I have been researching this all day and I cannot figure it out.
I bought the Xbee kit from DIY Drones a few weeks ago, and the system worked great right off the bat, but now I am having problems with it. I downloaded X-CTU and I was able to get in and connect to my computer side Xbee, but I am unable to connect to the plane side Xbee. I have tried every different baud rate, but no luck. I have tried to test, write and read, but no luck connecting. I have been trying to go through the forums and figure out what is wrong and how to fix it, but I cannot find the right forum or it doesn't exist. Please help me figure out what I need to do.
P.S. The RSSI light stays lit on the USB Xbee adapter on the Xbee that I can't connect to, but not on the one I was able to connect to. Is this normal or is it significant?
Replies
Ok, so I finally got around to unbricking my Xbees attached to their adapters by using an FTDI cable. Here's how you do it:
1- Connect your FTDI and Xbee with adapter.
2- Start X-CTU
3- Under the first tabe "PC Settings", make sure to set your Baud rate to 9600
4- Select the "Modem Configuration" Tab and check "Always Update Firmware"
5- Select your modem type under "Modem": See bottom of manual for modem types: http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/Wireless
6- Using a jumper wire, connect the "RESET" pin under the adapter to any of the GND pins like this:
7- In X-CTU click "Write". You may need a second pair of hands to help.
8- When you get the "Action Needed" popup, simply pull out your jumper and X-CTU should start programing your modem.
9- You can now quickly test to see if your Xbee is recognized by clicking on the "Test / Query" button under the "PC Settings tab"
10- If all is well, under the "Modem Configuration" tab reset your Modem ID to one that matches your other Xbee module:
You can test again to see if everything is working properly by cliking the "Test / Query" button. Just make sure to change the baud rate under the "PC Settings" tab to whatever you've just programed into your Xbee.
Your Xbee should now be able to communicate with APM Planner. You can also test communication between both your Xbees by doing a loopback as described in the manual here: http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/Wireless
You'll need to power your Xbee with the proper voltage, and it basically looks like this:
If everything is working well, you'll get results similar to this.
You can also find a slightly different procedure as suggested by DIYDrones here: http://todigi.blogspot.com/2010/05/xbee-obituaries-xbee-returns-fro...
I contacted DIYdrones store and apparently you can unbrick the Xbee while attached to the adapter. You'll need an FTDI cable if you're having a problem with the plane side Xbee.
Go through the unbricking procedure found at the bottom of the manual here: http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/Wireless
When you get to the Action needed window you can reset the adapter by grounding the RESET pin on the adapter to one of the available GND pins...and it should reload the firmware.
I've ordered an FTDI cable and will give it a try. I'll get back to you guys to let you know if it worked.
Ok, so I'm having the same problem on two Xbees!
The first unit worked for about 4-5 times. When it went out I simply assembled my second one which worked fine for about 4-5 linkups as well. Unfortunately for me, I can't get the modules separated from the adapters. Solder wicked up and soldered the module to the headers.
Any way of unbricking with the modules attached to the adapters?
Try the "unbricking" instructions in the manual (bottom of page).