How to build an Arduino compatible board for very little money

Now plug the ATMega chip in, carefully, to its socket, making sure the little notch on the top edge matches the notch on the socket (i.e. at the top, nearest to the power supply circuit). Usually chips come with their feet splayed a little wider than the socket – just gently bend them in on a flat surface if this is the case. When you’re inserting the chip make sure none of the legs get folded under rather than going into their sockets – it’s an easy thing to do if you’re not careful.

So, we’re finished as far as the hardware is concerned. Here’s the finished product:

I have 3 Arduino boards: my first one is the Duemilanove, which I use for prototyping with a small protoboard. I also have 2 Nanos which are assigned to projects that I'm building (a Happy Printer and a Midi Cajon). SInce I'm out of spare boards I was considering buying more Nanos, but this post made me want to build my own.