ChApTEr 2 ■ hArdwArE for IoT SoluTIonS
The Mega 2560 is essentially a larger form of the standard Arduino (Uno, Duemilanove, and so on) and
supports the standard shields. Interestingly, the Arduino Mega 256 is the board of choice for Prusa Mendel
and similar 3D printers that require the use of a controller board named RepRap Arduino Mega Pololu
Shield (RAMPS). Indeed, this is where most of my Mega 2560 boards are right now—in my 3D printers! That
said, like the Due, you could use this board if you require additional I/O pins or more memory and size is not
an issue (it is the same size and the Due).
You can find specific documentation for the Arduino Due at http://arduino.cc/en/Main/
ArduinoBoardDue.
Arduino Clones
There are a growing number of third-party Arduino boards (also called clones). They range in form factor,
components, and even features. Fortunately, most are 100 percent Arduino compatible, making it easy to
use them in your Arduino-based projects. Even if the board is not 100 percent compatible with a particular
Arduino board (for example, the Leonardo), third-party boards have been added to the Arduino integrated
development environment requiring only that you select the specific board when compiling. You will see
this later in this chapter.
The following sections describe some of the third-party Arduino boards that I use in my projects.
Chances are you will encounter some of these and even more like them. As you will see, some have very
different layouts, giving you more options when implementing your projects. Since these boards retain
compatibility with the Arduino-branded boards, I describe them briefly by focusing on the unique features.
Sparkfun Redboard
The Sparkfun Redboard (http://sparkfun.com/products/12757) is an advanced version of the Arduino
Uno. It uses the same boot loader, the addition of an FTDI interface (used in the older Duemilanove boards),
and the R3 shield compatibility of the latest Arduino UNO R3. In effect, Sparkfun has reinvented the Arduino
Uno by bringing back the best qualities of the older boards. And, yes, it is red. Figure 2-6 shows the Sparkfun
Redboard.
Figure 2-5. Arduino Mega 2560