So I experiment a lot on breadboards and have a couple atmega168’s that i just throw on a breadboard and then just make all the connections to use it, but by the time I’m done I end up with almost half a standard breadboard gone, and a bunch of jumpers running all over, etc…
So I made a layout for about the smallest possible breadboard arduino one could make.
It’s .63"x1.3" uses a TQFP chip, has USB, and also has a regulated power supply and a ISCP header (not really needed but I use them), what it doesn’t have is a reset switch, I almost never use it, so I don’t find that It is needed, if you have to reset that bad, unplug it, it does have auto reset of course.
Also has power LED, pin 13 LED, RX/TX LEDs, all digital I/O and 8 analog in’s, 2 ground pins, and 1 VCC and 1 Vin, of course it’s all surface mount 0603 size.
So is there interest in this? I’d have them made via the open source propaganda service and then release all the source files on the forge
It would be better to offer it with out the pins in, then you could use it in a project and since it has a ISCP port you don’t have to even solder on the USB chip, you could prototype on one with the chip then for the final version just burn the HEX file with the ISCP and a programmer leaving the USB off for an even thinner board with less parts and less cost.
so you have basically mad a stamp? heh
it sounds interesting though. thats pretty tiny!
Yeah it’s kind of like the nano arduino but smaller and cheaper 
I just kind of loth the design of the standard arduino, yes it’s nice for shields, but if I’m going to make a shield I’ll just make a whole board with the arduino on it, whoever came up the digital I/O pins NOT fitting to a standard size, well let’s just say I don’t agree. Almost everyone that will use an adruino will end up using a breadboard, so why not just make it fit one.
I know a lot of people are afraid of SMD components but after soldering them a couple times it’s pretty easy, I’d rather have them then through hole, much neater, smaller and quicker, like I’ve said many times Flux, Flux, and more Flux. Well maybe not that much but if you flux the pads well SMDs are so easy, heck don’t know how many times I’ve put on a SMD LED the wrong way, but I can unsolder and flip it around in less then a min, try that with a through hole LED.
Any how, yeah it’s about the size of a stamp, but I think it would be awesome for small little embedded projects, in my mind the uses are endless, but that’s my mind and why I ask others opinions.
I do agree, i am trying to get better at SMD and trying to use it more.
And i think the smaller it is, the more things you can use it for.
like my initial impressions of the arduino boards : man this thing is tiny
and my now impressions of the arduino boards: man this thing is huge
i think smaller is better until it gets to the point where i’m forced to either to break out the magnifying glass to solder or use reflow, heh
you have any pics of the board? it sounds interesting!
No it’s not made, just an eagle file; I’ll post a screen capture later.
Yeah 0603 is about as small as I want to solder and never design anything that uses anything smaller, best thing about SMD is you can put parts on both sides easier, that’s how this works.
