Jan 172010
I’ve got those XBee Series 2 modules for quite some time, and I finally managed to make two talk to each other. That was more complicated than I expected, but in the end it was not difficult at all, if you know what to change and how to configure them.
I use the XBee Series 2.5 (AKA ZB) models. There is a lot of documentation about the older Series 1 models. They are easier to use and need no configuration to make 2 talk to each other. The ZB models are a bit more complicated.
- Program one via X-CTU as a ZIGBEE COORDINATOR AT (that’ll allow transparent use)
- Configure a PAN ID (actually this is optional), configure a Node Identifier (“CO3” in my case), and the Destination High and Low address is the serial number of the end device XBee. Unless you do this, no characters will go around.
- Program the other XBee as ZIGBEE END DEVICE AT”
- Configure PAN ID to the same one as before, configure a Node Identifier (“EP1”). Leave Destination High and Low to 0, which is the Coordinator.
That’s it.
What you will see then is:
- On the Funnel I/O board there are 3 LEDs. CHG for Charge (when USB is connected and the LiPo battery is charged), ON which blinks about twice per second, and RSSI which is green when you send characters via the Coordinator via the X-CTU Terminal.
- On the X-CTU Terminal connected to the Coordinator, when you enter command mode (+++), and ATDB, you’ll get a number back which is the direct dB value in hex. The more, the weaker the signal. 0 means that no character ever was received.
Here the link which gave me the “Ah! Got it!” effect. It’s one of the few ones which write about the 2.5 firmware (which is similar to the ZB one I use).