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SparkFun RedBoard - Programmed with Arduino
At SparkFun we use many Arduinos and we're always looking for the simplest, most stable one. Each board is a bit different and no one board has everything we want, so we decided to make our own version that combines all our favorite features. The SparkFun RedBoard combines the simplicity of the UNO's Optiboot bootloader (which is used in the Pro series), the stability of the FTDI (which we all missed after the Duemilanove was discontinued) and the R3 shield compatibility of the latest Arduino UNO R3.
The RedBoard can be programmed over a USB Mini-B cable using the Arduino IDE: Just plug in the board, select "Arduino UNO" from the board menu and you're ready to upload code. RedBoard has all of the hardware peripherals you know and love: 14 Digital I/O pins with 6 PWM pins, 6 Analog Inputs, UART, SPI and external interrupts. We've also broken out the SDA, SCL and IOREF pins that showed up on the UNO R3, so the RedBoard will be compatible with future shields. This version adds an SMD ISP header for use with shields.
You can power the RedBoard over USB or through the barrel jack. The on-board power regulator can handle anything from 7 to 15VDC. Check out the related items below for a compatible wall-wart power supply.
Not sure which Arduino or Arduino-compatible board is right for you? Check out our Arduino Buying Guide!
- ATmega328 microcontroller with Optiboot (UNO) Bootloader
- USB Programming Facilitated by the Ubiquitous FTDI FT231X
- Input voltage - 7-15V
- 0-5V outputs with 3.3V compatible inputs
- 14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
- 6 Analog Inputs
- ISP Header
- 32k Flash Memory
- 16MHz Clock Speed
- All SMD Construction
- R3 Shield Compatible
- Red PCB!
SparkFun RedBoard - Programmed with Arduino Product Help and Resources
RedBoard Santa Trap
December 25, 2014
A fun holiday project to try for anyone looking to catch Santa on Christmas!
SIK Keyboard Instrument
April 15, 2016
We can use the parts and concepts in the SparkFun Invetor's Kit to make a primitive keyboard instrument.
Choosing an Arduino for Your Project
December 11, 2017
Examining the diverse world of Arduino boards and understanding the differences between them before choosing one for a project.
Wireless Glove Controller
April 24, 2019
Build a wireless glove controller with Arduinos to trigger an LED using XBees!
RedBoard vs. Uno
August 6, 2013
In this tutorial we discuss the differences and similarities between the RedBoard and the Arduino Uno (SMD and PTH). The development platforms
Endless Runner Game
November 28, 2017
We make a simple side-scrolling endless runner game using parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0.
Pi AVR Programmer HAT Hookup Guide
July 26, 2018
In this tutorial, we will use a Raspberry Pi 3 and the Pi AVR Programmer HAT to program an ATMega328P target. We are going to first program the Arduino bootloader over SPI, and then upload an Arduino sketch over a USB serial COM port.
Wireless Gesture Controlled Robot
April 25, 2019
Control the RedBot wirelessly based on the movement of your hand using an accelerometer, Arduino, and XBees!
SparkFun Inventor's Kit Experiment Guide - v4.0
November 15, 2017
The SparkFun Inventor's Kit (SIK) Experiment Guide contains all of the information needed to build all five projects, encompassing 16 circuits, in the latest version of the kit, v4.0a.
RedBoard Edge Hookup Guide
June 1, 2018
The RedBoard Edge is a RedBoard that's been rebuilt around the idea that projects are eventually put into an enclosure to help clean up their look.
Light-Seeking Robot
November 28, 2017
We use parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0 to create a light-seeking robot that mimics the behavior of single-celled organisms.
Clap On Lamp
November 28, 2017
Modify a simple desk lamp to respond to a double clap (or other sharp noise) using parts from the SparkFun Inventor's Kit v4.0.
Processor Interrupts with Arduino
December 11, 2018
What is an interrupt? In a nutshell, there is a method by which a processor can execute its normal program while continuously monitoring for some kind of event, or interrupt. There are two types of interrupts: hardware and software interrupts. For the purposes of this tutorial, we will focus on hardware interrupts.
Tinker Kit Circuit Guide
September 16, 2021
This guide takes you through the basics of building 11 different circuits with the SparkFun Tinker Kit and how to program them using the Arduino IDE.
Dimensional Drawing
You can find a dimensional drawing for the SparkFun RedBoard here.
Permission issues installing drivers
If you need to set up FTDI based boards in a lab environment where users don't have permission to install drivers, an administrator can install the driver once, and then make the computer skip installing drivers for every new FTDI device by making a registry change. This solution can sometimes fix this specific problem.
See this page on the FTDI website for directions how.
