SparkFun Electronics Comments

Customer #836158 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2017-04-07T21:54:10-06:00

How do I connect the XBee to digital pins 4 and 5 on my Uno? Pins 2 and 3 are already occupied by something else (I need them for hardware interrupts).

m00dawg on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2016-05-09T16:27:19-06:00

It works great save for one kind of important feature - there is no access to the DTR pin without having to do some work which means there is no way to save power by putting the XBee to sleep. That’s sort of important for battery operated scenarios and would have been nice to see.

I can make it work, but having to do the 5V -> 3.3V conversion is a bit of a pain. Throwing an extra logic level converter on the board to connect to DTR would have been lovely. To get around that for now, I’m going to use this: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12009 but it’s turning things into a bit of a frankenstein (I also have a weather shield and a terminal block shield attached to the Uno.

Customer #778029 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2016-02-25T06:13:53-07:00

Does this shield can work togheter to the USB Host Shield between two Arduinos? For instance, (Arduino+HostShield+XBeeShield+XBee) <- wireless -> (Arduino+XBeeShield+XBee). Thank you.

shaiss on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2016-02-10T16:00:45-07:00

Awesome! that’s exactly the info I was looking for!

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2016-02-10T09:27:47-07:00

The DLINE switch is great for switching the XBee from the hardware serial lines to D2/D3. This is great if you are using D2/D3 for software serial. But what if you are not. I’m not sure if these are super popular, but for example on the Leonardo D2/D3 are the I2C lines so you probably wouldn’t want to use them for software serial (although the hardware serial lines are separate from USB so you’d probably just use those anyway). Basically if you want to use something other than D2/D3 you can wire that up for your switch.

Have you ever wondered how to remotely program your Arduino using an XBee? The serial connection is easy, but what about the autoreset. The series 1 XBees have a nice feature where you can basically map an I/O pin on one to the other. If you set that up on the DTR line on the computer side this will work for autoresetting the Arduino. At some point there were a few tutorials for this and they all seemed to use DIO3 on the XBee for the reset line. Consequently you will often see boards with the option to connect DIO3 to the Arduino reset line.

shaiss on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2016-02-10T05:28:01-07:00

What is the purpose of the soldered pads 2/3 by the RX/TX lines (SJ1 & SJ3)?

What is the unsoldered pad SJ2 for labele xbee rst? I would assume it’s for resetting the xbee but it’s wired to the arduino reset switch and then to the xbee’s DIO3 not the xBee reset pin.

Any reasoning would help greatly and thank you!

Customer #565511 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-12-15T17:07:04-07:00

I am pairing this shield in a project with the Sparkfun MP3 shield which already requires use of pins D2/D3. The docs indicate I can use different digital pins if I would like. I have looked at the doc and I don’t see any examples of how to route the xbee shield to use pins other then D0/D1 (don’t want to do that way too inconvenient for programming) or D2/D3 (already used by my other sparkfun shield). What are my options on re-configuring the board to use pins D5/D10 for TX/RX. I don’t want to simply jumper D2/D3 -> D5/D10. I need D2/D3 to be left open for the other shield to use. Is that configuration possible with this shield?

jdesbonnet on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-11-18T09:25:43-07:00

I had a look at the level converter circuit and had a hunch the 1k resistor values (R7, R8) were too low (sending too much current into the Intel Galileo UART TX pin while low). I repaced R7, R8 with 6K8 and it’s working now.

jdesbonnet on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-11-10T08:47:20-07:00

When used with a Intel Galileo (Gen1) board we’re having difficulty transmitting data from the Galileo to the XBee. We can receive from XBee ok. We’ve verified that the same shield works fine in both directions when used with a genuine Arduino Leonardo R3. We have also verified that the Intel Galileo works fine in both directions when the XBee is used with another manufacturer’s shield.

Looking at signals reaching the DIN line on the XBee, we get a 3.3V (or thereabouts) level with no activity on line. When transmitting data to the XBee, the voltage alternates between 3.3 and about 1.5V (approx), not 3.3 and 0V as expected. Initially I thought that we had older boards which I know had some level conversion problems, but these are recently purchased WRL-12847. Any suggestions?

