xbee pro with external antenna

XBee projects like the adapter, xBee tutorials, tweetawatt/wattcher, etc. from Adafruit

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philg
 
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xbee pro with external antenna

Post by philg »

I need more range than the antenna provides. Can I purchase an xbee pro S1 with an RP-SMA on it from Adafruit or remove the antenna and solder a connector on the board? Any gotchas?
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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Digi make a wide variety of XBee modules - including some with external antenna connectors. We do not carry these in the store. As for modifying the existing antenna, I would check with Digi technical support before attempting that: http://www.digi.com/support/forum/

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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by philg »

Thanks Bill. I am building a very long wireless USB interface using Xbee. So, one end connects via USB to a laptop and the other connects to an embedded Arduino based device which needs a USB host. I was considering using an Uno with USB host and Xbee shields as the interface but the USB code might be more than I can handle. I think I will dig out the RX/TX lines of the device and just use a simple TTL serial connection to the Uno. Any thoughts?
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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

TTL Serial is definitely simpler than USB. I have seen a few projects based on the USB Host shield, but I have never worked with it myself.

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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

TTL Serial is definitely simpler than USB. I have seen a few projects based on the USB Host shield, but I have never worked with it myself.

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philg
 
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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by philg »

If I purchase two Xbee-PRO XSC S3B 900 MHz modules can I use an Adafruit interface board to supply power to the Xbee and let me get at the TTL serial lines for the one end that will connect to the Arduino? The other end would use a USB interface board. I can't find any info on Digi Xbee pinouts. Do all their modules use the same pinout?
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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

All the ones we carry are compatible with the adapter. Some of the larger modules have more overhang and you will need to install the capacitor laying down. This is noted in the adapter tutorial. The Digi site has downloadable documentation with complete pinouts for each module.

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Re: xbee pro with external antenna

Post by philg »

Thanks for your help Bill. I am diving in.

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