Xbee Pro S3B, Parallax 32400 and X-CTU no communication
Rick Eis
Posts: 15
Hi,
I can not get modem communication between the S3b and the 32400.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks for your help,
Rick
I can not get modem communication between the S3b and the 32400.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Thanks for your help,
Rick
Comments
Hi Mike,
Thanks for the reply.
Yes, I am using the latest driver.
It appears several folks are powering these guys with USB...check out user comments https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11634
Even Digi seems to suggest this http://www.digi.com/support/kbase/kbaseresultdetl?id=3325
It appears the problem is the S3B's use a slightly different pin configuration.
I even removed the resistor as suggested on one of my adapters .... but still no communication ???
Thanks again Mike for you help,
Rick
There are other forums that suggested that the USB boards would in fact not work with the S3B's do to the LED attached at pin 6. Apparently this is either not true for the particular version parallax is selling or I simply have not ran into the problem yet.
The problem I am having now is getting the serial pass through example to work (found in the Getting Started with XBee RF Modules PDF) (with the USB adapter and regular adapter) . I cannot seem to get a propeller with an S3B to talk to another S3B connected to a computer (or the other way around). There is something that is keeping the propeller from communicating through Dout and Din pins correctly.
Anyone actually have S3B's connected through a prop and have it working? Are there any changed that need to be made to the code VS other Xbee code examples?
@Rick, when you are trying to connect your XBee to the XCTU software, you don't happen to have Din and Dout jumped together do you? If so, remove it before connecting. I ran into that a few times during testing, figured I would mention it. -Alex
@Rick - are you just trying to do simple point-to-point communication? Which firmware version are you using?
If you connect pin 6, it will cause the S3B version to start incrementing a value and throwing that value out the serial port. You'll see it doing so in XCTU on the terminal pane.
Digi has put out an appnote about this, but I can't seem to find it at the moment. It's on their website somewhere. I can't remember exactly what it's doing, but it sucked trying to figure it out without the document from Digi. I'm pretty sure it said the same problem would occur using one of the sparkfun adapter boards as well.
A quick fix for this is: Bend the pin out on the xbee to keep it from being connected and you'll be fine. This is not a great fix, but it gets the job done so that you can move on working with it. The pin is sturdy enough to bend it in and out a few times without breaking, so long as you go slowly and carefully. I'd recommend using a good set of small needle nose pliers to do the bending if you go this route.
Also- If you use Martin Hebels Xbee object, you'll need to change it. The S3B platform requires a minimum of 200 ms silence before and after escape characters (+++) to accept AT commands instead of 100 ms like the other modules.
This reply is based on my use of the S3B XSC module. I have some of the HP modules but I haven't set them up yet. I'd expect them to have the same issues as the XSC but who knows.
Good luck!
Robert
Thanks for the details. I will look into the issue on the HP modules we sell. I didn't experience any issues in my testing, however considering what the test was, I may have missed this.
Robert, maybe this was the digi info you saw?
http://www.digi.com/support/kbase/kbaseresultdetl?id=3325
So yes, Digi is aware, but it appears nobody else has made any boards yet for these little S3B's that work without modifications.
And or if there is a board beside digi's, somebody please let me know.
Thanks again to you all,
Rick
@Rforbes - You mentioned that "the S3B platform requires a minimum of 200 ms silence before and after escape characters (+++) to accept AT commands instead of 100 ms like the other modules." I will try and give that a try. Have you found anything else that needs to be changed?
Best thing to do is just read the manual for the HP and verify what has to happen for what. Good luck! If I find anything else I'll post it.
Chris,
I'm just getting started with Xbee's (not an electrical engineer or programmer). I was attempting to get started following the first project in, "The Hands-on XBee Lab Manual" and couldn't get the XCTU software to see the SB3 which was plugged into a Parallax 32400. Went on line and started to see the issue with the pins. I removed one of the leds as suggested somewhere, but still could not connect to the SB3. I ended up ordering a kit XK9-XCT-0 which apparently has digi adapter boards....so we will see
IRobot2,
You say, "I have a pair of HP modules (Item# 32411) and they work with the Xctu software just fine (with the Parallax USB adapter board)." How did you fix the pin issue or did you not have one? I guess I don't understand all I know about these
Thanks again everyone,
Rick
[h=1][/h]
Rick - I did not have any issues with connecting the XBee's and USB adapter to the XCTU software. No modifications at all. The only snag I ever hit was I realized that the XCTU software will not read the modules if you have DIN and DOUT tied together. Other than that I simply plugged in the USB cord, waited for the drivers to download then started the software. I am not saying that I might not have to modify the USB board in the future, but to get an XBee HP to talk to the software it was plug and play right out of the box.
I pretty much was able to plug them inand do a range test right out of the box –
And many Terminal commands work justfine such as ATFR,ATRE,ATID,ATPL,ATER …..
However, many will not work, such asATAF, ATMT, ATDB, ATER....
But most importantly I can not get anyATD1, ATD2 etc or ATP0, ATP1, etc to work.
I am using the latest drivers and X-CTUdrivers off the digi web site.
Any ideas,
Thanks Rick
Can ya be a little more specific? Show the code you're using, or detail exactly how/what you're trying to do?
I'll try
I just purchased this digi kit XK9-XCT-0 and am attempting a few examples like this one.
http://examples.digi.com/sensors/802-15-4-digital-input-with-a-button/3/
I also have a few books on exbees with examples and I get stuck in the same places. It seems like the books and examples are written for the older modules.
