Is Arduino Mega compatible with all of the arduino uno shields

Thread Starter

PhantomZNeuroX

Joined Jul 29, 2020
2
Hello, So i have been using a Arduino UNO for quite a while now and now needed a new board due to some issues ,and am deciding between another UNO or a Mega , My question is that, is the mega compatible with all of the arduino uno shields and Libraries? because i have heard that the coding on the mega differs a bit and that some shields like the adafruit TFT LCD touchscreen is not compatible with the mega. Is that true?
and if it is what is it that differs in the code?, This is something that i was researching for a while now and couldnt find a valid answer for.


Thanks, :)
 

djsfantasi

Joined Apr 11, 2010
9,156
Hello, So i have been using a Arduino UNO for quite a while now and now needed a new board due to some issues ,and am deciding between another UNO or a Mega , My question is that, is the mega compatible with all of the arduino uno shields and Libraries? because i have heard that the coding on the mega differs a bit and that some shields like the adafruit TFT LCD touchscreen is not compatible with the mega. Is that true?
and if it is what is it that differs in the code?, This is something that i was researching for a while now and couldnt find a valid answer for.


Thanks, :)

Most shields and libraries are compatible with the Mega. If you’re using the Arduino IDE, anything that runs on an Uno will run on a Mega. The major differences between the two is that the Mega has many more resources. Many more GPIO pins, more hardware Serial communications, more PWM pins and more Analog pins.

It is true that you may have to make some wiring changes with some shields, but they’re well covered in the shield documentation.
 

KeithWalker

Joined Jul 10, 2017
3,063
I have a 2.4" TFT display shield that I wrote a calculator program for on a uno. I just connected the shield to a mega and downloaded the calculator program to it. It works perfectly, including the touch screen.
I have not seen anything about incompatibility except the some communication pins are different, but there is always a note in programs that are written for both, if those pins are used.
Regards,
Keith
UnoPinout.jpgMegePinout.jpg
 

Thread Starter

PhantomZNeuroX

Joined Jul 29, 2020
2
I have a 2.4" TFT display shield that I wrote a calculator program for on a uno. I just connected the shield to a mega and downloaded the calculator program to it. It works perfectly, including the touch screen.
I have not seen anything about incompatibility except the some communication pins are different, but there is always a note in programs that are written for both, if those pins are used.
Regards,
Keith
View attachment 213455View attachment 213456
Ohh Okay Thank you So much
 

SamR

Joined Mar 19, 2019
5,031
Short answer is yes. When you place the boards side by side the obvious difference is the mega is longer. Comparing the UNO pinout against the Mega the Digital and Power rails are identical. The UNO analog rail stops at A5, the Mega analog rail continues to A7. In addition on the MEGA is a second analog rail up to A15, a communication rail, and at the end dual digital rails up to 53 with also another ground pin.
 
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