Mux Shield I and Xbee Shield on Arduino

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

Hi All,

I was wondering if the Mux Shield 1 and Xbee Shield can both be used on the Arduino. I am aware that both shields cannot use the same pins (besides +5V and GND), but I am not sure how to determine these nor can I find a direct resource online about using these two together.

Thanks!

2

I don't know about the Mux shield, but there is no the XBee shield.

Links to the shields you are considering would be helpful.

3

Here is the xbee shield link that I ordered from: http://www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&pa=2129326&productId=2129326&keyCode=WSF&CID=GOOG&gclid=CNesvsz087kCFbFDMgodT0kALQ

Also here is the mux shield link: http://www.robotmesh.com/mux-shield?gclid=CPX109_m87kCFepFMgod-iEA3w

I am using a muxshield rather than using a cheap multiplexor for the sake of simplicity and not having to worry about the wiring too much.

Thanks again!

4

The mux shield uses digital pins 2, 3, 4, and 5, and analog pins 0, 1, and 2.

The XBee shield connects to the hardware serial pins only (0 and 1). Of all the XBee shields around, that is the worst design. On the other hand, the other possibilities use either the hardware serial pins or pins 2 and 3 and SoftwareSerial.

So, as long as you don't need the hardware serial pins for anything other than talking to the XBee, you'll be able to use both shields together.

5

Thanks for your help!
Would you recommend a better designed xbee shield? I did not order the shield yet. I am using the xbee module to communicate with another xbee that would be hooked up to my computer, so I do not think I would use the hardware serial pin for anything else besides that.