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HOME / PRODUCT CATEGORIES / ARDUINO BOARDS / ARDUINO PRO MINI 328 - 5V/16MHZ
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Arduino Pro Mini 328 - 5V/16MHz
DEV-11113 ROHS
122
DESCRIPTION FEATURES DOCUMENTS
It’s blue! It’s thin! It’s the Arduino Pro Mini! SparkFun’s minimal design approach
to Arduino. This is a 5V Arduino running the 16MHz bootloader. Arduino Pro Mini
does not come with connectors populated so that you can solder in any
connector or wire with any orientation you need. We recommend first time
Arduino users start with the Uno R3. It’s a great board that will get you up and
running quickly. The Arduino Pro series is meant for users that understand the
limitations of system voltage (5V), lack of connectors, and USB off board.
We really wanted to minimize the cost of an Arduino. In order to accomplish this
we used all SMD components, made it two layer, etc. This board connects
directly to the FTDI Basic Breakout board and supports auto-reset. The Arduino
Pro Mini also works with the FTDI cable but the FTDI cable does not bring out
the DTR pin so the auto-reset feature will not work. There is a voltage regulator
on board so it can accept voltage up to 12VDC. If you’re supplying unregulated
power to the board, be sure to connect to the “RAW” pin and not VCC.
The latest and greatest version of this board breaks out the ADC6 and ADC7
pins as well as adds footprints for optional I2C pull-up resistors! We also took
the opportunity to slap it with the OSHW logo.
Note: A portion of this sale is given back to Arduino LLC to help fund continued
development of new tools and new IDE features.
Tags
ARDUINO DEVELOPMENT PRO MINI START A PROJECT
Arduino Pro Mini 328 - 5V/16MHz Product Help and Resources
TUTORIALS SKILLS NEEDED
Reducing Arduino Power
Consumption
NOVEMBER 10, 2016
A tutorial about different ways to
reduce the current draw for your
next Arduino project the easy
way.
LED Cloud-Connected
Cloud
FEBRUARY 22, 2016
Make an RGB colored cloud light!
You can also control it from your
phone, or hook up to the
weather!
LED PomPom Headbands
JUNE 14, 2017
Follow this tutorial to make your
own light up PomPom headband!
Try the beginner version if you
are new to electronics or the
advanced version if you have
some more experience!
Mini GPS Shield Hookup
Guide
DECEMBER 15, 2016
A hookup guide for the SparkFun
Mini GPS Shield.
Customer Reviews
The Uncertain 7-Cube
MARCH 8, 2013
The Uncertain 7-Cube is a non-
committal, less-than-helpful, but
also entirely honest fortune teller.
Simply ask it a yes or no
question, give it a nudge, and the
7-Cube will dutifully inform you
that it doesn’t have all the facts
and doesn’t feel comfortable
making a guess.
COMMENTS 188 REVIEWS 122
4.6 out of 5
Based on 122 ratings:
3 of 3 found this helpful:
Great simple embedded processor
about 3 years ago by Skye verified purchaser
I must have a dozen of these. They are my go-to processor for simple projects. (For more serious applications
I use ARM processors.) I have used them for a health monitor, sun tracker, gyro calibration table, motorized
rotation stage, furnace monitor, and other projects. My only wish would be to have an optional true RS-232
output, but I make due with an external converter.
6 of 6 found this helpful:
A great product for small spaces
about 3 years ago by Madbodger verified purchaser
I’ve built a lot of projects with various versions of Arduino. This one takes the cake for small size, however, and
still has all the I/O leads. Works just like any other ‘328 based Arduino, just tiny (and thin – the circuit board is
thinner than the usual 1.6mm ones). Pins on the end let you power/program it with an FTDI cable or FTDI
Basic, or power it. I just solder a 6-pin header on there, and wires on the I/O pins for whatever I want.
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Second item on my "Things I need infinite of" list.
about 3 years ago by Andon verified purchaser
First item is, of course, breakaway headers.
These things are fantastic, and I’ve integrated them into so many projects. They’ve got everything you could
need (Except a USB port… but there’s a FTDI adapter for that). Plenty of pins to utilize. Low-profile. Built-in
power regulator. And it’s .
1 of 1 found this helpful:
5 star 85
4 star 33
3 star 2
2 star 1
1 star 1
Currently viewing all customer reviews.
Great little powerhouse
about 4 months ago by Member #648893 verified purchaser
I’ve used a knock-off of this true Arduino and have found that the components and manufacturing quality of the
knock-off were sub-par to this little gem. My ONLY complaint is the difficulty in un-soldering the jumper to
isolate the on-board regulator. If this were on the backside of the board (wasn’t it at one time?) it would be so
much easier to un-solder with less chance of disturbing other components.
