Arduino MEGA 2560 PRO

[chefpilot]

Hi,
I need an Arduino with a lot of pins as a small board because it should be integrated in a simulated instrument.
I found the Arduino MEGA 2560 PRO board, which should be compatible with the standard MEGA 2560 but is much smaller. Can I use it to work with AM?

Marc

[Ralph]

If it uses the same microcontroller then it should work in theory.

[chefpilot]

Thanks for the information!
I'll try the board.
Marc

[Vehu]

Any luck with this board?
I'm struggling a bit with my 2560 PRO, but I'm suspecting it is the board that's the problem and not Air Manager.

[jph]

Unless you compare the schematics there could well be slight differences, although they are 'supposed' to be the same functionality.
I think you are far better sticking to the standard 2560. There are loads on AliExpress for about 10 Euro. They ALL work perfectly. Just buy the cheapest. You can searh for mega 2560 R3.

[Vehu]

Thanks!
I'm trying to integrate the board onto the panels, so the Mega Pro was compact and good for this.
Just getting a bit tired of all the wiring between components. Maybe I can try to copy the Mega circuit on the PCB directly.

[jph]

Hi Vehu,
I have looked up the details(briefly) and there shouldn't be any difference - in theory.
It would be great to integrate it into your design and I commend you for that.
I think the best thing would be to firstly do a mock up - as all designs should - before doing a PCB - using the standard 2560 and headers or links / idc etc.
Then also use the pro version - again on the mock up simply changing the connectors.
If all that works THEN I would start to commit to a PCB etc.
Possibly it is something simple. ?
Nice work !
Joe

[Vehu]

Thank you for your inputs Joe!
I do this all the time. Starting with a complete design and hope it will be plug and play. 95% of the time it turns out to be plug and pray.
Back to the workshop to do some mockups!

Vehu

[jph]

Thank you for your inputs Joe!
I do this all the time. Starting with a complete design and hope it will be plug and play. 95% of the time it turns out to be plug and pray.
Back to the workshop to do some mockups!

Vehu

No worries my friend. Let us know how it works out as the pro is a nice board.
Joe

[paul_max]

Any luck with this board?
I'm struggling a bit with my 2560 PRO, but I'm suspecting it is the board that's the problem and not Air Manager.

If it's a clone it might have the ch340 comms chip. You have to install appropriate drivers to make it work correctly.

Paul