@Mark_Estes in defense of the octo board. it does give a really sweet connection via the cat 6 jacks, has built in 100 ohm resisters for each data line and has a buffer chip that outputs at 5 volts so, it takes all the worry out of the circuit side, until it fries itself ( or you cook it).
@Mark_Estes but forgetting ESP32, can’t a teensy output 16 lines in software without an octo board? For what it’s worth, 16 lines on ESP32 is still experimental, and the syntax with +Yves BAZIN branch is a bit different. +Sam Guyer’s branch is more consistent with the fastled syntax, but it only allows 8 lines at a time, although you can give it 16 lines and it will alternate between them at half the frame rate.
https://github.com/FastLED/FastLED/wiki/Parallel-Output says
“WS2811_PORTDC - pins 2,14,7,8,6,20,21,5,15,22,23,9,10,13,11,12 <-- 16 pins, no soldering onto pads on the back!”
Maybe this wasn’t possible when you got the octo boards, but I think you can probably remove it today and wire directly while staying on teensy?
Ah, I see. Just had a look at https://www.pjrc.com/store/octo28_adaptor.html and indeed it’s nice to have the level converter and CAT6 plugs built in for only $10 no less.