Some basic questions about the Arduino UNO

[Wrichik Basu]

I am a beginner in Arduino, and will soon buy the UNO board. I have a few questions about it before I buy:

1. What are the options of powering the board? I found on the net that there is a DC plugin option. But will it work on a power bank (for mobile, through USB) supplying 5V?

2. If I press the Reset button on the top left of the board, will the program that I loaded be erased, or will the program simply restart?

3. When I load a new sketch onto the board, does the previous sketch get automatically erased, or do I have to erase it manually?

 

[cnh1995]

But will it work on a power bank (for mobile, through USB) supplying 5V?

It comes with a USB cable which you can connect to your computer. It takes care of both data transfer and powering the board. No need to use any external supply.

If I press the Reset button on the top left of the board, will the program that I loaded be erased, or will the program simply restart?

It will restart.

When I load a new sketch onto the board, dies the previous sketch get automatically erased, or do I have to erase it manually?

It gets erased automatically.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

It comes with a USB cable which you can connect to your computer. It takes care of both data transfer and powering the board. No need to use any external supply.

I will make a project for an upcoming science exhibition. I don't have a laptop, so I need some external power supply.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Borek]

Powering it through the USB is the most convenient way when you are close to the computer. Other than that any PSU 7-12 V will do, Arduino has its own, built in voltage regulator. Just check polarization.

 

[jim hardy]

I don't have a laptop,

You need a computer to load and run the Arduino development software , and to load the programs you write using it into your Uno.
You must have something connected to the Internet or you'd not be posting here.

see https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoUno

The USB connection with the PC is necessary to program the board and not just to power it up.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

You need a computer to load and run the Arduino development software , and to load the programs you write using it into your Uno.
You must have something connected to the Internet or you'd not be posting here.

see https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoUno

I never said I don't have a desktop, did I?

 

[jedishrfu]

I never said I don't have a desktop, did I?

Lets be nice here. We are all trying to help. If we can't see what you have how do expect us to respond.

So many times when we make assumptions about a post, we find that we are wrong and so we try to cover all bases in our answers.

 

[jedishrfu]

While I know you're working on an arduino project but have you looked into raspberry-pi. Some folks tie the two together so they have a programming environment on the PI that loads code on the arduino. The most common reason is that the arduino supports a lot of i/o devices whereas the pi can function as a full computer. The combination is just awesome.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/program-arduino-uno-raspberry-pi/

 

[jim hardy]

I never said I don't have a desktop, did I?

You'll bite a helping hand ? Thanks for the heads-up. .

 

[jedishrfu]

Here's another comparison between them:

https://readwrite.com/2014/05/07/arduino-vs-raspberry-pi-projects-diy-platform/

and while this isn't completely relevant here, there are several Youtube channels devoted to these platforms.

Lastly, a cool robotics project just right for autonomous programming:

 

[jedishrfu]

You'll bite a helping hand ? Thanks for the heads-up. .

and the hand bites back. :-)

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Lets be nice here. We are all trying to help. If we can't see what you have how do expect us to respond.

So many times when we make assumptions about a post, we find that we are wrong and so we try to cover all bases in our answers.

I never meant to be rude. If my post suggests so, I'm sorry.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

You'll bite a helping hand ? Thanks for the heads-up. .

I never meant to be rude in any way. Sorry if the post has given rise to such feelings.

Thanks for replying to the thread. It's because of helping hands like you that amateurs like me depend on PF and not on any other site.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

While I know you're working on an arduino project but have you looked into raspberry-pi. Some folks tie the two together so they have a programming environment on the PI that loads code on the arduino. The most common reason is that the arduino supports a lot of i/o devices whereas the pi can function as a full computer. The combination is just awesome.

https://www.raspberrypi.org/magpi/program-arduino-uno-raspberry-pi/

I had my minds on raspberry pi, and hope to learn it soon. The problem is that, it runs on Python, and I don't know Python.

Thanks for the link, anyways.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Here's another comparison between them:

https://readwrite.com/2014/05/07/arduino-vs-raspberry-pi-projects-diy-platform/

and while this isn't completely relevant here, there are several Youtube channels devoted to these platforms.

Lastly, a cool robotics project just right for autonomous programming:

I am quite interested in robotics, and hoped to make a robot (simple one using Arduino) in the upcoming science exhibition, but my greatest constraint is money at this moment.

 

[jedishrfu]

Its funny money was always my constraint too. In high school, I would visit the local Radio Shack store to buy what I could and then I hacked stuff together. My "computers" were basically fancy switches and relays as I didn't have the smarts to understand transistors. Later, when I graduated from college and got a job I had the money to buy a lot of toys like SWTC 6800 computer and TTL logic chips... It was a fun time but now is even more awesome for students.

With respect to the robot rover, the motors can be gotten from Amazon for about $15 each and then you'll need a motor controller chip for the arduino to control I think. There's a book that ties this together:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1457186039/?tag=pfamazon01-20

and others for sourcing parts and software:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071750363/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071406859/?tag=pfamazon01-20

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1449323898/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Hang on to this post for future reference when you make your first million.

