As a XBEE noob, I'm trying to figure out how to attach my XBEE Pro 900 module to my Arduino MEGA. I know that the XBEE Shield V3 (NKC Electronics) will work with my MEGA and I believe that it will be the easiest way to attach the XBEE module. However, the XBEE Pro 900 specs call for the following power requirements:
" * Supply voltage:
o XBee-PRO: 3.0 - 3.6 VDC
o XBee footprint recommendation: 3.0 - 3.4 VDC
Transmit current: 210 mA @ 3.3 V
Receive current: 80 mA @ 3.3V
Power-down sleep current: 60 uA @ 3.3V
"
If I read the Arduino MEGA specs correctly, the 3.3V supply can only supply 50 mA so I guess I'll have to find a different 3.3V supply and a decent way to connect that to the supply pin of the SBEE Shield. Can anyone point me to a good solution? Are there other/better shields available for the XBEE Pro modules with appropriate 3.3V supply provisions?
As far as I know until now (I'm soooo newbie), you need an additional supply when you're trying to add a component like an Xbee, GPRS, Bluetooth... I'm using an external energy supply connected directly to the Arduino board.
Sonhja, thank you for your response. I understand that an external power supply will be needed to make this work. I'm just not sure how to connect that to the board since I believe that the XBEE Shield gets powered from the 3.3V pin on the Arduino MEGA.
All XBEE Shield experts, is there an easy way to connect the XBEE Shield to an external 3.3V power supply and do I need to disconnect the 3.3V power supply from the Arduino?
I also found the Sparkfun Explorer Regulated which supposedly has the higher current voltage regulator. How is that board connected to the MEGA?
I use the adafruit regulated boards, but you should be able to do the same with the sparkfun regulated boards. Just connect the 5v from the xbee board to the 5v on the arduino. You need ground also of course as well as whatever signals you're using.
but you should be able to do the same with the sparkfun regulated boards.
Stick to the adafruit boards and steer away from the sparkfun boards - they work for low power Series 1 modules but I wouldn't trust them for a pro module. Read the forum for more info - it's not just the voltage regulator (that used not to be large enough).
At this point I'm primarily at the Libelium/Arduino/NKC V3.0 board as it was developed specifically for the Arduino boards. As far as I can tell, this board seems to be powered by the 5V pin of the ICSP header on the Arduino MEGA board. Does anyone know the current limitation of this 5V supply? If it's limited at too low a current (anything less than 210 mA), can simply add an external 5V power supply with a high enough current limit to the 5V - GND pins on the XBEE Shield?
Again, any input would be greatly appreciated. Being a mechanical guy, I'm simply not as smart about these little green balls called electrons as you smart folks.
The 5V supply if you're powering it off USB is 400mA+ (USB ports should be able to supply 500mA but the ATmega chip needs a bit of that)
If you're powering from the DC jack then it can supply rather more as the regulator is rated at 1A
I have not looked at that board specifically but I presume the XBee is powered from the 5V pin through a regulator rather than directly from the 3.3V pin.
I think the board is powered through the 5V pin of the ICSP header which is down regulated on the shield (TLV2217-33 3.3V LDO regulator). As long as the 5V pin of the ICSP can provide sufficient current (210mA), I think this will work out of the box.
