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Transfering data wirelessly — Parallax Forums

Transfering data wirelessly

lrtnorfolklrtnorfolk Posts: 19
edited 2012-01-28 20:45 in Propeller 1
Good Evening;
I am working on a project that involves a maxbotix sensor and a DS1602 (and a prop, of course). The project takes a range and a temp measurement once an hour and saves the data in upper 32k (and puts a time/date stamp on it). I can also download the data via USB and display in a CSV file. The project works perfectly. I would like the ability to download the data wirelessly every 3-4 weeks. The project is inside a centenary pole along a light rail path. The poles are about 50 feet from the road. I was thinking about using a pair of xbee units, but I seem to remember reading that the xbees are not good at transmitting a lot of data all at once (please correct me if I am wrong here). I have seen some good things about WIFLY. My question to you is... what kind of wireless units would be best for this situation? Thanks and have a great weekend.

Comments

  • CircuitsoftCircuitsoft Posts: 1,166
    edited 2012-01-27 15:42
    How far does the wireless signal need to go? Does it need to be encrypted? Would Cellular be better for your needs?
  • lrtnorfolklrtnorfolk Posts: 19
    edited 2012-01-27 16:47
    Circuitsoft wrote: »
    How far does the wireless signal need to go? Does it need to be encrypted? Would Cellular be better for your needs?

    A technician will drive to the pole and park to download the data (via PC laptop). The signal will have to travel about 50-100 feet. The signal does not have to be encrypted. The transmiter/reciever (in the pole) will be asleep until it is woken up by the other transmiter/reciever (attached to the laptop). Then the data can be downloaded from that point.
  • CircuitsoftCircuitsoft Posts: 1,166
    edited 2012-01-27 17:38
    Does the technician need to drive to the pole for other reasons too? M2M cellular connections are getting used more and more often for that type of use.

    For what you're describing, XBee probably would be a reasonable way to go. You would probably do well to look at SparkFun's Wireless Buying Guide.
  • Duane DegnDuane Degn Posts: 10,588
    edited 2012-01-27 18:03
    I've used these Nordic devices in a lot of my projects. They can transfer data at faster rate than XBees, are smaller than XBees and cost less than XBees. You can purchase them with an external antenna for increased range or use a chip antenna version. I've also purchased Nordic devices off eBay for about $3 a module. These cheaper modules use a PCB trace as an antenna.

    The main down side to these modules is they are more complicated to communicate with than XBees. I've written a driver for the Propeller to use these devices so it shouldn't be too hard to use them.
  • lrtnorfolklrtnorfolk Posts: 19
    edited 2012-01-28 20:45
    Thanks for the info. Think I will go with the xbee. Take care.
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