The PANdora Box can send one of 16 messages selected by the brass knob connected to a rotary encoder in the center of the base section. The smoky plex allows the various parts within to be seen, aided by an LED strip light of variable color and intensity, and mirrors on the interior walls. Wacky button sounds are played by the Wav shield as the user rotates the brass knob through each message. Pressing the brass knob instructs an Arduino to send the selected Wav file name across the PAN to the remote listeners which then find and play the Wav file, with, or sometimes without, a preamble. The preamble can be selected from a list appropriate to the message, such as creaky doors, or impersonations. The message itself is usually something useful (but not always) like Kids, please take out the garbage.
Umeå Institute alum Ru Zarin made these Audio Ties:
Creating a wireless audio level meter and deploying it at an event or function where there is a DJ and lots of people.
Each tie is associated with a specific level in the Audio Spectrum and moves in real-time in relation to the music at the venue.
The tie’s are completely wireless using a radio transmitter to get the signal from the DJ source. This gives the tie’s a range of up to 1 mile (pending obstacles).
Each tie is powered by an ordinary 9V battery, giving the wearer the ability to move freely throughout the venue with the technology hanging around their neck.
Notes about Raspberry Pi, an ARM based pc about the size of a deck of cards which costs $35. I might use it as a replacement for the Asus WL520 GU wifi modems I’ve been using as an Xbee WSN Gateway.
Want a FREE Raspberry Pi? For limited time and while supplies last – Adafruit is including a FREE Raspberry Pi in all orders over $350 (not including shipping). This offer is for online customers only, not distributors/resellers/hackerspaces.
XBee Module – ZB Series 2 – 2mW with Wire Antenna – XB24-Z7WIT-004
We now carry the Series 2 XBee “ZigBee” modules. This is the series 2 ZigBee protocol 1mW with wire antenna. Its good for point-to-point, multipoint and mesh networks. This module is a little more difficult to get going than the Series 1 – you must set up a “coordinator” module so they are not as plug-and-play. We suggest this module for those who are following the Building Wireless Sensor Network book as it focuses on Series 2.
Series 2 modules cannot talk to Series 1 modules so if you already have some S1 type XBees you may want to stick with them. The S2 modules are not necessarily ‘better’ than S1 for many projects. They’re just different as they use the “ZigBee” wireless stack instead of the 802.15.4. This makes them better for low power usage and advanced users who want a mesh topology (many XBees in a spread-out configuration) – but they are more difficult to use for basic point-to-point setups.
The pins on an XBee are 2mm spacing, not 0.1″ so they will not fit into a breadboard. For that reason, they work best in our XBee adapter module kit (which has a 250mA 3.3V regulator) or with the USB XBee adapter.
This module comes with a wire antenna, its the same price as a chip antenna but 50% more range because of the improved antenna, awesome!
TX Peak Current: 40 mA
RX Current: 40 mA (@3.3 V)
Power-down Current: < 1 μA
Indoor/Urban: up to 133 ft (40 m)
Outdoor line-of-sight: up to 400 ft (120 m)
Transmit Power: 2 mW (3 dBm)
Receiver Sensitivity: -96 dBm
Dimensions: 24mm x 28mm x 9mm (0.94in x 1.1in x 0.3in)
XBee Pro Module – ZB Series 2 – 63mW with Wire Antenna – XBP24BZ7WIT-004
We now carry the Series 2 XBee “ZigBee” modules. This is the PRO Series 2 ZigBee protocol 63mW with wire antenna. Its good for point-to-point, multipoint and mesh networks. This module is a little more difficult to get going than the Series 1 – you must set up a “coordinator” module so they are not as plug-and-play. We suggest this module for those who are following the Building Wireless Sensor Network book as it focuses on Series 2.
Series 2 modules cannot talk to Series 1 modules so if you already have some S1 type XBees you may want to stick with them. The S2 modules are not necessarily ‘better’ than S1 for many projects. They’re just different as they use the “ZigBee” wireless stack instead of the 802.15.4. This makes them better for low power usage and advanced users who want a mesh topology (many XBees in a spread-out configuration) – but they are more difficult to use for basic point-to-point setups.
The pins on an XBee are 2mm spacing, not 0.1″ so they will not fit into a breadboard. For that reason, they work best in our XBee adapter module kit (which has a 250mA 3.3V regulator) or with the USB XBee adapter.
This module comes with a wire antenna, its the same price as a chip antenna but 50% more range because of the improved antenna, awesome!
