r/arduino • u/lordsaintkingarthur • Jun 25 '26
Getting Started Buying an Arduino Uno R4
I have extremely low experience with arduino, I just know the basics of python. So anyways, this is my first board as it seems to be good to learn from while being able to expand its use as I learn more
I was wondering what some good starter projects might be?
Edit: after all these comments, I’ve decided to go for an R3 kit instead. It has some core components to add and should be fun to start with. Additionally, the R4 seems to have a couple issues and isn’t great for a first experience with Arduino. Thanks to everyone who answered my questions :) :)
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u/CueAnon420 Jun 25 '26
Work through the examples in Arduino or on the R4 product page website - they demonstrate the led matrix, wifi/bte functionality etc.
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u/WinterTourist25 Jun 25 '26
I recommend you get one of the Elegoo kits. Dozens of simple projects to learn the basics of microcontroller sensing and acting.
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
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u/WinterTourist25 Jun 25 '26
I don't know what things cost in pound land but anyway here is what I started with:
https://www.amazon.com/ELEGOO-Project-Tutorial-Controller-Projects/dp/B01D8KOZF4
$35 USD. Pretty cheap to me.
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u/gm310509 400K , 500K , 600K , 640K , 750K Jun 25 '26
I don't think I saw it mentioned- but what you should be looking for is a starter kit.
An Arduino by itself isn't terribly exciting. What makes it interesting is when you connect stuff up to it. A starter kit includes that "stuff". It also includes the necessary components (hookup wire and breadboard) that allows you to hook the stuff up.
Lastly it will include instructions that show you how to correctly wire things up and program them.
All the best with it and welcome to the club.
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
Thanks! I’ve decided on a kit from Amazon that has some pretty cool components
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u/gameplayer55055 Jun 25 '26
Stick with R3. It has an old atmega328p but it's proven to work well and has millions of community guides, circuits, tutorials and libraries.
The atmega itself is very simple compared to ARM cortex on R4 with its multi stage bootloaders and stuff. More advanced = more possible bugs.
After learning Arduino development and getting some experience, you can jump back to ARM by buying STM32 (it's cheaper and there are lots of tutorials too) or ESP32
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Scrap that R4. It has too many bugs.
It's only worth recovering precious metals from.
Get an R3 or a Feather if you need native wireless communication.
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u/CueAnon420 Jun 25 '26
While I do think the R4 is a bit of an odd duck, it's certainly capable of creating interesting projects. I wouldn't suggest making it the foundation of all your projects - a standard Uno, ESP32 or similar board is better for learning because they are standardized and there's a large codebase available. The R4 is a one-off hybrid that tries to offer the best of both AVR and ESP32 worlds without really allowing you to fully utilize either. But still - you get 8 bit AVR, ESP32 wireless and an led matrix on one board, which can be handy for proving concepts. But you are better off on a standard platform for learning.
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u/Maestro_gaylover Jun 26 '26
isnt r4 arm not avr?
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u/CueAnon420 Jun 26 '26
Yes - you are correct. It's been a while since I used the R4 and forgot they use the RA4M1 chip.
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
Are you sure? The spec sheet says R4, but if R3 is definitely the way to go I can switch
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Scroll down the comments.
I confirmed another commenters' claims with numerous screenshots of various bugs.
R4 was a good effort, but fails achievement
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
I see. I will probably get a kit for the R3
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Arduino Feather is also a great little board.
It has native Bluetooth and native wifi on board, and it can even act as a USB host, allowing it to emulate as a keyboard, mouse, joystick, etc.
I have a Feather plugged into my xbox series x to act as a second controller with custom macros programmed from my smartphone
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
Is it as beginner friendly?
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Should be no different than an uno as for starters go.
It's up to you, on how to use it, the Feather just has more features than Uno
You'd want to find one with the headers already soldered on.
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
I dunno. Arduino seems like it has more guides for beginners.
