Documentation

OSH: Schematics, Reference Design, Board size

Arduino / Genuino Mega 2560 is open-source hardware! You can
build your own board using the follwing files:

EAGLE FILES
IN .ZIP

SCHEMATICS
IN .PDF

BOARD SIZE
IN .DXF

Programming
The Mega 2560 board can be programmed with the Arduino
Software (IDE). For details, see thereference and tutorials.
The ATmega2560 on the Mega 2560 comes preprogrammed with
a bootloader that allows you to upload new code to it without the
use of an external hardware programmer. It communicates using the
original STK500 protocol (reference, C header files).

You can also bypass the bootloader and program the microcontroller
through the ICSP (In-Circuit Serial Programming) header
using Arduino ISP or similar; see these instructions for details.
The ATmega16U2 (or 8U2 in the rev1 and rev2 boards) firmware
source code is available in theArduino repository. The
ATmega16U2/8U2 is loaded with a DFU bootloader, which can be
activated by:

On Rev1 boards: connecting the solder jumper on the back of

the board (near the map of Italy) and then resetting the 8U2.

On Rev2 or later boards: there is a resistor that pulling the

8U2/16U2 HWB line to ground, making it easier to put into DFU
mode. You can then use Atmel's FLIP software (Windows) or the DFU
programmer (Mac OS X and Linux) to load a new firmware. Or you
can use the ISP header with an external programmer (overwriting
the DFU bootloader). See this user-contributed tutorial for more
information.
Warnings
The Mega 2560 has a resettable polyfuse that protects your
computer's USB ports from shorts and overcurrent. Although most
computers provide their own internal protection, the fuse provides
an extra layer of protection. If more than 500 mA is applied to the
USB port, the fuse will automatically break the connection until the
short or overload is removed.
Power
The Mega 2560 can be powered via the USB connection or with an
external power supply. The power source is selected automatically.
External (non-USB) power can come either from an AC-to-DC
adapter (wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by
plugging a 2.1mm center-positive plug into the board's power jack.
Leads from a battery can be inserted in the GND and Vin pin
headers of the POWER connector.

The board can operate on an external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If

supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply less
than five volts and the board may become unstable. If using more
than 12V, the voltage regulator may overheat and damage the
board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts.
The power pins are as follows:

Vin. The input voltage to the board when it's using an external
power source (as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or
other regulated power source). You can supply voltage through this
pin, or, if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it through this
pin.

5V. This pin outputs a regulated 5V from the regulator on the

board. The board can be supplied with power either from the DC
power jack (7 - 12V), the USB connector (5V), or the VIN pin of the
board (7-12V). Supplying voltage via the 5V or 3.3V pins bypasses
the regulator, and can damage your board. We don't advise it.

3V3. A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator.

Maximum current draw is 50 mA.

GND. Ground pins.

IOREF. This pin on the board provides the voltage reference
with which the microcontroller operates. A properly configured
shield can read the IOREF pin voltage and select the appropriate
power source or enable voltage translators on the outputs for
working with the 5V or 3.3V.
Memory
The ATmega2560 has 256 KB of flash memory for storing code (of
which 8 KB is used for the bootloader), 8 KB of SRAM and 4 KB of
EEPROM (which can be read and written with the EEPROM library).
Input and Output
See the mapping between Arduino pins and Atmega2560 ports:

PIN MAPPING
Atmega2560

Each of the 54 digital pins on the Mega can be used as an input or

output, using pinMode(),digitalWrite(), and digitalRead() functions.
They operate at 5 volts. Each pin can provide or receive 20 mA as
recommended operating condition and has an internal pull-up
resistor (disconnected by default) of 20-50 k ohm. A maximum of
40mA is the value that must not be exceeded to avoid permanent
damage to the microcontroller.
In addition, some pins have specialized functions:

Serial: 0 (RX) and 1 (TX); Serial 1: 19 (RX) and 18 (TX); Serial 2:

17 (RX) and 16 (TX); Serial 3: 15 (RX) and 14 (TX). Used to receive
(RX) and transmit (TX) TTL serial data. Pins 0 and 1 are also
connected to the corresponding pins of the ATmega16U2 USB-to-TTL
Serial chip.

External Interrupts: 2 (interrupt 0), 3 (interrupt 1), 18 (interrupt

5), 19 (interrupt 4), 20 (interrupt 3), and 21 (interrupt 2). These pins
can be configured to trigger an interrupt on a low level, a rising or
falling edge, or a change in level. See the attachInterrupt() function
for details.

PWM: 2 to 13 and 44 to 46. Provide 8-bit PWM output with

the analogWrite() function.

SPI: 50 (MISO), 51 (MOSI), 52 (SCK), 53 (SS). These pins

support SPI communication using theSPI library. The SPI pins are
also broken out on the ICSP header, which is physically compatible
with the Arduino /Genuino Uno and the old Duemilanove and
Diecimila Arduino boards.

LED: 13. There is a built-in LED connected to digital pin 13.

When the pin is HIGH value, the LED is on, when the pin is LOW, it's
off.

