XBee Communication

Do you have any thoughts on the best xbee modules to buy for development purposes?  I am confused by the wide range of available options but my initial thinking was to buy two medium / high power with rpsma connections as this seemed to offer the best flexibility / price trade off ie: could be used to develop both short range and longer range projects. eg: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8768. 

Is there any reason to prefer Series 1 over series 2.5?

Thanks for the write-up.

 

 

It all depends on your project. One difference is between a wired antena and a flat antena, if your project is small then you might need to go for the flat antenna which is more expensive, but the wired antenna ones work just as well. Next you have to worry about the distance. If you are just looking to play around and maybe drive a few motors then you should use this model: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8664

It is very easy to use and works great, and it is the same one I have used in my example.

More Details that Might Help...

Some details might help people with the mbed-to-Xbee example:

In the first sample program above, the characters you type in go from the mbed module to an XBee module, through the air to another XBee module attached to a USB board. I'll assume you have an mbed module connected as noted above, to an XBee module.

I used a Win XP PC (SP2).

1. Parallax (www.parallax.com) also had a USB-XBee adapter, part number: 32400. $US 24.99. I received one within three days.

2. After you have the USB-XBee adapter set up, download the X-CTU software from Digi International at http://www.digi.com/support/productdetl.jsp?pid=3352&osvid=0&s=316&tp=1. Install it. Ignore any Windows warning displays.

3. Also download the document, XCTU Configuration & Test Utility Software User Guide at: http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90001003_A.pdf.

You can use the X-CTU software to configure XBee modules, check communications between a Windows PC and the XBee module, and also use the X-CTU Terminal window to send information to transmit and operational commands to the USB-XBee module and the Terminal window will also display command responses and information from the XBee module. If necessary, use Windows Settings-->Control Panel-->Hardware-->Device Manager to determine the COM port number assigned to the USB-XBee module. Look under "Ports (COM & LPT)," not under "Universal Serial Bus controllers."

You'll use this COM-port number in the X-CTU "PC Settings" window to select the proper COM port for communications with the XBee module. The default rate for an XBee module is 9600 bits/sec, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit. Choose None for Flow Control.

Click on the Test/Query button on the "PC Settings" to ensure your XBee module on the small USB card can communicate with your PC. You should see a message that indicates you have communications, the XBee model, and the firmware version.

4. Unfortunately, the online mbed compiler does not have a window that displays debug information sent from an mbed module to a PC with a printf() or putc() command. The compiler sees the mbed module only as a simple USB memory stick and nothing more. You must establish SERIAL communications with an mbed module for the software shown above to work.

Go to the mbed online mbed Handbook and locate the section "USB Serial" on the opening page. Click on "Windows Driver" to go to the page that explains how to download and install the mbed-USB driver that lets a PC terminal program such as HyperTerminal communicate serially with an mbed module through a USB connection. Connect your mbed board to your PC. Find HyperTerminal at: Programs-->Accessories-->Communications--HyperTerminal. (I never found a version of TeraTerm.)

5. After you install the Windows serial driver, you should find a new serial port in the Device Manager. Now, when you use HyperTerminal, set it to use this port number, COM[number] as the serial port. Again, set the bit rate to 9600 bits/sec, 8 data bits, no parity, one stop bit.

6. Compile the first test program listed above and download it to the mbed module. Switch to the Terminal view in the X-CTU window. If HyperTerminal is not running, start it and ensure you still have the proper COM port and communication settings.

With the code running in the mbed module, when you type a character in the HyperTerminal window (it will not display in this window), you should see it print in RED in the X-CTU Terminal view.

When you first start (or reset) the mbed code, LED3 will be off. As soon as the mbed module receives its first serial character from HyperTerminal, LED3 turns on and remains on. The main LED near the USB connector will flash for each character received. On the Parallax XBee-USB board, a blue LED turns on when its XBee receiver is active and off during "quite" periods.

If you run into problems, create a small program that will run in the mbed module and transmit ASCII characters to the serial port that connects to the XBee module. The X-CTU Terminal window should display them in red. If YOU type information when the Terminal view is active, the characters go TO the XBee module on the USB adapter and appear in BLUE. The mbed code in the first example program above does not use this information.

This ASCII test lets you determine whether or not the USB-XBee module can receive the ASCII characters sent by the mbed module. The X-CTU Terminal view should display the characters sent by the mbed module. Printing ASCII characters range between 33 and 126 decimal. I ran this type of test before I tried to use HyperTerminal to communicate with the mbed board and its attached XBee board. --Jon Titus, Herriman, UT 3-16-2010

I have trouble with a Xbee Pro 900 DigiMesh. I followed the instructions as per above the only difference is that I used the serial on p13, p14 and reset on p15. The XBee module stops transmitting after the first 20 -30 characters sent.

The only way to make it work afterwards is to unplug the module for several hours before attempting again. I tested 3 XBee modules with the same result.

Did anyone encounter similar issue?

It does not work for me, is there anything that needs to be done b4 the transittion? Such as includes XBee library? :(

datasheet:

http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90000976_D.pdf

I have ordered an XBee USB Explorer with believe that it will help.

It did help and I managed to run both codes. The XB24-ZB only work if one XBee is Coordinator AT and the other End Device AT. This site reccommends API but it does not work for me. Perhaps I don't have the right settings.

http://code.google.com/p/xbee-api/wiki/XBeeConfiguration

Milan

would you take a photo show how to connect 2 XBEE and mbed ?

thanks:)

i'm trying to utilize the D+ and D- pins to communicate with a local Xbee unit's usb cord and port to read the id number on a remote Xbee.  Can someone please help me out? thanks

I have an Xbee connected to one ARM7 controller and have a seperate xbee connected to a second ARM7 controller. The idea is to communicate between one system, that is controller 1 sends in data to xbee 1 which in turn sends data wirelessley to xbee 2 which sends data to controller 2. Can someone help with psudo code for both Arm processors please. Thank you kindly

I am attempting a simple two-xbee, two-mbed system where I send a byte from one mbed via a connected xbee to a second xbee connected to a second mbed. The xbees are the S1 type. I modified Vlad Cazan's code slightly as shown below and placed this code on both mbed's. The xbees were placed on a Sparfun USB explorer board and connected as described in the example. I first tested the code by connecting physical wires between the two mbed's and all worked as expected. The "success" is simply that the two LEDs flash as expected on both mbeds upon sending and receiving a byte. I cant seem to get this to work with the xbees in the loop -- I see no evidence that the bytes are being transmitted. I have set up the S1 xbee devices using Digi's XCTU utility: ID=2332, MY=1/2, DL=2/1 and confirmed the settings by communicating between the xbees using the XCTU terminal utility. Any ideas would be appreciated. <> include "mbed.h" Serial xbee(p9, p10); //Creates a variable for serial comunication through pin 9 and 10 DigitalOut rst1(p11); //Digital reset for the XBee, 200ns for reset DigitalOut myled1(LED3);//Create variable for Led 3 on the mbed DigitalOut myled2(LED4);//Create variable for Led 4 on the mbed void ReceiveXbee() { unsigned char c = xbee.getc(); myled1 = !myled1; } int main() { xbee.attach(&ReceiveXbee); xbee.baud(9600); rst1 = 0; //Set reset pin to 0 myled1 = 0;//Set LED3 to 0 myled2= 0;//Set LED4 to 0 wait_ms(1);//Wait at least one millisecond rst1 = 1;//Set reset pin to 1 wait_ms(1);//Wait another millisecond while (1) { wait(0.50); xbee.putc(0x55); wait(0.50); xbee.putc(0xAA); myled2 = !myled2; } } <>