

Besides Teensy we also offer many of the common modules and parts used in the hobby. One of our value adds is that most modules like LCD and OLED displays coming from China are 100% functionally tested here so we know we are only shipping good product to our customers.

We are a fairly new company (founded 2018) and our website is currently setup for US customers only. We do have international customers that use freight forwarders like Shipito.com and ShopandShip.com to buy from us which works quite well for those outside of the USA.

Comments and questions are welcome.
--- Ken
 
Welcome! It's good to have another WA company building on Teensys.

Looked at your store and see at least one Unicorn - reasonably priced 1x24 pin sockets! I usually just cut down 1x40s and hide the ugly end.
 
That looks great! I poked around the store a bit and it has good detail and decent pricing on things Teensy and other! Including PSRAM and W25Q128JV for $1.50.

The PCB like for the Mega Pro looks promising. And in WA means fast delivery.
 
My premise is that Teensy should really be more pervasive in the mainstream hobby than it is. Putting the most power in the smallest package provides great performance but also tends to create some ease-of-use obstacles for the average hobbyist like having no auto power switching or finding the right connectors to stack them. My goal is to remove some of those obstacles to make the product a little more approachable.

First is by providing some of the odd specialty parts for working with Teensy to make them easier to find in one place like the ICs used with it, USB data cable with a power switch and 24-pin sockets. Suggestions on other parts to carry are always welcome and I am adding new parts every week.

Second is by providing boards like the Teensy 4.1 with the tricky SMD parts optionally preinstalled and tested for those that can't or don't want to have to try to install themselves. Time will tell if there is much demand for this.

Third is to provide a baseboard for experimenting with Teensy that is flexible and easy to work with and that can also be used for a final project build if a minimal footprint isn't required. I have looked at some of the boards designed here by Paul and others mainly for testing of the new Teensy modules when they come out and I have some ideas on this that I will post up when I get a chance as I would welcome some input.
 
My premise is that Teensy should really be more pervasive in the mainstream hobby than it is.
Amen to that. That's one of the reasons I based my CNC board on the T41. Another is that, unlike the BluePills and such out there, it is a totally consistent package. If you buy a BluePill today, you probably won't even get a real STM32F103 chip and they are all a little different in subtle ways. Every Teensy n.m you buy is exactly the same. And of course also for the relatively tiny package with real computing grunt. (that's a technical term...)

Just placed an order from your store. I believe you are filling a niche that is much needed.
 
Thanks Phil, your order will go out Monday.

Funny you mentioned the Blue Pill. I have a stack sitting here on my desk. I was going to productize them and offer them assembled with the Arduino bootloader as a value add but after doing some research I realized what a mess it is with counterfeit and functionally different chips re-marked as STM32F103. I just bought a genuine ST Micro programmer to try to come up with a way to determine if the chips are genuine or not as I won't sell something I can't stand behind and I'm still not sure, though the programmer does seem to recognize them correctly.

They are dirt cheap, fairly fast and have some interesting tools available but look like an exercise in frustration as far as I can tell and probably won't productize them. Half the message board traffic is people trying to figure out what they actually have and why it doesn't seem to work. Happy to throw a couple in your order for free to get them off my desk if you are still using them for anything.

New Sales Promo! Buy a Teensy and get a free Blue Pill (just to make you appreciate your new Teensy even more)!
 
OK, that was good for a laugh. Over at EEVBlog there are several long threads about the Blue Pill Problem including some decapped STM32F103 showing that they weren't made by STMicro. I think they identified something like 7 different chips. Even the ancient ATMega 386p has gotten couterfeited. Those Arduno Nanos you buy on Ali-whatever, for the most part, don't have real Atmel chips. I guess this why we can't have nice things...
 
I was going to order some from Sparkfun when I got a 10% coupon for completing their survey - but it was good for a month and that has gone by already ...

When I visited https://protosupplies.com/ earlier it worked - now I get
Code:
Hmmm… can't reach this page
protosupplies.com’s server IP address could not be found.

Have repeated for a bit and the same - though I can get here to the forum ????
 
Switched ISP connect and the site is there ???? Odd thing is both at AT&T ???

Edit: Reset the main modem and all is well there and hotspot.
 
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@KenHahn - filling a cart at your site - working up to free shipping ..