Details:
TX Peak Current: 205mA
RX Current: 47 mA (@3.3 V)
Power-down Current: < 3.5 μA
Indoor/Urban: up to 300 ft (90 m)
Outdoor line-of-sight: up to 2 miles (3200 m)
Transmit Power: 63mW (18dBm)
Receiver Sensitivity: -102 dBm
Dimensions: 24mm x 33mm x 9mm (0.94in x 1.3in x 0.3in)
XBee Pro Module – Series 1 – 60mW with Wire Antenna – XBP24-AWI-001
This is the Pro (higher-power) version of the popular XBee! This module is series #1 (802.15.4 protocol) 60mW wireless module, good for point-to-point, multipoint and convertible to a mesh network point. These are much more powerful than the plain XBee modules, great for when you need more range.
What we like about the Series 1 modules is that they are so easy to get set up. If you have two in range, they will automatically form a serial link with no configuration, so you can send TTL serial data back and forth. You can also configure the baudrate, as well as sleep modes, power modes and tons more stuff using the Digi XBee tool.
The pins on an XBee are 2mm spacing, not 0.1″ so they will not fit into a breadboard. For that reason, they work best in our XBee adapter module kit (which has a 250mA 3.3V regulator) or with the USB XBee adapter.
This module comes with a wire antenna, its the same price as a chip antenna but 50% more range because of the improved antenna, awesome!
TX Peak Current: 250mA
RX Current: 55 mA (@3.3 V)
Power-down Current: < 10 μA
Dimensions: 27mm x 33mm x 9mm (1in x 0.9in x 0.3in)
Get ready to create distributed sensor systems and intelligent interactive devices using the ZigBee wireless networking protocol and Series 2 XBee radios. By the time you’re halfway through this fast-paced, hands-on guide, you’ll have built a series of useful projects, including a complete ZigBee wireless network that delivers remotely sensed data.
Radio networking is creating revolutions in volcano monitoring, performance art, clean energy, and consumer electronics. As you follow the examples in each chapter, you’ll learn how to tackle inspiring projects of your own. This practical guide is ideal for inventors, hackers, crafters, students, hobbyists, and scientists.
Investigate an assortment of practical and intriguing project ideas
Prep your ZigBee toolbox with an extensive shopping list of parts and programs
Create a simple, working ZigBee network with XBee radios in less than two hours — for under $100
Use the Arduino open source electronics prototyping platform to build a series of increasingly complex projects
Get familiar with XBee’s API mode for creating sensor networks
Build fully scalable sensing and actuation systems with inexpensive components
Learn about power management, source routing, and other XBee technical nuances
Make gateways that connect with neighboring networks, including the Internet
This book focuses on the Xbee ZB (“Series 2″) modules. A lot of the projects can also be done with the 802.15.4 (“Series 1″) modules but the instructions might be slightly different. Series 2 modules are a little tougher to use than Series 1 so this book is a great accompaniment to our XBee Series 1 tutorials.
“My 50-Acre Wi-Fi Network” by Kris, a rising star in the DIY world – featured in MAKE 31. Nice work Kris!
I started a series of DIY projects aimed at making life easier at Misty Brae Farm, a large horse farm and pony club riding center in Virginia. I have found that there are many aspects of life on a farm that can greatly benefit from technology. The farm owners had some specific requests, including a wi-fi network, video camera system, and riding lesson schedule management system. RiderNet is the first of these projects, which added wi-fi throughout the 50-acre farm.
Your XBee can make real money, all by itself! This easy-to-use coin acceptor can be part of any project where you want to accept coins, whether they be Euros, pence, pounds, a Cambodian Riel or American quarters.
The XBee radio will send a signal every time a coin is inserted into the acceptor. In this tutorial, we’ll walk you through how to program the radio, configure the acceptor and wire it up to an XBee so you can create projects that earn real cash!
Your project may be free-as-in-speech, but that doesn’t mean it has to be free-as-in-beer. This handy coin validator/acceptor module is just like the ones you’ve seen in arcades. First, program it with what coin you want it to accept, any coin from 10.8mm to 25.1mm in diameter can be used. When a valid coin is inserted, the output line will pulse for 20-60ms (configurable). The acceptor looks for diameter, thickness, dropping speed, etc to determine if a coin is valid. You can select 3 different “strictness” levels.
Comes with the acceptor itself, mounting hardware, and a cable for power/signal.