4 of 4 found this helpful:
Power in Small Packages
about 3 years ago by Drewgoo verified purchaser
This is my go-to board for pretty much any electronics project. Working with it is almost an unnoticeable
difference from the UNO or RedBoard (minus size, of course). My only grievance is that you have to solder and
desolder wires to test with it instead of being able to use jumpers like on a bigger board, but that’s my lazy side
talking. Soldering makes for a more permanent connection than the female headers on the RedBoard or UNO
(non-permanent connections are a pet peeve of mine), and honestly, they’re so cheap, I just got another one
and tossed on female headers so I could test with it before I soldered my final product together. Without a
doubt, this is my favorite product Sparkfun sells.
3 of 3 found this helpful:
This fits the bill
about 3 years ago by Member #326864 verified purchaser
I love this board. It’s tiny, it’s powerful, it’s inexpensive, and I can design a PCB using this part as it is in the
sparkfun EAGLE library. Right now I am in the process of designing a Tachometer around this board, and a
serial 2x16 LCD. The tachometer is for a Honda XR650L dual sport bike. I have the board layout complete and
am about ready to send it out to be made. When the tach is completed, I will post a video of it.
5 of 5 found this helpful:
Great buy
about 3 years ago by Mindbender verified purchaser
Great for the breadboard, and semi permanent/permanent projects.
Need to solder on headers, but that’s expected and keeps the form factor flexible.
But - my only gripe is that A4 and A5 (SDA & SCL for I2C )are not broken out to the edge. When I have it on a
breadboard, I have to solder on headers to the top. It’s a tight space, and extra wires coming out of the top is
messy. A lot of my projects are using these pins, and the slight increase in board length to accommodate these
two pins would be well worth it in my opinion.
2 of 2 found this helpful:
My favorite and most useful Arduino
about 3 years ago by Trea verified purchaser
You get everything a larger UNO has but it is a super small form factor. Using this in projects where space is a
factor is a must. I bought the SF pro mini kit that comes with the FTDI board and some other things like lights,
buzzer, etc then I bought 3 separate Pro mini.
One bad thing about them is the pads are very sensitive so if you solder to them and you mess up it can be
very hard to remove the solder without damaging the pad. I lost my left TX0 pin on one board.
3 of 3 found this helpful:
More that just an atmega328 breakout board
about 2 years ago by scharkalvin verified purchaser
This board will end up as the controller in the front panel of a little QRP transceiver I’m building for the 40 and
20 meter bands. It will control an AD9835 DDS VFO among other things (should be enough space in the flash
to code a CW keyer as well). I would have normally used an ATmega384 but this board is smaller than the 40
pin package of the ‘384 and is 'ready to go’. I’ll add an 18pin i2c i/o expander chip if needed. Great little board
when you need a micro controller for a project, and it’s smaller than using a DIP package IC, but as easy to
wire up. (only gripe was having to solder the i2c pullup resistors on the bottom).
Well after all this time, I just discovered that the jumper for the regulator was actually the solder blob near the
regulator, not the trace under the I2C pull up resistors. Wish you guys would have identified that. So I removed
my comment about that, and added a star to the review.
BTW, If you want to run the 5v part at 3.3 volts, you can, unsolder that blob, and provide 3.3 volts to the VCC
pin. Then reflash the bootstrap and the fuses so that the divide by two clock pre-scaler is enabled to run the
board at 8mhz. This way you don’t have to replace the crystal or the voltage regulator. You’ll have to modify
the bootstrap, recompiling it with the CPU set for 8mhz, and adding the logic to set the clock divider. Also need
to set the divide by 8 fuse so that you don’t overspeed the cpu clock before you can execute the code to
change the divider to 2.
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Extremely useful Arduino board
about 3 years ago by Member #145899 verified purchaser
I’ve used it a couple of times and the low price, small size and thinness of the board makes it extremely useful. I
would however have liked a beefier voltage regulator. 150 mA is too low for many of my projects which means I
have to stuff in an additional voltage regulator somewhere in my otherwise tiny project.
1 of 1 found this helpful:
Easy to use and works well
about 5 months ago by Member #476405 verified purchaser
Unlike my understanding of Sparkfun’s write-up for the Pro Mini, it works fine to upload programs with just an
FTDI cable, don’t need the special FTDI adaptor. It would also be helpful to explain how to install the pull-up
resistors onto the solder pads provided for SDA and SCL. Can we buy the tiny resistors that are needed, and
just how are they installed onto the solder pads?
Kansukee/f replied on September 22, 2017:
Hello!
Those type of tiny pads are typically soldered to through surface mount soldering. We’ve got some
guides available here: https://www.sparkfun.com/tutorials/category/2 that go over it, though you can do
it with a wand too if you’re patient and have a steady hand.
In regards to what type you would want, you would wanna go with a 0603 form factor SMD chip resistor -
there are many around that you can choose from if you google 0603 resistors - I would say you
probably want to check what device you’re using to double check what value of pullup they want, but
10k is not that uncommon.
1 of 2 found this helpful:
My favorite Arduino board
about 3 years ago by vvvjv verified purchaser
It’s small, it’s inexpensive, and it does everything you would expect from an Arduino.
Great
about 3 years ago by Member #631797 verified purchaser
Well made.
