XBee Radio Modules
The lecture series will begin with an examination of the available XBee development tools. Development tools provided by Digi will be utilized to configure and exercise various XBee radio modules. Development tools that are useful in XBee development but not offered as 'official” Digi development tools will also be introduced.
MicroPython is a popular scaled-down version of Python that is designed to run on microcontrollers. ToDay's lecture will consist of MicroPython code segments performing various tasks on and around various XBee modules. This lecture will also look at how to use MicroPython running on an ARM microcontroller to interface to an XBee module.
ToDay's discussion centers around the design and construction of a high-power long-range 900MHz XBee-based sensor node. The co-star of the project is a very low power ARM microcontroller. Firmware details will be exposed along with the hardware design details.
The object of toDay's lecture is to introduce you to an easy to use mesh network implementation. DigiMesh is a proprietary wireless mesh networking topology developed by Digi's RF engineering experts which allows for time synchronized sleeping nodes and low-power operation. Unlike ZigBee, DigiMesh network devices are the same and are capable of routing, sleeping for power optimization, and communicating via a mesh network.
The final lecture in this series will consist of an application based on a XBee Wi-Fi module. If you have followed my chain of lectures, you know that I like to do things with cell phones. So, we're going to assemble an application that involves interfacing an XBee Wi-Fi module with your phone.
Fred Eady is the owner of EDTP Electronics Inc. and is the principal engineer at the Georgia branch of Ongoing Systems LLC. EDTP Electronics was established in 1988. In the meantime, Fred has written thousands of magazine articles. He has written for all of the major electronic magazines, including Radio Electronics, Electronics Now, Nuts and Volts, Servo, MicroComputer Journal, and Circuit Cellar. Fred has even done a few short feature articles for Design News. To date, he has authored four books and contributed to a fifth. He currently works as a PIC microcontroller consultant and is a Microchip Authorized Design Partner. Fred’s expertise also extends into the ARM community where he is a hardware and firmware design consultant. His customers include aerospace companies, machine shops, specialty startup companies, medical machine manufacturers, coin-operated device businesses, and various other research and development companies. He has a very close working relationship with Microchip Technology, the manufacturer of PIC microcontrollers, and has taught multiple Ethernet and WiFi classes at Microchip's annual Masters Conference.