Building Wireless Sensor Networks Create wireless sensor networks and intelligent interactive devices with the ZigBee wireless networking protocol. With fast-paced hands-on guide, you'll build a series of useful projects by the time you're halfway through the book, including a complete Arduino- and XBee-powered wireless network that delivers remotely-sensed data. This resource- and reference-packed book is perfect for inventors, hackers, crafters, students, hobbyists, and scientists. Building Wireless Sensor Networks A Note Regarding Supplemental Files How This Book Is Organized Conventions Used in This Book How to Contact Us Buying an XBee Radio Arduino Board Adapter Hack What Are All Those Pins? Choosing a Terminal Program Terminal Software for Configuring Settings 2. Up and Running Reading Current Firmware and Configuration Command Mode and Transparent Mode AT Commands (Are Your Friend) 3. Build a Better Doorbell
Don’t forget the cable Using the Arduino IDE Selecting the board and port Connect Power from Arduino to Breadboard Program the Arduino Doorbell Program the Arduino Feedback Doorbell Extra: Nap Doorbells and More 4. Ins and Outs The Story of Data AT Configuration I/O Commands Basic Romantic Lighting Sensor Prepare your coordinator radio Prepare your router radio Prepare the Sensor Board Configure your router XBee Connect power from battery to breadboard Router XBee connection to battery Prepare the Base Station Connect power from Arduino to breadboard Coordinator XBee connection to Arduino Program the romantic lighting sensor base station Romantic Lighting Sensor with Feedback Add light output to the sensor Program the romantic lighting sensor with feedback base station 5. API and a Sensor Network 16-bit destination network address 16-bit source network address
I/O Data Sample Rx Indicator Remote AT Command Request Using What You Need Prepare Your Coordinator Radio Prepare Your Router Radios Prepare the Sensor Boards Connect voltage regulator circuit and power jack to breadboard Router XBee connection to power Program the Base Station Simple Sensor Network display code in Processing 6. Sleeping, Then Changing the World Simple Sensor with Sleep Project Prepare Your End Device Radios Configure Your End Device XBees ...or replace sensor nodes Prepare the Actuator Boards Configure Your Router XBees Transistor and relay output PowerSwitch Tail A/C relay Connect to your computer Program the actuator network base station Simple Actuator Node Code in Processing 7. Over the Borders XBee as Embedded Gateway Computers Versus Dedicated Devices Setting Up a ConnectPort Firmware Updates and Remote Reboot Viewing an XBee Network
XBee Internet Gateway (XIG) Installing and Configuring XIG XIG download example in PHP Prepare Your ConnectPort with XBee Internet Gateway Prepare Your Router Radio Configure Your Router Radio Prepare the Twitter Reader Board XBee connection to Arduino Liquid crystal display (LCD) output Installing the NewSoftSerial library 8. More to Love Network and link keys Fast guide to turning on XBee network security Using optional APS encryption Simple Sensor Network with Pachube Build the Simple Sensor Network in Chapter 5 Simple Sensor Network Pachube Code in Processing The Future of ZigBee Next Steps for You Additional Online Resource Lists Digi XBee Radio Modules XBee Connectors and Shields Hex, Decimal, and Binary4.4 out of 5 Based on 33 ratings: 1 of 1 found this helpful: I was having trouble getting my XBEE to communicate with my computer and here was why I needed the explorer board usb to do so.
Once I had the explorer I plugged in the explorer and XBEE and opened up XCTU and I had communication right away! I highly recommend it. Works like a charm! I’ve been using this product for awhile and it works perfectly for interfacing my xbee Pro. I use the xbee Pros as a wireless serial link and the explorer plugs into my computer and creates a COM port with no problems. My only complaint (and a minor one at that) is that the reset button is a bit hard to reach and feel since the xbee module overhangs it slightly. Works great, gave me a jump-start on development before our in-house hardware was ready. I am trying to get 2 xbees to communicate sensor data to one another to get an LED to blink. There is very little documentation about how to get the right settings for the Xbee. Any pointers would be much appreciated 2 of 2 found this helpful: Works well, but it would be better if the headers were through hole instead of surface mounted. The XBee fits very tightly in the 2mm headers and requires some gentle force to remove.
I ended up breaking one of the headers off while trying to remove an XBee. I wanted to repair it using the breadboard-compatible holes by mounting one of the XBee breakout boards, but the left and right header holes are offset by one pin! I ended up soldering headers and using jumper wires to keep this working while I wait for a replacement. I’m going to replace this unit with one of the competing products that uses through-hole mounting for the XBee 2mm headers. 1 of 2 found this helpful: Worked exactly as stated. Then I went to remove my XBee so I could program another one and the header snapped off! Someone PLEASE make this through hole and not surface mount headers. Now I have to order another and waste another week waiting on shipping. I’m a poor college student on a time crunch! Please contact our support team for assistance. I use these all the time and have never had a problem. The quality is top notch, and is extremely reliable. I have two, one of them has been working non stop for almost two years.
