Arduino Compatible Nano (HCARDU0017)

[admin]

The Arduino Nano is a small, complete, and breadboard-friendly board based on the ATmega328 (Arduino Nano 3.0). It has more or less the same functionality of the Arduino Duemilanove, but in a different package. It lacks only a DC power jack, and works with a Mini-B USB cable instead of a standard one.


PLEASE NOTE: New versions of the Arduino IDE now have an additional option for the bootloader version. When setting up the IDE for this Nano please select the following options found under the 'Tools' menu:


Board: "Arduino NANO"

Processor: "ATMega328P (Old bootloader)"

Port: "COMX" (X = Whatever the port number is on your PC)



Specifications

Microcontroller: ATmega328
Operating Voltage (logic level): 5 V
Input Voltage (recommended): 7-12 V
Input Voltage (limits): 6-20 V
Digital I/O Pins: 4 (of which 6 provide PWM output)
Analogue Input Pins: 8
DC Current per I/O Pin: 40 mA
Flash Memory: 32 KB of which 2 KB used by bootloader
SRAM: 2 KB
EEPROM: 1 KB
Clock Speed: 16 MHz
Dimensions: 0.73" x 1.70"

Order Yours Here.[/size]

Schematic

ArduinoNano30Schematic.pdf

FAQ:

When I power the Nano from the Vin pin the USB interface stops working, but works fine if just power it via the USB interface, is my Nano faulty?
We believe the problem is due to an error in the Arduino (Gravitech) R3 reference design. When FIRST powering the Nano from the Vin pin, the on-board FTDI chip, which handles the USB interface can drop into a test mode and appear to lock up. According to the FTDI datasheet there is a pin labelled 'TEST' on this device which must be always tied to ground. In the Arduino reference design this pin has been left unconnected (floating). When the Nano is powered from the Vin pin power to the FTDI chip is provided via an on-board 5V regulator. The time taken for this regulator (and capacitors) to reach a stable 5V supply can be much longer than when the Nano is powered via the USB interface. We believe this slower rise time in the 5V supply is allowing the FTDI chip to fall into a test mode. As a result it is likely that this issue will exist an any brand of Nano that is designed to the R3 reference design. The solution if you are powering your Nano via the Vin pin and require USB is to always plug the USB cable in first before applying power via the Vin pin. So long as power is maintained to the Vin pin you should then be able to insert and remove the USB cable without any issues.

[Kermit1]

The micro (U1) on the schematic is a ATMEGA168 (but the schematic is labeled V30, so should have a 328. Is the pinout still correct?

[andrew]

The schematic is the one from the Arduino website. The 168 and 328 should be pin compatible so that is probably why they are using a schematic with with a 168 on it for a 328 version. We have recently switched back to a Funduino brand Nano which is almost identical to the one pictured above but we believe is a better Brand. We will be updating the picture shortly.

[richsoft]

There is a currently issue with the FTDI drivers pushed out through Windows Update that is apparently permanently disabling cloned/fake chips.

See, http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/10/23 ... to_bricks/

As your prices are very competitive, please can I just check that the FTDI chip in the Nano is genuine and board won't be rendered unprogrammable the first time it is plugged into a Windows computer?

Thanks,

Richard

[andrew]

We are indeed aware if this issue and have been doing some investigation ourselves. Although we do consider our prices to be competitive, there are some suspiciously low priced Nanos that can be purchased directly from China via places like eBay. We make a point of buying our Non-Arduino branded boards from the Funduino factory. These boards cost us more to purchase when compared to other suppliers, but we do this because we consider the Funduino brand to be of a very high quality and we trust their brand. This also translates to an exceptionally low returns rate for us.

We have spoken to the Funduino factory and they have told us that although all currently supplied Nanos do contain genuine FTDI chips, they believe that a batch produced around the May period could contain FTDI chips that may not have originated from FTDI. We have currently pulled all our Nanos from stock to check them and none of the currently supplied Nanos appears to have any problems with the latest driver update.

I will shortly be adding a message to the first post with possible batch dates to look out for should you have purchased one.