 

[Borek]

I had my minds on raspberry pi, and hope to learn it soon. The problem is that, it runs on Python, and I don't know Python.

Nope. On Pi you can use virtually any language you can think of, as most of them have Debian interpreters/compilers. Yes, Python has a native support, as does Java, C, C++ and so on.

Plus, if you have any experience in programming Python is not difficult at all. It has its quirks - every language does - but the learning curve is quite flat.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Nope. On Pi you can use virtually any language you can think of, as most of them have Debian interpreters/compilers. Yes, Python has a native support, as does Java, C, C++ and so on.

Plus, if you have any experience in programming Python is not difficult at all. It has its quirks - every language does - but the learning curve is quite flat.

I know java, so if raspberry pi works on java as well, I am good to start off.

Can you recommend any good book(s) or resources to start learning pi with java?

 

[jedishrfu]

This may help[ with respect to Java:



and this:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=101543

 

[Wrichik Basu]

This may help[ with respect to Java:



and this:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=101543

That is indeed helpful.

 

[jim hardy]

Sorry if the post has given rise to such feelings.

Thanks for reaching out.
I too have said things that came across different than i intended. I appreciate when people point them out to me. It's just another facet of good communication.

No hard feelings ?

old jim

 

[Wrichik Basu]

@jedishrfu or anyone: can you say how much maximum current will the Arduino board draw? Will it greater than 1A or less than that?

 

[cnh1995]

@jedishrfu or anyone: can you say how much maximum current will the Arduino board draw? Will it greater than 1A or less than that?

No, 1A is way too much. It is of the order of a few mA.

 

[Borek]

Have you tried to google for Arduino specification? I am more than sure it will explicitly state what is the maximum current the board can draw (and/or survive).

Note: total power consumed depends on what is connected to the board. The board itself fits in mA (perhaps tens of mA) range. Things connected to I/O pins can't draw more than 200 mA total (that's what μC is capable of surviving). Then, there are two pins (5 V and 3.3 V) that can be used to power external devices - those will draw as much as these external devices will need. For example GSM shield can need up to 2A when booting up (so it is typically better to power it separately).

For starts USB will be perfectly enough, before you will get to more complicated projects you will probably already learn how to power them safely.

 

[ryaamaak]

1. What are the options of powering the board? I found on the net that there is a DC plugin option. But will it work on a power bank (for mobile, through USB) supplying 5V?

I recently used a portable battery pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06X3RJKKN/?tag=pfamazon01-20 to power a raspi remotely for several hours at a time. A micro usb cord connected the battery to the raspi. I don’t know for sure it could be done with arduino, though given the similarities I think probably. Sorry not to be of more help. Good luck!

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Have you tried to google for Arduino specification? I am more than sure it will explicitly state what is the maximum current the board can draw (and/or survive).

Note: total power consumed depends on what is connected to the board. The board itself fits in mA (perhaps tens of mA) range. Things connected to I/O pins can't draw more than 200 mA total (that's what μC is capable of surviving). Then, there are two pins (5 V and 3.3 V) that can be used to power external devices - those will draw as much as these external devices will need. For example GSM shield can need up to 2A when booting up (so it is typically better to power it separately).

For starts USB will be perfectly enough, before you will get to more complicated projects you will probably already learn how to power them safely.

USB won't work. I'll tell you why. Earlier, school had said that the science exhibition would be for two days. Now, they have increased it to four days. And coincidentally, my power bank has started malfunctioning today. I don't have a laptop either.

So I was thinking of buying this adapter to power the board and components. That's why I was asking the maximum current possible.

I did Google it, and it showed the range in mA, but I was worried about the Bluetooth module that I might use. That's why I asked here.

Anyways, your specifications will help. I'll buy the 2A one to be on safer side.

 

[Borek]

As I said - google for the Arduino specification. Not an arcane knowledge, it is freely available.

There are USB chargers capable of delivering 2A (while they are way over the USB specification which limits the current to 500 mA they are needed for some devices like the newest Rapberry Pi).

 

[pyroartist]

Wrichik, I would start with the Arduino only. Rasberry Pi is a much more complicated device and requires extensive knowledge of it's Linux based operating system. This also requires making choices about which way to go and loading several different bits of software collected from here and there on the internet. The Arduino has no visible op system. You just write a program (sketch) and run it.

 

[donpacino]

https://learn.adafruit.com/ladyadas-learn-arduino-lesson-number-0/power-jack-and-supply

The arudino has a barrel jack that is commonly used for power. You can use any dc power source to power it (recommended in the 9-12 V range, although it can be 5-20 I think)

 

[donpacino]

USB won't work. I'll tell you why. Earlier, school had said that the science exhibition would be for two days. Now, they have increased it to four days. And coincidentally, my power bank has started malfunctioning today. I don't have a laptop either.

So I was thinking of buying this adapter to power the board and components. That's why I was asking the maximum current possible.

I did Google it, and it showed the range in mA, but I was worried about the Bluetooth module that I might use. That's why I asked here.

Anyways, your specifications will help. I'll buy the 2A one to be on safer side.

make sure the barrel jack is the correct size,

you can also use a battery and buy or make a battery connector that has a barrel jack