Small Power
about 3 years ago by Member #504863 verified purchaser
I’ve grabbed a few of these, and a few osepp ones as well (older version)
They are nice to add simple controllers to just about anything. The concepts can be tested on a uno and
loaded on the Pro Mini seamless and easily soldered to a solderable breadboard. This takes a project that
spans a testing table to pocket size in minutes… well ok… maybe an hour.
Easy Setup with Eclipse
about 3 years ago by Member #607240 verified purchaser
I prefer to use Eclipse IDE for most of my programming (HTML, PHP, CSS, JS, C, C++, Java…etc). The AVR
plugin for eclipse works really well for the Atmega 328(P) boards. Easy to set up Static Library for the chipset,
then focus on the int main(void) part of the application and quickly deploy the application to the Mini or Uno.
I HIGHLY recommend getting the FTDI Basic Breakout (DEV-09716) and/or the FTDI cable (DEV-09718). Both
work wonderfully with this board. Some soldering may be required so pick up a few Breakaway Headers (PRT-
00116).
Solid little workhorse
about 3 years ago by Talobab verified purchaser
These are a great little board. Plenty of power and really small size. They just work!
Excellent product
about 3 years ago by Mulvane verified purchaser
This tiny thing really helped out when I needed it most. I’d like to see it sold without arduino bootloader pre-
loaded if it meant it could come in just a bit cheaper though. All in all, happy.
Inexpensive and works great!
about 3 years ago by Member #77792 verified purchaser
Bought two of these along with the FTDI Basic Breakout. Installed sockets on one to allow me to make quick
connections with 24 gauge solid wire for general experiments. Used the other one to build an Iambic CW Keyer.
Going to order a few more to keep on hand for future projects!
Easy!
about 3 years ago by Member #634456 verified purchaser
Very simple to set up, had wiring and code up and going within an hour of opening the package.
Exactly what I needed
about 3 years ago by Member #637197 verified purchaser
Small and easy to integrate into projects where I need a micro controller. Saves me from soldering more smd
stuff. Just all around simple to use.
Tiny, Useful, Economonical Uno on a diet.
about 3 years ago by WemblyTinkerer verified purchaser
I like this little board because it is very similar to the Uno with some extra analog inputs and a little less power
supply. It counts pulses, watches sensors, directs NeoPixels, and does a lot of other stuff. I program then as
little I2C slaves to gather and average readings for my gravity sensor experiments. It’s small enough to fit into
my pirate chip plush project, watch and post process GPS data, and is quite small. It’s already in the Arduino UI
and just works. Aside from a few K more RAM, what more could one ask of an economical, cool looking, well
maid board?
Great as
about 3 years ago by Member #57306 verified purchaser
Great product. Compact. Inexpensive (due to MINOR hassle of “having” to do USB off-board. Do I want idle
USB ciruits on deployed Arduinos? No!)
I’ve done KiCad .lib and .mod files for those who want to put an Arduino Pro Mini on a PCB of their own design.
Free.
http://kicadhowto.org/LibLib.htm
The small size of the Arduino Pro Mini reduces the expense of the PBB you are making, as there is little board
area under the Arduino.
Excellent
about 3 years ago by fboesche verified purchaser
Great option for my embeded arduino projects. I have used it on several wireless and control applications.
about 3 years ago by Member #510332 verified purchaser
The same performance and capabilities of an Arduino UNO in a much more compact package. So far
everything is great
Extremely useful Arduino board
about 3 years ago by Member #145899 verified purchaser
I’ve used it a couple of times and the low price, small size and thinness of the board makes it extremely useful. I
would however have liked a beefier voltage regulator. 150 mA is too low for many of my projects which means I
have to stuff in an additional voltage regulator somewhere in my otherwise tiny project.
Great little arduino board
about 3 years ago by Member #637512 verified purchaser
Compact and efficient, uploads easily with FTDI breakout. Great way to save space in your project.
Perfect for permanent hacks
about 3 years ago by Pokey verified purchaser
I had an Arduino Nano tied up on a breadboard for the better part of a year as part of an FSR endstop
detector on my 3D printer. I wanted to get the mess of wires and proto parts off my desk, so I flashed one of
these with the project, soldered on some headers and pullups, cleaned up the wiring, and hid it neatly under
the printer.
My only complaint is that it’s fiddly to temporarily connect to the UART for programming without soldering down
a header. It would be really nice if staggered holes were used here instead. In my case, where I’d already
proven the code out elsewhere, test clips were sufficient to get the job done.
Great
about 3 years ago by floris verified purchaser
Small, Lots of i/o.
Great device for building a compact project!
about 3 years ago by Member #656653 verified purchaser
Minimal design approach in a small package, which fits my needs perfectly. The large, positive action reset
button is a nice feature too. Plus you know when you purchase from Spark Fun that there are no counterfeit
components on the board.
0 of 1 found this helpful:
Are you kidding, don't event think about it
about 3 years ago by bluerock2 verified purchaser
OK, don’t get me wrong here but I don’t event think about this part. It is what it is. It works, its cheap, (have a
few hanging around). I am working on a project that took a lot of RAM and Flash. Hey, make it dual processor,
because I have A FEW LAYING AROUND that costs EACH!
