DUE maximum I/O 3.3V how does this affect me?

Hello,

I just got my very first Arduino DUE today, what exactly does it mean: "Applying voltages higher than 3.3V to any I/O pin could damage the board".

If I connect a potentiometer to the +5v and GND and then read the values, if I read 4V will my board get damaged?

I'm still a newbie and I want to avoid damaging it.

It is fairly self explanatory.

No more than +3.3V to be applied to ANY pin. Damage to the chip WILL happen if you do.

Warning: Unlike most Arduino boards, the Arduino Due board runs at 3.3V. The maximum voltage that the I/O pins can tolerate is 3.3V. Applying voltages higher than 3.3V to any I/O pin could damage the board.

https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardDue

it means that interfacing the GPIO pins with most exisiting arduino shield circuits should be done through a level converter.

A lot of 'older' arduino shields expect / use 5 volt for their IO but the due uses 3.3V for their IO...

Using a level converter or using optically isolated IO are 2 approaches to interfacing the DUE to higher voltage circuits.

The simplest option is the bidirectional level shifter circuit developed by sparkfun.

Alternatively if you are designing your own 'shield' or interface you could use the linked level shifter circuit as a basis for your own design... It is a quite simple and ingenious circuit and just works as intended... the mosfets and resistors are cheap enough to buy in bulk for incorporating a level shifter into your own circuits

scallipus:
The 'normal' arduino shields expect / use 5 volt for their IO but the due uses 3.3V for their IO...

Perhaps it would be better to say "The 'older' arduino shields expect / 5 volt" as there are now more 3.3V Arduinos than 5V and well designed shields adapt accordingly, but your point about level conversion is valid.

G

ghlawrence2000:
Perhaps it would be better to say "The 'older' arduino shields expect / 5 volt" as there are now more 3.3V Arduinos than 5V and well designed shields adapt accordingly, but your point about level conversion is valid.

G

Cheers, edited accordingly...

On my due, I designed an optically isolated motor control system before I found the 'level shifter' circuit.. was a bit paranoid about frying my Due so wanted to make sure there was no way the motor circuit could ever possibly back feed into the MCU.

I did buy some level shifters and use them for GPIO, just not for motor control at this stage...