xBee radio setup

Now that the adapter has arrived i can start work on setting up my xbee radios.

The first thing was to install the FTDI drivers from http://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm

I plugged in my adapter with the USB mini and it was instantly recognised. Windows had to search for new drivers and successfully found them.

The next step was to launch the X-CTU program and clicked the Test/Query button. Success! It was at this stage that it didn't work last time. Looking at forums it seems that you need an adapter to set up the firmware and configure the radios, but once that's done you can use it with the board as normal.

X-CTU screenshot below: working correctly. As I read the book (Building wireless sensor networks) in advance it makes the whole thing a lot easier to set up!

I then had to read current firmware and configuration info by clicking the 'modem configuration' tab and selecting 'read' which came up with lots of information.

I then selected the 'download new versions' button which according to the book should be used periodically.

The next step is to configure the xBee.

1. xBee radio modem is XB24-ZB, as in the book
2. Under function set, i selected ZIGBEE COORDINTOR AT, version 20A0
3. I clicked the write button to program my radio with the coordinator software

4. I used a sticker to label this radio as the coordinator


Below is the xbee in its adapter: there is a black sticker at the top which labels it as the coordinator radio.

Next i had to configure the second radio as the router radio, by following the same steps but selecting 'ZIGBEE ROUTER AT' instead of 'ZIGBEE COORDINATOR AT' on step 2. I had to upgrade the version although it was already configured as a router.

The next part in the book (p40 onwards) is how to configure xbee without x-ctu, and instead to use a serial terminal program such as Tera Term for windows or CoolTerm for macintosh.

To do so, i will always have to configure the program to the following settings:

Baud: 9600
Data: 8bit
Praity: None
Stop bits: 1
Flow control: None
Line feed: CR+LF or Auto Line Feed
Local Echo: On

I will also always need to select the USB port that that adapter is atached to (currently 4).

Next steps: soldering breakout board in preparation for the doorbell projects section of the book (p.67).