When choosing an Arduino board, we find that there is not just one model, but rather there are several different models with different specifications from each other. Not only in the microcontroller supplied as standard, but also in the configuration of ports and interfaces supplied as standard. This is why we thought of compiling and ordering the information on the different Arduino boards that exist in the market.
The number of projects that can be done with an Arduino board is very large, you can find many on the internet and they will tell you which is the most suitable model for your project. However, as you gain knowledge, you reach the point where you want to make your own projects and it is at this point that the choice between the different Arduino boards and their different models becomes difficult.
The two important elements of Arduino boards
Before going to tell the differences, we must start from the fact that Arduino boards are mainly composed of two elements that define them. On the one hand we have the microcontroller and on the other hand the board on which it is mounted and which contains the various interfaces that communicate with external elements. So the choice of an Arduino or other card will depend on our needs with regard to these two elements.
The different microcontrollers on Arduino boards
Although they use ATMega microcontrollers, they don’t use just one model, but several. They all share a common basic set of registers and instructions, but with some extensions on some models. This is important because in a microcontroller we have very little memory to work with and therefore each of the program instructions must be measured down to the millimeter.
The big difference between a microcontroller and a conventional CPU is that the former operate at very low speeds and the memory from which they run programs is very small. So much so that we are talking about kilobytes of memory, so a microcontroller can only run one process and they are so simple that they do not run an operating system. They can’t even run a program that requires multiple processes running in parallel. Microcontrollers integrate a CPU or processor, RAM, programmable ROM or nonvolatile memory, and interfaces for peripherals on a single chip.
Next, you have a table where you can view the specifications of the ATMega microcontrollers used by the various Arduino boards.
| microcontroller | ATMega 328 | ATMega 2560 | ATMega 32U4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| microcontrollerclock speed | ATMega 256016MHz | ATMega 32U416MHz | |
| microcontrollerflash memory | ATMega 32832 KB | ATMega 2560256 KB | ATMega 32U432 KB |
| microcontrollerSRAM | ATMega 3282 KB | ATMega 25608 KB | ATMega 32U42.5 KB |
| microcontrollerDigital I/O pins | ATMega 32814 | ATMega 256054 | ATMega 32U420 |
| microcontrollerAnalog I/O pins | ATMega 3286 | ATMega 256016 | ATMega 32U412 |
| microcontrollerPWM pins | ATMega 3286 | ATMega 256014 | ATMega 32U4seven |
| microcontrollerserial ports | ATMega 3281 | ATMega 25604 | ATMega 32U41 |
| microcontrollerTension | ATMega 3285V | ATMega 25605V | ATMega 32U43.3V |
| microcontrollerVoltage (Power) | ATMega 3287 – 12V | ATMega 25607 – 12V | ATMega 32U4USB, 7 – 12V |
USB interface
The second important point is the USB interface used by the different boards, which may sound silly or something that doesn’t make much sense, but when talking about projects where Arduino boards are used, the dimensions of the board are important and that is why we can find cards that are identical in terms of general specifications, but which differ in size due to the type of USB connection they use. What we remember is how it communicates with our PC and allows us to program the microcontroller.
| Arduino board | USB connector | lester | Ancho | Largo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino boardArduino Uno R3 | USB connectorUSB-B | lester25g | Ancho53.4 millimeters | Largo68. 6 millimeters |
| Arduino boardArduino Nano | USB connectorMini-USB-B | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardArduino Pro Mini | USB connectorMini-USB-B | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardLeonardo | USB connectorMicro USB (USB B) | lester20g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo66.6 millimeters |
| Arduino boardMicrophone | USB connectorMicro-USB | lester13 grams | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo48 millimeters |
| Arduino boardNano Each | USB connectorMicro-USB | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardMega 2560 Rev3 | USB connectorUSB-B | lester37 grams | Ancho53.3 millimeters | Largo101.5mm |
Peripheral interfaces
The various boards contain a series of interfaces for standard peripherals and devices which take the digital pins of the microcontroller to themselves. Next we leave you some examples of plates and their configuration.
| Arduino board | USB connector | lester | Ancho | Largo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arduino boardArduino Uno R3 | USB connectorUSB-B | lester25g | Ancho53.4 millimeters | Largo68. 6 millimeters |
| Arduino boardArduino Nano | USB connectorMini-USB-B | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardArduino Pro Mini | USB connectorMini-USB-B | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardLeonardo | USB connectorMicro USB (USB B) | lester20g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo66.6 millimeters |
| Arduino boardMicrophone | USB connectorMicro-USB | lester13 grams | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo48 millimeters |
| Arduino boardNano Each | USB connectorMicro-USB | lester5g | Ancho16 millimeters | Largo45 millimeters |
| Arduino boardMega 2560 Rev3 | USB connectorUSB-B | lester37 grams | Ancho53.3 millimeters | Largo101.5mm |
This allows you to directly interconnect devices and peripherals that use this type of interface to your Arduino board. By this I am referring to UART, SPI, I2C and even PWM, in order to connect motors. As for the GPIO interface, it is not only ideal as an alternative programming mechanism to the USB port. In addition to being able to interconnect a Raspberry Pi.
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