7 ms·

Any recommendations?

by VMG 10y ago

herbst 10y ago
I bought like 2 of them so far and they both were exactly as expected. The only thing to note is that you should try to find those with CPUs (are those CPUs?) similar to the ones from the original designs. Some (the super cheap ones, < $1) often are identical by design but come with some crappy CPU
- andrewstuart2 10y ago
  I think they're technically microcontrollers, which are actually a microprocessor and then some (RAM, ROM, ADC, etc) all on the same chip.
  - herbst 10y ago
    yes, thats the word i was looking for i think :)
- Retr0spectrum 10y ago
  Almost all the ones I've seen have used the atmega328P. You might see some slightly different models with different amounts of ROM and RAM, but most people would probably never notice the difference. If you need more than a few KB of RAM/ROM, you should probably be getting something STM32 based instead. What does change is the Serial > USB converters that they use. The more expensive ones (>£3) tend to use FTDI chips, whereas the cheap ones use a CH340G or a similar part. On some platforms you may have to install drivers to make these cheaper converters work, but they were just plug-and-play for me on Linux.
  - duskwuff 10y ago
    > If you need more than a few KB of RAM/ROM, you should probably be getting something STM32 based instead. Which might not be a bad idea anyways. The Arduino framework's been ported to STM32 (stm32duino.com), and you can get a board and programmer for under $10.
mr337 10y ago
Any of them, I've been using everything from teensy,nano, and rebranded Uno. So far they have all worked like a charm and at a steep price reduction. Example, 5 nanos for $15 from Amazon [1]. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/XCSOURCE-ATmega328P-Controller-Arduino-TE359/dp/B015MGHH6Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1470925988&sr=1-4&keywords=arduino+nano https://www.amazon.com/XCSOURCE-ATmega328P-Controller-Arduin...
- manyxcxi 10y ago
  Yeah, I've not really had a problem with off-label Arduino chips/boards whenever I've ordered them either, except for one being DOA and another having an I/O pin that just wasn't connected somewhere along the way inside the microcontroller.
minsight 10y ago
Robotdyn is a great vendor. Their stuff is well built (and designed), not as cheap as the other aliexpress stuff, but far cheaper than the name brand.
pingec 10y ago
FastTech have some called "Arduino Compatible" they are indistinguishable from the original ones except for the text on them. I suspect they come from the same factory.
- verytrivial 10y ago
  From the product page: Q3. Are these actually original Arduino's, then? A3. We can only officially answer we don't know. Cheeky ...
soapdog 10y ago
My recommendation is a bit different, instead of that, try looking for a local manufacturer and support them. Here in Brazil, people go for the cheap aliexpress clones to the point where some of our own manufacturers are closing shop. In these cases, strengthening the local ecosystem might be interesting and wiser in the long run.
- elcct 10y ago
  Why? Your manufacturers could focus on something more profitable. What's the point in making another Arduino like board? Supporting non innovative shops is not good in short and long run.
  - soapdog 10y ago
    It is like China and the shanzai spirit, first you clone then and make it sustainable then you innovate... (this is my personal opinion, I may be wrong). I believe that supporting local non innovative shops is better than having no local shops at all.
    - elcct 10y ago
      But this is a result of that country politics. You should rather press government to make it possible to compete with Chinese (by for example lowering taxes, lessening the amount of bureaucracy - I heard this is a nightmare in Brazil). Throwing money at economy that is full of flaws will just delay the agony and not solve anything.
- marcosdumay 10y ago
  Hum... I've never seen a Brazilian Arduino clone. Didn't even expect it to exist. Where can I get one?
  - soapdog 10y ago
    There are many clones. Check out "mateduino"[2] which is made in the south of Brazil and also the one from robocore which is made in the southeast. There are others. The ones from robocore are great[1]. [1]: https://www.robocore.net/modules.php?name=GR_LojaVirtual&prod=530 https://www.robocore.net/modules.php?name=GR_LojaVirtual&pro... [2]: https://matehackers.org/mateduino https://matehackers.org/mateduino

Any recommendations?

by VMG 10y ago

Any recommendations?