Matthijs Kooijman on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-09-02T04:28:37-06:00

And one more suggestion for a future revision: Instead of connecting to pin 2 and 3, connect to pin 8 and 9. This makes it easier to use the shield with AltSoftSerial, which is a lot more reliable than SoftwareSerial (and the latter doesn’t care about the pins used). Also, this frees up pin 2 and 3, which are interrupt pins, so commonly used on other shields (like ethernet or wifi).

Matthijs Kooijman on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-08-27T08:44:22-06:00

One more suggestion for a future version: The newest S2C XBee modules support being used as an SPI slave instead of using a UART. Given the lack of a free UART on most Arduinos, it would be good if there was a shield that supported this, possibly using switches or (solder) jumpers.

Matthijs Kooijman on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-08-26T08:07:25-06:00

I tried some fiddling with jumper wires (pin 0 to 3, 1 to 2) to allow my computer to talk to the XBee module, through the USB-to-serial adapter on my Uno. This does not seem to work and I presume this is because the voltage converter on this board uses 1k pullups, while the Arduino Uno also has 1k resistors in series on the TX and RX lines (between the USB-to-serial adapter and the pin header, not between the pin header and the 328p). Together, those form a 50/50 voltage divider, breaking transmission.

Any chance that a future revision of this board could use bigger pullups to enable this trick to work?

Customer #503351 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-07-07T19:43:30-06:00

Will this work with an Arduino that is 3.3v such as the Zero? I’m guessing the regulator would regulate the 5v out of the zero to 3.3v for the xbee but would it level shift the output of the xbee back up to 5v which could possibly damage the zero as it is a 3.3v arduino?

Xeek on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-06-17T12:58:02-06:00

Is this shield compatible with the Arduino Due?

Just tried it today, it is working with the Arduino Due.

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-06-05T12:59:25-06:00

The 5 pin IC is the voltage regulator. The part just below it is C3, and the part above is C1. These are 10uF decoupling caps on the input and output of the regulator.

Customer #356669 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-06-04T00:15:14-06:00

They might not be diodes, they just looked that way, there just above the Dline/UART switch, there is two of them with a small 5 pin IC between them

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-06-03T09:23:42-06:00

Looking at the board and the schematic I’m not seeing any diodes (other than LEDs). The board only uses 0,1,2,3, 5V, and GND. All the pins are physically connected to the Arduino so anything that is plugged into those pins should work. All GND pins are electrically connected so you should be able do any measurements on any of the pins.

Customer #356669 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-06-03T04:26:07-06:00

Anyone know what the diodes do on the board by the the wee switch, are they just there in case the board is incorrectly connected, what would be the implications of removing one of them?

Also, does the board only use PINS 0,½,3 and 5V and a ground or will there be other pins connected aswell? Also any idea which ground so I could measure total power draw of the board and xbee?

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-05-11T09:20:26-06:00

That is not normal. The XBee shield only connects to D0 and D1 or D2 and D3. Unless you are using software serial and that is causing interference with one of the timers I’m not sure why that we be. Try removing the shield and running the code and see if you are still having problems. If so try emailing techsupport@sparkfun.com and they should be able to help.

Customer #681025 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-05-10T08:54:19-06:00

I am using this shield with Arduino MEGA. I am unable to use Digital Pin 11 for PWM. Is this normal?

I would like to use a LCD and a RGB LED with this shield. I don’t think it is possible.

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-20T09:05:08-06:00

So the Leonardo is much different. Unlike the ATMega328 based board it uses USB to program the board. The hardware serial pins are still in the same place, and you can still use D2/D3 for software serial, but this option isn’t needed as much. Because the code is uploaded over USB though it doesn’t actually matter where the switch is. The shield should not affect your ability to upload. If you are using I2C on D2 and D3 you will definitely want to keep the switch in the ULINE position so you aren’t interfering with the I2C communication. As for the problem it’s hard to say, your I2C might be hanging and so nothing is sent, your XBees might not be configured right, etc. Try the debugging without the XBee shield and Serial.print statements and see what shows up in the serial monitor. If you are still having problems try emailing techsupport@sparkfun.com

Customer #637042 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-19T07:34:12-06:00

Thanks. I should mention that I am using Leonardo actually. So I simply just added a ‘1’ behind the “Serial” in Serial.begin and Serial.print commands in the serial.ino codes since I am trying to use Xbee to wirelessly send out data and debug on my laptop (attached with another Xbee). As such: … Serial1.begin(9600) … Serial1.print((int)gyro.g.x … Does doing this means I am using hardware serial thus I am using TX RX? and is that why when i connect the gyro to D2 and D3 for SDA and SCL pins, nothing is read?

