I’m working on my first Arduino project and I have a question.
I’m planning to build an electronic musical instrument and I would eventually like the Arduino incorporated into the body of the instrument so I’m looking at the smaller form factor boards. I’ve been focusing on the Nano and the Pro Mini. I think I understand the differences between them and what is involved in programming each of them. I like the Nano’s on-board USB but I also like the lower profile of the Pro Mini.
SparkFun has been great in helping me learn about Arduino and they have nearly every component I think I need, but I was surprised to see that SparkFun doesn’t sell a Nano version. That makes me wonder if I’m missing some reason why Nanos aren’t preferred.
Are there other factors I should consider in making this decision?
Looks like the Nano is a Pro Mini with an FTDI board integrated into it. The SparkFun equivalent would be the Pro Micro but that uses the ATMega32u4 which has USB on board in about the same footprint as the Pro Mini. The Nano and Pro Micro are NOT identical in functionality due to the different processor chips, but they are very close.
I use Pro Mini’s when PC connectivity is optional (then just plug in an FTDI when needed) and Pro Micro’s when the application requires PC connectivity built in. I also like that Pro Micro’s have I2C connections on the grid pins. The Pro Mini has I2C but the connections are off grid and therefore harder to breadboard.
Another difference is that the Nano and Pro Mini w FTDI have mini-USB connectors where the Pro Micro has a micro-USB connector. It’s just a cable/connector difference. Communications functionality is the same. (slight difference with the reset circuit but that difference is masked in the bootloader). The Nano uses a 78M05 voltage regulator which can handle 20V at input. The Pro Micro uses a MIC5219 which can take only 16V at input. Again these are minor differences. If you can drive either one from 9V they will sweat a lot less.
Thanks very much for the info! The Pro Micro should meet all of my needs, although it’s a bit pricier than a Nano. For my initial run of instruments (a grand total of one ) I think I will try out the Pro Micro!
) I think I will try out the Pro Micro!