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Xbee solution help — Parallax Forums

Xbee solution help

RsadeikaRsadeika Posts: 3,837
edited 2011-05-18 07:52 in General Discussion
The solution that I have now is a Class-1 Bluetooth USB dongle with a duck antenna, and a Class-1 Bluetooth sip module with a duck antenna. What do I need to replicate this using Xbee? I have not seen anything that is really convenient to use for the PC end, although there are some sip modules available for a link to a Propeller board. The bluetooth stuff is getting to be very expensive, the Class-1 stuff, and the Class-1 USB dongles are starting to disappear. I guess I need to start looking into a new solution, any suggestions?

Thanks

Ray

Comments

  • stamptrolstamptrol Posts: 1,731
    edited 2011-05-18 05:57
    The XBees, when used with a pre-built interface board are relatively easy to get into, but may not exactly duplicate the function of your Bluetooth.

    What kind of data are you moving around?

    If you search YouTube under stamptrol1, I've posted a demo of my XBee experiments.

    Cheers,
  • RsadeikaRsadeika Posts: 3,837
    edited 2011-05-18 06:29
    It is not the exact duplication of the "function" of Bluetooth that I am concerned about, it is the hardware aspect that I am concerned about. For instance, what is the Xbee hardware replacement for my USB Bluetooth dongle? I see that Parallax sells the sip modules for the interface to a uchip, but how do I deal with a stand-alone for a PC?

    Ray
  • stamptrolstamptrol Posts: 1,731
    edited 2011-05-18 07:51
    The key item is the interface board. It provides the level conversion from the Xbee to serial and the boards are available in regular serial and USB serial. The interface boards also provide troubleshooting LEDS for data flow and control signals.

    Each end of your communication link will have an XBee plugged into an interface board. Apply power, send data in the serial side and it comes out at the other XBee/interface board.

    The ones I use are Sparkfun and I got them from Solarbotics who also sells the XBee modules.

    Cheers,
  • max72max72 Posts: 1,155
    edited 2011-05-18 07:52
    To interface to a PC simply use a USB adapter.
    http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/xbee/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/643/Default.aspx
    You get a serial to USB interface, and you can read data with any terminal. The X-CTU is terminal plus a couple of utilities to simplify X-bee configuration.
    Massimo
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