TheConanRider:
Can anyone help me I am looking for a cheap board to mess around with until I have the funds to invest in a big project
Really as has been suggested here already, why not buy a real Uno first? If you can afford the $15 for a clone, why not $30 for the real thing? I know money can be tight but you really can't afford $15 more to have a reference board to start with?
Then buy a cheap FTDI clone ($3 from eBay) and start making your own sub-$3US boards (or buy some other clones).
Seem cheap insurance to be able to know if the problem is your clone (or some other cheap knock-off) or your code.
Plus you get that warm and fuzzy feeling of knowing your helping do Open Source hardware the right way.
Just my $0.02.
Regards.
Brad
KF7FER