whats a good wireless option?

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-12 10:00

hey all,

I am looking for a good wireless option for a remote control for a boe-bot. I've been looking at the Xbee's but not sure how friendly it will be. Another options is the transreceiver? any opions are welcomed

thanks

SRLM · 2012-09-12 11:04

I've been considering trying out these: https://store.diydrones.com/3DR_RadioTelemetry_Kit_915_Mhz_p/kt-telemetry-3dr915.htm

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-12 12:04

I like these rf's.... i'm looking at this set because it's going from a remote control to a boe-bot. they are definately over kill for what i am looking for but if i get involved with another project might come in handy

https://store.diydrones.com/3DR_RadioTelemetry_Kit_433Mhz_p/kt-telemetry-3dr433.htm

Duane Degn · 2012-09-12 12:11

It's hard to beat the XBees for ease of use.

There are lots of other obtions that cost less. I've used the Nordic nRF24L01+ transceivers which can be very cheap through ebay but they are harder to use (and require more I/O pins).

@SRLM, If you try those transceivers out, I hope you let us know how they work.

Mike Green · 2012-09-12 15:28

Another option is the Roving Networks RN-174-XV which is a WiFi device that plugs into an xBee socket. SparkFun carries it. I can use my iPad or iPhone as a terminal to my BoeBot using it. You can also use a PC or Mac.

GordonMcComb · 2012-09-12 15:49

Point-to-point nothing beats the simplicity of Series 1 XBee. You just plug 'em in, and run. No need to configure them, or even change their defaults in code. You are "limited" to 9600 bps and A-B transceiving (no per-unit addressing), but for remote control, these factory presets are just fine.

Parallax offers the XBee Wireless Pack, which contains two S1 XBees, carriers (including one for USB), and headers:

http://www.parallax.com/StoreSearchResults/tabid/768/txtSearch/xbee/List/0/SortField/4/ProductID/785/Default.aspx

Hookup is easy for just about any microcontroller. Start here: http://learn.parallax.com/kickstart/32440

-- Gordon

Duane Degn · 2012-09-12 16:10

Gennaro,

You didn't mention which microcontroller you're using with your BOE-Bot. I figure it's likely a Basic Stamp 2 but if you're using the PropBOE or other Propeller board with your BOE-Bot you have a couple of additional wireless options.

One would be just normal RC gear. The Propeller can read the pulse lengths from a RC receiver and use them to control the bot. I've done this with a couple of robots including a PropBOE-Bot. A PropBOE makes using a XBee easy since it has a socket for a XBee (I assume it would also work fine with the Roving Networks RN-174-XV Mike mentioned).

Another wireless option I like to use with the Propeller is the Wixel. Martin_H figured out how to use the Wixel to not only communicate with a Propeller chip but he showed us how to use the Wixel to wirelessly program Propeller. This is a really nice ability with a robot. I haven't used a Wixel for microcontroller to microcontroller communication yet but I think they should work just fine for this purpose too.

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-12 20:23

Thank you everyone for all the added options.

Duane, You would be correct in assuming i am using the BS2 for the bot and remote.

I actually have pictures of both in another thread.

The thread is labled "educational group project for all of us that are new to electronic", for anyone interested in seeing what it will go to

again thank you all for your opinions.

W9GFO · 2012-09-12 20:36

I have found the XBees to be easy to use so I recommend them. I have not tried the other ones... yet.

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-14 10:01

is the 433 MHz RF Transceiver worth trying?

Mike Green · 2012-09-14 10:07

It depends on what you want to do. The 433 MHz Transceiver hardware is very simple. It either turns on the transmitter or turns it off. There's no error checking or recovery from errors ... and there will be errors as with any wireless link. The coding examples on the webpage for the Transceiver show how to do error checking and retries, but that's all your responsibility. The other devices mentioned all have a microcontroller built into the device and this handles all sorts of stuff so that these devices all behave (once configured) like a reliable wired bidirectional serial link.

ratronic · 2012-09-14 12:19

gennarobasso81 I just received my first pair of Xbee Pro's yesterday afternoon and I have them talking back and forth @ 115200 at a very quick pace between 2 Propeller chips.

Note - the actual baud rate I am using for the Propeller to communicate to them is 111,111 baud as that is their actual baud rate when set with "ATBD7" for 115200.

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-14 15:26

I have been doing a lot of reading on my own and the Xbee does seem to be a great choice as it was my first choice. I do however have a concern about the signal because of the size of the antenna, or lack of one. This is a picture of what the Xbee will be inside. do u think it being closed inside will mess with it?

ratronic · 2012-09-14 15:53

Since I am a newbie with Xbee's I can't really say but since your enclosure looks plastic and they are at 2.4 Ghz I think they might work, maybe someone that know's better will chime in.

localroger · 2012-09-14 16:01

Unless someone has gone to the trouble to deliberately make the enclosure RF-proof by deposting metal film on it or something, it will have no effect whatsoever on 2.4 GHz signals.

P.S. XBees are available with sockets for an external antenna; SparkFun carries them.

Martin_H · 2012-09-14 16:31

I've used bluetooth which works well from a computer to a robot. I've also used Pololu wixels which work both robot to robot, and computer to robot. I have not used Xbees which sound interesting, so I can't comment.

max72 · 2012-09-15 13:55

I played with Xbees and WiFly modules (with xbee footprint).
Both are very nice and easy to use, but each one is better suited in different situations, so it really depends on your setup.

In my opinion, if you want to control a robot from a PC or a smartphone get a wifly, if you have data streaming between two microcontroller units get the Xbee.

Remember also the Xbee has a 2mm footprint, so not breadboard/perfboard/veroboard friendly. Remember to purchase also the adapters, unless you make your own boards (and you need the right 2mm headers).

Massimo

W9GFO · 2012-09-15 14:28

I use a 60 mW XBee pro inside a plastic enclosure. When controlling a large robot that has an Xbee mounted low inside of it, surrounded by metal framing, I get a range of 50 to 75 yards.

spiked · 2012-09-16 09:39

Another vote for XBee. Although they were not quite as 'run from the box' as I expected; http://psychoul.com/electronics/xbee-dropping-bytes-my-solution

gennarobasso81 · 2012-09-18 11:55

Just ordered the Xbee wireless pack....We'll see how it goes...i'll post again once i have a chance to play with them. Thanks again everyone

P.S. if anyone is interested in you can see more at educational group project for all of us that are new to electronics I have been posting pictures and code.

whats a good wireless option?

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