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ELEV-8 v3 Wireless Telemetry not binding — Parallax Forums

ELEV-8 v3 Wireless Telemetry not binding

LtechLtech Posts: 370
edited 2016-04-27 16:02 in Robotics
I try the ELEV-8 v3 Xbee Wireless Telemetry.
But never get connection.
I just change the baudrate on the Xbees.

The Xbee set works when I make a serial loop on one side and use a serial terminal on the other side.
The ground station program works with usb connection, but never on Xbee?

Do I have to change the c program ?

Thanks

Comments

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2016-03-10 13:39
    There should be no change to the program. Mine worked right off the bat, after changing baud rate to 57,000. I do know that the Rev A USB Xbee board does not work. Should be Rev C. Don't know about Rev B.

    Do you purchase the whole Parallax kit? 900 Mhz?
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    edited 2016-03-10 17:23
    Where do you find that the Rev A USB Xbee board does not work ?
    I use a sparkfun usb Xbee board, they told about the rssi pin do not be used .

    Is there a special use for the ground station ?

    Strange the Xbee set works with two serial terminal programs, but not with the ground control.
    booth side plunged on sparkfun board
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2016-03-10 17:33
    I recieved the info in an email from Kyle, (the Project Manager). I don't know the particulars.
    we're using:
    2 x https://www.parallax.com/product/32410
    2 x https://www.parallax.com/product/32411
    1 x https://www.parallax.com/product/32400 (rev A does not work in this application, rev C does, not sure about rev B)
    baud rate must be set on both modules to 57600
    it should work with any pair of xBee modules as long as they don't operate near 2.4 Ghz, and you are using a compatible USB adapter), and seet the baud rate correctly

    The Ground Station was only tested with Parallax products.
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-03-10 18:18
    Kyle M. might have more information. I know there was a design difference between the RevA board and RevC board that prevented correct operation, but I don't recall what the issue was.

    GroundStation (the C# version) is looking for FTDI devices, so if the Sparkfun XBee board isn't based on the FTDI serial to USB chip there might be an issue. If that's the case, we can point you at a newer version (written with C & Qt) that will work with any serial device.

  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    Is this the board you have?

    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11812
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    I have the older one

    https://sparkfun.com/products/retired/8687

    I remove the resistor R4 binder with RSSI, some literature on sparkfun told there was a issue?

    In GS, when removed Xbee adaptor, i have " no FTDI device found"
    When plugged Xbee adaptor "No Elev8-FC connected"
    When plugged trough usb cable I have working system.
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-03-11 09:24
    The message changing to "no elev8 found" means that it is recognizing the FTDI device. Are you sure the baud rate is set to 57,600? Also, are you using the C# version of GroundStation, or the newer C++ / Qt version? There was a bug in the early Qt version where I wasn't properly checking both baud rates.

    I'll try to double check tomorrow that all the currently published versions are working with XBee.
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    edited 2016-03-11 11:30
    100% Sure 57600. I bind two computers to the Xbees with 56700 baud and it works.
    I use C# and simple ide
  • MattMatzMattMatz Posts: 87
    edited 2016-03-11 19:19
    Good morning,

    Both the older Sparkfun adapters and our RevA boards won't work for similar reasons. It's frustrating because if you use a terminal to test them, it looks like they do work, but the ELEV-8 and Groundstation require a very high throughput to work correctly, and the older boards drop/jumble the signals because they aren't properly level-shifting between the XBEE and the USB connection. It works in XCTU and a terminal because even with a high baud rate it isn't sending that much data. The ELEV-8 and Groundstation are both sending data at near the maximum possible data rate.

    The older boards did their level-shifting with a diode and it relies of the internal pullups on the XBEE to be enabled, which they are usually not by default. There may be a way to get it to work, and here is a link to a Sparkfun product page where it was discussed in the comments:
    https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/9132

    I hope that helps,
    Thanks,
    Matt
  • Kyle M.Kyle M. Posts: 112
    Ltech,
    IT is most likely an issue with the USB to xBee adapter board you have (assuming all settings besides baud rate are at their defaults). We don't support SparkFun products, and I can't troubleshoot that board for you, but in our own previous testing we found that Rev A of Parallax's USB adapter board board does not work with the 900 MHz xBees, even though it works with other xBee modules and even though xCTU implies it's working (as a mechanical engineer, It is beyond my scope of practice to explain that). I also know that SparkFun has also revised their board numerous times so I'm guessing it is a similar issue. I suggest you order a new parallax xBee USB adapter, and then go from there.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    Are you using Ver 1.0.2?

    https://www.parallax.com/downloads/parallax-groundstation-software-windows
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    edited 2016-03-12 17:34
    I understand it, Thank you!

    @Kyle, I never blamed Parallax or somebody, just try to understand, I never like mysterious electronics .... and hope it give you feedback

    I go to my local dealer and take a rev c board.
    In Europe the custom and formalities takes me a leg, near the price of the controller and 15 days.

    Good to mention to take the right adapter Xboard for telemetry ground control.
    Is there a dedicated elev8V3 discussion place on the forums like the spinneret?

    The next day I ordered the Xbees and the controller , Parallax make a nice packet for the telemetry set

    keep you informed

    Daniel
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    @Ltech

    There is no special forum for the ELEV-8 right now, but if you start a new thread in ROBOTICS, it will be followed. As a moderator, I read every post in the forum, so I can make the people aware of a problem.

    Thanks for hanging in!

  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    I also look for Elev8 related posts regularly, and will forward issues to Kyle / Matt as well as try to help on my own. You're in the right place. :)
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    edited 2016-03-17 18:12
    I get the right Xbee adapter and in windows7 it is working.
    On osx I have no connection. In my system I notice "FT321X USB UART"
    The Xbee in osx, when opening groundstation, is tx something, board is receiving acording the leds but no binding
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-03-17 22:51
    You may have an older version. For a while the XBee connection was not working in the cross-platform version of GroundStation. Can you try installing the .dmg package from here and let me know if that works for you? https://github.com/parallaxinc/Flight-Controller/releases
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    Thank you Jason, but the .dmg is corrupted.

    Inside the disk copy the "Parallax-Groundstation" is corrupted and can not be used.
    I try it on two different Mac running Yosemite 10.10.5 for me the best stable OSX from years.

  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    That's very odd - I've installed that myself with no issues. I'll try to have a look at it this weekend.
  • LtechLtech Posts: 370
    the "parallax-groundstation-1.0.3-amd64.dmg" is corrupted
    the one in the "Source code (zip)" runs, but no binding.

    Schermafbeelding 2016-03-18 om 22.22.17.png
    763 x 402 - 113K
  • JasonDorieJasonDorie Posts: 1,930
    edited 2016-03-19 05:50
    I'm setting up a first Mac (my first!) so I can properly test this. I've verified that it isn't working for me either. The Mac version is built on a remote server using a packaging script that occasionally messes up. I'll see if I can figure out what's going on, probably tomorrow.
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