I have written about PRJC’s Teensy 4.0 board which they have launched a few months back and guess what, now they have launched a new version of Teensy 4 with a little improvements. May be they read my review comments ;), see here what I wrote.
They have launched quite soon a new revision, I was not expecting, not sure, what has triggered this, not so good response or lot of requests for missing features? I don’t know.
Lets is see what is new in the new Teensy 4.1 Development board.
It uses the same NXP IMX RT1062, 600Mhz MCU, nice. I really like this MCU and would be creating a nice board for sure very soon. For now let’s see what’s new the Teensy 4.1 board.
What’s new in Teensy 4.1 Development Board
- Board Size has increased.
- More IOs on header. I didn’t really like the idea that they used randomly spaced pads in the bottom on previous board Teensy 4.0. So, this is definitely a good improvement.
- Ethernet is available on header but no RJ45 Connector, you need an external RJ45 adapter with a cable. Teensy 4.1 Ethernet Adapter PCB can be purchase from OSHpark.
- SD Card connector is available on board so that a big plus.
- USB Host is also available but on the header, again here you will need to buy a USB Host 5 pin cable.
- External RAM can be soldered on the bottom side of the board on SOIC package.
- Similar to RAM, external SPI Flash can be soldered on the bottom side of the PCB.
You can see how SPI RAM and Flash can be used:
USB Host Cable connection from the 5 pin header
Teensy 4.1 Board Pin outs
Difference between Teensy 4.0 and Teensy 4.1 Boards
(as mentioned on PRJC’s website)
| Feature | Teensy 4.1 | Teensy 4.0 |
|---|---|---|
| Ethernet | 10 / 100 Mbit DP83825 PHY (6 pins) | -none- |
| USB Host | 5 Pins with power management | 2 SMT Pads |
| SDIO (4 bit data) | Micro SD Socket | 8 SMT Pads |
| PWM Pins | 35 | 31 |
| Analog Inputs | 18 | 14 |
| Serial Ports | 8 | 7 |
| Flash Memory | 8 Mbyte | 2 Mbyte |
| QSPI Memory | 2 chips Plus Program Memory | Program memory only |
| Breadboard Friendly I/O | 42 | 24 |
| Bottom SMT Pad Signals | 7 | 16 |
| SD Card Signals | 6 | 0 |
| Total I/O Pins | 55 | 40 |
My review points about Teensy 4.1
It’s nothing negative but I will share my option/view on what I think is good and what could have been better. I think that’s what engineers truly are, they learn from new things and they also analyze what could have been better. So, here are my views:
- Well definitely I would consider this as a more useful board that Teensy 4.0 if you need more IOs and Ethernet, SD Card and USB Host. But, I think if the board had Ethernet and USB Host on the board itself without have the complexity of adding external adapter/cables, it would have been nicer.
- I would expect a board with USB Host, SD card, Ethernet on a small square size board with all the interfaces on dual line header. It would have been perfect but I guess they don’t want move from their signature Teensy form factor.
- Possibility of External RAM and Flash, this very nice feature.
Cost & how to Buy Teensy 4.1 Board?
Teensy 4.1 board cost’s a little higher than it’s younger brother 4.0. This one costs you $26.85. You can buy directly from their website and may be also available on your favorite online store.
I guess you are also excited like I am. I just can’t wait to have this little beast in my hand and experiment. Need to see if I can order for shipment to Bangalore, India due to Covid-19.
Bye for now.
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