I was looking for a fun technology that I could play with, nothing serious in mind, and I ran into the xbee devices. Before I say anything else, I am a Computer Science guy, with little to no electronics experience. What I hope to get from this post is a general idea if what I am looking for is available and a relative measure of how much difficulty I might end up having.
What I want to know is:
Is there a set of boards that I could buy that require me to not have to build a circuit, and just use the xbee devices. I can solder, and I do understand basic electronics concepts, I have a graduate degree in science, lol but a while ago.
Here is what I thought I would do
On the PC just use the USB Explorer.
For the remote XBEE’s I could use the Arduino Pro 328 and plug it into the wall with a regulated power supply. I just connect the xbee to an xbee regulated, like in the picture on the Arduino Pro and it is up and running.
All I want to be able to do is send commands to the remote xbee and have the arduino simulate some situation and respond. Its just a toy, no serious result, just something new to consume some available thought cycles.
If someone has a better idea of the parts I would need, that would be appreciated.
Thanks