Enclosure Compatibility Issues
The SparkFun RedBoard is slightly bigger than the Arduino Uno. Therefore, certain Arduino Uno enclosures will not work with the Redboard due to the narrow tolerances they have. Also, the LEDs are positioned in a different location on the board compared to the Arduino Uno so certain features of some enclosures will not work.
We have found that these Arduino Uno Enclsoures: clear and black ] are not compatible with the RedBoard. The tolerance was too small for the Redboard to fit. We have found that this Arduino Project Enclosure is compatible with the RedBoard.
Core Skill: Programming
If a board needs code or communicates somehow, you're going to need to know how to program or interface with it. The programming skill is all about communication and code.
Skill Level: Rookie - You will need a better fundamental understand of what code is, and how it works. You will be using beginner-level software and development tools like Arduino. You will be dealing directly with code, but numerous examples and libraries are available. Sensors or shields will communicate with serial or TTL.
See all skill levels
Core Skill: Electrical Prototyping
If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
See all skill levels
Comments
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Customer Reviews
4.6 out of 5
Based on 50 ratings:
2 of 2 found this helpful:
No complaints
After years of on/off tinkering with Arduino I finally bought ten of these to standardize and replace my aging collection of taped-up/hacked-on Genuinos and brand X knockoffs. I love the USB Micro/Mini/whatever instead of the needlessly big USB-B metal shielding that would short out on the bottom of whatever shield was installed on classic Arduinos.
3 of 4 found this helpful:
Love this ❤️
It's great and made in the USA. Got this for a good discount during the arduino day sale. It still was twice as much as a cheap eBay clone, but it's four times as reliable. Sparkfun is a company I would highly recommend. Good customer service and friendly staff.
5 of 8 found this helpful:
Great but...
Wish it had a micro-b USB connector instead of mini-b.
1 of 2 found this helpful:
Works okay, is a hassle to get working with MacOS
This seems to work fine as a cheap Arduino alternative. Getting the FTDI working with Mac was a pretty big hassle, though. Once that part was accomplished, everything works fine.
1 of 2 found this helpful:
Works Great!
I used this to replace my Arduino Uno and it works perfectly!
I love it!
Very easy to use! Does exactly what SparkFun said it was going to do.
Love these boards!!
Great for the price, easy to use. Love the mini-USB connector, SMD components, etc. This is my go-to board for smaller projects.
Works like it should
No problems getting running with the Arduino IDE, works great.
Does the job great
Sparkfun's arduino uno version is great, no reason not to choose it over alternatives.
Thanks
Works great, looks great
Easy to use, works perfectly, and saves you money!
This thing just works.
I bought this to replace a genuine UNO that I had to "donate" to a robotics project that my wife and I ran for her elementary school. This is not my first RedBoard either. I think they are just great.
Really great ... I liked the board with the lights ... all my projects are tested with it. really loved it more than the ordinary UNO board. thanks for this.
Great Arduino for a few bucks less.
Works great. Good price. We had to rummage around the house for the right USB cable, but eventually found a selection of them.
Cheap, easy and versatile
I didn't know anything about Arduino or programming before I bought this, but in less than a week, thanks to all the freely available code out there, I was able to connect two analogs and one digital sensor - piezo, FlexiForce, and 9DOF - and am already generating real-time data for a school project. I still don't understand some (most?) of the quirks of the Arduino language, but I am assimilating it almost unconsciously. As for the board, you really can't beat it for size, price, and functionality. I also give a tip of the hat to SerialChart for providing free access to their serial data monitoring software. It's simple and it does what I need for now without fighting with MatLab or other software. Happy to be a new member of the community.
Did exactly what I needed
The RedBoard did what I needed. This was my first Sparkfun project and when I had some questions, your technical support was available via email and answered my questions within about 24 hours with good answers. It has been easy to work with. The tutorials are very helpful. I'm not an engineer and I've been able to do what I wanted so far. I'm now getting in a more sophisticated project and hopefully it will work as well.
Works fine.
just like Arduino
Works as expected
Overwrote the boot loader and use an AVR-ISP-MK2 to upload HEX files. Works as expected. Board quality seems high.
An Awesome Board
The only reason why I didn't give 5 stars is because of shipping. Which I had to wait 2 and half weeks to receive the board, but it was worth the wait. I love how all of the components are surface mounted on this board.
Love this board
I use these for all my Arduino projects.
2nd Redboard for me!
My first purchase was the Inventor’s Kit which includes the RedBoard. I decided to follow some YouTube online lessons to introduce myself to basic electronics. This kit was recommended. I am very happy with SparkFun online support of their products which allows me to quickly install software on my Mac for development. Unfortunately, I did not do well in coding one sketch I created with regard to using the AREF pin. I had been forewarned about Magic Blue Smoke territory before I took the plunge. Magic Blue Smoke won & I learned something! Ordered 2nd RedBoard and progressing along well. Very happy with this product!
