USB connector is better than the crappy header pins and you can't mess up the polarity. Get an old USB cable, cut the plug off the other end, and connect Red wire to 5V supply and Black wire to GND. A better way is to connect your 5V power supply to the USB connector. This is not recommended because you could get the polarity and voltage wrong and damage your arduino. Power by 5V supply: Although the 5V pin is meant for powering external components, you could power the Arduino via the 5V/GND pins.

DC Power Jack (7-12V via AC-to-DC adapter or battery pack).

USB Connector (5V): also double as serial port to communicate with the computer (e.g., for loading program).

Power IN: The power to Arduino board can be supplied via:.

An Atmel (bought over by Microchip in 2016) ATmega328P 8-bit Microcontroller ( Complete Datasheet - 442 pages, Summary - 24 pages), with 32KB of Flash memory for programs, 2KB of SRAM for data, and 1KB of EEPROM for non-volatile data.

I suggest that you buy an 'Arduino Starter Kit', which comes with an Arduino UNO board and various electronics components (LEDs, resistors, transistors, motors, breadboard, wires, etc.) for you to start some simple experiments, for US$20-40.Īn Arduino UNO board contains the following: A minimal 'Arduino UNO' board for starter costs less than US$5 and can be purchased thru many online stores.

Getting Started with Arduino UNO Step 0: Buy an Arduino BoardĪrduino Board comes in many flavors. It is intended for artists,ĭesigners, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive 'Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based onįlexible, easy-to-use hardware and software.

Datasheet of arduino uno board