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Connecting the xbee's to propeller demo board - Page 4 — Parallax Forums

Connecting the xbee's to propeller demo board

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  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2010-11-05 07:20
    oh ok sorry. both the boards are connected to the its own pc and ther termiunal window is open for both.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2010-11-05 20:23
    Hello everyone

    i spoke with tech support again today and they told me that i needed the usb adapters to make by xbee's work. i have went through code manuals and nothing is working.so i have to save up some money to get the usb adapter boards.
  • Roger LeeRoger Lee Posts: 339
    edited 2010-11-05 20:55
    I feel bad I (we) were not able to get you going.:sad:

    I'm sure the USB adapter board will make things so much easier.
    Don't really know if it is 100% needed, however. We may never know.
    I wish you good fortune as you continue.

    Roger.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-04 04:14
    Hello

    i am still haveing issues with the xbee modules has anyone found out anything new about the xbees and the propeller chip?
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-10 11:36
    Hello

    i have recived my new set up xbee's from parallax and hooked everything up and it still has issues.picture posted below
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-10 15:05
    the 'y's you refer to usually mean theres a incorrect baud setting somewhere. Remember, the xbee's default baud setting is 9600.
    Thanks, W9GFO i hookid my board up just like yours but when i run through the tutorials that parallax has created i get a strange issue in the digikey prgram.it displays alot of Y about 20 per line over and over So does this mean my xbee is hooked up wrong.
  • max72max72 Posts: 1,155
    edited 2011-01-11 07:55
    Xbees are rather easy to work with, and the documentation is very good.
    You might be overlooking something so obvious that you are assuming is right by definition. At least this happens frequently to me.
    Maybe better starting from scratch.
    Do you have a USB adapter?
    Massimo
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-12 19:56
    No i dont have a usb adapter i have the plain adapter board hooked up to my propeller demo board
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-12 20:08
    max72 wrote: »
    Xbees are rather easy to work with, and the documentation is very good.
    You might be overlooking something so obvious that you are assuming is right by definition. At least this happens frequently to me.
    Maybe better starting from scratch.
    Do you have a USB adapter?
    Massimo

    do you have an xbee hooked up ? if so may i see a picture to compare our setups and pin layouts ?
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-18 18:11
    Here are some new images for you i am still haveing issues with the xbees i have a USB adapter board and it works great with the digi key software but none of the code that i throw at it.
  • Martin HebelMartin Hebel Posts: 1,239
    edited 2011-01-18 18:38
    What code are you throwing at the USB adapter? It doesn't take code, it is monitored or used via a terminal window.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-18 18:40
    Hello

    here is the post that has the code i am using on the xbees
    11-03-2010 09:39 PM #85

    also i spoke with a eng at parallax and here is the code that he gave to me
  • Martin HebelMartin Hebel Posts: 1,239
    edited 2011-01-18 19:10
    That's my code, so you download that to the Propeller, connect the X-CTU software to the COM port for the USB adapter, open the terminal tab, and see nothing? Is your propeller still connected to USB so that propeller isn't locking up on serial comms?

    Going back to the Loop-back testing, connect DOUT and DIN on the Propeller's XBee (while disconnecting from P0 and P1), use X-CTU connected to the USB adapter, open the terminal tab, and type something. It should be echoed back.

    Lacking that, I'm pretty lost where your problem is. Write down every single step you take and I'll see if I can figure something out...

    -Martin
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2011-01-19 07:18
    My XBEE adapter board says VCC is for 3.3, and VDD is for 5 volts, will this make a difference?
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-19 07:39
    Ttailspin wrote: »
    My XBEE adapter board says VCC is for 3.3, and VDD is for 5 volts, will this make a difference?

