Getting started with XBee and Basic Stamp
skatj
Posts: 88
What would be the minimum amount of hardware required for a communication link between my robot and my laptop?
Like, what specifically would I buy besides two Xbee modules?
Like, what specifically would I buy besides two Xbee modules?
Comments
http://www.selmaware.com/appbee/home.htm
which will make it easy to interface your Stamps with the XBees. It'll be straightforward then on the robot end, but you'll need to come up with some kind of interface on the PC end as well. The easiest thing would probably be to use another Stamp there, but you could also do it with a terminal program, I think, if you had the right connection to the XBee, like this:
http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?pname?site=us;lang=en;name=XBIB-U-ND
I actually have an extra BS2 lying around, is it more difficult to interface that to a PC than using the USB board? I am a beginner so ease of use >>>>> cost in this case. What board would I use to interface the BS2/Xbee to a PC?
Word of warning: you will have to solder the Selmaware boards together yourself. What you're constructing is mostly a bunch of pins for connections, plus the 3.3V power supply you need. You could instead use the Sparkfun boards that Mike mentions:
http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=8276
but again, you'll have to put together a 3.3V power source (the BS2 uses 5V, while the XBee uses 3.3V). Either way, you've got some soldering to do. It's not bad though - I've done four of the Selma boards, and they all work, and I had a student of mine do one as well - she'd never soldered before, but hers worked right away as well. (BTW, I see that the Sparkfun boards are currently out of stock. In the past Sparkfun has seemed to restock things pretty quickly for the most part, so don't let that dissuade you).
Do they have schematics or assembly instructions on what/where to solder? Or do I just go by the picture?
The idea of soldering the entire thing together frightens me but I guess I have to learn how to do it some time.
If you haven't soldered at all,·these boards are actually a pretty good place to learn. They're cheap, and the components (other than the XBee, which you don't solder but simply push into sockets) are also cheap. There aren't any really tiny or closely-spaced parts to have to work with. There's three resistors, a capacitor, two LEDs, one IC, a voltage regulator, two sockets, and two pin headers. That's not bad at all. I've made two of the BS2 OEM modules, and I think they're considerably more difficult (because of three transistors with somewhat close spacing).
When you get confident at soldering, there's a whole 'nother world of possibilities with these devices.
I will try it out though.
One thing though, what would be easier to implement in terms of coding, a BS2 + an AppBoard, or a USB board with just the Xbee?
(by the way, I'm almost a complete newbie myself, so if I sound like I'm disagreeing with Mike, stop listening to me immediately··
Yes, you could use an EB500 module. The xBee takes a little less power, will run off 3.3V ... handy for the Propeller, but most importantly, once configured, will power on all ready to go looking just like a wired serial port. The EB500 requires some initialization at power up.
I want to setup a wireless connection to my bot to run roborealm w/cam on bot ... but not sure which to use the xbee or eb500 ... also trying to do it the lowest cost route [noparse];)[/noparse]
What is the rough cost of a xbee setup? and can you give me a list of parts I need for the xbee setup you have/ Thanks!
There's not a "right" answer. If you don't want to mess with building the AppMod board and getting the parts from different vendors, just go for the EB500. It's ready made and you only need the one end since your PC will talk Bluetooth. On the other hand, you can buy the higher power xBee modules from Digi and build the AppMod and PC adapters and get better range.
Post Edited (Mike Green) : 2/23/2008 2:39:29 PM GMT
ON THE PC SIDE:
USB-XBEE-DONGLE-CARRIER· from www.newmicros.com
BOE-BOT:
http://www.selmaware.com/appbee/appBee-Mod_large.JPG
Then just plug in xbee radios on both?
Also which radios do you run xbee or xbee-pro and what antena type?
Unless you're familiar with antennas, coax cable, and UHF connectors, I'd stick to the little whip antennas that come soldered to the xBee modules. At these frequencies you're more likely to lose signal strength rather than to gain it by using an external antenna unless you have good quality connectors, cable, and antennas made for these frequencies. Obviously, if you want to use a metal housing, you'll need the external antenna.
In my case, I wanted mostly to use the wireless link with a Propeller, so the option of using a 3.3V supply and 3.3V logic was important. I started with a BOE with a Stamp, but later switched to a Propeller Protoboard, so I did have the wireless link with the AppMod adapter and Stamp.