EspinalLab ATMegaZero 32U4
What do you get when you cross an Arduino with a Raspberry Pi Zero? It's a strange question, but stranger still is that we now know the answer and can hold it in our hands! EspinalLab's ATMegaZero 32U4 takes the ATmega32u4 microcontroller found in Arduino's Leonardo board and mixes things up by including the 40-pin header found on Raspberry Pis, as well as incorporating the diminutive form factor of the Raspberry PiZero. But is this board more than a bizarre mashup inspired by two maker titans?
The first thing that stands out beyond the initial Frankenstian form factor is the quality of ATMegaZero's documentation and resources. Often with small batch boards a unique proposition is stifled by poor documentation or support, but EspinalLab has clearly gone to great lengths to avoid this mistake. Their documentation site has detailed specifications, pinouts, setup instructions, and examples. The ATMegaZero uses Arduino's development environment, making it ideal for beginners, and a custom definition of Board Manager means the third-party board can be used like Arduino's own hardware.
No board review would be complete without flashing an LED, but since the ATMegaZero is fully Arduino compatible and has an integrated LED on Arduino standard pin 13, just select the ATMegaZero board and port , and running Arduino's built-in Blink sketch!
Once you're ready to go beyond blinking, ATMegaZero's learning shield provides three LEDs, a push button and a buzzer - we've got it used to create a mini light tree for very small cars to use at the start of a race! Due to the stackable nature of the ATMegaZero, you can literally grow your board as you develop your skills, with options like the RTC (real time clock) shield to help you keep time, even when the power is off, or the Lipo Shield to give you light up on the go.
The Sensors Shield opens up a whole new world of possibilities, with temperature, humidity, light level, barometric pressure and air quality sensors, as well as a six-axis accelerometer and a Built-in PSTN. Complete your...
What do you get when you cross an Arduino with a Raspberry Pi Zero? It's a strange question, but stranger still is that we now know the answer and can hold it in our hands! EspinalLab's ATMegaZero 32U4 takes the ATmega32u4 microcontroller found in Arduino's Leonardo board and mixes things up by including the 40-pin header found on Raspberry Pis, as well as incorporating the diminutive form factor of the Raspberry PiZero. But is this board more than a bizarre mashup inspired by two maker titans?
The first thing that stands out beyond the initial Frankenstian form factor is the quality of ATMegaZero's documentation and resources. Often with small batch boards a unique proposition is stifled by poor documentation or support, but EspinalLab has clearly gone to great lengths to avoid this mistake. Their documentation site has detailed specifications, pinouts, setup instructions, and examples. The ATMegaZero uses Arduino's development environment, making it ideal for beginners, and a custom definition of Board Manager means the third-party board can be used like Arduino's own hardware.
No board review would be complete without flashing an LED, but since the ATMegaZero is fully Arduino compatible and has an integrated LED on Arduino standard pin 13, just select the ATMegaZero board and port , and running Arduino's built-in Blink sketch!
Once you're ready to go beyond blinking, ATMegaZero's learning shield provides three LEDs, a push button and a buzzer - we've got it used to create a mini light tree for very small cars to use at the start of a race! Due to the stackable nature of the ATMegaZero, you can literally grow your board as you develop your skills, with options like the RTC (real time clock) shield to help you keep time, even when the power is off, or the Lipo Shield to give you light up on the go.
The Sensors Shield opens up a whole new world of possibilities, with temperature, humidity, light level, barometric pressure and air quality sensors, as well as a six-axis accelerometer and a Built-in PSTN. Complete your...
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