Simple foot pedal switch uses Teensy

Teensy-based foot pedal

A Simple Text Editor Foot Pedal

When you don’t want to take your hands off the keyboard, a foot-pedal switch is a real convenience.

Overall, this pedal is much cheaper than the high-end pedals mentioned above. The total cost came to around $37, because I had some of the parts on hand. Further, you can upload new code to the Teensy on all operating systems, a big win over the Windows-only pedals above.

However, this pedal only has one foot switch. You could easily add more M-Audio sustain pedals to the design, and keep adding 1/4” jacks to a project box. The Teensy has plenty more IO lines to use! Or you could go for it all in one enclosure with the guitar pedal hardware.


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1 Comment

  1. I was gearing up to do this exact project a year or so ago, but ran across PCsensor http://www.pcsensor.com./index.php?_a=category&cat_id=2 It’s hard to argue with $17 for a single USB footswitch, or $22 for a 3-pedal. They also have some nice kits for building your own, though if I were doing that I’d probably go with the teensy just for the experience.
    I’m not affiliated in any way, just happy to FINALLY find an affordable USB footswitch.
    Disclaimers: Their software for reprogramming the pedal is windows-only, I keep meaning to try and intercept the traffic and try at a linux driver for it. Also be careful when ordering, it’s easy to get the “footswitch only” model, which might be just what you want for a DIY project, but probably not if you want a keyboard accessory.
    PCsensor also (mostly) does a lot of temperature probes, they might be worth checking out for that too.

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