Hardware prototype · Made in Italy

Quasar Basic An Arduino-compatible development board, designed and hand-soldered in Italy

Quasar Basic is a microcontroller board with the Arduino Uno pinout, built around the ATmega328P. Gianluca Grasso designed the schematic and the PCB, had the bare boards manufactured and soldered every component by hand. Its black board and white star recall the light of a quasar in the dark of space.

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Prototype · Not for sale yet · Revision 1.4

ATmega328P16 MHz microcontroller

FT232RLUSB to serial

nRF24L01wireless connector

rev1.4current revision

Quasar Basic rev1.4 development board, black PCB with ATmega328P and FT232RL

What is Quasar Basic

A board born from a long-standing passion

Quasar Basic is a development board compatible with the Arduino Uno R3 standard, designed by Gianluca Grasso for Starlyware. It has the same ATmega328P microcontroller at 16 MHz, 14 digital pins, 6 analog inputs and the familiar header layout, plus a few extras: a dedicated connector for nRF24L01 wireless modules, a selector to choose between USB and external power, a resettable fuse on the USB line and reverse polarity protection.

It is a personal project, not a mass-produced product: the schematic was drawn in EasyEDA, the PCB was designed after many hours of tutorials, the bare boards were manufactured by JLCPCB, and every component, from the resistors to the FT232RL chip, was bought separately and soldered by hand with a soldering iron, solder and flux.

Quasar Basic in action

The classic first test of every board: the white LED on pin 13 blinks, driven by the ATmega328P, while the green LED shows that the board is powered.

What's on the board

ATmega328P at 16 MHz

The same microcontroller as the Arduino Uno, on a socket so it can be replaced: 32 KB flash, 2 KB SRAM, 1 KB EEPROM.

USB with FT232RL

Mini-USB connector and FTDI FT232RL USB-to-serial converter, with yellow TX/RX LEDs and automatic reset for uploading sketches.

nRF24L01 connector

A dedicated 8-pin connector, powered at 3.3 V and wired to the SPI bus, for 2.4 GHz wireless communication between boards.

Flexible power

Power from USB or from a 5.5 x 2.1 mm jack / Vin (7–12 V recommended) through an MC33269 5 V regulator, with a selector switch.

Protections

Resettable 500 mA fuse on the USB line and a diode against reverse polarity on the external input.

Uno R3 pinout

14 digital I/O (6 PWM), 6 analog inputs, UART, I2C (A4/A5) and SPI (D10–D13), with SDA and SCL also near D13.

Technical specifications

Board	Quasar Basic rev1.4
Microcontroller	ATmega328P-PU, 16 MHz (external crystal)
USB-serial converter	FTDI FT232RL, Mini-USB connector
Memory	32 KB flash (0.5 KB used by the bootloader), 2 KB SRAM, 1 KB EEPROM
Digital I/O pins	14 (D0–D13), 6 with PWM (D3, D5, D6, D9, D10, D11)
Analog inputs	6 (A0–A5)
Communication	UART (USB and D0/D1), I2C (A4 SDA, A5 SCL), SPI (D10–D13)
Wireless	Dedicated nRF24L01 connector on SPI, powered at 3.3 V
Operating voltage	5 V
Input voltage (Vin / jack)	7–12 V recommended, up to about 20 V
Voltage regulator	ON Semiconductor MC33269 (5 V)
Protections	500 mA resettable fuse on USB, reverse polarity diode on Vin
LEDs	White on D13, yellow TX and RX, green power
Dimensions	76.2 x 53.3 mm

From the first idea to rev1.4

2018
The idea and ElectroHome
The first sketches of the board are born together with ElectroHome, an Android app made with Basic4Android that connected to an Arduino and controlled it by voice, presented at the final state exam.
2020
Quasar First
The first version is printed and soldered by hand. It does not work: a few soldering mistakes and some small PCB errors. A lesson that is worth more than any tutorial.
2024
Quasar Basic
A new design, new boards and much more experience at the soldering station: Quasar Basic works correctly from the first tests.
2025
Revision 1.4
The current revision of the schematic and of the PCB, dated September 2025, shown on this page.

How it is made

Schematic

The circuit is drawn in EasyEDA, starting from the microcontroller and adding USB, power, protections and connectors.

PCB design

Components and tracks are placed on the board, keeping the Arduino Uno header layout.

Manufacturing

The bare PCBs, about twenty, are produced by JLCPCB, without components.

Hand soldering

Each SMD and through-hole component is soldered by hand with a soldering iron, solder and flux, then tested.

Frequently asked questions

It follows the Arduino Uno R3 standard: same ATmega328P microcontroller at 16 MHz, same pins and header layout. With the bootloader installed it is programmed over USB from the Arduino IDE like an Arduino Uno.

Not yet. It is a prototype made in a small batch and soldered by hand. If you are interested, write to us: knowing how many people would like one helps us decide on a production run.

It hosts an nRF24L01 2.4 GHz radio module, so two or more boards can exchange data wirelessly, for example for sensors, remote controls or home automation projects.

From the Mini-USB port or from an external supply on the jack or Vin pin, 7–12 V recommended. A switch selects the source.

Interested in Quasar Basic?

Quasar Basic is still a prototype. If you would like one, or you want to build something together, write to us: every message helps us understand if it is worth producing it.

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