Beginner's question on Xbee wireless components.

Projects Networking, Protocols, and Devices
1

I've already purchased an Xbee shield and 1m module to fit onto my arduino board. I want to send data from my computer to my arduino uno board, I think I need to buy a rf radio to transmit this data(?) I've already spent quite a lot on components, what is the cheapest option I have? Does the rf radio have to be the same brand (Xbee) to transmit data?

A little info about my project:
I'm coordinating my project with a Flash animation, so the data is being converted into AS3 code to make use of the timeline.
I've purchased most of my components from RSComponents (http://uk.rs-online.com/web/) because I live in the UK.
The arduino board is powered by a 9v battery.
I'll be using serproxy to convert com to socket data to code in AS3.

Thank you in advance.

Joe

2

My thoughs, may not be totally accurate, have not done this myself:

I believe you need another Xbee to send the RF data to the Xbee receiving the data.
Probably use a USB/Serial adapter (use a 3.3V model) to feed 3.3V, Gnd, serial data to the xbee.

9V battery won't have much life.
1/2 or more of its voltage is wasted as heat in the 5V and 3.3V regulators.
9V battery usually only has few hundred mAH capacity.
Arduino needs ~30mA to be on, Xbee uses 85mA I think (see specs at www.digi.com) in receive and several hundred during transmissions (I may have the models mixed up).

3

It's probably easier taking a WiFi Xbee than the ZigBees that CrossRoads is referring to. With the WiFi connectivity you don't have to care for the PC's side (assuming you have WiFi there already). It doesn't use much more power than the ZigBees and can be programmed to act almost the same (in the case of a RN-XV).

Regarding the 9V battery I agree with CrossRoads that you probably won't be happy with it, take a wall adapter if ever possible.

4

JoeCo:
I've already purchased an Xbee shield and 1m module to fit onto my arduino board. I want to send data from my computer to my arduino uno board, I think I need to buy a rf radio to transmit this data(?) I've already spent quite a lot on components, what is the cheapest option I have? Does the rf radio have to be the same brand (Xbee) to transmit data?

Greetings Joe.

I'm probably stating the obvious, but data can be transmitted from a computer to an Arduino with a cable, a radio is not necessarily required.

If you do go the XBee route, we will need to know exactly which XBee you have. They come in quite a few variations so speculating is useless. Preferably, give us the Digi part number.

The discussion here usually revolves around Series 1 (e.g. XB24-AWI-001) or maybe Series 2 (e.g. XB24-Z7WIT-004) XBees. These need to be used at least in pairs. As someone once said, think walkie-talkies; no fun having just one :wink: The Wi-Fi model (e.g. XB24-WFWIT-001) would of course be an exception.

5

Hi guys, thanks for all the input - it's been very handy! I've already purchased a second Xbee (s1) module and an adapter kit (from coolcomponents in the UK) and a FTDI cable to connect it to the computer. I presume one module acts as the transmitter and the other is the receiver, both range 100m so that should be perfect for what I'm using. As for the battery power, I'll have to be careful with 9V, I'm only really handling a series of LED lights but the modules and the arduino might consume a lot of the battery life. I need a battery which is relatively small, maybe a lithium battery(?) I'll keep you all posted and let you know how it goes, I'll be happy to show you the final result too (it's a Uni project).

If anyone else is in the same situation as me I'd say: make sure both the modules are the same series because I've been warned that others don't communicate with one another.

This is my first time using an arduino board, the community here is very friendly. Thank you for all the suggestions, I'll let you know how it goes.

Joe

6

Okay so a quick update and another problem I've run into... I've received two xbee modules, one connected to an adapter, the other connected to a shield on an Arduino Uno. I've used X-CTU to program the modules on Xbee Adapter kit (wired up using a mini-usb). Both are updated to the latest firmware and PAN ID set to '1111'.

I cannot set one as a receiver and one as a coordinator as there are no options on a S1 module. I've set up both of the modules as shown below:

I'm using the following sketch in arduino set up from another website:

#define ledPin 13
byte pinState = 0;

void setup() {
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
  Serial.println("testing...");
  toggle(13);
  delay(1000);
}

void toggle (int pinNum){
  digitalWrite(pinNum, pinState);
  pinState = !pinState;
}

The problem I'm having is that they don't seem to be communicating with one another. I've removed the 'USB-XBEE' jumper from the xbee shield, but I'm using USB to power it up at the moment. I'd greatly appreciate it if anyone can see where I've messed up!

7

Turns out I'm getting the error "avrdude: stk500_getsync(): not in sync: resp=0x00" when I try to upload the sketch. It only seems to happen when the shield is attached.