Hey. i know this information is in the website but i wanted a more human response.
i have a wiring board, but want to buy a couple of arduinos for a project. mainly because they are smaller, but also i want arduino 'serial' NOT usb.
i have also been told they are better - and also the fuse keeps blowing on my wiring boards.
anyway. i have been using wiring for a little while now and am pretty familiar with the wiring program and the coding.
how different is arduino to use? is the code much different. is the program much different to use? is the board much different? can i use the wiring program instead of the arduino program and will it work the same?
you can buy only the pcb for the serial version...
arduino is an open source, eagle file are downloadable, and china and its pcb manufacturers are near you :
it certainly cheaper than buy pcb's serial versions in italy (5 euros each) + shippement (15 - 30 euros ?)
a PCB is a printed circuit board. the panel that all the components and the chips are mounted to.
Eagle is a schematic and PCB design and virtual testing program, which gives you a finished PCB layout to send to a manufacture to have made. the files are already available for arduino, so you just send it to someone and get them to make it.
"you can buy only the pcb for the serial version... " means that only the actual PCB is available, not a finished board, so you would need to order the parts and the board and make it yourself.
although you could probably find a chinese company that would build the thing for you given the eagle files and the part list.
oh dear - that is a lot of trouble just to get an arduino serial board. i might try and get in contact with the company and see if i can get a serial board made.
Alternatively - does anyone know how i can attach a serial port to a completed USB board. maybe by removing the USB? thanks.
Actually it's very simple....
Just write to gianluca (you find the address in the buy page) and you can buy as many blank serial PCB as you like.
I cant remeber the exact price but I think it was 5 eur for 1 board and the price quickly drops as you buy more
I think for about 30 EUR you get 10 blank serial boards.
the parts are very cheap... if you buy enough board he might be able to send you a kit of parts to assemble the board yourself.
assembling the board takes less than an hour when done by an absolute beginner. (we do this all the time in the workshops)
