$2 ARDUINO PROJECTS
Do we really need the $20 Arduino board to run our projects?
This question came up in my mind when I was doing a project that needed to be placed inside a bulb holder. So, I researched through the internet and found some interesting ways to shrink an ordinary Arduino project. This article explains one of those ways which I have practically implemented.
What we are going to do?
Program an ATmega328 chip using an Arduino Uno board and replace the entire Arduino board with that ATmega328 microcontroller and few more extra parts.
ATmega328 chip is the microcontroller chip that you see on the Arduino Uno board.
What are those “few more extra parts”?
- one 16 MHz crystal,
- one 10k resistor
- two 22 pF capacitors (ceramic).
How do we do it?
First develop and test your project using the Arduino board as usual. Then take the ATmega chip out of the Arduino board carefully.
Well done! Now you have your working code programmed in to the ATmega chip. Connect the “few more extra parts” as follow.
The 10k resistor acts as a pull-up resistor to ensure that the reset pin stays at either a high or low state. (prevents floating)
Then complete the rest of your project using the following pin mapping. Remember that you need to power the ATmega chip (safe maximum 5.5V) using the VCC pin and GND.
If you can use a 28 pin DIP socket to add the ATmega328, you can re-program it easily after taking back to the Arduino board. And vice versa.
Now you don’t have to disassemble your loving projects anymore! you can keep them forever by spending only 2 dollars. You can even go to production.
Happy caching!
