Xbee Shield upgrade, per your favor!
We have been carrying Xbee shield for a long time, it changed from full scale to minimal one, but not yet making people happy. As the Bee series is including more modules like GPS bee, RF Bee, Bluetooth Bee and many still under development, we really need to evaluate the design to details. It can’t be well done without your idea.
Current Xbee shield is of minimize form factor, control the cost to extreme. But quite some people don’t like this way it stacks, not satisfying.
Some points under consideration:
1. Change the shape to same width of an Arduino
2. Customizable PIN for software UART option
3. More status indicator LED
4. Maybe some prototype region
Please help us with your inputs, any future opinions adopted will be returned with a new Xbee shield as our sincere gratitude. 🙂
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Free test sample available for above guys
The size of this card is extremely reduced in comparison to other models of cards for X BEE that they sell in the markets. The improvements that I would suggest are:
– the card detect automatically the model of XBEE that connects to the card, in order to eliminate the switches, and to avoid the confusion in the new people that they acquire this card.
– the card not eliminate the whole port of I/O digital, since only you use two pins, transmission and serial reception.
– I am doubting, that if this card should have a port USB in order that this does not require an extra card for programming of the XBEE, but this would raise the cost of the card, since I think that the cost that now you have is extremely good.
The most important suggestion, regarding a manual of the card, that you include in what’s possible an example of as using the card, I think that this would be very beneficial.
Very sincerely.
Sergio.
Current design is confusing and unclear on what signals are needed or used where. Whatever you do please clairfy this. The switches and their meaning is very confusing as well. I have used several and like some of the simpliest board that are clear on what signals are needed where the best. layada has a nice simple board with all the pins on an edge. I found it easier to use because the connections are not hidden.
The XBee board needs to choose to either use the 6 pin 2×3 connection or the edge connectors, but please not both.
I agree with Richard’s idea about more than one device on the shield. It would be really useful to have room for an XBee, GPS and Bluetooth at the same time. There’s more than one potientially useful RF connection addition that could be considered as well.
And for whatever connections you add, switches to turn them on/off, voltage adjustments – maybe even a communications management processor (routing for each of the modules attached) would be handy. That could simplify processing for the “main” Arduino the shield is attached to.
You could consider IR communications also, maybe as a new kind of Bee? (and I do have an IRToy already – plus I ordered another one last week as well).
Also, as far as a header for programming is concerned, you could add quite a few (or all!) of the functionality of the UartSB as well (I just ordered a second UartSB – the second this year).
Which reminds me – I’ve also bought 5 Xbee Shields this year, which means that Somebody likes them!
I’d also like to comment that I like the idea of implementing standard AT commands in the RFBee like you did. I haven’t got one yet – they sell out so fast! I get a little more satisfaction having devices that conform to recognized standards – defacto as well as published. Good design decision!
I realize this list is a bit much. Hopefully some of it is useful.
I read that engineering is all about compromise – you have to decide what you can and cannot implement given the parameters you have to work under.
(Posted on the right entry this time.. opps!)
A full size shield passing all the 4 connector blocks through would be ideal; the Freeduino V3 from NKC *almost* does this; it mounts on all four, passing three up and coviering one with the XBee.
http://www.nkcelectronics.com/freeduino-arduino-xbee-shield-v20-k21.html
Maybe rotate the Xbee 90 degrees so it is over and over the USB side of the Arduino and pass all 4 IO lines up?
I know quite a few people who bought the Freedunio v3 version as it allows you to mount an SD module on top!
And please pass the ISCP header through!
Oh and a funky color please, blue is boring these days!
How about a header for a FTDI cable on it for programming the xbees without dealing with it on the arduino and the hassles that causes with needing to swap switches etc?
connection to resetwith place for a cap for remote reset for uploading. Limor put a tutorial on her site for putting a transistor in there too. I didnt need one but perhaps allow for that onboard since it will be a lot larger than the current one – http://ladyada.net/make/xbee/arduino.html
Also since there are other *bee form things becoming available, why limit to holding a single one? dual or more would be great. In the case of the others a soft serial could be used etc.