In the digi example above, I get down to the Pin o I/O configuration. Typing in the ATD0 3 command I just get an error. I'm assuming these modules also have there own command reference table. I think it is this one
ftp://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90000938_C.pdf
So it appears there are new commands for these modules that don't use the ATD0, ATD1 etc commands for I/O configuration?
For example, looking at the reference table above, it looks like maybe the command ATCD is for DO3 Configuration and ATCS is for D02 configuration?
But where are all the others? Where is DO1, 4,5 etc ?
What am I missing ?
Thanks again for your help,
Rick
You have an outdated version of the manual. http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90002173_E.pdf is the one you should use, not the one you linked to. The XSC module used to have it's own manual, but now it's an appendix in the new HP module manual That will clear up a lot of your AT command questions.
You could also use this one ftp://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90000938_E.pdf which is the latest revision of the XSC where they put the XSC in it's own manual. Just remember your module is an S3B, not an S3.
For instance, ATD0 and ATD1 are not valid AT commands for this module. ATCD, ATCS and ATRT are used for digitial i/o configuration on the XSC module.
ATDB is also not valid for the XSC. Instead, use ATRS.
The manual is quite good, if a little overwhelming. Best to just sit down and read through the XSC appendix. You'll figure it out!
Thank you very much for your help here. This looks excellent.
So what is it you do that makes you so familiar with these ?
(Oh.... and where on earth is Nowf Cakalaki ?)
Thanks again,
Rick
I've been using the S3B XSC version for some project stuff. I can't give out all the details at the moment, because of a confidentiality concern (not profit related, just security related.) As for what I do- I'm just a guy who works on stuff. I sold my robotics company a few years ago and got a little bored... so decided to start tinkering with the propeller a little over a year ago. It's been a blast!
And NWCCTV nailed it- North Carolina. I'm not originally from here but I hear locals call it that all the time. It's almost like learning a new language in some parts of these mountains, but it's home and I love it. Heh!
Robert
Well North Carolina is all that came up when I googled it but it just sounded too weird for the US ~ my family guessed french ha ha :)And I had no idea what your "propeller" was either .... thank you google ! That too looks interesting... but way above my head !!
Wondering if you have run accross some experiments and/or turtorial type exercises for the SB3 ? ~ having a hay day trying to convert these experiments for the SB3
Just got the two talking to each other ha ha. big step for me
Thanks again for pointing me to the SB3 appendix
Rick
Rick- Haha!!! Ok- the best thing you can do is get a "propeller board of education" from here at Parallax. It's item 32900 - a little pricey but worth it if you want a compact board to do all kinds of good stuff with. I haven't used mine with the S3B version of the Xbee but I think it'll do just fine. Perhaps if Chris Savage reads this he'll be able to chime in and verify that the HP module is ok to use with it.
This board, used with the xbees, your digi adapter boards, xctu, and the xbee tutorials will get you rolling pretty well.
What are you currently interfacing the Xbee with ? A basic stamp? Or something else?
Again, I'm new to much of this - just find it very interesting
I have the S3B modules talking to each other and can do the range test in the X-CTU -
I can chat using one computer and two X-CTU screens - ha - even that took me several hours to figure.
I have a couple arduino pro mini's that I'd like to hook these up to.....
The propeller board looks amazing... I'll wait to see how far I can go with what I have first
Currently, attempting to get these modules to do these two simple examples.
Ha not even sure where to go yet - half the commands in the example don't work with S3B ~ surely these modules should be able to do these two basic examples...yes ?
Thanks again,
Rick
http://examples.digi.com/sensors/802-15-4-digital-input-with-a-button/
http://examples.digi.com/lights-motors-more/802-15-4-digital-output-with-an-led/
Unfortunately, the answer is NO on the examples you linked to. The Example calls for using io line passing, which your XSC module does not support. You can definitely do what the example does, but with the XSC module you'll need to use a microcontroller and such. In effect, the "master" microcontroller would send a stream of bytes into the master XSC serial port. That XSC would send the bytes to a slave XSC which would pass the byte stream out it's serial port to a slave microcontroller. The slave microcontroller would decode the byte stream and make it do stuff with it's own i/o points.
The XSC modules are kind of unique to the Xbees in that they offer some really great advantages (such as repeater mode with acknowledgements and also broadcast repeater mode) over the other types. However, they also have disadvantages such as what I've just pointed out- no line passsing, for example. The XSC module is primarily for more "reliable" communication because of it's frequency, power, and specific features built into it. It has a great range in line of sight applications, and with proper antenna selection works quite well in NLOS (near line of sight) applications. But, that reliability comes as a trade-off with other nifty features like io line passing and network discovery.
By the way- I realize we keep talking about XSC, S3B, HP, etc... so to be clear: The S3B is kind of like the frame of a car- the "platform" on which the car is built. The XSC and HP are specific models built on that platform... sort of like a Volvo S60 S25 and a Volvo S60 S35... they're both built on the Volvo S60 platform, but have different feature sets between the S25 and S35. (Sorry if that's not a good example- I suck at cars.)
I believe the HP modules have a type of io line passing similar to what is in your examples. I don't think it's exactly the same though. Still haven't taken my HP modules out of the box, but glancing through the manual it seems these guys are combining the best of all of the other xbees.
Ha... you should work for digi -
Is this the module you are talking about;
http://www.digi.com/products/wireless-wired-embedded-solutions/zigbee-rf-modules/point-multipoint-rfmodules/xbee-pro-900hp
I have also been playing with various quad copters over the last year - I think I saw one recently with parralax propeller as the controller ? Looks pretty amazing.
Rick
I don't have 1/10th the knowledge of lots of the folks frequenting this forum. on a regular basis.
Yes, that's the one. That's the module the manual you're now using is for. Best of luck!
Robert