I want some cheap trinket clones that I can stick into a few different projects. Has anybody had any good experiences with any specific trinket mini clones? I just don't want to lose over $10 every time I want to try a different project out!
If you want a Trinket, buy Adafruit since I've never seen a clone.
You can buy clone pro mini's for less than $2 but you'll need an FTDI or other USB to serial convertor. The upside of making the switch is that you'll gain back more than 2k of flash space and two digital pins when you dump the Trinket due to the custom USB boot loader.
If your projects are small and can live with 16k of flash, you can find clone pro mini's on Aliexpress that use the atMega168 for about $1.25 US each. Baite makes some decent clones that use real crystals rather than reasonators. You can find both 3.3v@8mhz and 5v@16mhz boards in both flash sizes (16 & 32k).
Do you need some specific Trinket feature? "Digispark" is a very similar board that has been widely cloned by Chinese vendors (https://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-attiny85-digispark.html - cheaper than bare tiny85 chips!)
(Hmm. Or did you mean the "trinket pro"?)
Thanks for the reply!
I want to make the Neopixel Goggles for my sister, but I'd like to use a clone because she will only be wearing the goggles once.
Here is the board Trinket Mini Microcontroller 5V, do you think the clone that you referenced to will be enough to get the job done?
I assumed you meant the standard atMega trinkets since you said they cost $10 each. But, you did say trinket mini which implies the attiny85 with 5 i/o pins available. So, if you can build your projects with 5 or less i/o, then use Westfw's link above to search Aliexpress for the "digispark" attiny85 clones with the micro USB connector. They can be had for about $1.25 with free shipping if you look. The clones use the same processor (attiny85) as the trinket mini so they have the same specs for i/o and memory sizes.
Unless size is really critical, the pro mini's provide 14 i/o and four times the flash for $0.50 more.
(and yes, I've driven neopixels with a digispark, and it worked fine, with no surprises.)
Thank you so much to both of you! I will purchase a digispark for my neopixel! This community is awesome. happy new year!