Hi, I just purchased an Atmega 328 and some protoboards and some other things online. I am very new to this, so please forgive my lack of knowledge. My goal I am setting out to eventually achieve is to have a display (LCD or LED) that will display information from temperature, air quality, and if possible, a heart rate monitor. Is this possible with this board? Or do I need more boards or a different one? Could someone please point me in the right direction? Or even tell me what I am going to need/expect of this? Any help is appreciated greatly! Thanks!! I have attached a photo below of the board I will be getting in a week or two's time.
Yes you can use the pro mini to do these things.
I would recommend you buy an Arduino UNO though, do your development on it then use your mini for the final product.
Start with the basic sketches to learn programming.
Google, LCD Arduino, for examples.
Google, temperature Arduino, for examples.
See: http://pulsesensor.com/2011/08/01/anatomy-of-the-diy-heart-rate-monitor/
You will find lots of helpful members on this forum, but they don't always agree on the best approach!
I would stick with your mini, you don't need an Uno. The two boards share the same chip and are almost identical. For me, the advantage of the mini is that you can plug it directly into your breadboard for prototyping.
What you will need with the mini, that comes built in on the Uno, is a usb to ttl serial adaptor. This connects to those pins sticking out sideways from the mini and allows you to program the mini from your pc. Once your program is working, you can remove the adaptor and use it on the next project.
Where I do agree with Larry is that you need to start with simple tutorials first and get familiarised with everything a bit at a time. Throwing everything together at the start and expecting it all to just work is bound to fail.
Tell us more about the capabilities of the lcd you want, and what you mean by air quality. Perhaps we can suggest suitable components.
The Uno/Mega + shields vs. Mini/Micro/Nano + breadboards discussion has been repeated many times on the forum. Its a matter of preference. I just think its really awkward connecting an Uno to a breadboard, with all those trailing wires that could pop out if you accidentally knock it with your elbow. I know you can buy special planks of wood and nail your Uno and breadboard side-by-side to it, but if you're going down the breadboard route, why not get an Arduino made for breadboards?
Hi lindhoutd, you can do what you need with what you're suggesting. The richness of the Arduino ecosystem means there's rarely just one way to get to your destination. For some the Arduino made for breadboards would be a Uno and a Protoshield with a breadboard on it.
I agree with PaulRB that it's a matter of preference, but in the end we all end up collecting the whole set
And I echo that, unless the Op has already purchased something at which point I think it is more of a 'roll with what you have' scenario.
The UNO is great if you ever consider purchasing a shield. But, with the 328, I don't hear as much noise these days about shields as I did a couple of years back. After having used the Mini and the Nano on breadboards, I must agree that it is an overall better solution for prototyping (again, if you do not require a shield.)
What I would recommend to the Op is that if you have soldered your pins to your Mini, then spray the pins with a good quality electrical lubricant designed to clean switches (like the old TV tuner cleaner.) Use canned-air to blow the excess onto paper towel. This treatment will make inserting and removing the little board from the breadboard easier... much easier.
Well I might be going against the consensus but for just breadboard use, a Nano board is the cleanest solution as it can directly plug into the breadboard so wires can be much shorter and more secure. One can even burn a Uno bootloader to it to make it a 100% Uno as far as the IDE is concerned.
So, it seems that the general consensus here is that it is my preference on whether I use the Atmega328 or an Uno board. Thank you everyone with your help with that, as well as help with the heart rate monitor. Does anyone know of a way I could make a heart rate monitor that would not rely on optics? And, forgive the dumb question, but, what is a shield, and what do they do?
ell I might be going against the consensus but for just breadboard use, a Nano board is the cleanest solution
I do not think you are running against the wind, but I see a lots of newbies fry their uC by doing those silly things like trying to use relays directly from the I/O or trying to drive a LED without a resistor. With the UNO, the fix is to simply replace the uC with a new Atmega328P-PU. The Nano boards are a bit more complex requiring an oven or hot-air rework.