Perfect for so many project at the right price!
about 3 years ago by Member #349652 verified purchaser
I have so darn many of these in use right now. The one time purchase of an ftdi board and off you go!
Why use anything else?
about 3 years ago by Permie verified purchaser
This is a great little machine. It’s cheap, small, and powerful. You could attach headers to it for prototyping, but
I usually develop using an Uno and then replicate the circuit over to the Pro Mini. It’s that compatible.
great board
about 3 years ago by 71784 verified purchaser
This is a great board, and at a suspiciously low price.
0 of 1 found this helpful:
Good Stuff
about 3 years ago by Member #399399 verified purchaser
It works! It does what it should.
I make a ‘spot’ for it on my pc board and it saves space and time.
Things are good these days. If I had these years ago, Just imagine.
Thanks. Sparkfun is good too. I always look at you for my first bom. Thanks.
W R
Best ardunino for inbeded projects.
about 3 years ago by Member #338203 verified purchaser
So you have gotten your feet wet and learn the basics, and now your ready to make a useful project using the
Arduino, this is your guy. Low cost, small package makes it great for those projects where you want to mount
the Ardunio permanently. Only thing I would change is ditch the reset button and charge 50 cents less,.
Great for smaller projects
about 3 years ago by Member #657497 verified purchaser
If size is an issue, this is a great product to use. Only thing I wish it had was a 5V output since the sensors I
used required a 5V regulated output. This can be fixed by using voltage regulators, but it was a slight
nuisance. So, 4 stars instead of 5.
Single T replied on May 27, 2015:
Hi! The VCC pin on the board is a regulated output pin. On this board it’s a 5V regulated line. The
regulator is rated for 150mA.
An ideal size for an Arduino compatible micro!
about 3 years ago by Member #153411 verified purchaser
little larger than a large postage stamp with 14 digital and 8 analog ports, this micro can fit almost anywhere.
Easily my favorite SFE product.
about 3 years ago by William31415 verified purchaser
The Arduino Pro Mini is cheap, tiny, and easy to implement. I consider this the best option for Arduino-based
projects (as long as you know what you’re doing). Onboard voltage regulation is a huge plus.
Love it.
about 3 years ago by MarkBell verified purchaser
I embed these in all kinds of models I build, it really simplifies the lighting. Instead of running dozens of wires to
lights in the model, I just have to run power to it instead.
Great Arduino
about 3 years ago by Member #121312 verified purchaser
Perfect for my applications and very compact.
Great For Prototyping
about 3 years ago by ZedLep verified purchaser
I use the ATmega328P on many of my own PCBs, and this board is perfect for prototyping before committing to
a board design. I’m able to program it with either the FTDI Basic (DTR) or a 5v FTDI cable (RTS) using the
Arduino IDE. The note in the description on auto reset not working is somewhat misleading; might be helpful if
there was a little more info on this. My only complaint is the A4 & A5 pins aren’t brought out to the edge, and
they’re not even on the same .1" grid pattern as the edge pins. Wouldn’t mind the extra 0.1" board length to
bring these out. I do like having the solder pads for I2C pull-ups on these pins right on the board.
Excellent product
about 3 years ago by Member #698310 verified purchaser
Allows full automation of systems while remaining extremely space efficient. Perfect for mounting onto a small
protoboard
An excellent product at an excellent price
about 2 years ago by Member #653742 verified purchaser
The Pro Mini 328 has all the IO pins of the full size Arduino Uno board, and the tiny form factor makes it perfect
for projects with cases that are too small for the full size board, plus it’s only a fraction of the price. You’ll need
to solder wires or pins to the board and use a separate FTDI board to program it, but that’s not a problem for
experienced experimenters. Also, you’ll lose the ability to stack standard shield boards on it. But, If you’re using
this board as a controller in a project that will only be programmed once, and has to fit in a very small space,
then you don’t want to pay for a FTDI circuit on every board. Unless you’re a total novice, or need to add
shield boards, then this board is a great alternative to the full-size Arduino Uno board.
about 2 years ago by techiebot verified purchaser
I love the small footprint and slimness, which make it so easy to incorporate in a variety of projects.
Perfect. Easy Microcontroller in a small package
about 2 years ago by Member #709920 verified purchaser
I used to program PIC microcontrollers, but have become irritated by the poor compiler. It actually inserts junk
code in unless you buy the high end version. This is nothing like a PIC. Its faster. Has plenty of memory. its just
awesome and I couldnt ask for more. I put a header on it, plugged it into the USB->Serial converter and started
programming.
And its small! And its cheap! This is now my #1 go-to microcontroller.
Great little device
about 2 years ago by Member #629756 verified purchaser
And I make sure I have a few on-hand. I’ve used these in various projects now and they just make it easy - do
a quick HW design, hook things up, and then add a few features purely via SW as enhancements become
apparent. The ability to source, as well as sink, enough current directly to drive LEDs is really handy.
