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X-bee to Xbee Comunication — Parallax Forums

X-bee to Xbee Comunication

s_butcher11s_butcher11 Posts: 4
edited 2012-04-15 09:52 in Accessories
Ok so I have two XBees and am trying to figure out how to set them up to communicate with each other. All the system will be doing is having one transmit a short ascii segment at about 20hz. I have the x-ctu but don't know how to go about using it to set the system up. They are series 1 and I've heard for a simple rf transmission I don't need to do anything to set it up. Is that true?

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-03-28 15:11
    The Series 1 xBees need an address for themselves and an address for them to talk to (both 16-bit numbers). You use X-CTU on each one to set these. I just numbered them as #1 and #2. Once those are set up, the modules power up ready-to-go. Read the tutorial on xBees which you can download for free. It really tells you everything you need to know.
  • Tracy AllenTracy Allen Posts: 6,664
    edited 2012-03-28 22:07
    It is true that they will work for simple communication right out of the box. The addresses Mike describes are are all set to zero, so each one can successfully transmit to and receive from the other. That may be all you need. Changes are needed if you will have multiple XBees or if you want to take advantage of advanced features.
  • ajwardajward Posts: 1,130
    edited 2012-03-30 15:01
    Indeed... right out of the box they work well. I was just revisiting my XBee programming yesterday.

    I was running the loopback test and getting some =really= odd responses... till I realized I had two modules, in loopback, turned on at the same time. DOH!!!!

    Amanda
  • s_butcher11s_butcher11 Posts: 4
    edited 2012-04-02 14:15
    So would I have to change anything if one was purely transmitting serial data and to the other xbee and the other is connected to a computer through a usb port. Also is there a program which can stream the data onto the computer or will the x-ctu do that.
  • s_butcher11s_butcher11 Posts: 4
    edited 2012-04-02 16:07
    More basic, I tried doing a loopback test and the two wouldnt connect or anything at all.
  • sylvie369sylvie369 Posts: 1,622
    edited 2012-04-02 16:23
    s_butcher11 wrote: »
    So would I have to change anything if one was purely transmitting serial data and to the other xbee and the other is connected to a computer through a usb port. Also is there a program which can stream the data onto the computer or will the x-ctu do that.

    Any program that can read serial data will be able to take the data coming in from an XBee attached through a USB port.
    In the most basic terms, that means that you can use a terminal program. X-CTU has a terminal - you could cut and paste what comes in there, if that's enough for you. Alternatively, there are plenty of free terminal programs available with fancier features, including the ability to capture serial input to a file.

    From there you move up to fancier options like this free program for reading serial data into MS Excel:

    http://www.parallax.com/ProductInfo/Microcontrollers/PLXDAQDataAcquisitiontool/tabid/393/Default.aspx

    I've used this quite a few times,and it's pretty slick.
    ===============================
    More basic, I tried doing a loopback test and the two wouldnt connect or anything at all.

    Can you connect to each of them individually through X-CTU?
    If so, read their settings, and tell us what the MY and DL settings are on the two modules.
  • smithdavidpsmithdavidp Posts: 146
    edited 2012-04-10 08:27
    I think I am in the same boat. All I have is the one Propeller board with the XBee attached and the other XBee is attached to a seperate computer with the USB plug. I have two computers that sre really close to each other. I can send the XBee data from the XBee attached to the Prop but not vice versa. Do I need to have a second Prop so that data can be sent, or received, between the two XBees. It looks to me that the XBee, on the USB adapter, is only usable as a monitor and nothing more. The examples in the "Getting Started with XBee Modules" book constantly point out the necessaty of a second Propeller. It almost looks like there are/is desconnects between the USB XBee getting through to the Propeller information (hub) data. This is why I asked if the RTS CTS sockets, on the R/H side of the J5, needed to be connected with jumpers. I have tested the open sockets and they are not attached through the XBee sockets. I receive an infinite reading from both circuits. I am afraid to jumper the two to get the answer as I don't wish to loose a board out of stupidity. As a final note. The thing work as advertised in loop back mode with no issues. Not to beat a dead horse but the thing sends data fine but it refuses to accept data under any conditions. If I have to buy another Propeller I'll do it but the RTS (Ready To Send) and the CTS (Clear To Send) need to have a exit path to the XBee don't they? Or am I missunderstanding the RTS/CTS acronyms? It is vital to my project that I have the ability to send, and receive, updated data.
  • smithdavidpsmithdavidp Posts: 146
    edited 2012-04-15 09:52
    Never mind...... I kinda breezed through chapter 4 and skipped through the examples. I got my answer the second time through.
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