TWI: 20 (SDA) and 21 (SCL). Support TWI communication using

the Wire library. Note that these pins are not in the same location as
the TWI pins on the old Duemilanove or Diecimila Arduino boards.
See also the mapping Arduino Mega 2560 PIN diagram.
The Mega 2560 has 16 analog inputs, each of which provide 10 bits
of resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they measure
from ground to 5 volts, though is it possible to change the upper end
of their range using the AREF pin and analogReference() function.
There are a couple of other pins on the board:

AREF. Reference voltage for the analog inputs. Used with

analogReference().

Reset. Bring this line LOW to reset the microcontroller. Typically

used to add a reset button to shields which block the one on the
board.
Communication
The Mega 2560 board has a number of facilities for communicating
with a computer, another board, or other microcontrollers. The
ATmega2560 provides four hardware UARTs for TTL (5V) serial
communication. An ATmega16U2 (ATmega 8U2 on the revision 1
and revision 2 boards) on the board channels one of these over USB
and provides a virtual com port to software on the computer
(Windows machines will need a .inf file, but OSX and Linux machines
will recognize the board as a COM port automatically. The Arduino
Software (IDE) includes a serial monitor which allows simple textual
data to be sent to and from the board. The RX and TX LEDs on the
board will flash when data is being transmitted via the
ATmega8U2/ATmega16U2 chip and USB connection to the computer
(but not for serial communication on pins 0 and 1).

A SoftwareSerial library allows for serial communication on any of

the Mega 2560's digital pins.
The Mega 2560 also supports TWI and SPI communication. The
Arduino Software (IDE) includes a Wire library to simplify use of the
TWI bus; see the documentation for details. For SPI communication,
use the SPI library.
Physical Characteristics and Shield Compatibility
The maximum length and width of the Mega 2560 PCB are 4 and 2.1
inches respectively, with the USB connector and power jack
extending beyond the former dimension. Three screw holes allow
the board to be attached to a surface or case. Note that the distance
between digital pins 7 and 8 is 160 mil (0.16"), not an even multiple
of the 100 mil spacing of the other pins.
The Mega 2560 is designed to be compatible with most shields
designed for the Uno and the older Diecimila or Duemilanove
Arduino boards. Digital pins 0 to 13 (and the adjacent AREF and GND
pins), analog inputs 0 to 5, the power header, and ICSP header are
all in equivalent locations. Furthermore, the main UART (serial port)
is located on the same pins (0 and 1), as are external interrupts 0
and 1 (pins 2 and 3 respectively). SPI is available through the ICSP
header on both the Mega 2560 and Duemilanove / Diecimila boards.
Please note that I2C is not located on the same pins on the Mega
2560 board (20 and 21) as the Duemilanove / Diecimila boards
(analog inputs 4 and 5).
Automatic (Software) Reset
Rather then requiring a physical press of the reset button before an
upload, the Mega 2560 is designed in a way that allows it to be reset
by software running on a connected computer. One of the hardware
flow control lines (DTR) of the ATmega8U2 is connected to the reset
line of the ATmega2560 via a 100 nanofarad capacitor. When this
line is asserted (taken low), the reset line drops long enough to reset
the chip. The Arduino Software (IDE) uses this capability to allow you
to upload code by simply pressing the upload button in the Arduino
environment. This means that the bootloader can have a shorter

timeout, as the lowering of DTR can be well-coordinated with the

start of the upload.
This setup has other implications. When the Mega 2560 board is
connected to either a computer running Mac OS X or Linux, it resets
each time a connection is made to it from software (via USB). For
the following half-second or so, the bootloader is running on the
ATMega2560. While it is programmed to ignore malformed data (i.e.
anything besides an upload of new code), it will intercept the first
few bytes of data sent to the board after a connection is opened. If a
sketch running on the board receives one-time configuration or
other data when it first starts, make sure that the software with
which it communicates waits a second after opening the connection
and before sending this data.
The Mega 2560 board contains a trace that can be cut to disable the
auto-reset. The pads on either side of the trace can be soldered
together to re-enable it. It's labeled "RESET-EN". You may also be
able to disable the auto-reset by connecting a 110 ohm resistor from
5V to the reset line; see this forum thread for details.
Revisions
The Mega 2560 does not use the FTDI USB-to-serial driver chip used
in past designs. Instead, it features the ATmega16U2 (ATmega8U2 in
the revision 1 and revision 2 Arduino boards) programmed as a USBto-serial converter.
Revision 2 of the Mega 2560 board has a resistor pulling the 8U2
HWB line to ground, making it easier to put into DFU mode.
Revision 3 of the Arduino board and the current Genuino Mega 2560
have the following improved features:

1.0 pinout: SDA and SCL pins - near to the AREF pin - and two
other new pins placed near to the RESET pin, the IOREF that allow
the shields to adapt to the voltage provided from the board. In
future, shields will be compatible both with the board that use the
AVR, which operate with 5V and with the board that uses
ATSAM3X8E, that operate with 3.3V. The second one is a not
connected pin, that is reserved for future purposes.

Stronger RESET circuit.

Atmega 16U2 replace the 8U2.