Intermediate
30 min

Combine XB3-24Z8UM and PIC18F4550 to create an embedded cellular and mesh networking applications

Your connection to the world

XBee 2 Click with Curiosity HPC

Published Nov 01, 2023

Click board™

XBee 2 Click

Dev Board

Curiosity HPC

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F4550

Easy-to-add secure wireless connectivity

A

A

Hardware Overview

How does it work?

Xbee 2 Click is based on the XB3-24Z8UM, a Digi XBee® 3 Zigbee 3.0 transceiver module providing wireless end-point connectivity from Digi International. This module uses the IEEE 802.15.4 networking protocol for fast point-to-multipoint or peer-to-peer networking designed for high-throughput applications requiring low latency and predictable communication timing. Thanks to industry-leading technology, the pre-certified XB3-24Z8UM module allows switching between multiple frequencies and wireless protocols as needed (Zigbee, 802.15.4, DigiMesh®, and BLE), offering a fully interoperable ecosystem covering all vertical markets. This Click board™ comes with a configurable host interface allowing communication with MCU using the chosen interface. The XB3-24Z8UM can communicate with MCU using the UART interface with commonly used UART RX, TX, and hardware flow control pins UART CTS and RTS (Clear to Send and Ready to Send) or using the SPI interface

(XBee module will work as an SPI-slave only). In the case of the SPI interface, the users can use it to configure the module and write the library by themselves. The XB3-24Z8UM also has built-in Digi TrustFence® security, identity, and data privacy features, employing over 175 controls to protect against new and evolving cyber threats. The Xbee 2 Click is associated with many other features, such as the reset function and the possibility of visual and digital indicators. An active-low reset signal routed on the RST pin of the mikroBUS™ socket activates a hardware reset of the system, while a yellow LED indicator marked as ASSOC represents a visual indication of the module's connection to the network. If the LED is constantly on, it means that the module is not connected to the mobile network, while the standard flashing of the LED represents the normal operating mode. The A/D pin routed on the INT pin of the mikroBUS™ socket represents a type of interrupt positioning an onboard SMD jumper to an

appropriate whose function can be selected by position labeled as DTR or ATT. DTR position is a "Data terminal ready" function that tells the XBee module that the host MCU is ready to communicate. The ATT position (SPI Attention) represents an indicator for the SPI interface whenever the Xbee module has data for the host MCU. In addition, the board also has a commissioning pushbutton marked as COMMI, which, combined with an ASSOC LED, provides various simple functions to aid in deploying devices in a network. This Click board™ can only be operated with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used as a reference for further development.

XBee 2 Click top side image
XBee 2 Click lateral side image
XBee 2 Click bottom side image

Features overview

Development board

Curiosity HPC, standing for Curiosity High Pin Count (HPC) development board, supports 28- and 40-pin 8-bit PIC MCUs specially designed by Microchip for the needs of rapid development of embedded applications. This board has two unique PDIP sockets, surrounded by dual-row expansion headers, allowing connectivity to all pins on the populated PIC MCUs. It also contains a powerful onboard PICkit™ (PKOB), eliminating the need for an external programming/debugging tool, two mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, a USB connector, a set of indicator LEDs, push button switches and a variable potentiometer. All

these features allow you to combine the strength of Microchip and Mikroe and create custom electronic solutions more efficiently than ever. Each part of the Curiosity HPC development board contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. An integrated onboard PICkit™ (PKOB) allows low-voltage programming and in-circuit debugging for all supported devices. When used with the MPLAB® X Integrated Development Environment (IDE, version 3.0 or higher) or MPLAB® Xpress IDE, in-circuit debugging allows users to run, modify, and troubleshoot their custom software and hardware

quickly without the need for additional debugging tools. Besides, it includes a clean and regulated power supply block for the development board via the USB Micro-B connector, alongside all communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports. Curiosity HPC development board allows you to create a new application in just a few steps. Natively supported by Microchip software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to many number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing daily.

Curiosity HPC double image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

PIC18F4550

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

32

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

40

RAM (Bytes)

2048

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

UART RTS
RA1
AN
Reset
RD0
RST
SPI Chip Select
RA3
CS
SPI Clock
RB1
SCK
SPI Data OUT
RB2
MISO
SPI Data IN
RB3
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
UART CTS
RC2
PWM
Data Ready Indicator
RB5
INT
UART TX
RC6
TX
UART RX
RC7
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

XBee 2 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

Curiosity HPC front no-mcu image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the Curiosity HPC as your development board.

