Hello,
My name is Matt. I’m new to this forum but have been purchasing from Sparkfun for quite some time. I’m starting a new project and was wondering if I could get some help from anyone that could offer it. I’ve been around electronics for a long time and I’m a big DIY gadget freak, but I’ve never used an Arduino or have done any type of programming. Basically, I just need answers to a few questions I have. If anyone could point me in the right direction, I would very much appreciate it. I’ll take as much advice as I an get.
I came across this dual motor control instructable…
http://www.instructables.com/id/Duel-Mo … 754410NE-/
I thought that it was absolutely perfect for what I need to base my next project off of. I would simply tweak the code a little to run the motors in the order and direction I need them to run. However, I need to ask a few questions as I am a novice when it comes to Arduinos… Here it goes, if I bought an Arduino Uno Rev 3 and the SN754410 chip (I already have motors, wires, etc), could I use the Uno to program the chip, then remove the board itself and have the chip run the code? Or do I need to keep the Arduino connected? If I can remove the Uno, what other components would I need to keep the code running on the SN754410 chip? If I do need the Uno, could I use the Arduino Uno to write the code into an Arduino Pro Mini and have that write it into the chip and just use the Pro Mini and the chip? I read a tutorial about integrating the Uno and the Pro Mini simply to copy a program from one to the other and then use the Pro Mini separately. Im trying to keep everything as small as possible and the Uno is simply too big for my project. So if you could help me out with this, I would be truly grateful.
Thank you everyone! 
Happy New Years!!
Matt