I remember that when it is working correctly, the DOUT led on the XBee shield should be indicating every Serial1.print command, right? and indeed I don’t see it ever lit up.. so that is the problem? Xbee is unable to send out data. Why is that so?

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-17T08:51:30-06:00

When you upload code to the Uno or Redboard it does so over the serial lines (RX/TX). If there is something else on those lines (even it if it isn’t trying to talk) this will mess up the communication and your upload will fail. So, if your XBee is installed on the shield flip the switch to DLINE for programming to disconnect the XBee from the serial lines. For running your code it depends, if you are using hardware serial in your code flip it to UART, if you are using software serial on pins D2/D3 then flip it to DLINE.

Customer #637042 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-17T05:54:58-06:00

Now I have another question, how should i put for the switch on the Xbee Shield, as I know the switch between UART and DLINE are actually involving pin TX-RX and D2 D3…. I think i messed up there when i was uploading codes. I got it working once when I upload the example [serial.ino] codes i got from the L3G library (Github), but I was not sure what i did with the switch. Help! :(

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-14T08:53:53-06:00

The SCL and SDA pins are just duplicate pins. On the Uno or Redboard those pins are connected to A4 and A5. On the Leonardo they are connected to D2 and D3. You can always try just connecting to the A4 and A5 pins on the board (assuming you are using an Uno or Redboard).

Customer #637042 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-04-14T08:51:16-06:00

URGENT! I have bought one of the older version of this stackable xbee shield WHICH DOES NOT HAVE SCL AND SDA PINS, I need to use them with my xbee to transmit gyroscope data wirelessly using the SCL and SDA.. HOW CAN I REVIVE THEM? (some sort of jumper wiring? how?) I am sorry i am kinda new… hope you guys help! Thanks! PLEASE!

Customer #666467 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-03-28T14:52:29-06:00

Yes.

You will need to connect DTR on your programming cable to one of the digital IO pins of the source XBee, and make sure the corresponding pin on the destination XBee is connected to the Arduino’s reset pin.

The Series 2 XBees do not transmit pin levels when in AT mode, and you can’t load new programs onto the Arduino in API mode.

Customer #666467 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-03-28T14:49:28-06:00

XCTU expects to find an XBee directly connected to the computer. It cannot talk to devices attached to Arduinos attached to the computer.

So you’ll need at least two XBees, one connected to the computer (e.g. in coordinator mode), and the one attached to the Leonardo. Then the Leonardo can talk to the computer through the XBee, and XCTU will be able to detect both XBees (one through the serial port, the other through the first one’s mesh network).

Customer #666467 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-03-28T14:46:36-06:00

Yes, XBee provides a range of radio including ZigBee mesh networking. To learn more, check out Robert Faludi, “Building Wireless Sensor Networks”, available through SparkFun here: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10324 (also available directly through O'Reilly).

Matthijs Kooijman on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-03-17T05:12:42-06:00

The description says there is a SPDT switch, but AFAICS that should be DPDT (there’s two lines that are being switched, DIN and DOUT, so that’s two poles).

bboyho on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-02-25T15:46:14-07:00

Dimensions of the shield measured with the calipers:

width = ~53.96mm, about 2.12in
length = ~60.26mm, about 2.37in
height = ~6.32mm, about 0.25in (measured from the bottom of the board to the top of the XBee header sockets)

This is without any header pins soldered on the shield.

johnxzhao on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-02-17T09:41:53-07:00

Does this shield allow wireless communication between two Arduinos? For instance, (Arduino+Shield+XBee) <- wireless -> (Arduino+Shield+XBee). Thank you.

Spokkam on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-01-26T17:48:10-07:00

I’ll take your advice then. That’s about as much as I expected anyhow. Thanks for your response.

