I'm looking into starting a project that will utilize the XBee product for wireless data transmission. Before I start spending any money on a dev kit etc... I was curious about the Arduino w/ XBee Shield. It looks as if the XBee Shield connect directly to an Arduino board. In this case would I still have access to the analog inputs on the Arduino to transmit the data over the XBee device?
Intended setup
Ardruino with either an analog input from a load cell 20mV FSO or an I2C input. Connected to a XBee Shield to transmit to a Arduino +XBee Shield receiver convert back to analog or utilize the digital signal.
Do I have the general concept of using the Arduino + XBee Shield ? Is it possible to accomplish transmitting the data from the load cell in this manner ?
Yea, that should work, although I am not a fan of the shield. I have thought about redesigning it with other schems people have used, but haven't gotten around to it. Maybe the original creators will make a v2 that doesn't blow as much (IMHO).
EDIT: Forgot to add, if you don't mind the fact thats not actually a shield but rather a seperate module, you can use this:
You could also read the analog sensor with just an XBee. The XBee has an
A/D converter and can be setup to periodically transmit readings. You would
still need the same signal conditioning that is required on the Arduino A/D
(possible different scaling resistors).
If you decide on an Arduino+XBee checkout my Arduino compatible board that integrates an XBee onto a single board. It comes assembled or as a kit. See Loading...
There are a number of application examples on the site too.