Cheap Virtuabotix Bareduino Plus- Arduino Compatible Microcontroller

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $17.99
Sale Price: $7.95
Today's Bonus: 56% Off

This is a convenient kit with all the essential parts for a DIY Uno clone. Saves you from sourcing the parts yourself and programming the Atmega processor or ordering a more expensive kit. I had originally been disappointed because I thought it came with the pictured breadboard, but the seller absolutely made it right and went as far as rewording the ad!!! I would definitely recommend it for any Arduino Uno (Duemilanova) based project.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

I have purchased several Bareduino's. My son and I have had lots of fun assembling them and using them. With a perfboard (not included) you can build a rather useful portable computer that runs on common batteries.

The company provides great support, including replacement parts as need be. We had quite a few questions reflecting our limited knowledge of electronics. The company answered them all and we have since built many Bareduino's.

A few useful notes. You will need a breadboard and plug wires (not included) to build test Bareduino's. More permanent versions can be constructed using a perfboard and a soldering iron. Once you have a constructed a Bareduino, you can program it with three wires (TX, RC, and reset) and an Arduino. The Arduino platform has many, many (free) libraries that can be used with a Bareduino.

I would also suggest obtaining a multimeter before starting any project of this kind.

Enjoy!

Best Deals for Virtuabotix Bareduino Plus- Arduino Compatible Microcontroller

Have yet to use this kit... one of several I've purchased.

Expect to use it as a core element of a battery powered

arduino designed weather data station.

Honest reviews on Virtuabotix Bareduino Plus- Arduino Compatible Microcontroller

The parts were exactly what I wanted.

The biggest problem I had were the instructions, they left out some important parts and other parts were not as clear as I would have liked. I ended up having the browse through the real Arduino website finding information on putting the atmega on a breadboard.

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Virtuabotix Bareduino Plus- Arduino Compatible Microcontroller

I got the Bareduino with Power Regulator. Everything works great, and I was able to program it by both plugging it into the Arduino Uno board I have, and also by connecting some wires from the Uno board to this one. I only had to change my settings in the Arduino IDE to treat it as a "duemilanove", and then the sketches uploaded without any problems.

The power regulator I felt was a waste. Maybe it is fine for really simple things that you don't plan to keep plugged in all the time, but if you are having to drop some serious voltage down to 5V (I am using 12V power, which is in the working range of the regulator) and you plan on keeping it plugged in for long, I would skip out on this. You should get a Buck Converter instead. Buck Converters are ~95% efficient. The Power Regulator is about 40% efficient at 12V. That can mean a lot of heat. I nearly burned my fingers when touching the regulator, and it was only controlling the Arduino and 3 other chips.

Overall: Great kit, very economical, works well. Just wish I had spent $3 on a Buck Converter instead of $1 on the Power Regulator upgrade.