The Explorer USB handles the powering and connections for a WiFly (and XBee’s, I assume). It’s straightforward to use and makes application of the WiFly a snap. The XBee Explorer works as advertised. I used the Explorer in connecting my Laptop (running Python application) to Raspberry PI. No problems what so ever. Definitely a number of different uses for this product. Every Sparkfun creation I’ve tried has been excellent, and the Xbee Explorer is no exception. This breakout-board serves very well as an Xbee component or as a configuration tool. an excellent tool to facilitate communication between PC and xbee I have another “dongle” for my XBees, but it lacks the reset switch. This is the feature I use the most on this unit. I also prefer the mini-B USB over a Type A style. Since I don’t need to plug this one into a proto board, not having the pins on the bottom gives it a smaller form factor, which is also a benefit. I have another with pins for hardware development tasks, but as I usually use them in pairs, having one of each is a plus.
Perfect match with XCTU software. I originally intended to use this board in my house to hold the Coordinator XBee which communicates with another Xbee which controls my water pump. I did have to download drivers, install, reboot, uninstall, reinstall again before it would work. This seemed to be more of a Windows problem than this board, but it worked in the end. Because the mini USB connector was much easier to route thru ~6 feet of ¾ inch conduit, I ended up using this board as the outdoor router for the water pump. It is sealed inside of a water proof Type-LB Nonmetallic Conduit Body. This means that the board needs to communicate with my Raspberry Pi. In connecting to the Pi, I had none of the bother that I had with my Windows machine: I plugged it in, and it worked fine. Even though the power draw of the Xbee Pro is a bit over what the Pi is spec'ed for, I have not had any problems. Since the Pi is not driving anything else, I have more margin than other applications.
Must have accessory to work with xBee modules. This allows to re-program the FW, configure them and even recover “dead” ones from a PC. The Digi software works flowlessly with this board. This helped me understand how the the xBee modules work and fine tune my network configuration before using them with an Arduino Yun. I accidentally plugged the module in reverse a couple of times and it did not damage neither the Explorer nor the xBee board. I was able to achieve my goal to build wireless temperature sensors using xBee 2 Series boards that can run for 1.5+ year on a pair of AA batteries. 0 of 3 found this helpful: But I have used SparkFun gadgets for my work to do things amazing. So thanks for YOUR support while I explore the amazing world of affordable technology! I want to power the USB explorer board to monitor the xbee tx/rx when the xbee is powered with an external supply. Can the 3.3V pin on the USB explorer be used as the xbee power source when there is no USB connected?
Similarly, can the 5V pin be used as the power supply with no USB connected? If yes, will the tx/rx LEDs function with external power? If the board is externally powered, are there any USB explorer pins that must be set hi/low (e.g., RST, RES, CTS, DTR)? If you are powering over the 3.3V line, you need to be very sure to have a clean and regulated 3.3V power supply. The Xbees are very sensitive and can become damaged if supplied with to much power. The 5V input should run through the regulator (MIC5219 3.3V) so you can get away with more input voltage. However, I would suggest keeping it under 9V in on the regulated line. I have not tested, but the TX and RX should turn on without USB as long as there is data being sent over the respective line. USB plug and go Work without any problem. headers are not included Work great with XBee Pro Series 2B and Xbee Series 2 I have used this product over the past several years. The latest iteration works well with the highest power XBee modules, the Pro S3B if you observe the instructions in the Sparkfun ad regarding the RSSI limitation.
I can’t ask for more than doing exactly what it says it does! Good quality and price and performance Definitely useful for setup and testing. 0 of 1 found this helpful: Be careful with the 2mm pitch headers. I soldered on 0.1" through hole headers to plug this into a breadboard. When I pulled the board out of the breadboard I accidentally put too much force on the 2mm headers on top and one ripped right off. I tacked it back on with some super glue and wires to connect 3.3V and GND (the only connections I need on that side of the board). Through hole headers would have been a better choice. Got my XBees' up and running in no time flat. This interface for the XBee module does exactly what it is intended to do. It provides a USB interface to the host PC as well as the necessary level shifting to the 3.3v Rx & Tx ports of the XBee device. It has an onboard a 3.3 regulator to power the module from the USB 5v rail. For the price it would be difficult to produce your own with equivalent functionality.