SparkFun Forums

[marcusbarnet]

I've bought two zigbee modules from sparkfun: http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8665 and I want to connect these modules to my Arduino boards without using the shield.

Do I only need to connect VCC, GND, RX and TX pins which are present on the zigbee modules to my Arduinos or do I have to connect any additional wires?

In the datasheet, there is written that minimal connections are VCC, GND, DIN and DOUT.

[Valen]

Those pins are indeed the minimum. RX needs to go into Dout, TX into Din. But if your arduino is a 5v board then you need a voltagelevel adjuster to 3.3v (see Sparkfun's sensorinterfacing tutorial), and a regulator that puts 3.3 on the Vcc pin of the Xbee.

[stevech]

note the difference between the two product lines from Digi. They look similar.
XBee series TWO run the ZigBee protocol stack and you need a user profile (same as happens with Bluetooth, 802.15.3).
Series TWO use a chipset from Ember and licensing says it runs ZigBee.
XBee series ONE do not run ZigBee and can run 802.15.4 alone (most popular), or DigiMesh.
Series ONE use a Freescale chipset and licensing says it may not run ZigBee. But most hobby/educational/robotics don't need/use/want ZigBee's complexity and instead use 802.15.4.

I believe the product URL you show above is for a Series TWO product.

There are many XBee breakout boards on the 'net. SFE has one with a flawed 5V level converter scheme. Others on the 'net include the XBee Simple Board widely sold.