Plugging In

This part of the tutorial will be based on MakingThings products - the XBee Interface Board, and the XBee Connector Kit.  If you're using other parts, it shouldn't be too hard to adapt the info to fit your situation.  First we'll go over how to assemble the XBee Board, then how to connect some sensors to it.  Click on any of the images for a larger, more detailed version of them.

Interface Board

The MakingThings XBee Interface Board converts the pin spacing on the XBee modules to standard 0.1" spacing, which makes it easy to plug it into the Make Controller Kit serial port, or your own breadboards.  It also allows you to put a power circuit on the board for when you want to run it off batteries or some other power source.  If the board is just plugged into the Make Controller Kit, it can be powered from there and doesn't require any additional components. 

An empty XBee board.

To plug the XBee module into the XBee Interface Board, it's highly recommended to solder the small 10-position headers in the Interface Board.  It's possible to solder the XBee module directly into the Interface Board, but you'll usually want to be able to plug/unplug it, so the sockets are the way to go.  These go into the smaller, inner rows of pads on the Interface Board, as shown below.

The black sockets are now connected along the inner row of through-holes.

You'll almost certainly want to take the 6-position header (male) and solder it into the top-left position on the XBee Interface Board, spanning the 3.3V and CTS pins.  You'll also want to solder the 6-position socket (female) into the Make Controller Kit serial port.  These are the 6 pads, right under the JTAG connector, labeled 3.3V - CTS.  Refer to the images below to see how it's done.

The 6-position header connected to the underside of the Interface Board.

The XBee module plugged into the Interface Board.

At this point, you can plug the module into the Make Controller.  One XBee module will always be connected to your Controller - we'll refer to it as the receiver module - so for that one you're done!  The XBee module can be powered through the Application Board and will now receive messages from other XBee modules once they're up and running.

The 6-position socket installed on the Make Application Board.

The XBee module connected to the Make Controller Kit.

Additional Connectors & Components

So now we want to set an XBee board up so we can plug some devices into it.  The MakingThings XBee Connector Pack provides a handful of parts to actually get the XBee module connected to your Make Controller Kit and some other sensors. 

If you want to connect any additional sensors directly to the XBee module, you'll also need to solder in the regulator and capacitors included in the XBee Connector Pack.  These go down at the bottom of the board in the spots labeled IC1 (a 3.3V regulator), C1 and C2 (0.1 uF capacitors). We need these because the XBee modules run at 3.3V and we need to convert the voltage (9V, others) of any batteries you use to power it.  To do this, insert the regulator as shown below, and two capacitors.  Make sure that the long leg of your capacitors is plugged into the right-hand side. 

The regulator and capacitors installed.

Now, we need to solder some connectors onto the board as well.  This step might vary depending on your setup.  It's possible to solder headers (male) onto the bottom of the board so you can then plug it into another breadboard. 

In this example, we're going to solder sockets (female) onto the topside of the board so we can plug sensors directly into them.  The MakingThings XBee Connector Pack has a 14-position socket, which goes along the right side with all the inputs, and an 8-position socket that goes along the left side with the power connector and others.  See the image below for an example of these sockets all plugged in successfully.

The outer sockets connected.

Lastly, we need to get a sensor plugged in there!  For this example we'll just take a potentiometer since that's pretty simple.  The MakingThings XBee Connector Pack also comes with some headers that will fit with the provided sockets.  You'll probably want to snip these headers into just the number of connections you need for each sensor.  We'll snip out a 3-position strip since our potentiometer has 3 wires that we need to connect.  Solder the tips of the wires onto the short side of the headers. 

A pot with its wires connected to the 3-position header

The pot wires connected to the XBee module

The power lead for your sensor should plug into either 3.3V or V+, depending on your sensor and your power supply.  The ground lead for your sensor should go into a GND connection.  Then, the signal lead for your sensor should plug into one of the input pins, labeled AD0 - DI8. 

You can also use some heatshrink to wrap around the connections so they don't short with one another, although this optional.  If you're using heatshrink, be sure to cut it and put it around the wires before you solder them on - otherwise there's no way to get them on there.

That's it!  If you have more sensors to plug in, you can split the power connections between them as shown in this how-to.  If your sensors are particularly power hungry, you'll need to use a larger battery.  There are lots of battery options at places like SparkFun.com.  Look for something that supplies a voltage needed by any sensors you want to use, but it shouldn't be anything much higher than 9 volts, ideally.

Note - the VREF pin on the XBee module is by default connected to 3.3V on the XBee board.  This is usually convenient since the board runs at 3.3V.  In the cases where you want some other reference voltage for your inputs, you can snip the trace between the two pads (labeled VREF) in the middle of the board, and connect whatever you like to the VREF pad.