Toni_K on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-01-26T15:57:43-07:00

If you wanted them on two different Arduinos, you shouldn’t have any issue as long as you program the Arduino appropriately for the shield on it. From a quick Google search of the other shield’s specs, you may need to do some pin configuration to get them both onto one Arduino. And you may run into spacing issues and RF interference between the shields. I’d recommend instead going with something like the Series 2 XBees, so you can then just create a mesh network instead of needing multiple XBees on one Arduino.

Spokkam on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-01-26T14:47:15-07:00

Perhaps a foolish question but I was wondering if I’d have any problems using this Xbee shield in conjunction with a libelium Xbee shield? Or is it necessary to have two shields of the same make?

Customer #637042 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2015-01-10T00:17:28-07:00

My XCTU can’t discover my Xbee Module when I plugged it to my Arduino Leonardo using the exact same shield shown here. It can only detect a com port where the Leonardo is at but XCTU can’t find my Xbee when it searched for that com port. Why? Helps! Urgent! Thank you all…

Customer #625971 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-12-24T15:30:24-07:00

Hi Everyone. I have a question. Does possible to remote programming arduino via this shield and xbee seriers 1 ?

Customer #618656 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-11-26T23:58:26-07:00

Hi, you can buy Bluetooth 4.0 Bee which is Compatible with Xbee And Wiressless program here: http://www.elecfreaks.com/store/products_new.html

A1 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-11-09T21:57:29-07:00

This has proven unsuccessful. Would you, you another, know that switching to use UART (pin 0,1; tx, rx) eliminate the issue? Is there an example of using the UART with this particular shield? Do I simply switch to UART on board, then eliminate the SoftSerial initialization from the code and use Serial just as I would for the console, i.e, Serial.read()? I have not tried this yet just seeking more guidance. Thanks!

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-11-03T11:07:18-07:00

Also try changing pins around. The ATMega328 has a certain number of timers. When the timer is being shared by things like software serial and servos you might get some weird thing going on. Sometimes just moving things to different a different pin that uses a different timer helps (see ATMega328 datasheet for more information about timers).

A1 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-11-03T09:23:18-07:00

I am using this shield and configuring xBee s1 with SoftwareSerial pins 2,3. I also have a MPU9150 connected to Analog 4,5 (SDA,SCL). I am also trying to control two servos at PWM pins 9,10. I am experienced odd behavior when xBee is reading in data concerning the Servos. at a 9600 Baud rate for the xBees, I experience (every 4 seconds) an odd jerking of the servos that I cannot seem to pinpoint the issue. I have seen online that there may be an issue using SoftwareSerial in conjunction with Servos in that it may disable interrupts for a brief period of time. Is this still the case? Does anyone have successful use cases of xBee and servo configurations that I can reference and perhaps seek guidance from? Thanks!!!

dwavo on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-10-18T10:55:21-06:00

please note the xbee hook up guide provides instructions for the DLINE switch actives pins 2/3 for rx/tx. This means that the uno UART serial is separate from the data to/from xbee.

also i found it good for debugging to use the tall headers on the arduino side - leaving about .25" exposed for probes or female jumpers.

had buffering problems. xbee can stream data at up to 80Kbps. Console baud rate is 9600 bps. Arduino has 64 byte buffer. Xbee radio buffers are 100 bytes in size. so some kind of flow control is needed to do more than the cute little console to console typing demo.

now switching to newSoftwareSerial(2,3) and experimenting with that.

Customer #603621 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-10-07T14:21:35-06:00

just tried; worked!

now my Dout is 4 instead of 2, after i did a small wire and opened the solder-bridge.

Customer #603621 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-10-07T13:30:23-06:00

I’m having trouble with this shield and the Triple Axis Accelerometer and Gyro Breakout - MPU-6050; Both use pin 2. On the bottom right corner of the shield there are two small solder-bridges labeled 3 and 2. Can i unsolder/resolder them so i can use other pins in SoftwareSerial for xBee?

