Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

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mastermime
 
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Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by mastermime »

Hello,

I followed your point2point Xbee tutorial, but when I perform a range test in X-CTU or (type into terminal), I am getting bad data. I am using two Xbee Pro XSC modules with the Adafruit Adapter kits. Right now, I have one Xbee connected to my laptop through an FTDI cable and I have the other Xbee connected to an Arduino Uno R3, which is connected through the Arduino USB cable. When I perform the range test, both green leds blink, but no activity from the red leds. It's like both of the Xbees are acting as transmitters and not one is receiving. Below are my specs.

Baud rate: 57600
Pan ID: 1234
Packet timeout: 10

Thanks.

Jason

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

I am getting bad data.
Strange characters? Check that everything (terminal emulator, xbees, arduino) are at the same baud rate.

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by mastermime »

Well, I changed the bauds to 9600 and am getting about 40% in the range test. Still both green leds are blinking, no action from the red. I have a 2.4GHZ video transmitter that is receiving video data at the same time (Xbees are 900mhz btw). Could that be a factor for my corrupt data?

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Well, I changed the bauds to 9600 and am getting about 40% in the range test. Still both green leds are blinking, no action from the red.
So you are getting some data, but not seeing any action on the red leds? Post clear photos of the front & back of the adapters.
I have a 2.4GHZ video transmitter that is receiving video data at the same time (Xbees are 900mhz btw). Could that be a factor for my corrupt data?
It is possible. Can you separate them and test independently to see if it is a factor?

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by mastermime »

Sorry. what I mean by 'no action from red leds' is that they dont blink when I test the connection between the xbees.

I just tested to the wireless communications individually and that wasn't the problem.

Attached are the images of the xbees and range test results. I also tried different baud rates and that made things worse. 9600 is the only rate that gave me some 'good data' from the range test.
Attachments
XCTU Issue.JPG
XCTU Issue.JPG (50.59 KiB) Viewed 1556 times
xbee3.JPG
xbee3.JPG (35.79 KiB) Viewed 1556 times
Xbee2.JPG
Xbee2.JPG (40.08 KiB) Viewed 1556 times

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

Can't really see much in the photos. Try in a sunny window or outside for better light. Remove the XBee modules and get both the front and back of the adapters so we can verify the assembly.

You might also ask over at the Digi forums. They would know more about any configuration issues specific to the Pro XSC modules.

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by mastermime »

I double checked my wiring and everything is wired correctly. I noticed though that the characters in the x-ctu terminal window are indeed showing up in the Arduino serial monitor. There just not the characters I'm typing in

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Re: Communication Error Between Two Xbees (point to point)

Post by mastermime »

I figured it out. In order to run a range test in X-CTU, TX and RX need to be tied together instead of connecting them to the Arduino.

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