Arduino: A Technical Reference

Chapter 4. Arduino Technical Details

This chapter describes the general physical and electrical characteristics of specific Arduino boards, from the Diecimila through recent types like the Leonardo, Esplora, and Micro. Topics covered include pinout descriptions and the physical dimensions of most current Arduino models, from the so-called baseline types like the Uno, to the large form-factor Mega boards and the unique Esplora, to the small-outline boards such as the Mini, Micro, and Nano models.

Arduino Features and Capabilities

Table 4-1 is a comparison of the most common Arduino board types. If you compare this table with the tables in Chapter 1 it is obvious that the basic capabilities of an Arduino board are the capabilities supplied by its microcontroller. However, because the Arduino designs allocate certain pins on the AVR processors to specific functions, or don’t bring out all of the processor’s pins, not all of the capabilities of the microcontrollers are available at the terminals of an Arduino.

Note

The term “pin” is used in this and other sections when referring to the pin sockets on an Arduino. This is mainly to maintain consistency with the terminology encountered elsewhere, but it’s not completely technically correct. The connection points on an Arduino board are sockets, and the jumpers and shields that plug into these sockets are the actual pins. You can think of a “pin” as a connection point of some sort, be it a lead on an IC package, a position on a 0.1 inch ...