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    Baud and BPS are two different things... can't find the link I was looking for now. Commented May 17, 2014 at 21:34
  • what if I put "Serial.begin(0);" or "Serial.begin(4000);". I mean I want to know what is the difference between the numbers? Commented May 18, 2014 at 18:55
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    Serial.begin is used to set the speed of communication, in bits per second. One byte is equal to 8 bits, but serial connections send a start and stop bit to identify the start and end to a particular byte to the receiving system. Thus, 10 bits are needed to send one character. Using Serial.begin(0) tells the Arduino that it should communicate with serial at 0 bits per second. As you might expect, this means that the Arduino will never send any data at all. Serial.begin(4000) will cause the Arduino to send data at 4000 bits per second. This is non-standard, but otherwise fine. Commented May 19, 2014 at 20:19
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    In short: changing the number changes the speed. Making the number smaller (e.g. Serial.begin(300)) has the Arduino send data more slowly. Increasing it, say to 57600 will send data faster. Both the sending system and the receiving system need to agree on what speed to use: your computer's serial program, like the Arduino Serial Monitor window, will let you set the speed at which your computer will receive data but you can only select from the common speeds: 300, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600 and 11520 bit/sec. You can't enter other speeds, like 4000. 9600 is usually good. Commented May 19, 2014 at 20:22
  • Baud and BPS are two different things... can't find the link I was looking for now. - Here's one explanation: Appendix C: "baud" vs. "bps" Commented Aug 13, 2015 at 6:40