A breadboardable Arduino clone with onboard USB


A box of these arrived from the PCB fairy this afternoon.

The design started out life as the Freeduino Through-Hole design and was hacked and squished until it fit into a vaguely DIP like form. At that point it was starting to look like a Boarduino, so I swapped two pins and ended up with the same pinout. They then spent 5 weeks in manufacturing and shipping (I'm cheap), and now they're on my work bench.

...Yes, I'm warming up the toaster oven right now. ;D

When and how can we buy some?

Very nice! Are they tested yet?

Nice. It's good to see the freeduino work re-used, since that was part of the point!

When and how can we buy some?

I'm waiting for a few components to come in and I need to finish assembly directions, then I'll make them available in my online store as boards and kits.
A week to two weeks away I'd guess with a price around $20.

Are they tested yet?

Yes, kind of. Still waiting for the resonators to come in, so one has been tested running the Lilypad bootloader. Everything appears functional and the layout is viable.

On that note, a blurry picture of the first assembled unit, albeit with mostly surplus parts.

My largest task now is soldering FT232 chips; who would have guessed baking is a key aspect of hobby electronics now.

Is that a capacitor I see on top of the AVR chip?
How on earth does that work?

Nice outline btw. Very stylish. :wink:

Looks nice. But given the shape - I'm wondering why not swap the F USB for a M, give it a (removable) enclosure with holes/standard sockets in the side, and turn it into a key drive form factor? Keyduino?

Is that a capacitor I see on top of the AVR chip?
How on earth does that work?

Nice outline btw. Very stylish. :wink:

The cap must be under the IC. Now that I see his populated board it looks like he is using a socket which would have plenty of room for an SMT cap and more.
If this is the case, very clever!

Nice design!

The cap is indeed inside of the socket. In this case though, it's a very tiny PTH cap (same as the blue ones used around the socket). The pads are large enough to mount an SMT cap in there if the socket is much shorter, or underneath if you don't use a socket.

But given the shape - I'm wondering why not swap the F USB for a M, give it a (removable) enclosure with holes/standard sockets in the side, and turn it into a key drive form factor? Keyduino?

Now the wheels are turning. I'm imagining the same design with a longer neck and a Male USB connector. Housed in an enclosure with 0.100 spaced screw terminals accessible through the sides and top. This would ofcourse require a CNC'd enclosure.
My only thought though is on usefulness; how useful is an arduino stuck directly to the USB port. On anything other than a laptop, it'd be stuck behind the machine somewhere and on a laptop it would need to be very tightly speced to make sure it didn't put too much stress on the USB port. The same enclosed design would work though with a regular USB-B connector and a short cable, allowing you to place the box on your desk.
Instead, I'm picturing more of a HardyDuino with a tough case, screw terminals, and some input protection. Much more suitable to deploying into harsher conditions, maybe with some outputs run on relays?

If you used a TQPF or MLF chip instead of DIP then it could work with a male USB connector. :slight_smile:

the usb or harduino are both great ideas. it would be great to have some sort of hardened weatherprroof arduino. its just a matter of how to get the pins out safely.

iDuino kits are now available for sale.
Please checkout the directions and then take your pick from the WebStore. The first 25 kits will ship immediately, any after that will be back ordered and ship shortly (one to three days as boards come from SMT assembly).

iDuino kits are now available for sale.
Please checkout the directions and then take your pick from the WebStore. The first 25 kits will ship immediately, any after that will be back ordered and ship shortly (one to three days as boards come from SMT assembly).

That looks great. I'm really tempted but I have 2 Deci's from Ladyada I'm waiting for in the mail

I'll verify the iDuino kit from spiffed works as advertised..

I like it, and I would buy one except that it uses a resonator rather than a crystal. I hate that I have a decimillia tied up in my clock, but pretty much all of the cheaper boards won't work because of they use resonators

I like it, and I would buy one except that it uses a resonator rather than a crystal. I hate that I have a decimillia tied up in my clock, but pretty much all of the cheaper boards won't work because of they use resonators

Hmm, in this case, a resonator is used due to a lack of space. If you were dedicated, a HC-49US sized crystal would certainly fit the layout, and two small caps could be soldered between it's legs.
Certainly some of 'the cheaper boards' do use crystals, I know NKCElectronics uses crystals in some of his Freeduino kits. My own MaxSerial board supports a crystal, and I'd be happy to substitute one in on request.

I like it, and I would buy one except that it uses a resonator rather than a crystal. I hate that I have a decimillia tied up in my clock, but pretty much all of the cheaper boards won't work because of they use resonators

http://www.ladyada.net/rant/2008/04/add-a-watch-crystal-to-a-boarduino/