The new dimension of making
Your user-friendly, accessible Arduino UNO R4 just took a quantum leap forward: Arduino UNO R4 is a 32-bit microprocessor offering more speed, memory, connectors and connectivity options than any version of the board before. Out of this world, and into the future.

Set a new standard
UNO R4 preserves the standard form factor, shield compatibility, 5 V power supply and robustness of the UNO range while offering no less than a 32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M4 and a 16-fold increase in memory. Thanks to enhanced thermal design, the UNO R4 boards can be powered up to 24 V.
The best prototyping and learning tool for anyone just got better.

Last week, we covered the Maker Go RA4M1-R4 development board, an inexpensive “clone” of the Arduino UNO R4 Minima with some small modifications like support for up to 50V DC input and a 3.3V/5V switch for I/Os. But today, I’ve come across a smaller and cheaper Renesas RA4M1 board that’s also software compatible with the Arduino UNO R4. Meet the WeAct RA4M1.

Chinese hobbyist electronics specialist Maker Go has launched its own take on the Arduino UNO R4 Minima, based around the same Renesas RA4M1 board but priced significantly lower — and currently available, for a limited time, for under a dollar.

“The RA4M1 core board uses the Renesas RA4M1 (Arm Cortex-M4) microcontroller with a speed of 48MHz, which is three times higher than the [Arduino UNO] R3,” Maker Go writes of its design. “SRAM [Static RAM] is increased from 2kB in [UNO] R3 to 32kB, and flash is increased from 32kB to 256kB to adapt to more complex program applications. Compatible with the official [Arduino UNO R4] Minima development and learning board.”

physical switch to flip between 5V and 3.3V logic. Its main advantage: price, selling for a standard retail price of just $7.76 including delivery — undercutting the official Arduino board by some considerable margin.