I bought like 2 of them so far and they both were exactly as expected. The only thing to note is that you should try to find those with CPUs (are those CPUs?) similar to the ones from the original designs. Some (the super cheap ones, < $1) often are identical by design but come with some crappy CPU

andrewstuart2 10y ago
I think they're technically microcontrollers, which are actually a microprocessor and then some (RAM, ROM, ADC, etc) all on the same chip.
- herbst 10y ago
  yes, thats the word i was looking for i think :)
Retr0spectrum 10y ago
Almost all the ones I've seen have used the atmega328P. You might see some slightly different models with different amounts of ROM and RAM, but most people would probably never notice the difference. If you need more than a few KB of RAM/ROM, you should probably be getting something STM32 based instead. What does change is the Serial > USB converters that they use. The more expensive ones (>£3) tend to use FTDI chips, whereas the cheap ones use a CH340G or a similar part. On some platforms you may have to install drivers to make these cheaper converters work, but they were just plug-and-play for me on Linux.
- duskwuff 10y ago
  > If you need more than a few KB of RAM/ROM, you should probably be getting something STM32 based instead. Which might not be a bad idea anyways. The Arduino framework's been ported to STM32 (stm32duino.com), and you can get a board and programmer for under $10.

mr337 10y ago

Any of them, I've been using everything from teensy,nano, and rebranded Uno. So far they have all worked like a charm and at a steep price reduction. Example, 5 nanos for $15 from Amazon [1]. [1] - https://www.amazon.com/XCSOURCE-ATmega328P-Controller-Arduino-TE359/dp/B015MGHH6Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1470925988&sr=1-4&keywords=arduino+nano https://www.amazon.com/XCSOURCE-ATmega328P-Controller-Arduin...

manyxcxi 10y ago
Yeah, I've not really had a problem with off-label Arduino chips/boards whenever I've ordered them either, except for one being DOA and another having an I/O pin that just wasn't connected somewhere along the way inside the microcontroller.

minsight 10y ago

Robotdyn is a great vendor. Their stuff is well built (and designed), not as cheap as the other aliexpress stuff, but far cheaper than the name brand.

pingec 10y ago

FastTech have some called "Arduino Compatible" they are indistinguishable from the original ones except for the text on them. I suspect they come from the same factory.

verytrivial 10y ago
From the product page: Q3. Are these actually original Arduino's, then? A3. We can only officially answer we don't know. Cheeky ...

soapdog 10y ago

My recommendation is a bit different, instead of that, try looking for a local manufacturer and support them. Here in Brazil, people go for the cheap aliexpress clones to the point where some of our own manufacturers are closing shop. In these cases, strengthening the local ecosystem might be interesting and wiser in the long run.

elcct 10y ago
Why? Your manufacturers could focus on something more profitable. What's the point in making another Arduino like board? Supporting non innovative shops is not good in short and long run.
- soapdog 10y ago
  It is like China and the shanzai spirit, first you clone then and make it sustainable then you innovate... (this is my personal opinion, I may be wrong). I believe that supporting local non innovative shops is better than having no local shops at all.
  - elcct 10y ago
    But this is a result of that country politics. You should rather press government to make it possible to compete with Chinese (by for example lowering taxes, lessening the amount of bureaucracy - I heard this is a nightmare in Brazil). Throwing money at economy that is full of flaws will just delay the agony and not solve anything.
marcosdumay 10y ago
Hum... I've never seen a Brazilian Arduino clone. Didn't even expect it to exist. Where can I get one?
- soapdog 10y ago
  There are many clones. Check out "mateduino"[2] which is made in the south of Brazil and also the one from robocore which is made in the southeast. There are others. The ones from robocore are great[1]. [1]: https://www.robocore.net/modules.php?name=GR_LojaVirtual&prod=530 https://www.robocore.net/modules.php?name=GR_LojaVirtual&pro... [2]: https://matehackers.org/mateduino https://matehackers.org/mateduino