Everything Xbee

Calgary??? Is that even a city?

K Days was called Klondike Days but they decided to shorten it a number of years ago. It's less like a rodeo and more like the CNE.

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Hi,

I'm working on a project to monitor our washer and dryer or simply running or not. I want to use XBee to communicate with HE.

I can sense the state of the appliances with no problem but I want to be sure I understand the XBee Link.

Parts:
Xbee XB3-24Z8UT-J (don't think the Pro version will get me anything except maybe some more range and more power consumed)

Shield like shown by @SmartHomePrimer in post 39

Plan:

I understand the XB3-24Z8UT-J has a HC08 µP built in. I'm not sure how much of its capabilities are available to the user. So I can see I have 2 options:

  1. Run µPython on the HC08 and input the appliance states on pins 4 & 7.
  2. Use an external µP and go through the XB3-24Z8UT-J UART.

My question is, Does anybody see anything conceptually wrong?

Thanks
John

Shield? Whats that? :laughing: I don't know how theses things work! :rofl:

You meant post 42? I can't confirm that particular one works yet. I'm still waiting for my Xbee to arrive and then I'll post here if I can't figure it out. :grin:

I'm guessing you're just looking for a fun way to go about this? Because there's a path of much less resistance and it works great. The seller only want $55 for it. I have one, and the driver's right here

Yes. I purchased one of @iharyadi 's BME280 ZigBee sensors and was impress on how easily it paired and was easily usable. So I decided to try it and see how difficult or easy it was. My goal is to be able to make my own sensors or whatever easily once I get the 1st one going. Something I could not do with ZWave.

Thank you for the Aeon idea, but I'll stick with the Xbee for the learning experience.

As for the "shield" or adapter or whatever. I purchased the same type on eBay myself. Haven't ordered the XBee yet but my guess is I'll have the XBee long before the adapter gets here from China.
To use it I'm hoping it will be recognized from Digi's XCTU and program right from my PC.....we'll see.

John

I don't see anything wrong with the concept. I do think you may find getting an xbee to properly integrate with Hubitat as a Zigbee HA device to be a challenge. I say this only because after so many years of being active in the ST community, I have only ever see a few people pull it off. Also, the cost of the xbee modules is pretty high compared to other solutions.

For less than $9, you can get a NodeMCU ESP8266 from Amazon (even less if bought in quantities of 2), and load my HubDuino software on it. It uses Wi-Fi instead of zigbee, so it may or may not be a good solution for you.

Hi @ogiewon,

Actually I have an ESP8266 on order. It will probably be here before the XBee parts. So I'll see which is better for me.

Regarding the cost, I certainly don't have cash to spare but for a home hobby the cost of either is insignificant.

Thanks for the reply.

John

This was one of the more recent "Zigbee via Xbee" discussions from SmartThings. Might be helpful.

I would like to experiment with building custom zigbee solutions based on @iharyadi 's architecture. It doesn't sound like the development environment is readily available though. The cost of the zigbee chips he's using seems pretty reasonable, which makes it an attractive solution.

My Ebay Xbee USb adapter finally arrived after about 2 months and it appears to work fine with my Xbee3, not bad for $2.62 US.
For anyone interested you will need a mini usb cable for it instead of a micro usb cable.

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Thanks for letting me know. My Xbee still hasn't arrived! Unbelievable. Everything I've order from China, both at the same time and after I order an Xbee from Digikey, has already arrived. Going to have to call them again tomorrow and find out what's going on now.

I am going to start connecting my Xiaomi sensors to Hubitat. Could someone tell me which Xbee shall I buy and from where.
P.S - The store should be able to post to Australia as this is where I live.

They have the PCB antenna version in stock and it works fine.
no external antenna needed.
remember you still need the usb dev board as well to mount it to. Chinese one from ebay is cheap but shipping may take months.
digikey usb boards are in stock and ship fast but are alot more expensive.

Can you suggest an alternate for the XBee module? I just cancelled my order with DigiKey. Was trying to get this Zigbee 3.0 module XB3-24Z8ST-J, but DigiKey said a month ago the manufacturer had a labelling issue, but it was resolved and shipping would resume. Then the last time I asked they said the issue wasn't resolved and there was not shipment date. They're still saying that, so I'm done waiting on that board. Could have ordered from China and had it a month ago. I know one of the Zigbee 2.0 modules would work, but is there a different Zigbee 3.0 module you've found? At this stage, I might as well order from China.

I purchased an XBee module from Symmetry Electronics (Digi) Their website is:

https://www.semiconductorstore.com

They are an authorized Digi dealer. I received mine in about a week.

John

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the XB3-24Z8PT (not -J) is in stock at Digikey
the XB2 (zigbee version) XB24-Z7WIT-004 will also work and are cheaper but I see are out of stock

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I see they do have some other older Xbee 2 zigbee units in stock that should work (I have not tried them) looking at their specs.
If you want to save some money and didn't want high powered pro units which maybe technically illegal in Australia.
But I would still recommend the Xbee3 over these.

XB24CZ7WITB003
or
XB24CZ7WIT-004
or
XB24CZ7UIT-004
or
XB24CZ7SIT-004 (needs an antenna)

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LOL. I'm in Canada, so don't really care what's illegal in Australia :wink:
Thanks for the list. I'm going to try again with an XBee3 order from Mouser an see if I can get one. I don't need the pro, but will just pay the $15 extra if that what it takes. I can order as a business user and they pay any duty.

sorry was referring to @Smartsmartsmart about Australia.

Digikey does have the Xbee3 XB3-24Z8PT in stock which I do also use and they work fine.

Haha, he out smarted me again! :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Hi,

sorry if this is a stupid question - never had anything to do with embedded electronics.

I'm just looking for a repeater so my Xiaomi sensors/buttons will work reliably with Hubitat.

My flat is not too large, so an XBee3 Non-Pro will be more than enough to cover it.

What's on my list right now:

What I don't quite understand: I think I'll need a piece of hardware to program the XBee - correct? So I'm gonna need the Xbee usb THT vs SMT programmer 12?

Thanks a loot for any hints :slight_smile:

Edit: Sorry, I read the first post like 3 times, but still overlooked the relevant piece of information.

another cheap Xbee adapter option that works from Ebay ...

So this 3 USD/5 € (from Amazon.de) board will replace the 602-1979-ND 14