Easy to connect to, inexpensive, and has the functions I need
about 2 years ago by Member #323950 verified purchaser
This is much smaller and less expensive than an Uno, so can fit in a hand-held enclosure, yet has all the
functionality I need. I can read external sensors and display the results on an LCD display via the I2C bus.
Plenty of inputs to connect a keypad or pushbuttons. And using an FTDI friend with a USB cable I’m able to
program it without any problems at all. I now use an Uno for prototyping, then port the program over to a Pro
Mini to build into my enclosures. Thanks, whoever came up with these… Keep up the good work!
good condition, a bit confused
about 2 years ago by Member #712961 verified purchaser
After a while i figured it out, but id didn’t realize i had to solder the pins on myself, but that was justfrom my lack
of experience.
about 2 years ago by Member #395694 verified purchaser
This is a great product for completing a project created on a full sized arduino on a protoboard. I don’t care for
“shields” as it seems to cause a lot of extra physical connectors and such… I’d rather take a solder-proto
board, a Pro Mini and whaterver else is needed and build it up. Make for lower cost and more compact projects
- but does take more time. If you can live without headers - this is THE Go-to Arduino board - and I think there
is a similar “Leo” version. Also - the new pinout-PDF for the Pro Mini makes it even easier to use. BUY TIME! :-
)
Works great
about 2 years ago by Member #717413 verified purchaser
I made the mistake of trying some knockoff version of this first that fried itself when I hooked it up to 12V. The
genuine article works great and is perfect for permanent embedding in small projects.
My new favorite Arduino
about 2 years ago by Ninjared verified purchaser
I had no idea that so much awesomeness could fit into something so small. This thing rocks. I’ve had no issues
with them at all.
-Edit: The only major issue I’ve come across is that it does not do so well being powered by a battery pack any
larger than 8.4V. Anything over that, and the teeny-tiny 5V regulator on the board starts getting VERY hot. Be
careful for this!
Best for small projects!
about 2 years ago by Member #104401 verified purchaser
I’m still fairly new to the Arduino, but I had a few projects I wanted to make more permanent without dedicating
an Uno to each one. This was exactly what I needed. It’s small, powerful, and easy to program with the
SparkFun FTDI basic breakout.
Great little board
about 2 years ago by Member #736947 verified purchaser
Works perfectly
The Arduino Pro Mini is a Fantastic Option
about 2 years ago by Member #633342 verified purchaser
Fantastic option when space is tight and you want a lightweight microcontroller. I used mine for a model rocket
flight controller that ensures electronic staging only occurs if the upward trajectory is near vertical and the
rocket is stable. I also built a remote controller for shop vacuum system around the Pro Mini. What a great
product! Thanks SparFun!
Excellent Board. You need to buy 10.
about 2 years ago by algorhythm verified purchaser
Love this board and use it all the time in projects. Right now I’ve got one on a breadboard with an ftdi basic
hooked up. It’s so fresh and so clean. A+++ would buy again.
Embedded Prototype for Inclined Plane Rectilinear Motion
about 2 years ago by Castañeda Alejandro, PhD verified purchaser
This microcontroller is using its size and simplicity to implementation and development of a didactic prototype
for measuring acceleration, speed and time in experiments to demonstrate Newton’s three laws of motion using
rectilinear experiment. This work was presented in Mexico as an educational prototype, but was not well
appreciated by the entity, who severely critical as the normal force is measured, nevertheless, the idea yet
been implemented in the laboratory to demonstrate that the normal force is a conservative force.:
http://somi.ccadet.unam.mx/somi30/programa.php?id=3
Compatible, flexible, and tiny
about 2 years ago by Member #537437 verified purchaser
Compatible: I use these boards after I have done my prototyping with an Uno or RedBoard and I’m ready to
build my project in a more permanent fashion. Flexible: No, you can’t bend it, but you can solder (flexible)
wires, or male or female header connectors. I use male header connectors on the bottom side because then I
can simply “plug” the ProMini into the board it’s interfacing with, which is frequently just a perfboard. Plug and
play. Well, plug and solder, then play. Plus I install a 6-pin male header connector on the top side for
interfacing with the FTDI Basic Board (DEV-09716) for programming. I can upload the initial code during
construction, but easy enough to plug in the FTDI Basic if I wish to upload new code later. If it needs to be low
profile I install a right-angle header connector and I can plug the FTDI Basic in from the side. Tiny: Well, that
pretty much speaks for itself.
Love the Pro Mini
about 2 years ago by wrenoud verified purchaser
For me the best thing about the pro mini is it fits on the bread board. I can easily prototype and then fit the little
board into a project.
My only complaint is that A4 and A5 are not on the outside. They are the I2C pins, and it would be nice if those
came out to the side in preference over 2 of the other analog pins, as they can also double as analog pins.
It'll always be my first
about 2 years ago by Member #743944 verified purchaser
Exactly what you’d expect it to be. This little thing is what I used for my first permanent arduino project. Failed
to order the FTDI breakout cable, but I found instructions online to program it using my Uno.
