Arduino Mega

The Arduino Mega is based on ATmega2560 Microcontroller. The ATmega2560 is an 8-bit microcontroller. We need a simple USB cable to connect to the computer and the AC to DC adapter or battery to get started with it.

The Arduino Mega is organized using the Arduino (IDE), which can run on various platforms. Here, IDE stands for Integrated Development Environment.

The functioning of the Arduino Mega is similar to other Arduino Boards. We need not require extra components for its working.

The ATmega2560 Microcontroller is consistent with most of the shields of Arduino UNO.

The Arduino Mega board is shown below:

Why we use Arduino Mega?

The advantage of using the Arduino Mega board over other boards is that it gives the advantage of working with more memory space.

It has higher processing power, which can help us to work with the number of sensors at a time.

What is the difference between Arduino UNO and Arduino Mega?

The Arduino UNO is based on the ATmega328 Microcontroller, while Arduino Mega is based on ATmega2560 Microcontroller.
Arduino Mega (8Kb SRAM) acquires more SRAM space than Arduino UNO (2Kb SRAM). The greater the SRAM space, the more space would the Arduino have to manipulate and create a variable when it runs.
The Arduino UNO includes 6 analog pin inputs, 14 digital pins, a USB connector, a power jack, and an ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) header. The Arduino Mega includes 54 I/O digital pins and 16 Analog Input/Output (I/O), ICSP header, a reset button, 4 UART (Universal Asynchronous Reciever/Transmitter) ports, USB connection, and a power jack.

Memory

The memory structure is shown in the below image:

The preinstalled flash has a bootloader, which takes the memory of 8Kb.

Here, SRAM stands for Static Random Access Memory, and EEPROM stands for Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory.

Technical Specifications of Arduino Mega

The technical specifications of Arduino Mega are listed below:

There are 54 Input/Output digital pins and 16 Analog Input/Output (I/O) present on the Mega board.
The 15 pins from the 54 digital I/O pins are PWM output pins. The PWM pins are Pulse Width Modulation capable pins.
The input voltage of the Mega board varies from 7V to 12V.
The crystal oscillator present in Arduino Mega comes with a frequency of 16MHz.
The functionality of Mega is similar to the Arduino UNO.
The operating voltage of the Arduino Mega is 5 V.
The Mega board is considered superior in terms of SRAM memory space.
It is well-suited for most of the Arduino shields.
The bootloader is used to eliminate the exterior burner utilization.
It is generally used to create complex projects due to its structure.
The projects that use Arduino Mega board are IOT Applications, 3D Printers, temperature sensing, monitoring of real-time applications, etc.

How to get started with Arduino Mega?

We can program the Arduino Mega using the Arduino IDE. We need to install the Arduino IDE software to get started with the process.

We can also use Arduino Web Editor, which allows us to upload sketches and write the code from our web browser (Google Chrome recommended) to any Arduino Board. It is an online platform.

The USB cable is crucial for the connection between the board and the computer. The green LED will light, which indicates the successful connection between the computer and the board.

The steps to get started with Arduino Mega are listed below:

Open the code or sketch written in the Arduino software.
Select the type of board.
The ATmega2560 microcontroller is used in the Arduino Mega. So, we will select the Processor as ATmega2560.
As we select the board, the processor is automatically selected by default.
Click on 'Tools' and select Processor, as shown below:
Select the port. Click on the Tools -> Port (select the port). The port likely will be COM3 or higher. For example, COM6, etc. The COM1 and COM2 ports will not appear, because these two ports are reserved for the hardware serial ports.
Now, upload and run the written code or sketch.