Intermediate
30 min

Make a wireless connection without any trouble with XB8X-DMUS-001 and PIC18F87J50

Ready, set, connect!

XBee 3 Click with UNI Clicker

Published Mar 09, 2023

Click board™

XBee 3 Click

Dev Board

UNI Clicker

Compiler

NECTO Studio

MCU

PIC18F87J50

Secure and reliable wireless connectivity for various M2M and IoT devices

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Hardware Overview

How does it work?

XBee 3 Click is based on the XB8X-DMUS-001, a Digi XBee® CE/RED certified RF module suitable for mission-critical wireless applications from Digi International. The XB8X-DMUS-001 can run a proprietary DigiMesh® or point-to-multipoint networking protocol utilizing a low-power Silicon Labs MCU and an ADF7023 transceiver with an integrated SAW filter offering industry-leading interference blocking. It also supports low-power sleeping nodes and has an RF line-of-sight range of up to 14km (rural range line of sight) in a combination of coverage, data redundancy, and data reliability. The XB8X-DMUS-001 module is pre-certified for use in European countries. Operating between 863MHz and 870MHz (868MHz), it allows use in several regions, including approved European countries. It also leverages surrounding frequencies for LBT+AFA (Listen-Before-Talk and Adaptive-Frequency-Agility), significantly reducing interference by listening to the radio environment before any transmission starts and automatically shifting to a new channel when interference is

detected. This Click board™ comes with a configurable host interface allowing communication with MCU using the chosen interface. The XB8X-DMUS-001 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 XBee 3 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 of the mikroBUS™ socket

represents a type of interrupt whose function can be selected by positioning an onboard SMD jumper to an appropriate position labeled as DTR or ATT. DTR position is a "Data terminal ready" function used to tell the XBee module that the host MCU is ready to communicate, while 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 from a 3.3V logic voltage level. Therefore, the board must perform appropriate logic voltage 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-3-click-hardware-overview

Features overview

Development board

UNI Clicker is a compact development board designed as a complete solution that brings the flexibility of add-on Click boards™ to your favorite microcontroller, making it a perfect starter kit for implementing your ideas. It supports a wide range of microcontrollers, such as different ARM, PIC32, dsPIC, PIC, and AVR from various vendors like Microchip, ST, NXP, and TI (regardless of their number of pins), four mikroBUS™ sockets for Click board™ connectivity, a USB connector, LED indicators, buttons, a debugger/programmer connector, and two 26-pin headers for interfacing with external electronics. Thanks to innovative manufacturing technology, it allows you to build

gadgets with unique functionalities and features quickly. Each part of the UNI Clicker development kit contains the components necessary for the most efficient operation of the same board. In addition to the possibility of choosing the UNI Clicker programming method, using a third-party programmer or CODEGRIP/mikroProg connected to onboard JTAG/SWD header, the UNI Clicker board also includes a clean and regulated power supply module for the development kit. It provides two ways of board-powering; through the USB Type-C (USB-C) connector, where onboard voltage regulators provide the appropriate voltage levels to each component on the board, or using a Li-Po/Li

Ion battery via an onboard battery connector. All communication methods that mikroBUS™ itself supports are on this board (plus USB HOST/DEVICE), including the well-established mikroBUS™ socket, a standardized socket for the MCU card (SiBRAIN standard), and several user-configurable buttons and LED indicators. UNI Clicker is an integral part of the Mikroe ecosystem, allowing you to create a new application in minutes. Natively supported by Mikroe software tools, it covers many aspects of prototyping thanks to a considerable number of different Click boards™ (over a thousand boards), the number of which is growing every day.

UNI clicker double image

Microcontroller Overview

MCU Card / MCU

default

Type

8th Generation

Architecture

PIC

MCU Memory (KB)

128

Silicon Vendor

Microchip

Pin count

80

RAM (Bytes)

3904

Used MCU Pins

mikroBUS™ mapper

UART RTS
RA0
AN
Reset
RJ4
RST
SPI Chip Select
RJ0
CS
SPI Clock
RD6
SCK
SPI Data OUT
RD5
MISO
SPI Data IN
RD4
MOSI
Power Supply
3.3V
3.3V
Ground
GND
GND
UART CTS
RE0
PWM
Data Ready Indicator
RB0
INT
UART TX
RG1
TX
UART RX
RG2
RX
NC
NC
SCL
NC
NC
SDA
NC
NC
5V
Ground
GND
GND
1

Take a closer look

Schematic

XBee 3 Click Schematic schematic

Step by step

Project assembly

UNI Clicker front image hardware assembly

Start by selecting your development board and Click board™. Begin with the UNI Clicker as your development board.