Getting this to work with Mac is a pain in the bum
Whilst arduino and other arduino replicas work out of the box with Mac - this does not - I understand it is possible - but much more fiddly than I was expecting.
Handy.
The isolation of the USB port from the processor was the primary factor in my choice. Several similar products commit interface components to the board design that limit the flexibility of the product(i.e. compass, accelerometer and/or gyro). The simplicity of the board allows the installed program to be easily monitored and/or adapted to desired changes in interface hardware. The surface mount components allow for a lower profile for adapter boards and low risk to accidental short circuits. For interest in Arduino-like design/development this is the best choice for flexibility. I have used several micro controller products over the years and feel this is a good design choice.
Nice Uno Alternative
Great alternative to the Uno: works the same — and I like the USB mini-B plug more then the full size.
Sparkfun Redboard
I use in both chemistry and physics, the students love using them and they seem to take abuse very well. Thumbs up!
bought them for spares
I have always been a fan of Spark Fun and Arduino. Use them on several prototype projects. These boards are well built and provide great functionality. Arduino is a great development platform.
Works great
First Arduino board and no complaints at all. Integrates easily with the Arduino IDE and was able to start working right away. Plus the Sparkfun tutorials, documentation and codebase is really useful.
Reasonable board, simple to use and connect.
It seems to work well and the only complaint I have is that it seems to take longer to program this unit compared to some other devices such as the Nano and Mini for some reason.
It is however a great size and perfect for most things when used in conjunction with a Quiic Shield.
So much easier than a PIC
Just using this for a quick project. Much easier to set up and had a blinky program running within 30 seconds. Built in FTDI chip is really nice. Just wish it had maybe an extra VDD pin or two for powering more circuits.
This is my Go-To board for Arduino based projects
I have had a couple of these boards running continuously for over two years. One red board is in an outdoor weather station and it's been running well through winter freezes and summer heat. Another does continuous readings from a geiger counter to monitor background radiation levels. (Looking nervously toward the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power plant.)
I've used red boards in several other projects and I have had no complaints. I can also vouch for the fact they run fine at background radiation levels up to 0.25 uSv/hour, about double the normal rate, for a couple of days. (Again looking nervously toward the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power plant.)
Works like agenuine Arduino, no difference
The Sparkfun Red board is beautiful and works totally compatible with the Arduino. I like to use the board for my advanced experiments, and when you have many Arduinos, you know that the beautiful red one is the one that you are working with at the moment.
USB connector
Why not a micro usb?
Works well
Nice quality, works well. I've had other "compatible" boards that weren't -- this one seems great.
0 of 3 found this helpful:
Old reliable
Never any problems, It's a solid go-to board.
Rock solid board
Awesome board, like it better than a real Arduino Uno because of the SMT design (no more shorting of PHT leads on the underside of the board). Looks great with the SFE black acrylic arduino and breadboard holder. I also really like that Sparkfun went to the trouble of putting colored leds on the board (power is green, tx/rx are red/yellow, and pin 13 is a cool blue!!) Yeah, I would rather have a micro-b port than its current mini-b, and I'm not a big fan of the tiny SMD reset button, but those are very minor issues.
Works great.
What can I say about it. This is a solid product and works great - as advertised. Highly recommend.
This is the second one. It is truly simple to use.
It may hide a lot of the features of a fully fledged micro-controller but for its price is a fantastic deal.
I am using it to control a stepper motor and I could not be happier.
This is a great product
This is a product that will allow one to get a bot up and running in short order as the support documentation and the Arduino IDE are very clear and easy to use. The fact that many shields and complementary boards are available to it only enhances it's attractiveness for use.
Best Arduino UNO
Best Arduino UNO i have. Great quality product.
Works Great
Works as well or better than any other Arduino board that I have used. I like the fact that the supply voltage can be between 7 and 15 volts. That's a wider range than for some other brand boards that I've used.
Worked just as expected
Very happy with it. It worked just as expected. I have used several other Arduino boards and this one seems a bit higher quality than most.
So easy to get started!
Though I do have previous programming experience, I have never done much with Arduino. However, the helpful tutorials and many example codes were incredibly useful, and within just a couple days of working on my project, I had completed it. I definitely recommend buying this microcontroller whether you're a beginner or whether you've programmed before.
Perfect board for the beginner
Just started working on a project and am very happy with the product. It's been easy to use and understand and I'd recommend it to anyone who's just starting out.
Unique Qualities
The standard Uno is to spec. The spec has an issue. The issue is the size of the USB connector. The mini connector on the RedBoard was what I needed for several projects that required a low-profile, i.e., RFID project where all the guts had to fit inside a standard electrical utility box so it would all fit into a wall. You say, why not just use an Arduino Mini? Well, I want to take advantage of all the great shields that are in the world that fit the Uno, some of which actually short out against the larger USB connector metal case. Anyway, I think this is a brilliant design improvement.
