Which pro mini? 328? 328P? or 168?
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I have been looking for some more good pro mini's to get and I noticed that there are options on the controller now - So which one would you choose and why?
Also, who is a good supplier with 'genuine atmel' chips onboard?Thanks!
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@skywatch P is lower lower, so good for battery nodes. 168 has half the amount of ram and flash, wich makes it very hard to fit anything but the most basic MySensors sketch. You won't even be able to activate debug logging.
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@mfalkvidd Thank you - That is exactly the sort of info I needed - The datasheets are not much use as all the headline parameters seem to be identical with varying parameters also looking the same on paper.
I will try and find some good 328 today - I need 5V ones for in house mains powered projects, I already have a load of 3.3v ones for battery power, but I will check these to see if they are 'P' or not. If not, I may be in for some more soldering practice!
Cheers
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@skywatch Make sure you get atmega328P one. Once I ordered atmega328 and had some issues burning a bootloader. Needless to say that these are useless for battery nodes.
A good source is digi-key or mouser.
I ordered a few from aliexpress and they were fine, but last time I received a bunch of fake ones from an e-bay seller. Just watch out
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@alexsh1 Thanks for the advice and sharing your experiences. I have noted that a lot of sellers on ali now show a pro mini without the atmel logo. Maybe the fakers have been forced to stop using the branding. This is why I need to find a source that uses original atmel chips. I have looked at ebay and aliexpress and am not confident of what is likely to arrive.
Bring back shops where I can see things before I buy them.
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Curious, have folks had issues with fake Atmel chips? I've read the military has has some issue with fake parts to the point they often need to disassemble some to determine their authenticity. So there is no doubt they exist. Personally I've purchase maybe 10 various Pro Mini boards on eBay and have never any indication the chips I've received were sub standard. I've made plenty wiring and voltage mistakes and have not lost a board to date.
I do purchase from only 1 or 2 vendors on eBay, vendors I started with because they had a good rating and offered mid level prices. After receiving seemingly good product I stayed with them if possible.
Not that it applies to this topic but I just purchased a Pro Mini compatible in a square form factor, 3 rows of pins and "4 mounting holes"
The mounting holes are what drove me to purchase these boards.
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@johnrob I have similar experience to yours with the boards. Probably all pro mini boards I have a chinese made and they are working fine. I think this is due to the fact that they have past quality control. When you buy components, that's different issue - there is a very poor quality control in my experience.