Curiosity HPC front no-mcu image hardware assembly
Thermo 28 Click front image hardware assembly
MCU DIP 40 hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
Curiosity HPC MB 1 - upright/with-background hardware assembly
Necto image step 2 hardware assembly
Necto image step 3 hardware assembly
Necto image step 4 hardware assembly
Necto image step 5 hardware assembly
Necto image step 6 hardware assembly
Necto DIP image step 7 hardware assembly
Necto No Display image step 8 hardware assembly
Necto image step 9 hardware assembly
Necto image step 10 hardware assembly
Debug Image Necto Step hardware assembly

Track your results in real time

Application Output

After loading the code example, pressing the "DEBUG" button builds and programs it on the selected setup.

Application Output Step 1

After programming is completed, a header with buttons for various actions available in the IDE appears. By clicking the green "PLAY "button, we start reading the results achieved with Click board™.

Application Output Step 3

Upon completion of programming, the Application Output tab is automatically opened, where the achieved result can be read. In case of an inability to perform the Debug function, check if a proper connection between the MCU used by the setup and the CODEGRIP programmer has been established. A detailed explanation of the CODEGRIP-board connection can be found in the CODEGRIP User Manual. Please find it in the RESOURCES section.

Application Output Step 4

Software Support

Library Description

This library contains API for XBee 2 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • xbee2_get_serial_number This function sends a get serial number command.

  • xbee2_set_device_name This function sets the device name (node identifier).

  • xbee2_set_destination_address This function sets the destination address high and low bytes.

Open Source

Code example

This example can be found in NECTO Studio. Feel free to download the code, or you can copy the code below.

/*!
 * @file main.c
 * @brief XBEE 2 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of an XBEE 2 click board by showing
 * the communication between the two click boards configured in transparent mode.
 *
 * The demo application is composed of two sections :
 *
 * ## Application Init
 * Initializes the driver and configures the click board by performing a factory reset, 
 * and setting the device name, destination address, api mode to transparent, 
 * and a device role to join or form network depending on the application mode.
 *
 * ## Application Task
 * Depending on the selected application mode, it reads all the received data or 
 * sends the desired message every 3 seconds.
 *
 * ## Additional Function
 * - static void xbee2_clear_app_buf ( void )
 * - static err_t xbee2_process ( void )
 * - static err_t xbee2_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout )
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "xbee2.h"

// Device name (Node identifier).
#define DEVICE_NAME                 "XBEE 2 Click"

// Enter here the specific serial number high and low bytes of the remote device as a hex string or 
// leave it set to broadcast addresses for forwarding messages to all devices
#define DESTINATION_ADDRESS_HIGH    XBEE2_BROADCAST_DEST_ADDRESS_HIGH
#define DESTINATION_ADDRESS_LOW     XBEE2_BROADCAST_DEST_ADDRESS_LOW

// Comment out the line below in order to switch the application mode to receiver
#define DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER

// Text message to send in the transmitter application mode
#define DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE           "MikroE - XBEE 2 click board\r\n"

// Application process buffer size
#define PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE         200

static xbee2_t xbee2;
static log_t logger;

static char app_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
static int32_t app_buf_len = 0;
static int32_t app_buf_cnt = 0;

/**
 * @brief XBEE 2 clearing application buffer.
 * @details This function clears memory of application buffer and reset its length and counter.
 * @note None.
 */
static void xbee2_clear_app_buf ( void );

/**
 * @brief XBEE 2 data reading function.
 * @details This function reads data from device and concatenates data to application buffer.
 * @return @li @c  0 - Read some data.
 *         @li @c -1 - Nothing is read.
 *         @li @c -2 - Application buffer overflow.
 * See #err_t definition for detailed explanation.
 * @note None.
 */
static err_t xbee2_process ( void );

/**
 * @brief XBEE 2 display response function.
 * @details This function reads data from device until it sends OK or ERROR message or until
 * it exceeds the timeout value.
 * @param[in] timeout : Timeout value in miliseconds.
 * @return @li @c  0 - Read some data.
 *         @li @c -1 - Nothing is read.
 * See #err_t definition for detailed explanation.
 * @note None.
 */
static err_t xbee2_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout );

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    xbee2_cfg_t xbee2_cfg;  /**< Click config object. */

    /** 
     * Logger initialization.
     * Default baud rate: 115200
     * Default log level: LOG_LEVEL_DEBUG
     * @note If USB_UART_RX and USB_UART_TX 
     * are defined as HAL_PIN_NC, you will 
     * need to define them manually for log to work. 
     * See @b LOG_MAP_USB_UART macro definition for detailed explanation.
     */
    LOG_MAP_USB_UART( log_cfg );
    log_init( &logger, &log_cfg );
    log_info( &logger, " Application Init " );

