- Thu Oct 03, 2019 5:16 pm
#208284
I know that the header is used on Arduino boards for programming, but it also contains the SPI pins. Some shields for Arduino plug into that header specifically to gain access to the SPI bus. Especially on boards like the Arduino Mega which has the hardware SPI pins located along the extra row of headers, which Arduino Uno shields cannot use. The ICSP header is crucial on the Arduino Mega for using Arduino Uno shields. Without that header, you would need to solder jumpers from pins 50-53 to pins 10-13 on the Uno compatible shield. This lack of a vital feature is holding me back from purchasing the RedBoard Artemis or the Artemis ATP.