Xbee configuration

Question

Hello,

I'm new to Arduino World. My project is using an Arduino as datalogger for gaz, water and electricity consumption.

In most cases the different counters are not located in the same room. So I have to transmit data from several Arduino's to a an Arduino Master which transmits data over internet.

I try to configure the 2 Xbees S2 like explained in the Jeremy’s tutorial : http://www.jeremyblum.com/2011/02/27/arduino-tutorial-9-wireless-communication/

I follow exactly the procedure : 2 jumpers placed correctly, Atmega chip removed. The arduino board is well recognized on COM6 – I use Putty.

I enter +++ to communicate with Xbee. I receive OK. Up to there non problem.

AT OK

ATMY : receive FFFE

ATMY1000 : receive ERROR

ATDL1001 : OK

ATID1111, : OK

I have understood that the procedure could be different on XBEE S2 models. But I do not understand what parameters I must enter on each device. Xbee 1 must send data to Xbee 2

With Xbee 1 :

ATSH returns 13A200

ATSL returns 40612FEC

With Xbee 2 :

ATSH returns 13A200

ATSL returns 4061318A

Do you have a suggestion ?

Thanks for your help

cookieglitch · Answer

This method may work on most XBees, not sure about S2 models however.

The commands follow this order

Enter Configuration Mode

Set PAN ID

Set Local address

Set Destination Address

Write to non-volatile memory

Exit Configuration Mode

Assuming you have a PAN ID of 1111, and two modules called 0x01 and 0x02, you would have a configuartion like this,

Xbee1:

+++

ATID1111

ATMY01

ATDL02

ATWR

ATCN

XBee2

+++

ATID1111

ATMY02

ATDL01

ATWR

ATCN

This setup is known as unicast mode as it is a one to one connection and not a mesh network as you may be aiming for. Have a read of the manuals for the XBee modules you are using, it should include a description of the different modes and the different things you need to set to use them. If you are still curious, have a look for Building Wireless Sensor Networks: with Zigbee, XBee, Arduino and Processing by Robert Faludi (O'Reilly, ISBN-10: 0596807732).

cookieglitch · Answer

Quick look through the manual and I think I've worked it out.

Earlier you got the SL and SH values from both devices, these make up the addresses for the network. XBees have two adressing modes, 64bit and 16bit. In some versions of the modules, MY sets the 16bit address. In the version you are using, you need to use the 64bit address. With this in mind, you need to adjust the configuration method so it is:

XBee 1

+++

ATDH13A200

ATDL4061318A

ATWR

ATCN

XBee2

+++

ATDH13A200

ATDL40612FEC

ATWR

ATCN

Have a flick through the manual for it, chapter 10 is the reference for all the commands and explains the kinds of values you can give to each.

cookieglitch · Answer

All XBee modules are capable of two way communication (A to B and B to A). With newer modules, mesh networking is possible, this means you can set up the XBees in a specific way to act as any other network. For example, one XBee can be the base station, a group of modules can be routers and the rest are the end points (In a simplified way). This lets you have a huge number of XBees in a network, covering a much greater area and able to communicate with each other as normal. The manual I linked to before explains it in chapter 3. Basically as long as the devices are connected to the same network and there is a path between the two (Basically like a computer network) they can communicate. The main requirement is for the destination addresses to be correct like they are in the examples above. Things like the destinations can be changed from the software itself using the API rather than through a XBee Explorer/PuTTY etc