# Arduino Nano 3



## Terrormaster (Sep 27, 2007)

This thing looks pretty damn cool. Just waiting on a price point now. But if its cost effective this could mean a pretty cool tool for building some autonomous animated props.

Check it out:










http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/03/in_the_maker_shed_arduino_nano_3.html

Basically Arduino's like a mini computer capable of running stuff like Linux OS. My dreams of a Google Android powered prop are slowly coming to fruition


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## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

The Arduino stuff is good but a fair chunk more expensive than the Picaxe range at $35.


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## JonnyMac (Apr 5, 2007)

...and certainly not capable of running Linux. Arduinos are fun, and do offer cross-platform tools, but are not capable of running a major OS. Another fun chip is the Propeller from Parallax: eight, 32-bit processors in one chip and, thanks to BST, you can program it with Windows, Mac, or Linux.

We (EFX-TEK) are starting to deploy the Propeller in our products, as well as in custom designs for others.


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## fritz42_male (May 5, 2009)

Each type has it's place. At the bottom I see the Picaxe range - great for hobbyists and dirt cheap. 

Then you get the Arduino - more expensive but with some more features 

Then you get the Propellor - very full featured

However, that's not the whole story as within each range you have different processors - I'm waiting for Picaxe to release the 18M2 which is extremely configurable and can run 4 tasks simultaneously.


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## HomeyDaClown (Oct 3, 2009)

I've used both Picaxes and Arduinos on many projects and it really depends on what I want to get done and at what speed. Picaxes are cheap as is the program/project board and programming cable (a couple of resistors and a serial cable) but are generally slow since they must interpret Basic commands (convert them to C for the Pic processor) along the way. They were actually designed for Schools so they are very easy to program in Basic.

The Arduino nanos are ok but you can find clones of them out there for around $20. I think the last two I bought were $22 with the mini usb port on-board. Although Arduinos are programmed with their version of C language, there is a huge library of code already written and well documented to do most common tasks so you really don't need to be and expert C programmer.. I usually find something close and copy/paste it into the editor. I am now using them for prop controllers that run off of MicroSD flash cards to control servos and playback audio. My biggest program so-far was 6.5K and I've got just over 25K room left. You can check out the projects and playground at: http://arduino.cc/.

There are tons of project sites for the Picaxes as well.

You really should get your hands on both to really see what's what and what fits you best. Maybe look for a project that does what you need (or comes close) and try it out.


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