Stupid Questions about XBee and 5V/3.3V Adapter
SSchaffer
Posts: 12
Hi!
···· I'm a relative electronics novice, but I'm trying to set up communications between 2 BS2 OEM Boards that have XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters with regular XBees (not Pro) and I have some questions:
1. I was powering the BS2 Boards and XBees through the unused +5V and Gnd terminal blocks on an Access Control Panel. I don't know what the Current was, but this was at work, and I have been having trouble getting everything to work, so I thought that I'd bring everything home with me for my long weekend. I didn't bring the Access Control board home with me, though. Instead, I brought home a Switching·Adapter that outputs 5V DC, but at 1 Amp (The Input says 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz .2A. I was going to cut the end off the Adapter and attach it to a Solderless Breadboard, when it occurred to me that although it says 5V, the 1 Amp output may be too much for the BS2 OEM Boards and the XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters. I can't seem to find anything about Current Limits for the devices, though the XBee Documentation says that the RX Current is 50 mA.
·· I suppose it's foolish, but I also have a BS2 Homework Board. Would it be·a better idea·to put a new 9V battery into it, program it to have a bunch of pins to be high, and power the devices through those pins on the Homework board?
2. I'm not sure if I soldered the XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters correctly, but when I insert the XBees, attach wires to the DOut, DIn, RTS, Gnd and then Vdd. The Blue Power light is on for a moment, but doesn't stay on. Is this proper? The Yellow light stays on and so does the Green light. The Red light is flashing, however. What does the Red light (RSSI) mean when it flashes?
3. Is the RTS pin necessary? It's not in the Program examples I saw in the 5V/3.3V Adapter document. When I try transmitting a series of numbers, the Receiving BS2 is giving me odd numbers in the Debug window, so I'm wondering if there is a timing issue.
···· Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Scott
···· I'm a relative electronics novice, but I'm trying to set up communications between 2 BS2 OEM Boards that have XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters with regular XBees (not Pro) and I have some questions:
1. I was powering the BS2 Boards and XBees through the unused +5V and Gnd terminal blocks on an Access Control Panel. I don't know what the Current was, but this was at work, and I have been having trouble getting everything to work, so I thought that I'd bring everything home with me for my long weekend. I didn't bring the Access Control board home with me, though. Instead, I brought home a Switching·Adapter that outputs 5V DC, but at 1 Amp (The Input says 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz .2A. I was going to cut the end off the Adapter and attach it to a Solderless Breadboard, when it occurred to me that although it says 5V, the 1 Amp output may be too much for the BS2 OEM Boards and the XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters. I can't seem to find anything about Current Limits for the devices, though the XBee Documentation says that the RX Current is 50 mA.
·· I suppose it's foolish, but I also have a BS2 Homework Board. Would it be·a better idea·to put a new 9V battery into it, program it to have a bunch of pins to be high, and power the devices through those pins on the Homework board?
2. I'm not sure if I soldered the XBee 5V/3.3V Adapters correctly, but when I insert the XBees, attach wires to the DOut, DIn, RTS, Gnd and then Vdd. The Blue Power light is on for a moment, but doesn't stay on. Is this proper? The Yellow light stays on and so does the Green light. The Red light is flashing, however. What does the Red light (RSSI) mean when it flashes?
3. Is the RTS pin necessary? It's not in the Program examples I saw in the 5V/3.3V Adapter document. When I try transmitting a series of numbers, the Receiving BS2 is giving me odd numbers in the Debug window, so I'm wondering if there is a timing issue.
···· Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Scott
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- Stephen
Sorry for all the questions. I appreciate your answer regarding the Current. I tried using the 5V, 1A Power Adapter and it worked fine. The XBee Adapters are working fine. I think that the Blue light on the 5V/3.3V Adapter has something to do with having a Serial cable connected to it, because it was on constantly when I had the serial cable connected to the Basic Stamp when I was getting ready to program it. It was on only periodically when I removed the Serial Cable to program the other BS2.
Anyway, I got the Xbees to provide communication between the BS2 boards, so I'll work up to RTS. Thanks for your assistance!
Scott