I know many have had a difficult time understanding and getting XBee RF modules working. I and others that use the Digi support forum have been contacted by Digi for suggestions. There does seem to be a change starting that will add better documents for people getting started with XBee nodules.
One user has posted his notes on the 802.15.4 XBees and it looks very good. You can find it in the Digi forum here:
http://www.digi.com/support/forum/viewt … hread,7205
Hope this is helpful.
wr
Oh, that looks really good. Thanks for posting the link.
This document is what has helped me the most so far:
http://selmaware.com/appbee/index.htm
It’s very basic, and aimed at the Basic Stamp user, but it explains with simple examples some of the most important things you need to know about XBee Series 1.
I’ve used the series 1 modules for a long time. The OEM documents for them, latest being 9/2009, is great IMO. Very clear.
series 2 modules are zigBee only. Series 1 is proper choice for simple wireless without meshing. Web pages are confusing - series 1 is under the product category of point-to-multipoint wireless, since series 1 are not ZigBee-based.
Not quite true Steve. Here is what Digi says about the two series:
XB24-A or XBP24-A would be a Freescale (series 1) module originally shipped with 802.15.4 firmware on it, whereas XB24-DM or XBP24-DM would be a Freescale (series 1) module originally shipped with DigiMesh 2.4 firmware.
XB24-B or XBP24-B would be an Ember (series 2) module originally shipped with ZNet 2.5, XB24-Z7 or XBP24-Z7 would be an Ember (series 2) module originally shipped with ZB firmware.
So the series 1 modules can run MESH firmware and the series 2 modules don’t have to run ZigBee firmware.
yes - by mesh, I meant ZigBee. I didn’t allow for Digi’s own meshing.
I have standards, standards, standards drilled into me by my job. DigiMesh may be a great alternative.
A Digi XBee user posted a nice FAQ about the different XBee modules.
Here is the link to his website:
Ok everyone, Digi Int is working on better docs. Here is a link to the latest that take care of the 802.15.4/DigiMesh 2.4 SiP/non-SiP firmware issues, as well as which modules can use DM 2.4 firmware and which can’t. The next one will be tackling the ZNet 2.5/ZB/SE compatibility (i.e. Ember chip loads), then an article on “special” firmware loads.
Here’s another link that should be helpful. It called “Common XBee Mistakes”
waltr:
I know many have had a difficult time understanding and getting XBee RF modules working. I and others that use the Digi support forum have been contacted by Digi for suggestions. There does seem to be a change starting that will add better documents for people getting started with XBee nodules.One user has posted his notes on the 802.15.4 XBees and it looks very good. You can find it in the Digi forum here:
http://www.digi.com/support/forum/threa … 8&tstart=0
Hope this is helpful.
wr
I get redirected to error page. The link is not working anymore?
Ok, thanks for the heads up. Digi did change the forum a little ways back so I fixed the link in my post above and here it is:
http://www.digi.com/support/forum/viewt … hread,7205
And here is a direct link to John’s web page:
http://www.jsjf.demon.co.uk/xbee/xbee.html
And a good explanation at Baud rate mismatch errors.
Here are some additional links that cover info on using the XBee Series 2 running ZNET 2.5:
http://antipastohw.blogspot.com/2009/01 … hield.html
http://www.societyofrobots.com/robotfor … ic=10111.0
Help these help.
If you simply want a small number of XBees to talk to one another, get series 1, not series 2, and avoid Znet/Zigbee complexities.
Here is a link to Un-Bricking your XBee
http://todigi.blogspot.com/2010/05/xbee … grave.html
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