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Introduction 


​In this tutorial we will use two xBee (series 1) modules with the Arduino uno board. We will configure them to act as a receiver and transmitter to control the brightness of an LED wirelessly by using one potentiometer.
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The xBee - series 1 - modules take the 802.15.4 stack (the basis for Zigbee) and wrap it into a simple to use serial command set. These modules allow a very reliable and simple communication between micro controllers, computers or other systems by using just a serial port! 
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They can communicate up to 300 Ft (~100m), have  2.4GHz frequency,  use the 802.15.4  protocol and have data rate up to 250kbps. They have also a 1mW wire antenna on them. They supports Point to point and multi-point networks.
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You can see the result of this tutorial on the below video :
Let's get started!

What you will need - Hardware

​XCTU - Setup your xBee modules

Download the XCTU software from here.
Run the program and connect the XBee Explorer USB board with your computer.
Click on the "Discover devices" icon to add your xBee in the XCTU software.
Now click on it (first image above) and set the CH field to e.g. "C" and the ID field to e.g. "1001". These values must be the same to all xBee modules to communicate with each other. Now as this xBee will be our transmitter, set the CE field as "Coordinator". If the baud rate isn't set to 9600bps, change it to this value.
Now click the "Write" button to save the changes in your xBee module.
Disconnect the xBee explorer board from your computer and connect the other xBee module on it.
Connect the explorer board with your computer again and follow the same procedure (second image above) but this time set the CE field as "End device".

Finally the configuration for our xBees must be:
For xBee transmitter:
CH: C
  • ID: 1001
  • CE: Coordinator
  • Baud rate: 9600 bps
For xBee receiver:
  • CH: C
  • ID: 1001
  • CE: End point
  • Baund rate: 9600 bps

The code 

Here’s the "xBee Transmitter" code.
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/* 	~ Simple Arduino - xBee Transmitter sketch ~

	Read an analog value from potentiometer, then convert it to PWM and finally send it through serial port to xBee.
	The xBee serial module will send it to another xBee (resiver) and an Arduino will turn on (fade) an LED.
	The sending message starts with '<' and closes with '>' symbol. 
	
	Dev: Michalis Vasilakis // Date:2/3/2016 // Info: www.ardumotive.com // Licence: CC BY-NC-SA                    */

//Constants: 
const int potPin = A0; //Pot at Arduino A0 pin 
//Variables:
int value ; //Value from pot

void setup() {
	//Start the serial communication
	Serial.begin(9600); //Baud rate must be the same as is on xBee module
}

void loop() {
  //Read the analog value from pot and store it to "value" variable
 	value = analogRead(A0);
 	//Map the analog value to pwm value
 	value = map (value, 0, 1023, 0, 255);
	//Send the message:
	Serial.print('<'); 	//Starting symbol
 	Serial.print(value);//Value from 0 to 255
	Serial.println('>');//Ending symbol
}
xbeetransmiter_tutorial.zip
File Size: 0 kb
File Type: zip
Download File
And here's the "xbee Receiver" code, connect the second Arduino uno board and program it with this code.
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/* 	~ Simple Arduino - xBee Receiver sketch ~

	Read an PWM value from Arduino Transmitter to fade an LED
	The receiving message starts with '<' and closes with '>' symbol.
	
	Dev: Michalis Vasilakis // Date:2/3/2016 // Info: www.ardumotive.com // Licence: CC BY-NC-SA                    */

//Constants
const int ledPin = 3; //Led to Arduino pin 3 (PWM)

//Variables
bool started= false;//True: Message is strated
bool ended 	= false;//True: Message is finished 
char incomingByte ; //Variable to store the incoming byte
char msg[3];		//Message - array from 0 to 2 (3 values - PWM - e.g. 240)
byte index;			//Index of array

void setup() {
	//Start the serial communication
	Serial.begin(9600); //Baud rate must be the same as is on xBee module
	pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
	
  while (Serial.available()>0){
  	//Read the incoming byte
    incomingByte = Serial.read();
    //Start the message when the '<' symbol is received
    if(incomingByte == '<')
    {
     started = true;
     index = 0;
     msg[index] = '\0'; // Throw away any incomplete packet
   }
   //End the message when the '>' symbol is received
   else if(incomingByte == '>')
   {
     ended = true;
     break; // Done reading - exit from while loop!
   }
   //Read the message!
   else
   {
     if(index < 4) // Make sure there is room
     {
       msg[index] = incomingByte; // Add char to array
       index++;
       msg[index] = '\0'; // Add NULL to end
     }
   }
 }
 
 if(started && ended)
 {
   int value = atoi(msg);
   analogWrite(ledPin, value);
   //Serial.println(value); //Only for debugging
   index = 0;
   msg[index] = '\0';
   started = false;
   ended = false;
 }
}
xbeereceiver_tutorial.zip
File Size: 3 kb
File Type: zip
Download File

The Circuit

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The connections are pretty easy, see the above image with the breadboard circuit schematics.
Power on both Arduino uno boards and try to fade the led by turning the potentiometer.

Well done!

You have successfully completed one more "How to" tutorial and you learned how to fade an LED wirelessly by using the xBee S1 modules.
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I hope you liked this, let me know in the comments.

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