XBEE - interfacing electronics

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) Hardware Interfacing
1

Hello,

A couple of quick questions about the pin configuration for the XBEE over an Arduino Diecimila:

  1. Does anyone else find the XBEE schematic Arduino Playground - HomePage impossible to understand?

I don't really want to take a risk frying my boards and would appreciate any help in deciphering the schematic. In particular, it appears that the shield's analog in and digital out pins plug directly into the Diecimila's - however can I trust that the ground and +5v on the original Diecimila (ie. the pins next to the Diecimila's analog in / not the ground of the digital out) are still operable - and should I use them when connecting sensors to the XBEE?

  1. What of the contact points (ie. 20 silver points total / 10 left / 10 right) that run either side of the XBEE MaxStream module?

Arduino typically does a good job at making things fairly user friendly (ie no soddering to the board) which leads me to suspect that these points shouldn't be touched however these points are all labeled (ie. GND / PMW1 / etc). The labeling makes me suspect that these are, in fact, the typical points for connecting circuitry. Can anyone clarify this before I destroy a board or two?

  1. Can someone please direct me to a tutorial for sending digital out data to an XBEE for controlling an actuator?

Your help is appreciated!

2

One reason that the schematic is so confusing may be just that it's so simple. The only real connections between the XBee module and the Arduino board are RX, TX, +5V, and GND. You can still use the +5V / GND pins on the Arduino - if you can get to them under the shield. Also, note that the transistors that connects the module to the reset line of the Arduino isn't mounted on the shields, because in its default configuration, the module would keep the board reset continually.

The contact points next to the XBee MaxStream module are there for advanced users who know what they are and want to use them. If you just want to use the module to send data to/from the Arduino, you don't need them. While it's possible to connect sensors and actuators directly to the XBee module, you probably wouldn't need to do that with the shield (just connect the sensors and actuators to the Arduino).

Are you looking to send data from an Arduino w/ XBee shield to another XBee (on its own, without an Arduino)? Or between two XBee shields on Arduino boards?