I am using Xbee ZB modules, the coordinator is connected to a PC, each XBee has a microcontroller
I have looked through all the documentation but cannot find a clear answer.
I will have one coordinator and three end devices, each of the end devices will have a microcontroller attached, and will listen for any information on the serial port connected to its Xbee.
The microcontroller will be monitoring a temperature and I wish to send it back to the coordinator on a temperature change.
The coordinator from time to time will ask the microcontrollers via the XBee module their temperature, so a very simple setup!
I would prefer not to use API mode at the moment as it looks very complicated. I would like to communicate with each Xbee module using the AT commands.
Is this possible?
If so how would it be done?
Would I use the coordinator to select the address of a specific Xbee module ( as they would all have individual addresses set previously) then send a small text file which each microcontroller would process and then send back data to the coordinator?
The ability to send remote AT commands or do remote configuration of XBee modules requires that the Coordinator be type API. You’d then format your AT command into the API packet, which also includes the destination address of the module this AT command is intended for.
For configuring the remote module, you could do this with XCTU version 5.1.4.1, as long as your coordinator is of API type.
As far as AT vs. API, the AT module has two modes: command or passthrough. There is no way to remotely configure an AT module unless doing so from an API-enabled module, since the AT command for the remote needs to be embedded in the API packet.
A good comparison is a dialup modem. You can’t send an AT command to a remote dialup modem because the modem thinks its data, i.e. the escape sequence only works on the local modem. Its the same with RF modems.
It is the ability to specify the address of the remote module you want to configure, within the API packet sent from your coordinator, that allows the possibility of remote configuration.