Arduino ... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: TorqueRanger
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:19:57 am
content: I am looking to start learning arduino but don't own one.. I was looking to grab the arduino uno off eBay to play with . But I was also looking at the nano ,mini,and etc smaller version based arduino.. Are these really different than the uno beside the pin count and size ?? Oh the teensy looks like a beast compared to the uno and what's so you guys think of them

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:29:49 am
content: Uno, Nano, Pro-Mini are equivalent in that thry all use the atmega328p, difference is just pin layout. Pro-mini doss not have usb-uart onboard.Leonardo is 32u4Teensy is arm.Suggest you start with uno or nano

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:30:56 am
content: yes. they are different, some come with the onboard capability to prgram them, others you have to buy an FTDI module and hook up to them and your computer.Also, they each feature different things. The Micro/Nano I think are the same except for pin count, but as far as I know, the Pro Mini is the only oneNOTwith the onboard FTDI. The biggers boards, Uno and others, have more features. The smaller boards you are limited to 8mhz/16mhz, I think the bigger boards go up to 32mhz.Look at my thread on sequential lights, it's turning out, for me anyway, to be a good learning experience so far for getting started with Arduino.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:55:18 am
content: Quote from: Falcon69 on January 11, 2016, 05:30:56 amPro-mini does not have usb-uart onboard.Ps. can we all please stop calling a usb-uart adapter or cable or chip an "ftdi". FTDI is a brand (a tarnished one at that). It's like sayng all photocopiers are xerox.

author: Falcon69
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 05:59:31 am
content: yes, was typing to fast, that is what I meant. Fixed it.

author: fubar.gr
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 09:34:16 am
content: I think the Uno is the "default" arduino board. Most projects found on the internet are based on that.Unless you're fully stocked on various electronic components, I'd suggest getting an Arduino kit like this:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ultimate-UNO-R3-Starter-Kit-for-Arduino-RTC-1602LCD-Servo-Motor-Gas-Sensor-Relay-/161671753594?hash=item25a4632f7a:g:yNAAAOSw9r1V8VDg

author: alsetalokin4017
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 09:46:48 am
content: Definitely start with Uno R3.The big kit up above is a great idea, and at 50 bucks US for all that stuff it's not a bad deal either.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 10:11:12 am
content: From what I have observed, the Uno is certainly the most common unit in use and you will find lots of sketches for it.I have a range of Arduino compatible boards, but have set up a MegaSDK as a development base. It has a built-in USB host (that I have utilised in a project) plus it has extra I/O pins that allow for easier design to demonstrate proof-of-concept. Once functional, you can then explore the functionality and look at rationalising the pin count.One example of mine was to make up a shield for a 12 channel PWM LED driver. Once operational, it was then a matter of playing around with it to find out I only needed 6 channels to do what I needed for that particular project. The Nano will now be the final board for implementation, but now I have a 12 channel PWM driver shield in my development arsenal.You do have to watch out for some differences in pin usage between the two, but I look at that as an exercise in the game of code portability.

author: rrinker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 12:31:48 pm
content: I have that kit listed above, or one pretty much identical to it. Yes, the Uno is the 'default' board, most things are designed to work with it. I also have a Nano, which is nice because I can stick it right in the breadboard. All those parts make for some fun experimenting.I have in mind several uses on my model railroad, mainly as signal controllers. At which point I will probably have to go with the Mega in order to have enough I/O lines. My goal is to modularize things and not runs many many strands of wires over long distances. In some places, there will only be a few LEDs to control and the Uno/Nano will be sufficient, but in areas of complex trackwork there will be many signals and turnouts to control so it's either stack on a lot of shift registers or just use a controller with more IO lines.

author: AlxDroidDev
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 01:40:54 pm
content: Quote from: fubar.gr on January 11, 2016, 09:34:16 amTrue, but the most important aspect is that most shields are designed with the UNO in mind. Therefore, I also suggest an UNO R3 as the starting point. If you have the budget for it, go for the Mega ADK or Mega R3 (both based on the Atmega2560). Not only you get 100% compatibility with UNO (in both hardware and software), you also get a lot more I/O and 8 times the flash space (32kb on the UNO vs. 256kb on the Megas2560). Anything that runs on the UNO runs on the Mega, but there are lots of Mega (and ADK) specific programs out there.The only 3 advantages of the UNO over the Mega are (1) price, (2) size and (3) ability to change the uC if you screw up badly, since it is a DIP on the UNO, vs. TQFP100 on the Mega2560.

author: JacquesBBB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2016, 03:42:01 pm
content: I have many arduino boards and have experimented with mostUNOArduino mini pro, very cheap on ebay without USB IC.Mega, with lots of IO pins;Due with lots of pins and very fast.But my advice for someone who begins is really : start with a UNO R3, with a board that is as close as possibleto the original one ( same USB IC).Everything else is the source of additional trouble which you do not want when you start.In any case, having an original board with the DIP atmega328P is a good thing as you can refer to it in case of trouble.