electroFUN LTD: arduSTICK

Overview

The arduSTICK is a small compact breadboard-friendly board based on the ATmega328P. It has the same functionality and pin-out asthe Arduino Nano but the USB interface can be detached from the board to suit application needs that need no permanent USB serial connectivity, thus making it a very cost effective and versatile solution. It has an internal voltage regulator, and works with a Mini-B USB. The board is fully compatible with the Arduino software development environment. An pin to pin compatible with the Arduino Nano.

An additional filter stage has been added to the power supply of the AVR to improve analog readings and overall performance.

The detachable USB to serial interface that can be used standalone to interface to other projects by simply adding a header connector. The pin-out of the USB to serial interface is compatible with the FTDI basic from sparkFun and can also be used with the Arduino Mini Pro, arduSTAMP and arduCHIP. In essence you get two products for the price of one. It also has detachable ICSP that can be used when needed.
The board is ideal for breadboarding, prototyping and integrating it with your current design. It can be used with or without the USB to serial interface.

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Specifications

Microcontroller	Atmel ATmega328P
Operating Voltage (logic level +5V pin)	1.8V to 5.5V
Input Voltage range	5.2V to 6.5 V
Input Voltage on pin +5V (limits)	1.8V - 6 V
Digital I/O Pins	14 (of which 6 provide PWM output) + 8 if analog inputs are not used
Analog Input Pins	8
DC Current per I/O Pin (max)	40 mA (200mA max when using all pins)
Flash Memory	32 KB of which 2 KB used by boot loader, 1KB used by Adaboot (opt)
SRAM	2 KB
EEPROM	1 KB
Clock Speed	16 MHz (for Input Voltage range and when powered from USB)
Dimensions	Processor board 44.45mm x 17.78mm (1.70" x 0.73" ), USB breakout (25.45mm x 17.78mm - 1" x 0.73").

Power

The arduSTICK can be powered via the Mini-B USB connection connected to a computer or a 5.2V-6.5V unregulated external power supply (pins marked as Vin). The power source is automatically selected to the highest voltage source should both sources be connected to the board at the same time.
The FTDI FT232RL chip of the USB serial interface is only powered if the board is being powered over USB.
When the USB to serial detachable board is not removed from the board and the board is powered via the Mini-USB, a +3.3V voltage is available on pin (+3.3V) to power external devices.
The board can also be powered from a regulated power source on its +5V pin, overriding the voltage regulator. In this mode, the board will be able to support a voltage range of (1.8V - 6V).
As opposed to the original Arduino the AVR voltage supply has an additional filtering stage providing better analog reading performance and reliability.

Board Layout

arduSTICK Rev A.2 - layout

The arduSTICK is a small footprint Arduino compatible board. The STICK has 3 main areas, the Main AVR Board where the ATMega328p is and breakouts of all the PINs from the chip. An on-board USB to serial interface and an ISP, which is only used to download the bootloader.
Each individual board can be cut out from the main PCB resulting in two separate products:

USB: this break out provides USB to serial interface. The PIN out is compatible with the FTDI basic breakout board from Sparkfun and the Arduino Mini Pro, arduSTAMP and arduCHIP.
Main Board: this is a 44.45mm x 17.78mm (0.73" x 1.70") breakout board with all the pins exposed.

The arduSTICK is intended for prototyping, using the USB to serial interface to download your project binaries and debug them. Once the project is completed, remove or leave the USB to serial interface and connect it as a semi-permanent installation in objects. The board comes without pre-mounted headers (only the ISP header in mounted).
This board is ideal for small projects that require the same performance as a regular Arduino but with a smaller form factor. Given the capability to detach the USB to serial interface, your applications will not incur in having to pay a premium for the USB connector if you don't wish to.

Input Output

arduSTICK Rev A.1 - IO mapping

All the digital IO pins can be used as digital IOs using. Each pin can provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-50 kOhms. We recommend using the image above to map the functionality.
Some of the pin of the arduSTICK have specialized functions:

Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). Used to receive (RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. These pins are connected to the USB to serial interface on the USB breakout board.
External Interrupts: Digital pins 2 and 3. These pins can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low value, a rising or falling edge, or a change in value using the default Arduino SDK.
PWM: 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, and 11. Provide 8-bit PWM output.
SPI: 10 (SS), 11 (MOSI), 12 (MISO), 13 (SCK). These pins support SPI communication.
Analog Inputs: has 8 analog inputs, each of which provide 10 bits of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they measure from Vin to GND (regulated input of the board) and analogReference can be changed. AVR supply voltage has an additional filter stage that improves analog reliability and reading.
I²C: Analog Pin 4 (SDA) and Analog Pin 5 (SCL). Supports I²C (TWI) communication using the Wire library. The board already has 10K pull-ups on the SDA, SCL pins, making it unnecessary to have them externally, simply plug your I2C device and away it goes.

AREF.: Analog reference voltage for the analog inputs.

RST.: Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. This pin is connected between the reset line of the ATMega328 and the DTR control line of the FT232RL. This allows to the FT232RL to reset the chip prior to an upload. The board also has a reset button. When the main board is separated from the USB to serial interface the RST pins can be used to remotely reset the board.

Communication

The arduSTICK provides a basic UART TTL serial communication interface, available on digital IO pins 0 (RX) and 1 (TX). The FTDI FT232RL chip on board provides serial communication over USB and the FTDI drivers (included with the Arduino software) provides a virtual COM port to software on the host computer. In addition, to communicate with a computer, it has a USB to serial interface built in.
The Main Board also supports I2C (TWI) and SPI communication.
Programming
The arduSTICK can be programmed with the Arduino software (download). For details, see the reference and tutorials. It comes with a pre-programmed bootloader that communicates with the host computer using the original STK500 protocol.

Assembly

Boards can be ordered as a bare board with no components, only the main board assembled (no USB) or fully assembled.

arduSTICK Rev A.1 - botton placement file

arduSTICK Rev A.1 - top placement file

The assembly of the board is very easy as it only uses large SMD components (0805 smallest) that can easily be soldered on, ideal for hobbyists enabling easy hand, reflow oven or skillet soldering.

Components and Part Numbers

Qty Value Device Parts

1 LEDCHIPLED_0805 LED1 - PWR
1 LEDCHIPLED_0805 LED2 - L - Do Not Connect
1 R-EU_R0805 PTC
1 WE-CBF_0805 L1
7 0.1uF CAP0805 C1, C3, C4, C6, C7, C11, C12
5 1K RESISTOR R4, R6, R7, R8, R9
1 1K RESISTOR R5 - Do Not Connect
2 1uF CAP0805 C9, C10
3 10K RESISTOR R1, R2, R3
1 10nF CAP0805 C13
2 10uF CPOL-EUR/2012-12R C2, C5
1 16MHz RESONATORSMD Y1
1 ATMEGA168 ATMEGA168 U4
1 AVR_SPI_PRG_6SMALL AVR_SPI_PRG_6SMALL ICSP
1 FT232RL FT232RL U2
1 HEAD15-NOSS HEAD15-NOSS J1
1 HEAD15-NOSS-1 HEAD15-NOSS-1 J2
1 LED3 LEDCHIPLED_0805 TX
1 LED4 LEDCHIPLED_0805 RX
1 MBR0520LT MBR0520LT D1
1 PTS525S TAC_SWITCHSMD S1
1 TC2185-5VCCT V_REG_LDOSMD U3
1 USB-MINI-B%C USB-MINI-B J4
1 arduSTICK BOARD_INFOS+ REV_A.1

Schematic and Design Files

arduSTICK Rev A.1: schematic and eagle files.