Original or generic Arduino?

As mentioned in other articles, Arduino is an open source electronic platform based on easy-to-use hardware and software. Being an open platform, anyone can download all the information and build their own board. For this reason, many other companies copy and even modify the original plates. In this way, manufacturing costs have been reduced by replacing some components with lower quality or cheaper equivalents.

The above is also a problem, since when we buy an Arduino clone we cannot, in many cases, ensure that the components will be good. It is not good to generalize, since there are many brands that manufacture it and that take care to offer a good product. What is true is that an original one guarantees that good components are used and it will surely be more durable and more robust. However, this guarantee provided by the brand is associated with a higher cost for the original Arduino boards.

A very common modification, made mainly by some Chinese manufacturers, is the replacement of the traditional ATMEGA16U2 with the CH340G.

This component facilitates USB communication with the computer and performs protocol conversion, allowing the computer to send and receive data through the microcontroller’s UART. In this tutorial we show you how to identify this integrated device and how to install the necessary driver in case your generic Arduino has it.

Something that should be clarified is that the Arduino clones will not have the Arduino logo drawn on the board. Otherwise, the trademark would be violated and we would be talking about a pirated Arduino. The correct thing is that they do not have any logo or they have the logo of a different manufacturer.

Another detail that should be highlighted is that by buying an original one, we are financially helping the founders of the original project, which prevents them from disappearing as a company. From my point of view I do not believe that if the original company disappears, the project will disappear. Since there are many other companies that could cover this absence. In this way, buying an original Arduino can be seen as a tribute to the original creators. But in any case it depends on each person.

In conclusion, it is important to emphasize that there are many generic manufacturers that produce high-quality and reliable boards. When choosing a generic Arduino, it is advisable to check reviews, look for products from well-known manufacturers, and, if possible, check community feedback to ensure you are getting a good quality product. If you don’t know much about electronics, it may be advisable to look for an inexpensive board like the generic ones and thus reduce the cost if for some reason you end up damaging it. If you want to work on a more serious project that must be more reliable, you may be interested in using an original board. There is no definitive guide and everyone must decide based on their interests. Keep in mind that once inside this world you will surely end up having several different boards with different characteristics. My advice is to try, practice makes perfect.