PhobGCC—an open-source Hall-effect gamecube controller based on Teensy—supply worries

CarVac

New member
I'm one of the devs of PhobGCC (https://github.com/PhobGCC), an open-source project for making a better Gamecube controller by using Hall effect sensors instead of potentiometers for a longer-lasting and more responsive stick.

Picture: https://github.com/PhobGCC/PhobGCC-doc/blob/main/For_Makers/BoardPics/1.2.1_Front.jpg?raw=true

We also use the Teensy's processing power to perform sophisticated filtering on the stick movement to eliminate snapback among other things.

The thing is, this project is getting manufactured by community members in the thousands to fill demand for controllers from the Super Smash Bros Melee player base.

We already spent months redesigning it to move from Teensy 3.2 to Teensy 4.0, and yet stocks of Teensy 4 at Digikey have plummetted by around a thousand in the last week.

Is there any relief in sight? Are we going to have to wait until late July once current stocks are depleted?
 
Are we going to have to wait until late July once current stocks are depleted?

Yes, confirmed, late July. If you need Teensy 4.0 before then, buy what you can from distributors who still have them in stock (if they haven't run out yet... as they almost certainly will soon).

And of course we're trying to expedite, but rushing manufacturing too much is a recipe for quality problems. Odds are good we may have some sooner, by maybe a week or even a small quantity by 2 weeks. Maybe. There are a lot of moving parts and opportunities for things to delay.

Is there any relief in sight?

January 2023 is probably not what you had in mind for "in sight", is it?

There is a lot of uncertainty with chips right now. Latest we're hearing is IMXRT should get better by January. But months ago we heard Kinetis was supposed to have "gradual improvement in Q2" with parts available in Q3 & Q4, and yet here we are at the end of Q2 and NXP has pushed almost all Kinetis parts for Teensy 3.x well into 2023. So it's hard to know if any of the info we're getting is reliable.

But the latest info is to expect more of the 12mm size chip for Teensy 4.1 than the 10mm size used on Teensy 4.0, at least over the next few months.

If you're making a PCB or project where you'll need to put a Teensy 4.0, if at all possible I would recommend leaving extra room to be able to fit a Teensy 4.1, just in case the supply of chips for Teensy 4.0 dries up at some point later this year. That's not any sort of guarantee even Teensy 4.1 supply will be stable or plentiful for the rest of 2022. All we know right now is Teensy 4.1 is looking better than all the others until 2023.

The reality is we're just not able to get enough chips to fully meet demand. Teensy 4.0 and 4.1 are likely to keep running out of stock, then returning for a few weeks, and running out again until we can get chips to make more. So far this year, we are getting the chips, just not enough. All signs today are saying this trend will probably continue for the rest of 2022, and then hopefully things will get better in 2023. So the very best thing you can do right now is figure out how many you really need and buy them when you can.
 
Thanks for the reply.

Unfortunately, we have a hard length constraint so 4.1 is not an option since we're trying to fit into an existing footprint.

I guess we'll advise people who are building these (it's not a centralized operation, it's an open-source project) to buy as many as they need once they come back into stock. At least the situation is better than Teensy 3.2.

We may try working on finding alternatives as well, if only to supplement Teensies and not replace them.
 
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