Arduino USB Board (Duemilanove)

Arduino, Arduino, Arduino!

Besides being fun to say, this microcontroller development systems has injected some new life into the relatively solder-fume laden workshops aroudn the world! By this, we mean that it has taken the power of the Atmel ATmega 168/328 and made it really easy to use. And it's an open-source project too - there are contributors all over the world working on Arduino, including us (see our own variation, the Freeduino).

You have questions about the Arduino? Here's what it is:

What’s an Arduino?
It’s an open source electronics prototyping system using popular proven tools and hardware. It’s designed to be easy to interface with sensors and actuators, and inexpensive enough you can use many in your projects!

This is a "Duemilanove"? Whazzat?
"Duemilanove" means 2009 in Italian and is named after the year of its release. The Duemilanove is the latest in a series of USB Arduino boards. Italian always sounds soooo.... well, you know....

Is that all there is about it?
Not at all! A large part of the appeal of Arduino is the frequently updated software used for programming the hardware. The Arduino programming language is based on a very easy-to-learn open-source language called Wiring, which is similar to C/C++, but streamlined for quicker development!

What is this “Open-Source”?
Good question! In short, it is a set of principles given to a project by the project’s creator that lets everyone use it, and have access to the source design. The creators of the Arduino project allow anybody to use their hardware designs and software, as long as everybody shares back in return! (It’s a big topic - do an Internet search!)

What are the hardware specifics?
An Atmel ATmega168 or ATmega328 running at 16MHz, connected through an FTDI232R USB-to-serial converter (just plug it into a USB port, and go!).14 digital I/O pins (6 with PWM) and 6 analog inputs. Power comes from your USB port, or external 6-20VDC power supply. Your PC is protected by a 500mA resettable fuse. LEDs for power, Rx/Tx activity and pin 13 “test” are all pre-installed!

What can I do with it?
LOTS! There’s a great many projects documented online. When people use open source software, they seem to like to share what they’ve done! As of this writing, searching Google for “Arduino Projects” results with 308,000 pages!

“Arduino” is a trademark of the Arduino Team (www.arduino.cc).

We now ship the new Arduino Duemilanove. The Duemilanove automatically selects the appropriate power supply (USB or external power). A great description of the new functionality can be found here (USB fuse protection, software reset, and much more!). Board comes fully assembled and tested with ATMega328 pre-loaded with bootloader. Please see the Arduino support forum for more information about this new board revision and bootloader.