UNI Clicker front image hardware assembly
Thermo 28 Click front image hardware assembly
SiBRAIN for STM32F745VG front image hardware assembly
Prog-cut hardware assembly
UNI Clicker 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 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 3 Click driver.

Key functions:

  • xbee3_get_serial_number This function sends a get serial number command.

  • xbee3_set_device_name This function sets the device name (node identifier).

  • xbee3_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 3 Click Example.
 *
 * # Description
 * This example demonstrates the use of an XBEE 3 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, and api mode to transparent.
 *
 * ## 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 xbee3_clear_app_buf ( void )
 * - static err_t xbee3_process ( void )
 * - static err_t xbee3_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout )
 *
 * @author Stefan Filipovic
 *
 */

#include "board.h"
#include "log.h"
#include "xbee3.h"

// Device name (Node identifier).
#define DEVICE_NAME                 "XBEE 3 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    XBEE3_BROADCAST_DEST_ADDRESS_HIGH
#define DESTINATION_ADDRESS_LOW     XBEE3_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 3 click board\r\n"

// Application process buffer size
#define PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE         200

static xbee3_t xbee3;
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 3 clearing application buffer.
 * @details This function clears memory of application buffer and reset its length and counter.
 * @note None.
 */
static void xbee3_clear_app_buf ( void );

/**
 * @brief XBEE 3 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 xbee3_process ( void );

/**
 * @brief XBEE 3 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 xbee3_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout );

void application_init ( void ) 
{
    log_cfg_t log_cfg;  /**< Logger config object. */
    xbee3_cfg_t xbee3_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.
    xbee3_cfg_setup( &xbee3_cfg );
    XBEE3_MAP_MIKROBUS( xbee3_cfg, MIKROBUS_1 );
    if ( UART_ERROR == xbee3_init( &xbee3, &xbee3_cfg ) ) 
    {
        log_error( &logger, " Communication init." );
        for ( ; ; );
    }
    
    xbee3_hw_reset ( &xbee3 );
    xbee3_process( );
    xbee3_clear_app_buf( );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Enter command mode -\r\n" );
    xbee3_enter_command_mode ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Factory Reset -\r\n" );
    xbee3_factory_reset ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Get serial number -\r\n" );
    xbee3_get_serial_number ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set Device Name -\r\n" );
    xbee3_set_device_name ( &xbee3, DEVICE_NAME );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set Destination Address -\r\n" );
    xbee3_set_destination_address ( &xbee3, DESTINATION_ADDRESS_HIGH, DESTINATION_ADDRESS_LOW );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Set API mode -\r\n" );
    xbee3_set_api_mode ( &xbee3, XBEE3_MODE_TRANSPARENT );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Apply changes -\r\n" );
    xbee3_apply_changes ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 ); 
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Save changes -\r\n" );
    xbee3_save_changes ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_display_rsp ( 1000 );
    
    log_printf( &logger, " - Exit command mode -\r\n" );
    xbee3_exit_command_mode ( &xbee3 );
    Delay_ms ( 100 );
    xbee3_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
    xbee3_generic_write( &xbee3, DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE, strlen( DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE ) );
    log_printf( &logger, "%s", ( char * ) DEMO_TEXT_MESSAGE );
    Delay_ms( 3000 ); 
#else
    xbee3_process( );
    if ( app_buf_len > 0 ) 
    {
        log_printf( &logger, "%s", app_buf );
        xbee3_clear_app_buf(  );
    }
#endif
}

void main ( void ) 
{
    application_init( );

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

static void xbee3_clear_app_buf ( void ) 
{
    memset( app_buf, 0, app_buf_len );
    app_buf_len = 0;
    app_buf_cnt = 0;
}

static err_t xbee3_process ( void ) 
{
    int32_t rx_size;
    char rx_buf[ PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ] = { 0 };
    rx_size = xbee3_generic_read( &xbee3, rx_buf, PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE );
    if ( rx_size > 0 ) 
    {
        int32_t buf_cnt = 0;
        if ( ( app_buf_len + rx_size ) > PROCESS_BUFFER_SIZE ) 
        {
            xbee3_clear_app_buf(  );
            return XBEE3_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 XBEE3_OK;
    }
    return XBEE3_ERROR;
}

static err_t xbee3_display_rsp ( uint16_t timeout )
{
    uint16_t timeout_cnt = 0;
    xbee3_process ( );
    while ( ( 0 == strstr( app_buf, XBEE3_RSP_OK ) ) && 
            ( 0 == strstr( app_buf, XBEE3_RSP_ERROR ) ) && 
            ( timeout_cnt++ < timeout ) )
    {
        xbee3_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 ] );
        }
        xbee3_clear_app_buf ( );
        log_printf( &logger, "--------------------------------\r\n" );
        return XBEE3_OK;
    }
    return XBEE3_ERROR;
}

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

Additional Support

Resources