"Who doesn't like surprises?"
Engineers. That's who. As an engineer, I'd have to say that we are trained to handle unpleasant surprises out of the blue. Things not going our way. "Quick! Pull out the contingency plans!"
A Limited Edition Surprise!
However, surprises of the element14 kind are usually good surprises. In this case, I received this rather "anonymous" looking padded bag on my doorstep without any prior notification.
Looking at the addressing information (removed in the above photo), it was clear that this package was tariq.ahmad 's handy work. Nothing to be afraid of, I thought.
Inside was this limited edition surprise, with an element14 Project14 label. I guess I did this to myself by responding to this thread about Crazy Arduino Automations, not thinking that I'd be chosen. After all, I was distinctly proposing that such a board is too pretty to be actually used in any serious project.
All jokes aside, I am well and truly honoured and humbled to have this collectible piece of history. Since its announcement, I've always thought that it would be something to have in the collection, as I watched Arduino completely change the prevalence and accessibility of microcontroller programming to a whole generation, if not more. As a teacher of embedded systems and digital systems design, the stark contrast between "harsh" assembly, expensive proprietary programmers and unfriendly toolchains to the open-source, openly-shared, C-based development environment with a wealth of interchangeable library code has even changed the way I build my own proof-of-concept devices. It was well and truly night-and-day and almost made traditional 555 timers obsolete for many projects overnight!
Having missed out on Arduino Day 2023 celebrations, I really can't express just how much Arduino has been helpful for me. I've created odd LED decorations, IR remote emulators, IR 3D shutter glasses triggers, USB keyboard/mouse widgets, USB Serial to Ethernet bridges, network-connected car fridges, GPS trackers, LoRaWAN sensor devices, EPROM dumpers and much much more with it. I can't imagine a world without it.
This being a Uno Mini, Limited Edition board, is very different. It's packaged almost like a fashion item with a black cardboard wrap-around that is printed in hues of golden copper and white. Happy 10-million Unos ... and countless of other clones and derivatives. Sure, the Uno will get some people annoyed due to its odd header spacing on the top row, the fact that it runs 5V in an era that is increasingly pushing toward 3.3V and 1.8V and the fact it runs on a rather limited ATMega328P. But that's what made the Uno an Uno. Inexpensive, surprisingly powerful if used wisely and bulletproof in its simplicity and reliability.
There is an authentication hologram and a model number, and like every genuine board, proudly originating from Italy. But you won't find plain-white, teal green or any of the ordinary colours.
The box slides out of the wrap-around, itself made of a textured finish with a classy gold "stripe" along the middle. Exquisite.
The top is embossed with the logo, illustrating the infinite possibilities that an Arduino can unlock. But perhaps not this one.
Inside, as promised, the handsigned letter. This unit is serial C885, proudly mine. I can hardly believe my hands.
The board itself has had an upgrade to a USB-C connector, befitting this time and age. The USB side is still handled by a 16U2 while the main sketch is running on the 328P, as you'd expect. Each is clocked by a crystal, and the indicator LEDs are present too. No barrel jack, because it probably wouldn't fit - replaced by pads. Power is a little different, being handled by a smaller SOP-5 and MPM3610 switching converter, rather than the linear regulation in previous iterations. Headers are shrunk down and surface mount too - so they've provided some castellated pads and through-holes. The outline retains its "curves" but the ICSP header is missing. Overall, very well done and extraordinarily cute.
The manufacturing, all around, is done very well, although a bit more solder on the USB-C through-hole anchors would be good. But perhaps the nicest part is the back - look at all that ENIG/ENEPIG gold being so sharp, and contrasting with the black solder-mask. A very lovely touch - and one I don't go splurging on myself for my own boards.
I'm still surprised I ended up being chosen - I was expecting more people to covet such a board, but I suppose people may have been more thinking about functionality and performance over the aesthetic, sentimental and/or collectible value that this board has. To me - every other board in that list could be bought, but this one probably won't be able to ... depending on where you are and when you're trying to buy it. That makes it all the more valuable to me.
I guess this means only one thing - I'll have to follow through on my word and build myself a shrine to Arduino. But I won't be using this board ... I'll be honouring it by making one of its "ordinary" brethren do the hard work. It seems the Arduino Day contest runs until 25th May - I hope I'll have the time for that between Save the Bees, my Weller RoadTest (if you haven't seen my unboxing videos for the latter, then here you go - music version, narrated version), various reviews on my own site and applying for RoadTests such as this juicy Aim-TTi SMU4201.
Bonus - Soldering Iron Thoughts
Seeing that I'm currently in the process of reviewing the Weller WXsmart connected soldering platform, a recent thread by Jan Cumps about trying to use a conical soldering iron tip and enjoying it sparked a few thoughts and memories.
Unlike many others ... I grew up using a conical tip from day one and have come to expect one at all times. But many books of the through-hole era did recommend the use of a chisel for better heat transfer. When using other irons with a chisel tip, I'd frequently find myself trying to position it just right ... an issue I didn't have with my conical due to its rotational symmetry. I found that uncomfortable, continuing to opt for the conical at every chance. The fact the WXsmart RoadTest has quite a few conicals is a blessing to me ...
But that reminded me of this thread by cstanton four years ago when he showed a mangled conical tip from a Tenma hot air rework station and I showed mine in response, along with this post where dychen shows a completely destroyed tip from a cheap thermally-balanced iron (yes, those tend to go bad very quickly in my experience). Believe it or not, I'm still using that Tenma (rebadged Atten) tip and that iron ... and that's pretty much my only iron that's in regular use, doing SMD and THT all the same with good-ol' 60/40.
Now nine years old, it's gone through about 500g of solder from what I can tell (I had two-half-used 500g rolls done in that time). It's still serviceable, although the rusty crud is because I use water and sponge ... nine years of thermal shock and not once had I needed to resort to tip tinner/cleaner, nor lost the "wetting" of the tip or let it oxidise. I set the temperature to 385 degrees C and only turn it on when needed, never letting it idle more than about 15 minutes at the most each session.
But that being said ... I had always expected this "cheap" iron not to last the distance. At one stage, element14 were having a sale on the handpiece which turned out to be the same price as getting a tip ...
... so I have one to compare with. That's how it would have been nine years ago. I was afraid the heater or sensor would fail, so getting a whole handpiece was the way to go.
The tip has gotten a bit shorter, but the wetted area still remains. I would have expected more erosion over nine years, but apparently not. Will it see as much use now that I have a Weller WXsmart on my second bench? Somehow I doubt it ... but I can't help but think my Tenma Hot Air Rework Station was a great deal given just how long it's lasted and how many things I've fixed with it.
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