To do a good job, one must first sharpen their tools. The previous article explained the software environment for Arduino development, and this article will introduce the hardware environment for Arduino development, namely the Arduino UNO R3 development board.
UNO R3 Development Board
The Arduino ecosystem includes various development boards, modules, and expansion boards. Among them, the UNO R3 is the most suitable for beginners and is the most widely used Arduino development board with comprehensive functionality. Below is the true face of the official genuine Arduino UNO R3 development board. For more information about the UNO R3, visit the official website (https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-uno-rev3).
The Arduino Uno is a microcontroller board based on the ATmega328P. It has 14 digital input/output pins (6 of which can be used as PWM outputs), 6 analog inputs, a 16MHz crystal oscillator, USB connection, power jack, ICSP header, and reset button. It can be powered, programmed, and communicate data just by connecting to a computer via a USB data cable.
The hardware resource configuration of the UNO R3 is as follows:
Introduction to Important Pins:
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Power Pins: The development board can provide 3.3V and 5V voltage outputs, and the Vin pin can be used to power the board from an external power source.
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Analog In Pins: Analog input pins allow the board to read external analog signals, A0~A5 are the analog input pins.
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Digital Pins: The UNO R3 has 14 digital I/O pins, of which 6 can be used for PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) output. Digital pins are used to read logical values (0 or 1) or as digital output pins to drive external modules. Pins marked with “~” can generate PWM.
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TX and RX Pins: The two pins marked TX (Transmit) and RX (Receive) are used for serial communication. The LEDs marked TX and RX are connected to the respective pins and will blink at different speeds during serial communication.
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Pin 13: The board marks pin 13, which is connected to the onboard LED, and can control the LED’s on/off state. Typically, when the development board is powered on, the onboard light will blink, which helps to check if the board is functioning properly.
Domestic UNO R3 Development Board
Although the UNO R3 is widely used, it does not have a significant price advantage compared to other types of development boards in the domestic market. The official price is $22, and the price on certain online platforms is nearly a hundred yuan. Therefore, a domestic UNO R3 development board with a higher cost-performance ratio has emerged. Arduino has always maintained an open-source attitude, making all design schematics and programs public, so as long as it does not affect programming and usage, a domestic UNO is also a good choice.
Beginner Development Kit
For learning Arduino, having only the software environment and development board is not enough; corresponding external components and sensors must be included for programming experiments. For example, a potentiometer component is needed to change the analog input voltage, allowing the development board to read it, and then control the brightness of the LED light. There are many types of beginner development kits available on the market, all boasting how many types of sensors and components they have, and how luxurious they are. However, for beginners, the important thing is to learn Arduino programming; from this perspective, the kit does not need to be extensive, as long as it can assist in learning all the resources of the UNO R3 development board, that is sufficient.
The explanation of the Arduino UNO R3 development board ends here. From the next article, we will truly learn Arduino programming.
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