Arduino Uno and Neeeew York City!

Dave Hrynkiw
September 29, 2010

Arduino Uno in Stock at Solarbotics!We're back from the Open Source Hardware Summit and the Maker Faire! Did lots; learned lots; got lots of touristy things done too.

One of the main highlights was meeting and listening to talks by three of the principle members of the Arduino team.  They took pity on English-speakers, and named the new revision the Arduino "UNO" which we now have in stock, along with the upgraded Arduino Mega 2560. Here (in short) are the principle differences between the Duemilanove and the new Uno:

  • It uses the same microcontroller as before, but is on a new re-branded board ("Uno") with slicker packaging & graphics. Oh, and a logo too!
  • The pin lables are a bit tighter, and better show how they are used (hardware PWM is marked with a "~")
  • Stickers! And neat paperwork explaining warrantee, how it was made and tested, and how each purchase helps protect a 1/2 square meter of Madagascar forest. Cool.
  • CE / FCC certification. This is an important one, which assures electronics performance & noise control. Not an inexpensive proposition - kudos on getting this certification!
  • Smaller bootloader - gives you more space for code for sketches!
  • Better 3.3V regulator on board (old 3.3V came from FTDI chip, which was a bit wimpy)
  • MOST IMPORTANT CHANGE: Replacement of the FTDI USB/TTL interface chip with an ATmega8U2 microcontroller. It's apparently cheaper, faster and definitely a whole lot more flexible. There's even a separate ICSP header on the UNO to let you reprogram this second microcontroller to make your Arduino UNO appear to be something vastly different USB device to your operating system.

The Open Source Hardware Summit was a busy day (went by very quick) and in general was quite well attended. Practically all the rock-stars of the genre were there, and all the talks were well worth the price of admission. We were happy to put our sponsorship behind an event of this quality, as it brought out very interesting discussions. I won't delve too deep into it here - view the archived video of the event, and see for yourself!

MORE POSTS

January 20, 2021
ESun Filament - Back in stock!

We've just received our eSun filament restock - thanks for your patience. It's being sorted in the warehouse presently, and fresh stock will be up at the store shortly!

December 19, 2001
Solarbotics Holiday Hours

Well, it's that time of the season to shut down and spend time with the family. Solarbotics will be closing December 21, 2001 at 4pm, and we'll reopen January 3, 2002.

August 1, 2001
Push Pin Videos

We've had some requests on exactly what do the pushpins do. So, we added videos for two of them. Push Pin 1 (Masher Point) Push Pin 3 (Chisel Point)

June 29, 2007
Cold, hard, steel... mounts!

Need another way to mount your GM2/3/8/9 gear motors? Their built-in holes are nice, but sometimes, you have to really clamp it down in a different way. Welcome the GMB28 (for GM2/GM8) and GMB39 (for GM3/GM9)! We now have our own custom-made laser-cut steel mounts that clamp and bolt your motor down securely and easily!

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.