    // Click initialization.
    xbee2_cfg_setup( &xbee2_cfg );
    XBEE2_MAP_MIKROBUS( xbee2_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( UART_ERROR == xbee2_init( &xbee2, &xbee2_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    xbee2_hw_reset ( &xbee2 );
    xbee2_process( );
    xbee2_clear_app_buf( );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Enter command mode -\r\n" );
    xbee2_enter_command_mode ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Factory Reset -\r\n" );
    xbee2_factory_reset ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Get serial number -\r\n" );
    xbee2_get_serial_number ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set Device Name -\r\n" );
    xbee2_set_device_name ( &xbee2, DEVICE_NAME );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set Destination Address -\r\n" );
    xbee2_set_destination_address ( &xbee2, DESTINATION_ADDRESS_HIGH, DESTINATION_ADDRESS_LOW );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set API mode -\r\n" );
    xbee2_set_api_mode ( &xbee2, XBEE2_MODE_TRANSPARENT );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set Device Role -\r\n" );
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
    xbee2_set_device_role ( &xbee2, XBEE2_DEVICE_ROLE_JOIN_NETWORK );
#else
    xbee2_set_device_role ( &xbee2, XBEE2_DEVICE_ROLE_FORM_NETWORK );
#endif
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Apply changes -\r\n" );
    xbee2_apply_changes ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 ); 
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Save changes -\r\n" );
    xbee2_save_changes ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Exit command mode -\r\n" );
    xbee2_exit_command_mode ( &xbee2 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee2_display_rsp ( 1000 ); 
    
    app_buf_len = 0;
    app_buf_cnt = 0;
    
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
    log_printf( &logger, " Application Mode: Transmitter\r\n" );
#else
    log_printf( &logger, " Application Mode: Receiver\r\n" );
#endif
    
    log_info( &logger, " Application Task " );
}

void application_task ( void ) 
{
#ifdef DEMO_APP_TRANSMITTER
    xbee2_generic_write( &xbee2, DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE, strlen( DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE ) );
    log_printf( &logger, "%s", ( char * ) DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE );
    Delay_ms( 3000 ); 
#else
    xbee2_process( );
    if ( app_buf_len > 0 ) 
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "%s", app_buf );
        xbee2_clear_app_buf(  );
    }
#endif
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

    for ( ; ; ) 
    {
        application_task( );
    }
}

static void xbee2_clear_app_buf ( void ) 
{
    memset( app_buf, 0, app_buf_len );
    app_buf_len = 0;
    app_buf_cnt = 0;
}

static err_t xbee2_process ( void ) 
{
    int32_t rx_size;
    char rx_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
    rx_size = xbee2_generic_read( &xbee2, rx_buf, PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE );
    if ( rx_size > 0 ) 
    {
        int32_t buf_cnt = 0;
        if ( ( app_buf_len + rx_size ) > PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ) 
        {
            xbee2_clear_app_buf(  );
            return XBEE2_ERROR;
        } 
        else 
        {
            buf_cnt = app_buf_len;
            app_buf_len += rx_size;
        }
        for ( int32_t rx_cnt = 0; rx_cnt < rx_size; rx_cnt++ ) 
        {
            if ( rx_buf[ rx_cnt ] != 0 ) 
            {
                app_buf[ ( buf_cnt + rx_cnt ) ] = rx_buf[ rx_cnt ];
            }
            else
            {
                app_buf_len--;
                buf_cnt--;
            }
        }
        return XBEE2_OK;
    }
    return XBEE2_ERROR;
}

static err_t xbee2_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout )
{
    uint16_t timeout_cnt = 0;
    xbee2_process ( );
    while ( ( 0 == strstr( app_buf, XBEE2_RSP_OK ) ) && 
            ( 0 == strstr( app_buf, XBEE2_RSP_ERROR ) ) && 
            ( timeout_cnt++ < timeout ) )
    {
        xbee2_process ( );
        Delay_ms ( 1 );
    }
    if ( app_buf_len > 0 )
    {
        for ( int32_t buf_cnt = 0; buf_cnt < app_buf_len; buf_cnt++ )
        {
            log_printf( &logger, "%c", app_buf[ buf_cnt ] );
        }
        xbee2_clear_app_buf ( );
        log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------------\r\n" );
        return XBEE2_OK;
    }
    return XBEE2_ERROR;
}

// ------------------------------------------------------------------------ END

Additional Support

Resources