Works Great!
The “RedBoard” is doing everything I have required of it at this point. Going to start putting it through the paces soon. I expect great things.
Great arduino boards!
This boards are very reliable, have a great price and great support :D
Fun and powerful device
I was able to quickly set this device with the help of my son. He used one in school which got me interested. Ive been programming for work for the past 10 yesrs so its pretty easy to do basic things or find the code on the internet. I've been able to make a display and a countdown timer. With my son's help we've figured out how to use a reed switch and light up different LEDs. End state is a tchometer and speedometer combo for my 1976 RD400. Having fun along the way is a plus.
Excellent product
Performs as expected, and meets all the requirements.
Excellent for teaching Arduino Programming
I am teaching another round of Intro to Programming using the Arduino classes at the K5COW Cowtown Amateur Radio Club in Fort Worth, TX. The RedBoard makes an ideal platform to begin learning to program. The students in the class quickly progress from blinking the LED, to sounding a piezo beeper, to sending their name and/or radio callsign in Morse Code, to displaying buttons on an attached TFT color touchscreen display, to sampling the outside world & displaying real-time status on the TFT color touchscreen display. Thank you for making this product available for purchase. For anyone looking for a quality Arduino UNO equivalent, I would highly recommend the SparkFun RedBoard as an excellent choice !! MJCulross (KD5RXT)
Hi, I just bought a RedBoard and am having issues with Windows recognizing the FTDI chip. A story as old as time, I know. I used to have no issues with FTDI based arduinos in the past with this PC, but for some reason I'm having issues now. The error is it shows up as Other Devices -> USB Serial in the device manager and "Device USB\VID_1A86&PID_7523\5&1beeb37f&0&4 was not migrated due to partial or ambiguous match."
I've downloaded the latest VCP driver from the FTDI website but I still get the same error. Have you run into this issue? Is it a windows update issue? Thanks!
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With that said, make sure you are installing the appropriate driver for your RedBoard. If you have the newer, RedBoard Qwiic you will need to install the driver for the CH340 serial-to-UART chip, which is different from the FTDI serial-to-UART chip.
Sir if i may ask..if i buy this board?will i the one to solder every components in the board?
No soldering required, you will receive an assembled board. :-)
I'm very new to Arduino. I would like to build a figerprint lock system with this board that is primarily powered by an account adapter with battery backup. I can figure out how to setup the figerprint part but I'm unsure if I can have a battery connected that will switch over when account is lost. Anyone of a tutorial to that end.
Barrel jack obstructs use of shield (ardumoto); had to desolder barrel jack for good fit.
Does it come with a usb connector? Can't tell from the description...
It does come with the USB port on the board, but you will need your own cable.
Great but : Please add a usb C port !!!!
Check out the Blackboard C
I presume this is different... different product code... from device of same name in list at https://www.sparkfun.com/arduino_guide. Device there shown as retired. I didn't see this there, so didn't realise there were two, was confused. Took a while to notice the different product codes.
Noticed by me also. This incarnation DEV-13975 of the RedBoard does not appear to be included in the table of boards listed in Sparkfun's Arduino Buying Guide linked sparkfun.com/arduino_guide at the end of this product description, even though the older RedBoard DEV-12757 is listed at the very top of that table as retired.
Since the input voltage is 7-15V does this mean it cannot be powered from the USB cable (5v) alone?
You can power the board from USB through the USB socket. The 7-15 volt limitation is only if you use the barrel jack that's to the right of the USB socket.
I am looking for an "UNO" compatible solution that will operate at 3.3v. Is there a 3.3v "UNO" compatible solution?
I am typically talking to LCD modules that have many bi-directional lines, so 3.3v to 5v conversion chips are numerous and messy.
That depends on what part of the Uno needs to be compatible. The Arduino Pro and Pro Mini use a different bootloader so they are not considered Uno compatible (and have slightly different hardware). But both boards use the ATMega328 and so should be compatible. There will always be a few differences including ATMega328s not being able to run at 16MHz at 3.3V (and still be in spec).
Any important differences we should know about, compared to https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12757 ? I didn't spot any looking at the two versions of the schematic. Literally the only substantive difference I spotted was a change in the value of R2 (current limiter for power LED LED2) from 1k to 4.7k.
Is that the resistor to the green LED? if so I'm glad since it was really bright.
The only other thing I can think of was that we removed the 3.3V line from the FTDI chip. When people were powering the board over anything other than USB there was enough power running to the chip that it affected the RX and TX lines. Now if the board is not powered over USB the FTDI chip gets absolutely no power. All in all the changes were all similarly small.