I have been trying for a while now to configure an XBee S1 without an explorer. I thought it would be possible to configure it using the USB interface on a Fio V3. So far this has not been the case. I have played with baud rates and com ports, and even tried hooking up one of the XBee’s to an FTDI that I had lying around. I reduced inputs to the XBee down to 3.3V from 5V using a voltage divider, but hat didn’t work either.
I can only assume that the Fio itself is disrupting then I/O signal for the XBee.
So, is it possible to configure an XBee through its Fio USB serial comm, or do I just need to suck it up and buy an explorer?
If you completely disconnect the serial TX & RX lines from the processor so that the USB serial lines are only connected to the XBee this might work.
Also, using an FTDI for USB to Serial should work. Are you sure the serial lines are connected to the correct pins?
XBee’s default Baud is typically 9600, 8, N, 1. Does the FTDI work with other projects?
The USB XBee Explorer board is basically just an FDTI chip and an XBee socket. Look at the schematic for the USB Explorer board and compare to how you connected the FTDI, maybe you’ll see how to connect.
What are you using for a terminal on the PC? X-CTU or something else?
The Fio probably doesn’t forward the bytes sent through the USB-serial port over to the hardware uart (and vice-versa) to which the XBee is connected. You need to program a small sketch to do that. One is called Serial1 and the other just Serial. There should be examples of that on the Arduino site. The Leo has a similar inconveniance,