The SpinStudio XBee adapter
allows a standard XBee or
XBee-PRO to be
plugged into the SpinStudio platform. An additional onboard connector
allows a SpinStudio SD Card Adapter to be "Stacked" on top of the Xbee
module. The XBee module is powered completely by the SpinStudio Main
Board, and access to RX, TX, RTS and CTS is provided.
Assembly
Start by inserting the 2 -
220 ohm
resistors (Yellow "A" in the picture above) into the circuit board. The
colored bands on a 220 ohm resistor are Red-Red-Brown.
Next insert the 4.7K ohm resistor (Yellow "B" above) into the circuit board. The colored bands on a 4.7K ohm resistor are Yellow-Violet-Red.
Turn the circuit board over and solder these 3 resistors in place. Trim the protruding resistor leads.
Now install the 20 pin SpinStudio connector, Green "C". Note - This component is inserted from the bottom of the board, and soldered on the top, opposite of the other components! You may want to solder 1 pin first, check to be sure the connector is positioned snuggly against the bottom of the circuit board before soldering the remaining 19 pins. Also you may want to turn the circuit board while soldering, to "attack" the pins in each row from a different angle. How you solder is up to you, but just be careful not to create any solder bridges, or dry solder joints, as they may be difficult to track down later.
Next install the 2 - 10 pin, 2mm female headers (labeled in the photo above as Green "A"s) onto the circuit board. Carefully turn the circuit board over while holding the headers in position. Solder both headers in place taking care not to create any solder bridges. The leads are spaced closer together on these headers so careful soldering is a must.
Insert the 2 LEDs into the circuit board in the positions labeled by the Red "A"s above. Identify the Cathode (shorter lead on the LED) and insert this lead to the right when circuit board is held as shown above. Turn the circuit board over and solder in place. Trim excess leads from these components.
Next is the optional 6 pin Female header, Labeled by a Green "B" above. This connector is only needed if you plan to plug a SD Card Adapter into your XBee adapter. If this feature is used, you can plug your XBee and SD Card into the same SpinStudio socket!
An optional 10 uF capacitor can be soldered into the position marked by a Blue "A" above. The negative lead shall be toward the left as the board is held as positioned above. Solder and trim leads as necessary. (this capacitor may interfere with an SD Card Adapter if plugged into the header on the XBee board. The overall distance between the XBee and the Mainboard regulators is small enough that this capacitor is un-necessary)
All finished!
The following chart will explain how to access certain XBee signal lines from various SpinStudio Sockets.
Next insert the 4.7K ohm resistor (Yellow "B" above) into the circuit board. The colored bands on a 4.7K ohm resistor are Yellow-Violet-Red.
Turn the circuit board over and solder these 3 resistors in place. Trim the protruding resistor leads.
Now install the 20 pin SpinStudio connector, Green "C". Note - This component is inserted from the bottom of the board, and soldered on the top, opposite of the other components! You may want to solder 1 pin first, check to be sure the connector is positioned snuggly against the bottom of the circuit board before soldering the remaining 19 pins. Also you may want to turn the circuit board while soldering, to "attack" the pins in each row from a different angle. How you solder is up to you, but just be careful not to create any solder bridges, or dry solder joints, as they may be difficult to track down later.
Next install the 2 - 10 pin, 2mm female headers (labeled in the photo above as Green "A"s) onto the circuit board. Carefully turn the circuit board over while holding the headers in position. Solder both headers in place taking care not to create any solder bridges. The leads are spaced closer together on these headers so careful soldering is a must.
Insert the 2 LEDs into the circuit board in the positions labeled by the Red "A"s above. Identify the Cathode (shorter lead on the LED) and insert this lead to the right when circuit board is held as shown above. Turn the circuit board over and solder in place. Trim excess leads from these components.
Next is the optional 6 pin Female header, Labeled by a Green "B" above. This connector is only needed if you plan to plug a SD Card Adapter into your XBee adapter. If this feature is used, you can plug your XBee and SD Card into the same SpinStudio socket!
An optional 10 uF capacitor can be soldered into the position marked by a Blue "A" above. The negative lead shall be toward the left as the board is held as positioned above. Solder and trim leads as necessary. (this capacitor may interfere with an SD Card Adapter if plugged into the header on the XBee board. The overall distance between the XBee and the Mainboard regulators is small enough that this capacitor is un-necessary)
All finished!
Using your new XBee Adapter
The XBee RF Module is designed as a low power radio modem. It can pass data reliably between 2 or more XBee modules. There is an object designed to help you interface the XBee located in Parallax's Object Exchange You can also utilize the XBee as a simple serial device. One demo Spin program that can be used to test your XBee setup is Jeff Ledger's PropCOMM. Simply set the RX and TX pins as shown in the chart below. The XBee comes set to 9600 baud when new, but this can be adjusted via "AT" style commands. See the MaxStream Website for an XBee datasheet and more information on how to communicate with your XBee.
The XBee RF Module is designed as a low power radio modem. It can pass data reliably between 2 or more XBee modules. There is an object designed to help you interface the XBee located in Parallax's Object Exchange You can also utilize the XBee as a simple serial device. One demo Spin program that can be used to test your XBee setup is Jeff Ledger's PropCOMM. Simply set the RX and TX pins as shown in the chart below. The XBee comes set to 9600 baud when new, but this can be adjusted via "AT" style commands. See the MaxStream Website for an XBee datasheet and more information on how to communicate with your XBee.
The following chart will explain how to access certain XBee signal lines from various SpinStudio Sockets.
| SpinStudio Socket "A" | SpinStudio Socket "B" | SpinStudio Socket "C" | SpinStudio Socket "D" | ||||
| Signal | Propeller Pin | Signal | Propeller Pin | Signal | Propeller Pin | Signal | Propeller Pin |
| TX | 7 | TX | 15 | TX | 23 | TX | not recommended |
| RX | 6 | RX | 14 | RX | 22 | RX | not recommended |
| RTS | 5 | RTS | 13 | RTS | 21 | RTS | not recommended |
| CTS | 4 | CTS | 12 | CTS | 20 | CTS | not recommended |