Small yet powerful
about 2 years ago by Member #757904 verified purchaser
Perfect compliment to Raspberry PI for data acquisition
great job with the shrink-a-nator
about 2 years ago by dezldog verified purchaser
When your project (or skills) are wanting a very small board, this is the way to go! I also like not having to have
USB on board; the programming cables are just as convenient and that leaves fewer components to fail in the
project.
Arduino Pro Minis are Pro!
about 2 years ago by FangedScorpion verified purchaser
Very easy to use Arduino platform with a small form factor. Cheaper than an Arduino Uno and easily fit into a
breadboard with headers. Great breakout!
Perfect form factor
about 2 years ago by IceDogSeven verified purchaser
I recently purchased one for a project at work that was very space constrained. Then I immediately bought 2
more. So inexpensive that I don’t feel bad about soldering only the headers I need on it (soldered the
programming header on at 45 degrees which was just right for my application). So now I have 3 in 3 completely
different configurations. Love this thing.
I use it for all my projects.
about 2 years ago by Member #505608 verified purchaser
Inexpensive, easy to program. Small footprint. 16 mhz. Use it for everything except when I want a full arduino
footprint.
These are an inexpensive powerful solution.
about 2 years ago by Member #695033 verified purchaser
I have used several of these in projects and they work great. I even made a footprint for my own PCB to install
this board rather than lay my board out for the processor only. I have one installed in my golf cart to monitor
the batteries and display date, time, battery volts, state of charge, and MPH.
Impressive
about 2 years ago by Member #440852 verified purchaser
I pretty much only use this version of the Arduino now (for everything new). Unless you need the gazillion pins
of the Mega, this little board can either plug into a protoboard, or another board designed to receive it, or can
be used standalone, giving me flexibility beyond what an Uno offers.
With the USB converter board that sparkfun offers, it’s absolutely as easy to use as any other Arduino and way
more flexible. And it’s ten bucks. What’s not to like?
Just what we needed
about 2 years ago by Member #791156 verified purchaser
Fast efficient service, works great.
Easy to use and small enough to fit almost anywhere.
about 2 years ago by Deadbot1 verified purchaser
I have used a few of these now. Cheap enough to use for almost anything. Small enough to fit almost
anywhere.
My last project used one as the heart of a controller to run all of my Halloween animatronics. The next one is
destined to display Christmas cheer for all to enjoy. Once populated with a few headers they are easy to
program with the SparkFun FTDI Basic Breakout - 5V
Pro Mini is just about the ultimate arduino
about 2 years ago by Member #330106 verified purchaser
I really like the Pro Mini 5v/16MHz.. That is why I now own about 20 of them.
I do not ever want to see them on your obsoleted list!!!!! One of the most important aspects of any electronic
component is consistency in availability. If you ever quit making the Pro Mini, especially the 5v ones, I will really
be pissed!!!!!
There is only one thing that could improve the Pro Mini and that is the physical footprint. The ultimate arduino
would be to make a pro Mini with the exact same electrical schematic minus the serial chip etc. but have the
same footprint as the Arduino Nano with two rows of 15 pins.
Nyle Steiner
A little Workhorse
about 2 years ago by Member #215956 verified purchaser
I have used the Pro Mini for a number of projects, both at home and at work. It has worked well and kept the
size of the enclosures very small. My bosses love the price, as well! It’s made me a hero.
Small and inexpensive
about 2 years ago by Member #365325 verified purchaser
If you need an Arduino in a compact package, this fits the bill.
Like someone else mentioned, getting the I2C lines out to board edge would be very useful.
Plant Moisture Sensor
about 2 years ago by Member #796006 verified purchaser
The low power draw and small footprint should make this board well-suited for my application as a plant
moisture sensor.
I’m still reading up on methods of operating the Pro Mini with minimal current draw. One suggestion is
disconnecting the LEDs and regulator. The addition of removable jumpers on the PCB would be helpful.
I tried powering the unit using the RAW power connection. Unfortunately, my unregulated 9V supply whose no-
load output was about 14V, enough to damage the Pro Mini. Having learned my lesson, I bought one of
Sparkfun’s regulated supplies which solved the problem.
I also had occasion to talk with Sparkfun’s Tech Support which was very knowledgeable and helpful.
It works as expected
about 2 years ago by joopp verified purchaser
Nice small size, easy to work with.
Big surprise, small package
about 2 years ago by walkercreations verified purchaser
I own a couple Arduino Uno’s and was never sold on the Mini’s. I bought this one for a robot project and what a
big surprise. This thing is as capable as its bigger counterparts. I will definitely be getting more of these for
future projects. I’m very happy with the performance and ease of use. I highly recommend giving these a try.
Versatile
about a year ago by Member #134717 verified purchaser
We’re a radio station still playing classical music from CD’s. Transferring the audio to HD is easy - it’s the
metadata from the liner notes that is a problem. Broadcast CD players are almost extinct and standard
CD/DVD players have no front-panel controls. We’ve compensated by buying inexpensive DJ-type CD players
and modifying their functions to do what we want using an Arduino. We’ve added external start-stop inputs and
defeated the “snooze” function that put the machine in standby if it was left in cue for too long. Great product!