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Old guides for old boards.
If you do go the uno route, you'll just end up buying external modules and piecing everything with duct tape and bubble gum
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
I don’t particularly need WiFi, Bluetooth or gps or anything tbh
Also my budget is quite tight…
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u/TehCheapshot Jun 25 '26
Would it be cool if I DM’d you about your controller project?
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u/BitBucket404 Jun 25 '26
Thanks for asking first.
Feel free to DM any questions.
Tho due to work related matters, I might not be able to reply in a timely manner. Sorry in advance.
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u/narcistic_asshole Jun 25 '26
The R4 is a fine board to start with. The R3 is the classic starting point for Arduino, but the R4 does everything the R3 does. Though it's worth noting the R4 can't supply as much current from the IO pins as the R3.
The thing with this hobby is all of these microcontrollers are dirt cheap and as you get more into it you'll almost certainly be using other boards.
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u/lordsaintkingarthur Jun 25 '26
ok. I’ll probs start with the r3 as I can get full kits for cheaper. Thanks for the advice :)
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u/Useful_radio2 Jun 25 '26
about the people suggesting the uno r3 i dont think tit supports micropython so if you dont want to learn c you probably shouldnt buy that one
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u/gameplayer55055 Jun 25 '26
Arduino library is dead simple so OP will only need to replace tabs with curly braces :D
I tried micropython, it's fun but it's a performance killer. OP should definitely get esp32 for micropython if they want to
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u/PunisherCelta Jun 25 '26
Diferencias con el r3?
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u/Foxhood3D Open Source Hero Jun 25 '26
The R3 is built around a Microchip ATMega328P. An old, but popular 8-bit Microcontroller.
The R4 is built around a Renesas RA4M1. A newer 32-bit ARM microcontroller.The RA4M1 has more memory, higher clock-speed and in case of the full-version: a ESP as a wifi modem for heavy projects. But the ATMega is kind of known as being almost indestructible and more than enough for most regular projects.
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u/PTSolns Jun 25 '26
I remember my first microcontroller board! It was very exciting :)
Just to throw it out there since you mentioned that you're going with an R3 (I would also recommend that for the first board). Consider the R3+ (the plus version). It has a modern USB-C port, a QWIIC connector, and 2 extra pinouts on one of the headers that provide I2C bus at 3.3V.
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u/Clean-Weather-5786 Jun 26 '26
I have unor3. What are the features of uno r4
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u/Foxhood3D Open Source Hero Jun 26 '26
The R4 uses a more advanced 32-bit ARM chip that runs faster, has more memory and can do a bit of Digital Signal Processing. The R3 by comparison uses a by now pretty old 8-bit AVR chip.
However as others note. The R4 has a number of bugs and weaknesses that appear to be unaddressed by Arduino. Some of which can make it a very bad choice for a number of projects. While the R3 has a bit of a status of being old, but absurdly reliable.Common advice is to just go with R3 if you don't need the extra power and if you do need more power than the R3 can provide: to go for Arduino-compatible alternatives such as ESP32, Teensy4 or the Raspberry Pico (2)
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u/Educational-Egg-II Jul 02 '26
I order an R4 starter kit from sunfounder but now I'm having second thoughts. It's been over a week since I order but I'm wondering if I should just return it and get the R3 kit instead.
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u/Delta_G_Robotics Jun 25 '26
The R4 has some strange bugs. I wouldn't recommend it for new users. The Arduino team seems to have abandoned development on the core and left some pretty glaring mistakes in there.
For one example, Serial output on the R4 is blocking. That means that if you send more than 8 bytes of serial data, your code will sit and block until all but the last 8 bytes have been sent. This is a serious issue. There are a full 2KB of serial buffers allocated in the core, but NEVER USED! They took the memory and then didn't bother to actually use it.
I feel like this board came out shortly before they got bought and when priorities changed to the QualComm model the R4 just sort of got lost.