To program the validator: power with 12VDC (red wire goes to +12VDC, black wire to common ground). Press and hold the little button on top for 5 seconds and release. The LED will be on. Now insert 30 sample coins of the value you want to detect (say 30 quarters or 30 Euro coins). Once the LED goes out it’s programmed! Connect a 10K (1K to 100K is fine) pullup resistor from the white wire to your microcontroller’s VCC line (for Arduino, this is a +5V). Insert a coin, and verify that the LED line pulses high for about 40 milliseconds.
Power requirements: 12VDC (+- 20%)
Quiescent current: ~25mA
Peak current (for solenoid): 400mA
Accepts coins from 10.8mm to 15.1mm in diameter, 1.2mm to 3.0mm thick
Connecting your XBee to the Internet just got simple. The new XBee Internet Gateway v1.5 runs directly on Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers! All you need is a single XBee with USB adaptor to put entire XBee networks online. With the XIG, you can turn any XBee into an Internet sensor module, create web-controlled motors , online indicator lights, and stream online data to and from any Arduino. Both 802.15.4 (Series 1) and ZigBee (Series 2) XBees are supported. You could create giant sensor networks, analyze and control distant equipment, scrape gossip from Facebook or simply flip switches in your own home! Download here – documentation here.
Our brand new Digi XBee Examples project site just went live! Check out the first tutorials that Matt Richardson and Rob Faludi have published on Digi’s instructional library site: examples.digi.com.
This is fantastic! You can also get yourself an Xbee badge while you’re at it
The fiber optic chandelier was inspired by one that was for sale on Ebay.com. The asking price for this assembly was over $1000.00. On top of the extensive price the features were also very limited. After some time brainstorming a design was set in place to achieve the following goals.
Wireless control
RGB color selection
Custom Look
Lots more photos, build details and great tips for beginners on working with fiber on the website. All the code and schematics are on the code page. Nicely done!
A new configuration utility for Digi International’s XBee radios is available for Macintosh, Windows and Linux platforms from Moltosenso in Italy, and it’s free. According to their web site,Moltosenso Network Manager™ IRON enables the following tasks:
• full support to any API Operation mode (with and without escaped characters)
• get/set of the parameters of Digi International® modules plugged to the PC, both in API and AT mode
• get/set of the parameters of Digi International® modules remotely addressable
• an effective graphic test for RSSI parameter, especially tailored for XBEE™ modules
• firmware upload (local and – where available – remote) for many supported Digi International® modules.
We would like to introduce you to the largest collection of XBee projects on the Web. So many of you are using XBee radios to create amazing things, that we’ve created a place to feature your work. Musical shoes, digital dominoes, interactive sculptures and autonomous penguins await!
Our offices have these little peek-a-boo sections in the frosted glass. Some people stick post-it notes up describing what’s going on with them, but I wanted something more complex. I had recently picked up the Adafruit “RGB backlight negative LCD” display and was evaluating the X-Bee radios and decided to make an “almost wireless” LCD display for the front of my office. It’s not very complex – using a Boarduino (Arduino) running a little sketch that has a few modes – static text, alternating text describing what I’m working on, plus a mode that cycles through a bunch of “Burma Shave” four-liners just for silliness. The modes and backlight color are controlled from my PC via the other X-Bee. People seem to like it, so I’ll probably commit it to a perf-board and get rid of all those ugly wires.
RGB backlight positive LCD 20×4 + extras [black on RGB]. To match our popular 16×2 RGB Character LCDs (http://www.adafruit.com/products/399 & http://www.adafruit.com/products/398) we’ve now added 20×4 LCDs! Get more text, with an RGB backlight. Both positive and negative type! This is a fancy upgrade to standard 20×4 LCDs, instead of just having blue and white, or red and black, this LCD has black characters on a full color RGB background! That means you can change the display background color to anything you want – red, green, blue, pink, white, purple yellow, teal, salmon, chartreuse. This LCD looks strikingly good in person. This LCD is the most daylight readable character LCD we have and is very beautiful and easy to read no matter what color/brightness you have for the backlight.
One nice thing about these LCDs is that they are an elegant upgrade, but you can use them in existing LCD projects and they’ll still work – just that only the red LED will be used (so it will appear black-on-red). The extra two pins (17 and 18) are for the green and blue LEDs. The LCD has resistors on board already so that you can drive it with 5V logic and the current draw will be ~40mA per LED (there are two LEDs, 20mA each). There’s a single LED backlight for the entire display, the image above showing 3 colors at once is a composite!
Comes with a single 20×4 RGB backlight LCD, 10K necessary contrast potentiometer and strip of header. Our tutorials and diagrams will have you up and running in no time!
Printable catalog (PDF)
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