Arduino UNO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Arduinounotop-2

You’ve got questions – we’ve got answers! – THe Arduino UNO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).

Topics include:

  • Arduino Timeline
  • New USB chip
  • Why not just go with a atmega32u4?
  • How can I change the USB firmware?
  • Whats with the crystals?
  • So the Arduino is not as precise, timing-wise?
  • Why not have one 16Mhz crystal shared between both?
  • OK well lets say I don’t care about that…
  • Whats with the FCC logo on the back?
  • A new Bootloader?
  • Are Shields still going to work?
  • Will enclosures, plates, etc still work?
  • More 3.3v power!
  • Are the U8’s extra pins wired to any pads or vias?
  • Why is the Arduino chip running at 16MHz when it can run at 20MHz?
  • Is it still Open source hardware and software?

We have the new Arduino in the following products:

They are moving fast!


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7:30pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat and our Discord!

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 38,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — New Products 11/15/2024 Featuring Adafruit bq25185 USB / DC / Solar Charger with 3.3V Buck Board! (Video)

Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Programming Pi 5 PIO, CircuitPython & VSCode and Much More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Halloween, WiLo, and more!

Maker Business – Adafruit Daily — The worlds largest car exporter: China

Electronics – Adafruit Daily — Are you grounded?

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



8 Comments

  1. Another question – are the U8’s extra pins wired to any pads or vias?

  2. @joby – we added that, thank you.

  3. One potential issue is that there is a worldwide shortage of Atmel USB chips. Word from their disty is that all their fab capacity is being taken up by a large cell phone customer (not Apple). It’s possible that this may affect the Uno’s availability depending on the stockpile of 8U2’s they have.

  4. Also there is a 4th mounting hole now too.

  5. mice start. I also put annotated photo of jhe uno, with specific photo-notes added:
    <img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4086/5027065281_d129dc001f.jpg&quot;

  6. So if the ATmega8U2 include UBOOT and a LUFA CDC implementation, is there still room for other stuff as well? Or would becoming a mouse necessitate getting rid of the serial code?

  7. For driverless operation, you’d have to get rid of the serial code. Otherwise you’d require a mixed USB class driver if you wanted your device to run CDC class drivers as well as HID (mouse). This would be a major pain because you’d need to write drivers for all platforms so I doubt this would get done.

  8. Hi,

    I just noticed a curious part of the schematic where the USB port is connected to the mega8U2.

    Doesn’t the addition of a “BLM21” ferrite bead (L1) as a connection between the USB connector case shielding and board ground render the TVS protection useless?

    The path from the USB data lines via the TVS is low-impedant to the USB case, but it is a high-impedance path to the board ground via the ferrite bead, at least for transients, so the mega8U2 can be damaged this way. Even worse, since the USB case is intended to make contact first, a transient impulse can propagate from the case via the TVS into the mega8U2…

    Except if this ferrite bead is of a low-inductance and low-resistive design, but that isn’t stated.

    Furthermore, what is the purpose of the 27 Ohms resistor R3 in series with the mega8U2 quartz crystal? Is this because of EMI reasons? But then, isn’t XTAL1 the high impedance
    /input/ pin for the mega8U2’s internal pierce oscillator? If so, an EMI series-resistor would only make sense on XTAL2. Plus, isn’t the 1Meg across the quar(t)z already internally integrated, too?

    Regards,
    Ulrich

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.