I purchased a couple of Xbee S1 modules, one Xbee explorer regulated, one Xbee explorer USB and a FTDI 3.3/5v adaptor cable. I have been unsuccessful in getting the FTDI & explorer combination to function. When I try to establish the connection in XCTU the SW indicates that it is unable to detect the module. So far I have:
Verified that the signals are where they should be
I reversed the Tx & Rx pins (didn’t work eather way)
Held open the CTS
It is providing Vcc == 5
The module works fine while in the USB explorer.
The write-up from Sparkfun indicates that the 3.3 signals can be used by the explorer but since it is not working I wonder if that is where the problem is.
Has anyone used the FTDI cable with the Xbee explorer? Did it work out of the box or did you need to make some modifications?
I purchased the 5v only FTDI interface cable and I still have the same problem. Swapped the Tx&Rx without success. Opened the CTS connection without success. I would assume that purchasing the tools from the same place (SparkFun) would prevent compatibility issues but so far that does not appear to be the case. This is getting expensive and frustrating.
I JUST determined that a second board was able to function with either FTDI cable (after reversing Tx & Rx). Looking more closely at the first board, I found a wire whisker from R8 to R7 effectively shorting the 3.3 supply to the DOUT signal. (It was a “flying” whisker so it may not have made contact during your board testing.) Removing the whisker connection and all appears to function as expected.