Using D0/D1 for RX/TX?

[pforperry]

Guys,

Has anyone successfully used the D0/D1 pins for RX/TX on this shield?

I note the default pins are D2/D3 but I also note the quick start guide states:

There's one other thing to keep in mind. Pins D2 and D3 do not have hardware serial port features like pins D0 & D1. D0 & D1 are the special pins which are connected to the USB/Serial interface on the Arduino. This means you can't use commands like Serial.print(). You have to use a "Software Serial" feature on the Arduino.

I am considering the D0/D1 pins in lieu of D2/D3 but I would like to know more about using these pins for Bluetooth and in particular if doing so conflicts with the USB serial connection in any practical way.

For interest sake my project is based on the Etherten with Sensor shield to collect data (A0-A3), RTC module for obvious purposes (A4/A5), RFID door shield to enable/isolate a circuit (D2/D3/D5) and Bluetooth shield (hopefully D0/D1) to download data to Android devices. This project uses every last pin on the board if I have it correctly (including the easter egg pins A6/A7 which are to be used for sensor inputs).

Kind regards
Jason

[andrew]

You can use D0/D1 for access to the hardware serial port by jumpering your own connections, however you will need to disconnect them when uploading sketches as it will interfere with USB communication.

[pforperry]

Thank you johnb,

I appreciate your quick reply and suspected as much but I was also hoping the two might play nice together if the Bluetooth module wasn't paired so that I didn't have to pull the jumpers to it when it was on the test bench.

And now for the moment of truth...

Kind regards,
Jason

[seven_au]

Has anyone successfully used the D0/D1 pins for RX/TX on this shield?

We used pins D0 and D1 in this project, because we used it in combination with the Freetronics Motorshield which uses pins D2 and D3 as default
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm-LZAwIhq0

Cheers