Customer #569245 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-09-24T12:12:10-06:00

Is there any plan to price these closer to the competitor (radioshack offers the Seeed Xbee Shield)? $24.95 (+ price of stackable headers) >> $9.99 (http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=37988166)

dwavo on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-09-04T15:21:02-06:00

when you buy this use can use stackable headers PRT-11417 you will need 1) six pin ; 2) eight pin; 1) ten pin.

Toni_K on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-09-01T13:28:27-06:00

This XBee tutorial should be more explicit on helping you get started with connecting your XBees to a computer and configuring them to work together.

Customer #155455 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-29T18:00:20-06:00

Thank you very much for the pointer.

I was confused; the Hookup Guide on this page says we need a XBee explorer and the XBee shield to test the connections but did not give any explanation on the necessary connections.

Are there any tutorials or guides to setup the shield connections?

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-25T09:38:14-06:00

It sounds like you are trying to connect the XBee to the computer using the Arduino Uno and the XBee shield. The Uno and shield do not make the necessary connections for this, you will want an XBee Explorer for this. If you still have questions on this feel free to email techsupport@sparkfun.com

Customer #155455 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-23T20:42:49-06:00

I just assembled the headers to the shield this morning. When I use it with the Arduino Uno, Xconnect can find the radio device. I tried the XBee modules with the XBee explorer and they are recognized immediately. Tried with the UART switch in both positions; no luck. Am I missing any steps to assembling the shield?

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-19T10:03:29-06:00

The XBee shield is compatible with the XBee Pro S3B (you may have to cut the solder jumper for the RSSI light, I don’t remember which of the 900MHz modules it is that requires that). But the XBee shield does not connect the XBee module to the computer, it connects the XBee module to the Arduino. If you want to connect the XBee to the computer you want the XBee Explorer USB.

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-19T09:47:32-06:00

We’re not familiar with this module, but most likely. Assuming the footprint and pinout matches the XBees. The only thing the shield does is provide 3.3V power and level shift the Din and Dout pins from 5V to 3.3V. If that’s what you need this should work fine.

Gunni on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-18T20:45:36-06:00

Will this shield work with zigbee module like this one? http://www.smartarduino.com/view.php?id=94121

Customer #579486 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-18T15:31:47-06:00

Hi, question, is Xbee shield compatible with xbee pro s3b?, (i got XBP9B-XCST-002). When i plug to PC my arduino+xbee shield+xbee module, three leds turn on in the xbee shield (DOUT, DIO5, PWR) and when i go to XCTU and select the arduino port, it doesnt display any configuration for the RF module (wich DOES work since i can get it to work with xbee explorer). Soldering is ok, so im not sure what i could be doing wrong.

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-15T09:46:21-06:00

Email techsupport@sparkfun.com with your order number. They should be able help you out with that.

bdicken on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-15T09:08:25-06:00

Hey - I ordered this shield in part because it brought out the I2C headers. But the two boards I received did not have them. One I had to use because it was down to short strokes but I really need those last two to come out.

Can I return one for a replacement with the newer version ? Thanks

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-14T10:29:58-06:00

Nothing really. Most of the changes were to make the lives of our production guys easier and are things like different size components. I believe the only user noticeable difference is we’ve updated this to the R3 form factor so the extra 4 pins are available for your stackable headers.

Customer #143247 on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-08-14T08:12:24-06:00

what’s been updated from the previous rev?

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-07-25T12:04:26-06:00

Yep, I don’t know exactly why but we break out an extra GND pin there for you. The sockets are each 10 pins long, but there are 11 holes (you get a 5V pin as well) on each side.

Tyler on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-07-25T11:47:18-06:00

From the pictures, pins 1-4 are gnd, 3.3v, data out, and data in.

on the RN-XV, pins 1-4 are 3.3v, data out, data in, and gpio 8. Gnd is on pin 10

unless I’m missing something or looking at old documentation, they don’t match

EDIT: I think I found my mistake… it looks like the “first” PTH pin of GND isn’t connected to the first pin in the 2mm socket, it’s connected to pin 10 of the 2mm socket. I looked at the datasheet closer. :)

M-Short on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-07-25T11:44:13-06:00

Why not? As far as I know it should be.

Tyler on WRL-12847 - SparkFun XBee Shield

2014-07-25T10:47:04-06:00

Looks like this isn’t compatible with the RN-XV? :(