Originally published at: Look at this pink Arduino clone my daughter bought | Boing Boing
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Looks like this is the manufacturers page. I can’t find a schematic for it. It seems to have LEDs on every output (and two WS2812B on one of the pins). There are 10 MOSFETS to improve drive strenght of the outputs, but I would really like to see a schematic for exactly how they’re hooked up.
Having an LED on each output could make debugging easier for a beginner. Is your daughter new to Arduino programming, @frauenfelder ?
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Forget geek duck. Jenny knows what she’s doing.
That’s pretty slick, the screen printed board is a nice touch and the LEDs look handy.
I have a question about the ‘holding the soldering iron right’ comment Mark made. Yes, she’s holding it by the handle and not by the hot end, but do people actually hold their soldering iron like that when they solder? I hold mine like a writing instrument. Have I been doint that wrong all these years?
Hmmm, no google seems to think I’ve been doing it right. But, damn, there’s a lot of bad stock photos of women holding soldering irons.
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I don’t hold a pencil like I’m writing when I’m carrying it around, or when waving it around for emphasis. (please don’t wave your soldering iron around in the lab)
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She’s created a lot of Arduino-based projects.
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I’m curious what she thinks of it and if she finds the LEDs helpful or a PITA. Hooking LEDs to arduino lines can cause issues when you’re trying to do something other than drive those LEDs–like using them for inputs. I assume they didn’t mess with the analog signal lines.
I see real potential here - you could use one in place of the old controller module of a retroencabulator and bring that device into the 21st century!
Honestly though, I love this. So much that I might finally try my hand at some arduino experiments!
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Those discrete FET transistors look like they isolate each LED from the IO pin. It seems like a great idea for a board for students, and really for anyone, who doesn’t love blinking LEDs!
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Cannot find a schematic, for something sporting an open hardware logo that’s curious…
One thing is borderline criminal, for a beginner oriented product:
They replaced the Vin pin with a GND one (at least, according to the silkscreen).
If a newbie follows instructions for a generic Uno, they might connect an external power supply to that pin, and have a burned PSU or PCB track or both.
If there’s no regulator for Vin, better leave it unconnected.
OTOH, it’s a learning experience…
Oh, and why are there ~ (negation) symbols on some pins? Is this really Arduino compatible?*
Without a schematic, hard to tell. 
- EtA: I see they say “PWM can be input” on ~pins. I assume they mean output.
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Yes, the ~ by pins on the UNO design means PWM capable pins. And I agree, if they really did make that Vin a GND, then that’s very troubling. That could cause fires.
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Shouldn’t she put a shirt on before soldering?
Yeah, that’s a good idea. I learned the hard way not to solder in shorts when I was a child. I was talking parts off of boards from a scrapped PC. Ended up with too much solder on my iron and it dripped onto my leg. I know for a fact that I would die if faced with Gom Jabbar Test of Humanity.
I still have a scar.
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