LabVIEW Interface for Arduino using Xbee Module

[hrh1818]

I am cofused . Previously when you ran the range test you sed the "open serial connection button". Are you sayng when you use the same proceduire now as you did when you successfully ran a range test it no longer works?

hrh1818

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[hrh1818]

The person you refer to and who posted a picture of data being transmitted between two Xbees was using a different set up than you.  He showed a picture of data being transmitted between two Xbees.  In his setup each Xbee is connected to a COM port.  Whereas in your setup only one Xbee is connected to a COM port. The other person was not running a range test. 

I  say when you said " Im pretty positive its the setting in the xbees themselves." is an erroneous conclusion.

hrh1818

[mikey00409]

When i ran the range test before, it didnt work, i used a different program, they "saw" each other.  The program knew both Xbees where on the same network PAN ID. but they have never sent or recieved data from each other yet.

And yes when i ran the range test i made usre the shield was back on the UART.  However just to see i ran it again on DLINE and neither worked.

[hrh1818]

Ok I was confused about the difference between the range test you ran previously and the range test you recently ran.  However, I still have faith in the results you obtained wen you ran a Xbee test using the Aduino IDE.  I suspect you haven't performed all the steps required to execute a Digi range test.  This link indicates you need to execute a Discover Modes procedure.

<http://ftp1.digi.com/support/documentation/90001067_a.pdf>

hrh1818

[mikey00409]

i appologize for the delayed response.  i was able to fix the problem.  it actually ended up being an issue with the DH and DL address settings.  Once fixed they work great.  If anyone else is having issues that are not solved by the above suggestions, let me know and i will be happy to provide more details to the setting i had to use.

Thanks again hrh1818 for you assistance you are always very helpful.

Do you know if its possible to use a TTL arduino camera and the xbee to get live feed video at the current baud rate of 9600 or would i need to increase that?

[hrh1818]

Congratulations on getting your Xbbe installation to work.

Is this the TTL Arduino Camera you want to use?

<https://learn.adafruit.com/ttl-serial-camera/using-the-camera>

The specifications for the camera say the baud rate is 38,400 bits per second.

So yes you will need to increase the baud rate and Sammy says the maximum useful baud rate with Xbee is 48,000 bits per second. 

Because the XBee is using the hardware serial port on an Arduino Uno the camera needs to be connected to a software serial port. I don't know if an Arduino Uno is fast enough to stream video when using Xbee. The Arduino Uno needs to read data from a software serial port and immediately write the data to its hardware serial port. I don't know if an Arduino is fast enough to handle thes read write process for a video stream.  You may be forced to use the camera in snapshot mode.

The specifications say it takes approximately 30 seconds to transmit a frame.

hrh1818

[mikey00409]

Yes that is the camera.  I am actually using the Mega for this process, dont know if that matters. 

I was actually thinking of using snap shots and just trying to take 24 per second which your eye would see as video and it might reduce the amount of data that had to be transfered. 

You say the specs say it takes 30 sec to transmist a frame... would that me i would have a 30 sec lag on my display vs. live?

Any idea on how to increase the baud rate to 38400 the mininum the camera needs?

[hrh1818]

For streaming video I suggest you use WiFi instead of Xbee.  Partly because WiFi has  higher data transfer rate and mostly because the following DIY article uses devices you already have.  

<http://www.openhomeautomation.net/wireless-camera/>

Using the procedure given in the web page means you don't use Labview. This is not as bad as it may appear. One you can't use LIFA or LINX because they do not have support for a second serial port. Two I don't know how you would get Labview to display video.

You would need to make some wiring modifications to use an ATmega in place of a  Uno.  However, a Atmega is a better choice for this application as it has 3 hardware serial ports.  Whereas to get two serial ports on an Uno one serial port has to be a software serial port. A software serial port requires more computer overhead than a hardware serial port.

hrh1818

[mikey00409]

ok i will look into that as an option.  Is it possible to use a wifi breakout card with arduino and labview instead of the Xbee?  as im sure you know when you use the int.vi in labview theres only usb/Xbee/Bluesmirf...

[Nathan_B.]

There is no ethernet support implemented in LIFA.  One user here was able to modify LIFA to work over ethernet but not many people have been able to get his code running successfully.  LINX has ethernet support for ChipKit but not Arduino.