When it comes to your Proto board - > Just looks and the MEGA board does include a step down 2A unit - that looks good in some form, the current Pro version isn't a good fit - and doesn't seem to be fitted for any of the other 3.3V Supplies on the site?

The other cool thing would be 'Low Profile' Female Headers among the offerings. They aren't as cheap as the common tall ones - but they are nice for building less bulky boards. There was a post many months back about breakaway versions I got some of from a shared order.
 
Good idea on the low profile headers. Also will look at sourcing short male headers to go with.

The Mega 2560 Pro MCU board is designed specifically for the Mega 2560 Pro module and only works with that module. Power input is expected to be in the 7-12V range.

The MCU Proto board is more generic and can be used with any power source including 3.3V as it just feeds the power rails without any voltage drop.
 
As long as you are looking at headers, It would be great to find 2x3 2mm header+socket for the teensy 4.1 that works with the the 2.54mm pitch sockets. I've had real trouble finding ones that work together. The 2mm socket/header pairs are too short. I think Samtec has some taller headers but it took forever to get them. See the red circled area in the attached photo.

For now, I recommend my customers solder the teensy 4.1 in place if they are using ethernet. I would be happy sending my customers that want to socket the T4.1 to you.
socket issue RA159231_DxO_2048.jpg
 
Good idea on the low profile headers. Also will look at sourcing short male headers to go with.

The Mega 2560 Pro MCU board is designed specifically for the Mega 2560 Pro module and only works with that module. Power input is expected to be in the 7-12V range.

The MCU Proto board is more generic and can be used with any power source including 3.3V as it just feeds the power rails without any voltage drop.

Short male as well are nice - I see it was back in Feb @mjs513 shared some short headers he got from a forum post about that time - not finding the maker that was linked - but even the females were breakable - which makes sizing them easier and less wasteful. Unlike these shorts from AdaF.

Finally found them Sept 2019:
peconnectors.com/female-headers-pcb-1x-row-.100/hws9446/
peconnectors.com/pin-headers-straight-1x-row-.100/hws16317/

Indeed the Generic Pro and MEGA boards are diff than Teensy not being dedicated 3V3 boards - was just noting that if you do develop a Teensy specific one - that would be cool. Large - but that is what it takes to hook on various displays or other and make use of the pins in some fashion.
 
I got these from Digikey some time ago. They've been sitting unused (untested) on my cluttered desk.

header3x2mm_tall.jpg

The tall header is Samtech MTMM-103-10-T-D-355. The socket is Digikey 17-2314820-6-ND. Both are still in stock today.

As you can see in the photo, together they mate to about 11mm, which is the distance between boards when Teensy is used with ordinary headers and sockets.

I had imagined maybe PJRC would offer a socket+pins pair. But right now (short staffed due to the pandemic social distancing requirements) the last thing Robin & I need is another "kit" that takes labor to package. These long header pins will probably need to be pressed into a piece of foam to survive shipping.

Maybe an opportunity for ProtoSupplies or others to get these and sell them with Teensy 4.1?


BTW: Sorry about the delay on updating the website. We've been crazy busy here! ProtoSupplies is now properly in the list of distributors on the products page.
 
Short male as well are nice - I see it was back in Feb @mjs513 shared some short headers he got from a forum post about that time - not finding the maker that was linked - but even the females were breakable - which makes sizing them easier and less wasteful. Unlike these shorts from AdaF.

Finally found them Sept 2019:
peconnectors.com/female-headers-pcb-1x-row-.100/hws9446/
peconnectors.com/pin-headers-straight-1x-row-.100/hws16317/

That is the line I was looking at. I think they are the way to go because you can easily cut the female connectors. They are also a little shorter than the normal shorty headers. I currently sell the round pin headers and sockets that are fairly short and they work well for 1 time use on things like adapter boards, but the small pins don't stand up to repeated use and not really a good fit for a Teensy.

Thanks for the info on the normal stack-up ethernet connector pair Paul. That female header looks like it would work OK with the shorty headers as well which would be nice.
 
That is the line I was looking at. I think they are the way to go because you can easily cut the female connectors. They are also a little shorter than the normal shorty headers. I currently sell the round pin headers and sockets that are fairly short and they work well for 1 time use on things like adapter boards, but the small pins don't stand up to repeated use and not really a good fit for a Teensy.

