lesthegrngo Posted September 2, 2023 Posted September 2, 2023 I've been wondering about this for a while now, but my push to get my rig over the line has convinced me. Arduino Nanos are pretty variable in quality. I'm now finalising everything swapping everything over to the RS485 version, and Arduino IDE complications aside with some of the updates, the biggest waste of my hours has been where I simply can't get a particular command to work. After messing around with the multimeter for shorts, open circuits, bad connections etc, I tried different nanos. That in at least 50% of the time is the issue. Quite a large number of the latest batch (328's) have issues with pins 12 and 13 and often with the A0 though A5 pins too. By far the most reliable ones I have are older 168 versions, which can't be used with most OLED panels due to memory issues but are almost always a cure for a panel where I can't get a particular command to work. This is particularly true where there are lots of switches, with the newer ones I get lots of crosstalk where actuating one switch interferes and activates another unrelated one. This is especially so when changing up to RS485, there are are a number of Nanos that just won't function with RS485. Others will be problematic, like for instance not seeming to play with LCD or OLED displays. Swap the Nano, the problem disappears. Unfortunately they are not available locally so it's Ebay or Amazon (via whichever victim is coming out to visit) but I can't say that one has been better than another. Am I the only person who has seen this? It would be good to know if there is a supply that is more stable, and if anyone has a brand or supplier that is reliable I would like to know. I can replace those dodgy ones later, using the best ones I have for the essential stuff Cheers Les 2
lesthegrngo Posted September 10, 2023 Author Posted September 10, 2023 I have come back to this as the 'new' 328 nanos I have just don't want to work. I have some older ones that use the Old Bootloader that are much more compatible, especially with RS485 devices. The trouble is I have used all mine up and have about ten of the 'new' ones that are not able to function. I have ordered some more AT168 versions, which I will use to populate those parts of the rig that can use them, but it essentially excludes anything with an OLED. I am hoping I can harvest enough of the 'old' 328's that I can use to service all the ones that need it, but want to hedge my bets and try and get some more of the older ones. The trouble is the only reliable way to tell the apart is by trying to load a sketch on them, if you use the wrong bootloader they won't load. so a) how can I tell they are the 'old' version and b) where can I order some? Cheers Les
No1sonuk Posted September 11, 2023 Posted September 11, 2023 Have you tried flashing the old bootloader to the new ones? Not sure if it's possible, though.
lesthegrngo Posted September 11, 2023 Author Posted September 11, 2023 No, but I wondered if there was something about the loaders that made the difference. As I said, the number of times when pins would not work on the new ones but work perfectly with the At168's and older 328P's shows something is going on, and maybe it's the way the data is sent to the Nano Les
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