What do I need to get started with Arduino737?

  1. A basic knowledge of the Arduino platform including sketches and libraries. (https://www.arduino.cc)
  2. Arduino737 (https://github.com/Clamb94/Arduino737)
  3. 1 x (at least) Arduino Mega2560 board
  4. Arduino Integrated Development Environment (https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software)
  5. .net Framwork 4.0 or above (https://www.microsoft.com/en-US/download/details.aspx?id=30653)
  6. Arduino Encoder Library (http://www.arduinolibraries.info/libraries/encoder)
  7. Arduino LedControl Library (http://www.arduinolibraries.info/libraries/led-control)
  8. Prosim737 (https://prosim-ar.com/downloads)


How do I install Arduino737?

First, download the files you need from the above list then follow this simple 3-step installation process:

1. Install Ardruino IDE

Follow the instructions at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/HomePage to install the Arduino IDE onto your computer.

When finished, check the program has installed successfully. Start Arduino737 by locating the program install folder and clicking on the file called Aurduino.exe.  Now would be a good time to create a shortcut for this file and place it on your desktop so it’s easy to find in future.


2. Install Ardruino Libraries

Unzip the downloaded Arduino Encoder and Arduino LedControll libraries and follow the instructions at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/Libraries to install them into the IDE.


3. Connect Mega2560 to the Arduino IDE

Follow the instructions at https://www.arduino.cc/en/Guide/ArduinoMega2560 to connect your Mega board to the IDE. Note the Com port number as you’ll need this later.

You may want to test your Mega2560 board is working properly by running an LED blink test - https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Blink.


3. Install Arduino737 and Set-up Mega2560

Unzip the downloaded file Arduino737-master.zip and copy the extracted folder Arduino737-master to a location of your choice. It’s best to choose somewhere in your documents root to avoid potential Windows permissions issues.

You should now need to upload a sketch to the Mega board so the Arduino737 program can communicate with it. If you have more than one Mega2560 you will need to do this for each card. You only need to do this once. (Although you may need to repeat it in future when Arduino737 is updated.)

Using the Arduino IDE go to File > Open and browse to your Arduino737 installation folder and locate the file Arduino737.ino. Double click on the file to load the sketch. You will receive an on-screen message that the sketch needs to be moved to Arduino’s sketches folder before it can be opened. Confirm the message and the Arduino737.ino file will be moved then loaded into the IDE .

Click on Verify (tick icon) and the IDE will check the sketch and verify the necessary libraries are present.

After, upload the sketch to the Mega board (click on the right arrow icon).

After approximately 20 seconds you should see a message confirming the upload has been successful.   You must then close the IDE. If you do not, Arduino737 will be unable to connect to the Mega board during the following steps because the IDE will be blocking the COM port.

Navigate to and open Arduino737.exe to start the program (or click the shortcut you created earlier. When the interface loads you will see a number of configuration fields:

  • Device Setup – Select ‘Mega2560’.
  • COM – Select the COM port to which your Mega board is connected.
  • Baud – Set to the same speed as your COM port (Usually 9600).
  • DeviceID – Set to 10 if you have 1 board. (Subsequent boards will use the other  identifiers up to a max of 10 boards)


Arduino737 should now connect with your Mega if you now click ‘Connect’. The status box should show ‘Connected and ready’. If it doesn’t then check you have entered the correct settings and confirm the Arduino IDE is not running.

Arduino737 should now be connected to your Mega2560 and is waiting for you to configure the pins. You can now use the Arduino737 interface to set the Mega’s pins depending on the sensors and actuators connected to them.  

When you’ve finished setting the pins click on ‘Upload’ and confirm. If successful, the status box will show ‘Upload complete!’.  You should then click ‘Disconnect’ to free up the COM port. If you don’t do this Prosim737 will not be able to connect to your board.

Your Mega2560 is now ready to communicate directly with Prosim737, to pass pin states and receive actuation data after Prosim737 has been configured.


Thanks to user Drunkencelt for writing this guide!

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