Thanks for the info on the normal stack-up ethernet connector pair Paul. That female header looks like it would work OK with the shorty headers as well which would be nice.

Since I got some of the peconnectors.com they are good to use ( thanks @mjs513 ) - not as cheap as the run of the mill tall ones, but they work, and segmented female nicer that the solid wall type like AdaF sells.

I saw the lower profile round pins listed as well, I got some of those early and after a couple tries gave up on them. They do not give a secure lock after some use. Sometimes not secure on first use if the male pins are soldered wrong side up :( - and I was never sure which side was the solder side on the ones I got.

Today my home internet can SEE https://protosupplies.com/! Not sure why hotspot got the mapping routed right but the home internet would not before. And it see's my 23 item cart too.

Paul mentioned these items as ones he ordered and plans to next support on LittleFS : FLASH - NOR Memory IC SPI - Quad I/O 133MHz 8-WSON (8x6) : W25Q512JVEIQ : SPIFLASH 512M-BIT :: 64 MB
That is the same WSON format as a larger NAND flash already soldered to test (but not yet general use), it works to fit T_4.1 underside and 4 times capacity of the standard 16 MB flash. Will order from Digikey unless you want to stock up in advance? If KurtE and mjs513 haven't ordered already they might order as well.

And to repeat your site has good information on the items in stock - especially the Teensy! Note there is a 1062 Memory Layout on the T_4.0 product page that would be good to link on both T_4.0 and T_4.1 pages as the 1MB memory layout is a common question : https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy40.html
 
Paul mentioned these items as ones he ordered and plans to next support on LittleFS : FLASH - NOR Memory IC SPI - Quad I/O 133MHz 8-WSON (8x6) : W25Q512JVEIQ : SPIFLASH 512M-BIT :: 64 MB
That is the same WSON format as a larger NAND flash already soldered to test (but not yet general use), it works to fit T_4.1 underside and 4 times capacity of the standard 16 MB flash. Will order from Digikey unless you want to stock up in advance? If KurtE and mjs513 haven't ordered already they might order as well.

And to repeat your site has good information on the items in stock - especially the Teensy! Note there is a 1062 Memory Layout on the T_4.0 product page that would be good to link on both T_4.0 and T_4.1 pages as the 1MB memory layout is a common question : https://www.pjrc.com/store/teensy40.html

I'll go ahead and source some of the W25Q512JVEIQ to have on-hand by next week in case anyone needs them. Will also get the shorty headers inbound.

Good idea on the memory layout, I will add that link to the product pages to make it easier to find.
 
I'll go ahead and source some of the W25Q512JVEIQ to have on-hand by next week in case anyone needs them. Will also get the shorty headers inbound.

Good idea on the memory layout, I will add that link to the product pages to make it easier to find.

I went ahead and placed first order - don't really need anything but didn't want to lose the cart - so will order again next week to get 4 of the 64MB Flash chips when I see they are there.

AT&T Home cell went back to not seeing website? But AT&T phone hotspot no problem? Not sure what is up with that ...
 
I went ahead and placed first order - don't really need anything but didn't want to lose the cart - so will order again next week to get 4 of the 64MB Flash chips when I see they are there.

AT&T Home cell went back to not seeing website? But AT&T phone hotspot no problem? Not sure what is up with that ...

Thanks for the order. 64MB Flash and shorty headers as well as the taller Ethernet headers Paul pointed to are inbound.

If you'd like I can hold the order until the chips come in so you don't need to pay any shipping. Should have them by Monday and they will be passed through at Digikey single piece pricing.

Not sure what may be going on with your website access, but the site has been up consistently.
 
Thanks for the order. 64MB Flash and shorty headers as well as the taller Ethernet headers Paul pointed to are inbound.

If you'd like I can hold the order until the chips come in so you don't need to pay any shipping. Should have them by Monday and they will be passed through at Digikey single piece pricing.

Not sure what may be going on with your website access, but the site has been up consistently.

Not sure about website - seems a local issue - it is working today - machine updated and restarted overnight.

Digikey Flash and Headers - that is Fast - yes you can hold that and I'll update when the new stuff arrives.
 
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