Great for small board packaging
about a year ago by Member #831498 verified purchaser
I am utilizing a Pro Mini to control a cooling system I have designed for my Senior Design Project at California
Polytechnic State University: San Luis Obispo. There I study Mechanical Engineering with a Concentration in
Mechatronics. My project is a Prosthetic Socket Cooling System for an Afghanistan war veteran who suffers
from overheating due to wearing four prosthetics. I am also in the works in designing my own printed circuit
board to house all of the components in a small package to be worn on the prosthetic. Sparkfun has been a
fantastic avenue of information and products to facilitate project progress and completion.
nice and small form factor
about a year ago by Member #527126 verified purchaser
I use an Arduino UNO with the 328 removed as the serial usb interface. So I can bread board with the UNO
then do final with the Pro Mini
Not too bad
about a year ago by msorola verified purchaser
Bought this to make the Hatermatic project. It worked for about a year, but I tried updating the code and
something went wrong with the bootloader and it would no longer accept code. Rather than buy the stuff to fix
it, I just bought a new one of these. Works good.
Great for small scale
about a year ago by Member #420203 verified purchaser
I used this board in a project that was outdoors. I loved that it free’d up space to use for other items. I mounted
it to a breadboard with female headers. Whenever I want to update a small piece of code I just pop it out. It
always me to program inside the warmth of my house.
This is a great board
about a year ago by Member #767669 verified purchaser
The is a great little board. When you don’t need the functionality of a full Arduino, this is perfect. It’s small, is
available in 3.3 and 5 volt versions and is very inexpensive.
Great board
about a year ago by Member #866957 verified purchaser
This Arduino Pro mini is working fine
Great! But don't break it
about a year ago by Sstone86 verified purchaser
Works great! I buy them for the price.
perfect for neopixel luxo lamps for christmas
about a year ago by Member #668686 verified purchaser
the right amount of IO. easy to program. and cheap!
Mini Mighty
about 10 months ago by Member #220753 verified purchaser
Picked a bunch of these up during a discount - they can’t be beat for size, and processing power in that space.
No more LLCs
about 10 months ago by Member #842747 verified purchaser
I do a variety of projects and each have their purposes. I tend to want to standardize on hardware wherever
possible; sometimes this means including some LLCs to go between 3.3v and 5v which expands my payload
(not a good thing when adding electronics to toys).
Having a 5v option for the Pro Mini helps alleviate having to add LLCs for certain peripherals; this allows me to
choose which version of the Pro Mini. Which is nice for me.
Great little arduino!
about 10 months ago by Member #792537 verified purchaser
Once you’ve mastered the UNO go ahead and get the Pro Mini! Make your projects smaller and neater by
using wires soldered to this. I got mine on Arduino day, I’ve been using Pro mini from another source and this
definitely has better quality!
Where's the pin headers?
about 10 months ago by Member #500057 verified purchaser
Product was fine and at a good price on Arduino sale. I like Sparkfun stuff. But, I’ve got these from other
companies and they included pin headers? Maybe THAT was fluke? Throw a couple rows of headers in the
plastic bag next time……please.
use it for low-power applications
about 8 months ago by Member #567114 verified purchaser
I’m using this for a simple weather station with DHT22 and BME280 sensors and a Sunny Buddy solar/lipo
supply. It also needs a buck-up controller to power a 5-V board. It requires more work to set up because it is
not compatible with standard Arduino shields. But, it is not hard to do on a breadboard – just solder headers
along the edge. The SCL/SDA pins require separate wires to the breadboard. It requires less current than an
Arduino Uno or RedBoard. I use the Narcoleptic library in my code to reduce the power requirements even
farther. You need an FTDI module to communicate with a computer’s USB port.
about 7 months ago by CBeener verified purchaser
The only problem we had was that the display we was driving was a 3.3 volt device. It took out three of the pins
driving it. We added a 680 ohm resistor in series. Now all is good.
The original Pro-Mini!
about 7 months ago by Member #370201 verified purchaser
Small foot print, 8 analog inputs, low cost! What’s not to like? It’s not the most convenient development system
as you need to isolate d0/d1 while programming but if you want to stamp out a lot of inexpensive nodes or do
something that doesn’t need to communicate, the package is powerful and the price is right. Just plug it into
your circuit board design and save a bunch of dedicated logic.
Great product at a great price
about 5 months ago by Member #528960 verified purchaser
Was the right size at the right price with all the functionality I needed.
Great product, awful shipping
about 4 months ago by Member #1133201 verified purchaser
I bought this to use in a project that I had prototyped with an Arduino Uno. I had questions about the optional
pull up resistors, which their support team answered quickly and accurately. The helpful and informative web
site pointed me to everything I would need to successfully use this remarkable little gem. My project was a
success. This is the product I will reach for next time I need an Uno class microcontroller.
