Minimal Arduino Compatible ATmega328P
The Arduino Uno has introduced many a maker to the wonderful world of microcontrollers, DIY robotics, IoT, and more. Once blinking an LED becomes old hat and you can read a few buttons with ease, you may notice that the Uno itself is fairly large and power hungry compared to its peers. The AS-UNO by ArduinoShop presents a more minimal option, forgoing the power hungry USB-to-serial adapter, while keeping the classic socketed ATmega328P microcontroller onboard.
The device’s IO pins are tightly arranged beside the AT328P microcontroller, allowing for a board design that’s much smaller than the standard Uno. The AS-UNO itself fits nicely on a breadboard, which can be a bit of a pain point for full-sized Arduino Uno boards. Since it doesn’t include a USB-to-serial adapter, you’ll need to provide one for programming, and there’s an option to include one in the listing.
One drawback to this board is that it won’t fit a standard ‘Uno shield, though there are a wide range of other options if you want to go that route. On that subject, if you would like an easy a way to experiment with a standard Uno, you might check out the Trainer UNO shied featured here.