I Accidentally Bought the New Arduino UNO R4 (And It's INSANE)

Oops! I made an impulse buy and ended up with the brand new Arduino UNO R4. But this happy accident turned into an eye-opening experience. In this video, we're diving deep into what makes the R4 a potential game-changer in the world of microcontrollers.

🔍 What's inside:
Unboxing the Arduino UNO R4 MINIMA
Detailed comparison with the R3 version
Mind-blowing upgrades you need to know about
Potential drawbacks to consider
Is it worth the upgrade? My honest opinion

Whether you're a seasoned Arduino user or just getting started with microcontrollers, this video will help you understand if the R4 is the right choice for your projects.

⚡️ Quick specs:
New Renesas RA4M1 chip (32-bit ARM Cortex-M4 core)
48 MHz clock speed
256 KB Flash memory
32 KB SRAM
New features: 12-bit DAC, CAN interface, HID support, and more!

🎬 Stay tuned for an upcoming video where we'll explore the Arduino UNO R4 WiFi version!
💡 Are you excited about the new Arduino UNO R4? Let me know in the comments!
#ArduinoUNOR4 #Microcontrollers #TechReview #arduinoprojects

00:00 intro
00:30 let's talk arduino
00:37 R2 vs R3
01:48 R3 vs R4
02:10 The improvements
03:43 The fine print
04:37 outro

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[PaperHunter]

My hot air station laughs at the "inability to swap chips". I still don't want one though. ESP32, RP2040/2530 or even good old Arduino Nano (the Elegoo clone ones) are my choice these days.

[sanjaybhatikar]

Good Lord, it is almost as good as ESP32!

[clytle]

Okay, fine. But they shouldn't have called it a UNO, it's a completely different beast. It's just going to cause headaches for anyone familiar with the old UNO. Very dumb move.

[poijmc]

Ok, DAC and HID we're unexpected.
Gotta check these Renesas MCUs, pretty interesting feature set

[tdumnxy]

Cool. The 14bit ADC could interest me... but wait I'm still using my Duemilanove which I bought when it first came out. DC Current per I/O Pin:40 mA, And on-board FTDI. And a proper big-boy Type B connector. They don't break! And I can even pronounce Duemilanove properly.

[marsrocket]

Sounds awesome until you get to the pin current limits. That means you’ll need external transistors or mosfets to drive even moderately powered chips.

[krib]

We made a board using the Renesas RA4M1,
Added optocouplers on all 13 IOs so we can input up to 32V.
Also added 13 transistors to control mosfets /relays.
For the Analog pins, we added some voltage divider circuits so we can read up to 36V.

The Can is very easy to use we simply added a Sn65Hvd with choke and capacitors, we manage to read machinery Canbus and activate modules.

We are currently trying to add a RF module to the board as well as a Canbus display.

We had to change the renesas Buck converter since it is absoulte trash and really hard to solder.

We love the ra4m1.

[zentricegg]

I regret buying it. Many popular libraries won't run on it. Meanwhile the inexpensive ESP Wroom32, utilising both cores at 240mhz. Or how about the Teensy 4.1? 600mhz overclock? 1ghz Overclock?

[frankl]

Not replacing my nanos anytime soon considering they screwed us on the output current and some projects are more complex than they need be. But it is pretty cool.

[joeblow]

The R4 is something that in the past, I would have bought one just to put it in a nice case to display on my shelf. The way the economy is now, I can't really justify the expense for something I probably won't use. Like others have said, I'll just use the ESP32 or a Pico W for 1/4 or less of the cost of the R4.

[zaired]

I almost bought it, but in Canada the wifi version is way too expensive. I can get esp32 wroom for 10 cad but r4 is 60 cad

[GypsyBackwards]

Honestly, I TA'd for a few semesters in what was basically a sophomore arduino class in college. The buck converter is really nice, but the maximum output current is going to cause headaches for years to come. I don't know how many people I've seen power a tiny 6v DC fan directly off an arduino pin or light up 5 LEDs on the same pin. I mean, they're sophomores, it's hard to fault them (in many cases these were mechanical engineers getting their first exposure to C++ or building a circuit that wasn't provided in a schematic) but these changes are going to have some real knock on effects for schools. I've chased down some funny issues back then, it would get old explaining to a student why they need to buy a new arduino after accidentally shorting a pin to ground.

[tolkienfan]

I like the upgrade in compute. I think I'll get a couple to experiment

[BartVenneker]

The VREF pin on the Arduino Uno R3 is used as the reference voltage for the analog-to-digital converter
So you may connect it to 2v to get the full ADC resolution over 2volt in stead of the default 5v

[twr]

I was curious, started with Arduino originally. I am puzzled why people use Arduino these days. A 16MB single core ESP32-C3 costs less than €2, a dual-core 16MB ESP32 with high density ttf display and liion charger is under €5, with 16 gpios, and about 1/4 of the size of an Arduino. I am honestly just wondering. Btw you can of course run 5v peripherals. Gpios are 5v tolerant.

[jimmy]

I picked up one of these only because it is almost alone in being fast + 5v level + Arduino. I am using it to interface with an ancient Casio computer, and level converters + ESP32 did not work with its non-standard I/O. Also of note is that the new chip is a whole other world from STM when you dig below the Arduino libraries.

[ovalwingnut]

First time viewer. Definitely a SUB-worth video Arduino "Give'ith & Take'ith away? But still COoL. Cheers from So.Ca.USA 3rd house on the left (please call before stopping by)

[fernando]

Without setting my house on fire...decent feature...Very tempting.

[danondler]

They should have put a removable jumper on the LED pin13 circuit to remove the LED and full utilization of pin13. The reduced power on I/O pins and soldered in micro are deal breakers for me.

[pesto]

All I heard was... Wahh wahhhh wahh wahh wah... wahh wahhh whhaaa whaa