Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

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siva2402
 
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Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

Post by siva2402 »

Hi,

I have a small setup which worked, consisting of the following:
- arduino with a sensor, measuring distance
- arduino sends measurement to xbee series 1, on an adafruit adapter
- receiving laptop, with another xbee series 1, on an adafruit adapter with a FTDI cable, receives the measurement, i.e. the sent data is received/seen in the minicom terminal.

Simply put, this worked fine. Until I burned one of the xbee modules. I ordered 2 new ones, but Xbee series2 this time.

I configured the series 2 according to the Chat example available on the Digi website. I configured the one on the laptop side as coordinator, the one on the arduino side as a router. So the X-CTU module allows me to communicate with the modules fine. No problem there
I replaced the old xbee modules by the new ones, and I can see the red leds on the receiving (coordinator) xbee module lighting up. So as far as I can tell data transmissoin is working.

Now my problem: the minicom terminal connected to the coordinator Xbee module (the one with the red led lighting up when data is received), doesnt' give any output anymore.
I don't see what can be wrong?

Any clues/help please.

thanks a lot

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Joined: Tue Mar 15, 2011 11:42 am

Re: Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

We're not real XBee experts here. You should probably try this question over at the XBee forums:
http://www.digi.com/support/forum/

siva2402
 
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 11:16 am

Re: Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

Post by siva2402 »

Thanks, I already did that.
In the meantime, I can't seem to find a schematic showing which pins on the XBEE are used in the Adafruit adapter. Specifically, the RX and TX pins, which pin on the XBEE module are they wired to?

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adafruit_support_rick
 
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Re: Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

Post by adafruit_support_rick »

That would be pins 2 and 3, DOUT and DIN

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schmartguy1
 
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Re: Replacing Series1 by Series2 module. What changes?

Post by schmartguy1 »

Series 1 XBees are easier to use since they don't require pre-configuration. They are good for point to point communication. They allow wireless reconfiguration of the XBee and the microcontroller they are connected to.

Series 2 XBees require pre-configuration and can do point to point communication but their strength is some devices can be configured as "routers" meaning you can do point to point using a router between endpoint and controller. This is good if there is a lot of network traffic and allows multiple routes for data to move. It's called a mesh network and works much like the internet. What it also can do is extend physical size of your network because "routers" act as repeaters. The down side is you can't wireless reprogram things. you have to reprogram individual units locally then put them back in service.

Series 1 and Series 2 are not compatible with each other. Any Xbee labeled as PRO are compatible within it's Series with standard XBees. PRO = greater range but more power usage.

One thing to watch out for is board compatibility. The FIO works ok with Series 1 but is questionable with Series 2. I'm working on that issue now and will tell all when I do more experimentation.

Then there are XBees that run at 900MHZ (Series 2.5?) rather than the standard 2.4GHZ and are not compatible with Series 1 or 2, different operating frequency. Their advantage is their range. typically range is 12 miles but can top out at almost 40 miles. The downside, WAY more power consumption.

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