Uploading the Firmware
After building the Polaron, its time to upload the firmware to the teensy microcontroller (in fact, you can do this before building the Polaron if you like, however verifying the build is going to be hard in that order)
Download and install the free Arduino IDE. I currently use version 1.8.6, but newer versions will probably work just fine (note: i had trouble installing 1.8.8 on an older mac). Remember where you put the application (you'll need to point the teensyduino to it, in the next step). Open the Arduino IDE once to make sure the install worked.
Download and install the free Teensyduino extension, which is needed to program the teensy microcontroller using the Arduino IDE. Follow the instructions on the PJRC. During installation you can choose which additional libraries to install: Choose all
Download the Polaron Firmware from this github repo. The easiest way to do so is by using the Green "Clone or Download" Button on the Main Repo Page and download a zip.
Extract the zip file.
Inside the extracted folder there is a folder "Software" and inside this a folder "Polaron". This folder contains the Polaron firmware (files with endings like .ino, .h, .cpp files). This is the only folder you will need (the reason for this slightly complicated folder structure is, that the Arduino IDE has some conventions about naming Sketches and Sketch folders, i.e. a sketch named Polaron.ino needs to live inside a folder called Polaron).
Copy the Polaron folder to your Arduino Sketchbook. Wondering where your Sketchbook folder is? Open the Arduino IDE and then the Preferences Window, the Sketchbook location defined there. On my Mac the Sketchbook location is
/Users/tom/Documents/Arduino
After copying the Polaron code folder inside the Sketchbook, you should have
/Users/tom/Documents/Arduino/Polaron
Doubleclick the Polaron.ino file inside the code folder to open the firmware with the Arduino IDE
In the menu "Tools->Board" choose "Teensy 3.6"
In the menu "Tools->USB Type" choose "Serial + MIDI"
Check that you can compile the code now by pressing the "Verify" Button in the Arduino IDE. This starts compilation and might take some time. After successful compilation you should see the Teensy loader widget popping up.
If you see errors in the compiler output, make sure that you correctly selected the Board and USB Type (see above)
Almost done! After successful compilation of the sketch, its time to upload the compiled firmware to the teensy.
Connect the Polaron (Teensy) to your computer using a USB cable. Now press the small white button on the teensy (next to the square chip) to initiate the firmware upload. The teensy loader widget should indicate the firmware upload with a small progress bar.
After uploading the firmware the teensy will reboot and now run with the Polaron firmware. When powering up, all LEDs on the Polaron should briefly light up in sequence (if you are familiar with Knight Rider, you know what i mean).
Verify your build by checking all buttons: Press each button and make sure that the corresponding LED shows some changes.
Having problems? Check the Troubleshooting page. No problems? Read the Manual