Hi,
I am buying some stuff from aliexpress and take the opportunity to order some nano-clones as well just to see how good they are.
But how do I find out how good they are?
Are there any test-sketches that excersise a device to make sure it works well or how would I assess the quality of a clone?
Run the blink sketch for 2 weeks.
If it's still running after 2 weeks, then I would say it's good.
If you will able to connect the clone to Arduino IDE and upload the code without errors - that's pretty much all you need to consider the clone's quality acceptable
The second check is upload the blink code with defined blink interval, say 10 seconds - and compare blink time with reality.
All low-quality clones are either not detected by the standard driver at all, or have a different core, which changes the timing several times (that is, with an interval of 10s specified in the code, in reality you will see, say, 20)
Try to upload the blink code. This is the easiest way to test.
You will probably need to install the CH340 driver for your O.S (if the clone USB is not FTDI)
https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-install-ch340-drivers/
After the simple tests above hook up an I2C LCD display and make sure it works. Then to really give it a workout hookup an SD card to the SPI interface and try that.
Whenever I order something from Aliexpress I try to have some test code ready.
Keep in mind many of those are 'old bootloader'. Don't worry, if you forget the upload will fail and that will remind you to set the Processor to 'old bootloader'
One thing I’ve heard is that some “suspect” atmega328p chips fail to meet specification when it comes to low-power modes. If that’s something you care about, the it’s something you should test for.
(If you don’t care about low power modes, I guess it doesn’t matter.)