Do those EBAY Arduino PRO MINI ATMEGA328 boards for $3 have a bootloader?

[wilfred]

/.

[sleemanj]

I have heard some do and others do not.
I think they would not really be an Arduino of any kind if they do not. But that is not going to stop them on Ebay.

Yes they do (unless the seller/factory forgot to program them, which is always possible of course).

I've brought in quite a lot of them (some for use, some for resale), and never, touch wood, had a bad one.  Although I don't buy them from ebay.

Just watch that they have a 328 on them, I've seen them being sold with the 168.

Of course if you were unlucky to get one without a bootloader, you'll just need a second working one to act as ISP to load the bootloader on the dud.

[true]

Out of 5 from the same seller, I've received one with a dead MCU, and another without the bootloader. But they were the best looking assemblies, go figure.

[dannyf]

i have used maybe 20 - 25 of those, mostly pro micro. they all worked as avr. i tried arduino on maybe 3 - 5 of them and none failed.

[Zeta]

I have heard some do and others do not.
I think they would not really be an Arduino of any kind if they do not. But that is not going to stop them on Ebay.

Yes they do (unless the seller/factory forgot to program them, which is always possible of course).

I've brought in quite a lot of them (some for use, some for resale), and never, touch wood, had a bad one.  Although I don't buy them from ebay.

Just watch that they have a 328 on them, I've seen them being sold with the 168.

Of course if you were unlucky to get one without a bootloader, you'll just need a second working one to act as ISP to load the bootloader on the dud.

would you share your source ?

[george graves]

are you hoping to shave of $0.02 cents?   

ha!  Just asking it it can get any lower!

[deth502]

Of course if you were unlucky to get one without a bootloader, you'll just need a second working one to act as ISP to load the bootloader on the dud.

ive not worked with those, only the full size dev boards (just pry out the ic and use that in any permanent circuits) but wouldnt you need a 2nd arduino to act as an isp to program one of these reguardless? 

[sleemanj]

ive not worked with those, only the full size dev boards (just pry out the ic and use that in any permanent circuits) but wouldnt you need a 2nd arduino to act as an isp to program one of these reguardless?

Not sure what you're asking, but if the bootloader has been programmed, then you can use a USB-Serial adapter to program it, the Pro Mini's have standard 6 pin FTDI pinout for a header.

You only need an ISP (if it's real, or an arduino acting as one, or some other means) to actually load the bootloader initially.

[zapta]

[You only need an ISP (if it's real, or an arduino acting as one, or some other means) to actually load the bootloader initially.

Those USB/serial adapters are compatible with the Arduino IDE which use the DTR signal to reset the board to access the bootloader.

BTW, I have had good results with this one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Crius-FTDI-Basic-Breakout-Arduino-USB-TTL-6-PIN-3-3-5V-for-MWC-MultiWii-Lite-/251317473754?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a83b051da

[retrolefty]

ive not worked with those, only the full size dev boards (just pry out the ic and use that in any permanent circuits) but wouldnt you need a 2nd arduino to act as an isp to program one of these reguardless?

Not sure what you're asking, but if the bootloader has been programmed, then you can use a USB-Serial adapter to program it, the Pro Mini's have standard 6 pin FTDI pinout for a header.

You only need an ISP (if it's real, or an arduino acting as one, or some other means) to actually load the bootloader initially.

Or if you wish you can upload sketches using the IDE using the 'upload using programmer' thus eliminating the need for a bootloader and a USB serial converter cable/module altogether to upload programs.