    Yes, if it's the usb to xbee adapter, connecting vcc AND vdd at the same time will damage your module and im pretty sure this goes for the 5v to 3.3v adapter also. on the xbee adapter board; vdd pin isn't connected to anything internally on the board, it's just there for pin continuity with the other modules. use either one or the other, not both at the same time and also when using the usb module do not apply power to either of the vcc or vdd pins as the module is already powered from the usb port, this will apply too much voltage and damage your xbee. you can verify this in the documentation for the adapters you have.
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2011-01-19 07:47
    So, no harm in connecting 5v to VCC ?... :cool:
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-19 07:58
    Ttailspin wrote: »
    So, no harm in connecting 5v to VCC ?... :cool:

    NO! i did not say that. do not connect 5v to VCC! its for 3.3v only, 5v is for the VDD pin, as stated on the module and documentation. i suggest you read the documentation in it's entirety before proceeding any further, as all your questions would be answered in doing so.

    Documentation links:
    XBee 5V/3.3V Adapter (#32401)
    XBee USB Adapter Board (#32400)
    XBee Adapter Board (#32403)
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2011-01-19 08:12
    Chris Jones Post #101, attachment "xbee 2.bmp", clearly shows 5v being applied to VCC... yes?
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-19 08:14
    Hello

    i noticed that before i took thge picture i removed the pin from 5V i have verified both modules still work.
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-19 09:42
    Here is a small program that will let you control the leds on the propeller demo board using two xbees, one on a usb adapter board connected to the pc using PST, the other xbee connected to the prop demo board, pin 1 of the xbee connected to VSS, pin 2 connected to VCC (3.3v), pin 3 (DOUT) connected to P1 of the demo board and pin 4 (DIN) of the xbee connected to P0 of the demo board.

    Load the program onto the demo board, then connect the usb xbee to your pc, open up pst, then power on the demo board. you should see "Enter 6-bit binary pattern: " in pst, enter a binary pattern like '10011010" and you should see the corresponding leds on the demo board (p16-p23) come on.

    This will verify that both xbees are communicating to each other.

    Hope this helps!

    PS, all baud rates are at 9600.

    Edit: updated this post with the revised code attatchment from below.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-19 11:05
    Hello

    i tried your exmpale and it did not work, but when i powered up the propeller demo board the xbee using the usb adapter had a blue light and a purple light come on and the red light did not show up blinking. this only lasted a few sec so i am not sure what it was doing maybe reciveing data.
    1024 x 535 - 54K
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-19 11:24
    it's receiving data from the prop xbee, thats where the "Enter 6-bit Binary Pattern" string comes from, so theres no reason it shouldn't be sending or executing if the DOUT from the xbee is connected to P1. have you changed any settings from the default settings on the xbee modules? if so, open up x-ctu, go to modem configuration, click on restore wait for the restore complete on the bottom, then click write in the modem parameters and firmware section (upper left). do this for both xbees then try. also, i used parallax serial terminal in my testing, not the terminal in x-ctu and it worked with no problem. i doubt it makes a difference, but thats just what i used.
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-19 12:05
    Here is an update to the above file, when the prop demo receives the data, it will echo back to tell you that the data was received and processed, wait for one second then ask you for another binary string. i've tested in both pst and the xbee x-ctu terminal and works for me.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-19 12:24
    :) Awesome this works but with the first program it di dnot work i am not sure why.
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-20 06:52
    Great! im glad you got it working! just curious, did you restore the xbees to the original configuration like i pointed out above or changed anything else to get this working for you? any pointers or information you could give would help others out with similar problems in the future.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-20 06:57
    yes and no when i tried to view the configuration it said there was no config so when i updated the software from the web i re scanned the xbees and i had a config file show up then everything started to work.
  • kf4ixmkf4ixm Posts: 529
    edited 2011-01-20 07:06
    Ok, sounds like when you updated the firmware from the web, it set everything to the default settings. Great, glad it worked for you. i love that restore feature on the x-ctu software, as i myself have inadvertently "locked" myself out of them before by playing with the settings when i first started working with mine.
  • chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
    edited 2011-01-21 05:01
    I would like to state 1 think for anyone buying an xbee do not but the basic adapter you need the basic adapter and the USB adapter to configure or reflash the xbee.
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