Recommendations for next iteration of Arduino

Maybe tonight I'll try out that Cybiko wall wart and see how well it can power my Arduino (It'll probably work OK, as long as the current needs are low)...

Mine charges my bluetooth mouse just fine, It should have an output current at least as good as a PC usb port (500mA officially).

Micro OTG B would be best if looking to converge onto a connector type. This connector is the becoming standard for mobiles. The main difference between the micro and mini is for lowest profile, i.e. as needed in mobiles.

Regarding the comment about reliability, its my experience that the SMT connectors are unreliable where they solder to the PCB.
This is especially the case with USB seeing as they are unplugged and plugged in again, and again, and again!

So, my top pick would be a Through hole Micro (less preferably Mini) OTG B connector.

its my experience that the SMT connectors are unreliable where they solder to the PCB.

It's my experience that they are unreliable where the plug meets the socket long before any solder joints fail. Very small dimensions coupled with mass-production tolerances and low cost manufacturing do not combine to give a reliable connection.

-j

could always put on one of each... or possibly put down the second SMT footprint but don't populate in production - only there for those who really want it

truth be told, where I work we are sticking with the standard B connector because it truly is a robust connector in all aspects...

@ZNahum: "precision" is not an absolute term but a relative thing. How much precision do you really need? A resonator, a crystal, an OXCO, a frequency normal, a GPS locked frequency normal? More precision usually means higher price and often higher power consumption.

Most "precision" requirements for the Arduino can probably be handled most appropriate with an external high precision RTC.

Udo

I also like MiniUSB-B.
I have another board, Arduino USB and not MiniUSB-B was replaced with the basics.
Universal Japan board has a 1.27mm pitch
Able mounting the connectors are relatively easy to use staggered diagonally.
I can see a picture of shaking.

+1 Please add a Mini USB plug

I have several Mini USB cables laying around, but I have to unplug my Printer whenever I use the Arduino with the Large USB - B cable.
(I refuse to buy one as THE ONLY DEVICE I use besides my laser printer that needs the cable is my ARDUINO)

Not to mention i have countless wall warts (Cell phone chargers) that use that plug, not to mention car chargers, that make in vehicle operation very easy.

The micro plug would be nice as well, but I'm not sure it has enough market share (beyond cell phones) to warrant it. (Despite being higher quality, smaller, and more durable)

If that helps a bit with the debate between Mini vs. Micro USB, here's a quick tally I did by thinking of devices I own.

Inventory of Large USB type B devices:

1 laser printer

If I'd do a random inventory of items that use Mini USB I'd come up with:
4 Cameras
1 Radar detector
3 portable navigation devices (Garmin Nuvi, TomTom, Mio)
2 external hard drives
2 Blackberries
2 Ipod chargers
1 mini speaker system
__
15 devices that I can think of of the top of my head.

Micro USB
1 Droid cell phone
1 external hard drive
_
2 devices that I can think of.

In the end, maybe an online vote might help sway the designers of Arduinos. Please understand that having a large plug is not a dealbreaker, but it is an inconvenience.

I wonder if the Arduino team has taken any hints from any derivative designs

http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/seeeduino-v22-atmega-328p-p-669.html?cPath=79_80

mini-USB connector since USB-B is too tall for bigger shields

reset button moved to the side so shields don't cover the button

extra row of headers with standard spacing instead of weird spacing so people can make their own shields out of perf board

I'd prefer micro USB, but I'm willing to settle for mini USB. It's the one detail on the Arduino that bothers me enough to consider clones. (I like the Freetronics clone design.)

I'm a complete hardware newbie, so I can't even imagine constructing my own cable to interface with the USB port.

I'd be interested in having RTC onboard, along with networking.

please consider fixing the digital pin spacing


probably will never happen as it will break shield compatibility

I'd be interested in having RTC onboard

I double that!,
A battery holder and the holes for an I2C RTC eg ds1307 wouldn't raise the price and if one needs it it can be included.

FWIW from Wikipedia

The newer Micro-USB receptacles are designed for up to 10,000 cycles of insertion and removal between the receptacle and plug, compared to 1500 for the standard USB and 5000 for the Mini-USB receptacle. This is accomplished by adding a locking device and by moving the leaf-spring connector from the jack to the plug, so that the most-stressed part is on the cable side of the connection. This change was made so that the connector on the less expensive cable would bear the most wear instead of the more expensive micro-USB device.

Also the big USB has same problem as ethernet, without spacer posts between boards the connector shell can short out the board above.

There are only a couple of reasons that I can see the justification for the mini-USB connector:

  1. Availability of power adaptors/wall warts with a mini-USB plug output.
  2. No worries about a shield "shorting out" with the mini-USB jack.

The one I'm thinking of is that it's so hard to plug in the cable. This combined with lack of good ways to mount the arduino mean that if I don't hold the arduino while plugging in the cable, it is likely to break the double sided tape I use to hold it down.

Also, my connector extends 2.2 inches from the end of the USB connector, and 2.2 inches from the end of the arduino board itself. That means I can't have anything for 2 inches after the end of the arduino, which is quite hard in my one foot square projects.

Adding a jumper to enable Auto reset instead of cutting a track.

How about just preventing "short circuit" to board above.

If they dont go with smaller USB, then just a sticky to put on top of the connector. I insulated the tops of my USB and ethernet shield connectors with heavy tape, but one of the thin rubber bump feet included would work as well.

I vote against fixing the non standard header spacing, unless someone has a time machine that one falls under "great idea, but too late now"

Changing to 20MHz is a nice idea but not practical, too disruptive a change, too many people's stuff would break (remember bootloaded 328's have the 16MHz assumption programmed in) Having the option to buy a board with no regulator and crystal would allow people to configure their own clock and voltage - or these could be jumper options. More and more stuff is 3V3 only these days...

In longer term there will be a next generation with more processing power and memory, almost certainly an ARM core I reckon, but that's not the next iteration.

It would be fun to have an LED on every digital pin for debugging/visualization - low current, possibly jumper enabled. There's acres of space on the board next to the digital pins crying out for a good use!

The gang at freetronics provided the option to do somethin with that space

Heck, maybe I'll try my own. I prefer 5V wallwarts, skip the meager power of onboard regulator

fit 2 on a 3.8" x 2.5" pcb, just need to finish up powere/ground on top & bottom layer

Get 6 PCBs made up for $60 from epxresspcb, research prices for parts, all thru-hole components.
Then bag it all and get $10 ardweeny's from solarbotics and a piece of perfboard to put it on :slight_smile:

FWIW, Ceramic resonators are alot more stable and accurate then there made out to be.
I wish they would add a 5-6v zener diode across the 5v line with a fuse/circuit breaker/resistor so if the 5v line goes over a certain voltage it will either clamp or blow the fuse and protect the hard to fix surface mount chips.