SparkFun Electronics

amabitxs · Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 2

I recently purchased two, series 2 XBee radios, and I was working though "Making Thinks Talk" by Tom Igoe.

He shows you how to get into the command mode for the radios, and how to set their addresses, and thats where I have my problem. The ATMY command will not set the address. Both radios respond the same.

Below is a list of what I send (over a serial session) on the left, and the response on the right:

stevech · Joined: 05 Jun 2004 Posts: 1186

are you using the ZigBee firmware or the wireless UART firmware?

I don't use ZigBee (overkill), but if the node is an end device or router, then it may expect to get its network address from the coordinator after associating, rather than via a static assignment. If the node is a coordinator I recall that its address is 0.

aldwyn · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 7

I have had that same problem but have overcome it. The radios Tom Igoe uses have an older firmware version than the ones you've got.

Go to www.humboldt.edu/~cm19/XBee%20setup.pdf for a tutorial on setting up the radios with the newer firmware version.

Also go to www.digi.com (the manufacturer of Xbee radios) and download the product manual for the Xbees you've got - this is how I found out about all this.

Basically, there is a new protocol for the Xbees that means the Xbees asign their ATMY network address themselves when they join a network. The way for you to specify the destination address is to look up the serial number high and serial number low of the xbee you want to send to (ATSH and ATSL, respectively), and to put those values into into the destination address of the xbee you're sending from (ATDH and ATDL, respectively).

When the xbees want to send data to another radio, they then find out the ATMY adress from the ATDL and ATDH.

All this info can be found at the websites above, along with info on other newer ways of doing it, which are worth looking at.

I hope this helps,

aldwyn

aldwyn · Joined: 02 Dec 2008 Posts: 7

By the way, the software that is in the Xbee setup tutorial can also be used to change the xbee properties (eg. ATDL) without using a terminal which might be easier.

amabitxs · Joined: 16 Feb 2009 Posts: 2

That helped out bunches!!! Thanks so much.

.... I so should have thought to RTFM though... Smile

AZRobbo · Joined: 05 Nov 2008 Posts: 30

I'm glad you got it working, I had a very similar first experience with the XBee series 2 radios when I started out. The documentation on their website is very good, unfortunately many of us start out with code samples we find on the web (which is usually for Series 1).

Its a shame that they were originally named Series 1 and Series 2, as everyone assumes they want the "new/modern" version and buys Series 2. (They've changed the naming now, but the damage is done as there is massive confusion about the differing setup processes on nearly every forum.)

This is further complicated than many of the 'tutorials' and 'walkthroughs' on XBee devices were written before V2 existed, and therefore make no mention of different versions.

After having used them in several dozen projects, I would guess that approx 95%+ of all hobbyist projects can be accomplished with the Series 1 XBee devices, and the Series 2 offers no benefits to these projects.