wolverineairsoft:
So what I'm looking to do is create a custom board for my application. due to some of the components involved (serial lcd) and ease of programming I'd like to be able to interface/program it using the arduino environment. My thought is to essentially take all of the components of an arduino pro mini without changing them at all and include them with the other components I need all on one board. Is there any problem with doing that? The computer should still communicate with the board as if it were a mini and can be programmed accordingly correct?I have heard it might be necessary to not have the serial lcd connected to the tx rx pins when uploading code to the board. Can anyone confirm that one way or the other?
You don't want the serial LCD attached to the arduino when uploading, because the serial pins are used during uploading. When you upload the code, it is possible that some of the bytes being sent over the serial lines could be recognized as commands by the LCD, which could damage it (setting the backlight to the highest value, and overtaxing the powersupply for example). You can use the Software serial library to get around this (by making a regular digital pin to a serial pin).