SparkFun Forums

[SodaAnt]

Does XBEE in transparent mode include any kind of error checking on the receiving end to make sure the data it receives from a transmitter is error free?

I'd like the receiving XBEE to just drop any data it gets that isn't valid (this is a data logging application where data is sent every few seconds and missing one or more transmissions is preferable to receiving and logging bogus data).

Two questions: is this capability possible with the standard (not the PRO) XBee? and if so, is it enabled by default, or do I need to enable it via setting parameters?

[waltr]

In transparent mode error checking is only done on the packets on the RF link. If the data into or out of the serial lines (Din, Dout) have errors then the XBee doesn't know that this data is corrupt and therefore can not reject the data.

If you set an XBee to API mode the API Frame includes a checksum for error checking and if the frame is bad it will be ignored.

[stevech]

Does XBEE in transparent mode include any kind of error checking on the receiving end to make sure the data it receives from a transmitter is error free?

I'd like the receiving XBEE to just drop any data it gets that isn't valid (this is a data logging application where data is sent every few seconds and missing one or more transmissions is preferable to receiving and logging bogus data).

Two questions: is this capability possible with the standard (not the PRO) XBee? and if so, is it enabled by default, or do I need to enable it via setting parameters?

All 802.15.4 based radios have error detection and correction via up to 3 retries in the wireless link, unless you disable ACKs - and this is an option. An exception of course, are packets sent to the broadcast address. In transparent mode, I doubt you are told if the retries were exhausted. There is an AT register to check for such errors. If they are occurring, it's likely that you need to choose a different channel number.