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[on:]

Hey,

Im new to all this and im aware of xbee and various cheaper alternatives.

However can any of these products have there own unuqe i.d so if there was, say 3 pairs in a room they will not interfear with eachother?

Thanks in advance

[Reply #1 on:]

However can any of these products have there own unuqe i.d so if there was, say 3 pairs in a room they will not interfear with eachother?

XBees can be put on different networks (PAN ID), so that the pairs don't know anything about the others.

[Reply #2 on:]

Hey paul, can this be done with the cheaper ones too? Like is it pretty standard stuff?

[Reply #3 on:]

Hey paul, can this be done with the cheaper ones too? Like is it pretty standard stuff?

No, and no.

[Reply #4 on:]

Ok thanks for your help

[Reply #5 on:]

PaulS may have simplified his answer a bit.  There are alternatives that can change channels and serve on separate networks.  There are also radios that operation on different frequencies depending on configuration.  Two that are mentioned occasionally on this board are the zigduino and the chibi.   While it's true the very cheapest of these devices don't do much, bump the price a little bit and there are very capable chips that do a heck of a lot.  Take a look at the $3.50 AT86RF230 that is specifically made for 802.15.4. 

So, shop around a bit and check out the capabilities of the various offerings, you'll be surprised at what's available out there.  Heck, with open source, you can make your own using the information available.  I use one of the chibi boards as an XBee sniffer because I can change the address and channel it listens to.  It can also send 802.15.4 just fine, Zigbee, is a problem since the protocol is so involved and extensive, so I just monitor it and use an XBee to send stuff when I need to.