3) Configure the Radio
If you’re not familiar with configuring radios using AT commands, review the steps in the Basic XBee 802.15.4 Chat tutorial, which walks you through configuring CoolTerm to program the radios.
- Insert the XBee into the Explorer USB and connect it to your computer.
- Launch CoolTerm and connect to the XBee.
- Here are the commands we’re going to use to configure the radio:
| Function | Command | Parameter |
|---|---|---|
| Reset | ATRE | N/A (resets the radio to its factory settings) |
| PAN ID | ATID | 3001 (any address from 0 to FFFE will do) |
| MY Address | ATMY | 1 |
| Destination address high | ATDH | 0 (indicates a 16-bit address) |
| Destination address low | ATDL | 2 (the address of the receiving radio) |
| Pin 0 I/O configuration | ATD0 | 3 (digital input) |
| Pin 1 I/O configuration | ATD1 | 3 (digital input) |
| Pin 2 I/O configuration | ATD2 | 3 (digital input) |
| Pin 3 I/O configuration | ATD3 | 3 (digital input) |
| Change detection | ATIC | F (bitmap field: first four inputs send samples on change, SEE BELOW for more information) |
| Write to memory | ATWR | N/A (save the settings to flash memory) |
- Here’s what your terminal session might look like. The user input is in bold:
+++ OK ATRE OK ATID 3001 OK ATMY 1 OK ATDH 0 OK ATDL 2 OK ATD0 3 OK ATD1 3 OK ATD2 3 OK ATD3 3 OK ATIC F OK ATWR OK ATID 3001 ATMY 1 ATDH 0 ATDL 2 ATD0 3 ATD1 3 ATD2 3 ATD3 3 ATIC F ATWR OK
Note: Remember to issue the ATWR command when you’re done so that the settings are saved in the radio’s flash memory. If you don’t issue this command, the radio will revert to its old settings when it loses power.
Note: the calculator in Macintosh can easily convert bits to hexadecimals. Above you can see that the first four bits are on, and the base-16 (hexadecimal) equivalent is displayed as 0xF. More about this calculator.
