Wireless USB with XBee Pro
ryfitzger227
Posts: 99
Hello everyone.
I've posted this on a few other forums, but can't get a response from any of them.
I'm very new to XBee and have finally gotten them to work how I wanted them to. I'd like to expand my use of XBees in my project and use them as a "Wireless USB Cord." If that's what I should call it. Basically I have an Epson Thermal Printer that i'd like to connect to an XBee and then connect another one using a USB Adapter Board to the computer. You would have to use the green and white wires on the USB cord that's coming out of the printer, but how would I connect those to the XBee where I could send data to the printer?
I hope this makes sense.
Thanks.
- Ryan
EDIT: Found this link online of a Belkin product: http://www.belkin.com/us/support-produc ... 002G1SgAAK this is something like what I want to do, but I would like to use an XBee of course.
I've posted this on a few other forums, but can't get a response from any of them.
I'm very new to XBee and have finally gotten them to work how I wanted them to. I'd like to expand my use of XBees in my project and use them as a "Wireless USB Cord." If that's what I should call it. Basically I have an Epson Thermal Printer that i'd like to connect to an XBee and then connect another one using a USB Adapter Board to the computer. You would have to use the green and white wires on the USB cord that's coming out of the printer, but how would I connect those to the XBee where I could send data to the printer?
I hope this makes sense.
Thanks.
- Ryan
EDIT: Found this link online of a Belkin product: http://www.belkin.com/us/support-produc ... 002G1SgAAK this is something like what I want to do, but I would like to use an XBee of course.
Comments
You can use XBees for wireless serial but not wireless USB. The USB protocol requires a lot of back and forth between the devices and I'm pretty sure the XBee couldn't keep up with the data rates a USB device would require.
Apparently lots of wireless USB devices don't always work because, even in devices specifically designed to do, there's too much delay in the signal.
I just remembered the printer has a RS-232 connector also. Is there any way I can make that work?
That's much more likely.
I don't know if you'll need some sort of level converter to change the 3.3V logic of XBee to RS-232.
A chip like MAX3232 would do it if it's needed. I think you can also use transistors. I think a schematic is shown in Propeller datasheet (for some reason I'm remembering page 6 but I don't know if I'm remembering correctly or not).
I'd get the printer working with a wired connection first and then try the XBees.