But the shipping was awful! I was initially thrilled to find an innovative electronic supplier just one state away, as
my previous favorite was on the east coast, charged too much for shipping (often as much as the product),
and took a week to get here. I was excited to be able to get stuff quickly. Imagine my disappointment to
discover that SparkFun’s shipping was even worse. They didn’t get the order out the door for three days,
which their web site says is normal. Their most reasonable option was FedEx smart post. So, after several
days, I moved on to my next project, which I ordered from a company in the Midwest. I ordered on Saturday,
received an email on Sunday saying it shipped. They charged me to ship it via USPS. Both orders arrived the
same day.
I2C bus capacitance out of spec, causing I2C to not work
about 4 months ago by Member #606722 verified purchaser
The I2C bus capacitance on SDA and SCL is around 4 uF (4000000 pF). Spec is <10 pF, and the total
allowable on the bus is 400 pF. Accordingly, it is impossible to pull up the lines fast enough for even low speed
I2C (100 kHz) communication. I tested 3 samples, all had this problem.
Kansukee/f replied on October 16, 2017:
Sorry to hear about the issues with the pro mini’s. Have you contacted our technical support
department at Techsupport@sparkfun.com - they’re usually pretty good about helping figure out issues
like this.
perfect
about 3 months ago by The Best verified purchaser
its better than the old design because there is good description on the board
Arduino mini
about 2 months ago by Member #757063 verified purchaser
I ordered 5 of these. One did not work. Had to order 2 more just incase it malfunctions.
I’ve had to update my rating, customer service reached out to me and was very helpful and refunded me the
malfunctioning board. They are very interactive and easy to reach. I appreciate the great service over there.
CF replied on December 14, 2017:
I’m sorry to hear that! We try to make sure no bad boards go out in orders but sometimes one gets by
us. Please contact our tech support team at techsupport (at) sparkfun (dot) com and we can help you
with this.
Disappointed / Labeling Issues
about 2 months ago by Member #1223652 verified purchaser
I know what I ordered but the boards are not marked. There is clearly a place to indicate on the board what
they are, but no-one bothered to mark them. It makes me question whether they are 5V or 3.3V, 8MHz or 10
MHz or 16 MHz. There are enough variables to evaluate without having a clearly marked product that I can
depend on.
Always reliable, great design
about 2 months ago by thuston88 verified purchaser
These little guys are just great for remote nodes tested on a breadboard.
A handy little gadget!
last month by Member #1259177 verified purchaser
Easy to solder pads. Easy to program via FTDI by Atmel Studio(V7.0) and Arduino IDE.
A very flexible little module - I’ve soldered pins to 3 of the 5 that I’ve bought and left a couple in their little
packets for some as yet unknown future project.
about 2 weeks ago by Member #320079 verified purchaser
Work great for my projects very happy with them. TinVu
This is my favorite the Pro mini
about 1 days ago by Member #511005 verified purchaser
It’s compact and works every time It’s also a great field swap board you can touch up your program at the shop
and then install quick in the field .
Dave
Absolutely fantastic product.
about 3 years ago by CkShipman verified purchaser
The pro mini is my “goto” microcontroller. I usually solder header pins then use in wire wrap perf boards.
Arduino Pro Mini is great
about 3 years ago by robust48 verified purchaser
He helped me in my projects, it is small, compact, just great
Too stinking kool!
about 3 years ago by 2BitBot verified purchaser
Great little board with big dreams. Lots of power in a very small package. Love working with this board.
Whatever will I build next?
0 of 1 found this helpful:
it is an arduino
about 3 years ago by Member #335979 verified purchaser
A built-in level shifter would be awesome
Perfect for small projects!!
about 3 years ago by Member #623189 verified purchaser
Just ordered 3 more. The size is perfect for small projects including home automation. Screwed up meant to
give 5 stars!!
Great Arduino, Great Price
about 3 years ago by Member #446294 verified purchaser
It does exactly what it should. Makes it easier to put an Arduino in a permanent project.
0 of 1 found this helpful:
My computer wont recognize it.
about 3 years ago by Skerpy_D verified purchaser
I downloaded all of the necessary drivers except it wouldn’t recognize the Arduino. I tried switching the board in
the tools section and I tried changing the COM port but nothing worked. It seems like a great board that would
be great for low-profile projects but I just can’t get mine to work.
not bad
about 3 years ago by Member #432464 verified purchaser
decent price, compact size. but the arduino settings for this board didn’t work at all, had to use the 328p
settings included with the arduino ide.
Single T replied on March 11, 2015:
Sorry to hear that. It’s an odd issue, possibly your board was booted with the wrong version of the
bootloader. Let us know if this is an issue and we can help you out.
Neat device
about 3 years ago by Member #611204 verified purchaser
I bought these to use in an RC transmitter design obtained elsewhere. I was not aware of them or their
capability at the time.
It worked out great and really got me interested in the microprocessor and the programming of it.
Easy to learn and works as advertised. There is lots of similar projects and help available.
Highly recommend them.
Great for teaching labs!
about 3 years ago by Member #488168 verified purchaser
These little guys are great for teaching how to program in arduino and build sensor and control systems.
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