Features:

  • The mega is 100 percent compatible with Arduino and most shields designed for the Arduino Mega2560 R3
  • The chip is Atmega2560-16au and Atmega16u2, same with the official version
  • Improved and expert version: 1. 0 pinout: added SDA and SCL pins that are near to the AREF pin
  • In future, shields will be compatible both with the board that use the avr, which operate with 5V and with the due that operate with 3. 3V
  • The second one is a not connected pin, that is reserved for future purposes
very nice clone compared to some other Mega 2560 clones I've ...

This is a very, very nice clone compared to some other Mega 2560 clones I've purchased on Ebay. It has a real crystal oscillator for the main clock, as well as the EN-RESET trace, and a real ATmega16U2 for USB <> serial interfacing. This last point is important if your project requires the Arduino to appear as another USB device type. The 16U2 can be flashed separately from the ATmega itself to accomplish that. The 16U2 chip is supported directly by the Arduino, so no 3rd party driver is required to upload to the board, as with cheaper clones using the CH340 chip. Compare this to a clone I recently purchased from Ebay. The ISP header was soldered on at an angle, a cheap resonator is used for the clock instead of a crystal, there is no EN-Reset pads (although a cap can be desoldered to do the same thing), and it uses the cheap CH340 USB <> serial chip instead of the Atmel. The bootloader on the Elegoo seems to be the newer STK500v2. The bootloader is configured to NOT flash the on-board LED while waiting for the upload. It will wait 7 seconds on reset before going to the user code, unless it detects serial comms on the USB port that are not from the Arduino IDE. In that case, it jumps to the user code in under a second once it figures out the IDE is not running the serial port. A great buy. I will order again. Well worth the addition $2.00 I paid.

Compatible with Arduino shields

No design hiccup as discussed in another review (header spacing). So far this unit appears plug compatible with the Arduino Mega. It is a nice touch that they include the USB cable. Also, the headers are silk screened on the sides which is helpful. The issue about incorrect spacing in another review is not a flaw, it is keeping the design identical to the original Uno and subsequently, the Mega header spacing. Arduino shields mate up just fine. The attached photo shows an Adafruit LCD shield mated up to the Elegoo.

Components are nicely soldered, the PCB is a nice black

Elegoo's version of the Arduino MEGA2560 R3 is priced so cheap that you might be tempted to never buy another Uno type board, at least for prototyping purposes. In addition, unlike most 'copies' (not really, it IS open source hardware after all), Elegoo actually presented some quality control and innovation to this field. Components are nicely soldered, the PCB is a nice black, it has a real crystal oscillator and 16U2 serial USB interface, the package carries a CE logo, and best of all- the female header pins are labelled on the side. This was already a nice feature when they added it to their version of the Arduino Uno, but it's actually kind of important on the Mega because of the overwhelming number of pinouts when you're using dozens of IO for sensor datalogging and device controls especially with a shield on top. They even gave a nice shoutout the Arduino.cc on the board. I would highly recommend this version of the board over others on the market.

Elegoo made good on the problems I had with the first three boards I bought from them. They are fine boards.

I bought three. At first I gave it one star. Elegoo sent me three more boards at their own expense. At first they gave me the same problem with the AVRDUDE program download. Then I noticed this same phenomena happening on old boards I had been using for months without any problems before. Arduino IDE is open source and free but it is constantly updated and some version have their own quarks. I found that these Elegoo boards work just fine if I do the same thing I had to do to get my known boards to accept a download. Even though "port" setting under the "tools" menu says the board is attached to a COM port click on it anyway. For some strange reason this fixes the problem and without changing anything else the program downloads and the board performs as it should. I think the original problem that caused me send the boards back for a refund was an Arduino IDE problem.

Good product, amazing customer support.

UPDATE: Elegoo sent me a replacement board, which when tested worked properly. This is very honorable of them as it is out of its return window, and I hadn't even asked for an replacement. I have thus changed my review from 3 to 5 stars. Broke after around a month. Was using it along with a ramps 1.4 and it started giving false readings. Bought a new mega and it has been working great .

Neat! Has the pin numbers printed on the outside of the pin sockets. BUY IT!

Excellent Arduino Mega. It is actually BETTER than most. It has the pin info printed on the outside of the pin sockets (as well as on the board) so you can tell what is where without pulling off the shield. Great board. Well packed and delivered promptly. Update: I am using a large number of Mega's and have had about four of these and they all worked. Of the four other boards from miscellaneous brands there were two failures, one DOA. These all worked and continue to do so. These are my go-to brand. I am ordering two more with more to follow. They are packed better than others as well, in a static bag inside a box, and have all made it perfectly - no bent sockets or other issues. Great product!

Very versatile board for more complex projects.

Great little board for my Robotic Project. It provided several extra serial ports and additional data ports, memory, which I needed for my project, and the UNO R3 board does not have. I've used the Kuman 3.5" UNO Module (320x480) color touch screen panel with this which directly mounts on the headers with no re-wiring. You'll find have a couple extra grounds and +5V on the opposite ends of digital data connector very useful. Elegoo has great customer support as well.

Finally! I got an arduino - and had it working in minutes.

Arrived in 2 days, and so far, works great. I'm literally only an hour or so into playing around with it, but I wonder why I waited so long. I've long used Raspberry Pi's for several projects, but recently wanted to see what the Arduino has to offer. I downloaded the dev tool from the official site, plugged my new Arduino Mega 2560 into the USB port, and a minute later, was downloading the example Sketch programs. I've since gotten the tone player to work, and a servo as well. While I was very tempted to get one of the kits with all the extras, I honestly have a ton of parts here. The only one I bought in addition was a 4-line LCD. I need to wire that up to test it out. // My one note of advice to anyone working with these types of fragile components (especially in the dryness of winter) - make sure you've discharged any static by touching something grounded before handling circuit boards.

Programming failure

Elegoo MEGA 2560 R3 Board was tested and could not be programmed. The "Blink" sketch could not be loaded without a timeout error. I used 3 of their boards previously with no problems and decided to order an other but it failed. I will relegate this failure as a random QA pass through failure unless others experienced the same problem recently. Board returned for refund. Elegoo responded immediately to the initial review and sent me a new board that tested perfectly with several sketches. Excellent customer service! They do read the reviews to solve any problems that may arise with their products and take the extra step to assure customer satisfaction. I am raising their score from 2 to 5 stars because of this and I will continue to buy their products in the future.

Well made Mega 2560 R3

If you're running low on IO pins on your UNO R3, or need more program spaces, the MEGA is the way to go. Elegoo's is a quality option. Priced just slightly higher than auction knockoffs, but with fully printed headers, a sparkly USB cable, and Elegoo support! If you don't have a kit yet, get this in the Elegoo EL-KIT-008 Mega 2560 Project The Most Complete Ultimate Starter Kit. I already have their UNO R3 complete. They make their manual for the MEGA complete available online though (mostly the same projects as their UNO R3 kit, but MEGA specific, which should feel more comfortable for beginners especially).

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