Hi,
before i post my question i tried to look for an answer in the internet also in this forum but with no luck,
i can’t figure out the difference between XBEE modules zigbee, 802.15.4 and digimesh, i know what is the difference between them theoretically, but the description in digi website about each of those modules are the same, it’s like copy and past, for example, Digi Xbee RR 802.15.4 support all protocols, digimesh, 802.15.4 and zigbee, also the 2 other module support exact same protocols, so what is the difference between them if all of them support the same protocols.
also, when they said xbee 3 rf 802.15.4, or when they mention that an xbee moduel supprots the protocol 802.15.4 (it’s standard not protocol anyway), doesn’t that already include zigbee and other protocol like sub-ghz protocols? hope someone can explain this point to me.
The XBee 3 modules you are referring to are a 2.4 GHz product only.
The difference in them is the actual firmware version installed and what Protocol that firmware supports. For example, XB3-24Z8PS comes with the 2.4 Zigbee Mesh protocol.
The Zigbee Mesh protocol is an upper level tree based Mesh network operating on a international Standard. The Zigbee protocol allows for a Coordinator, Routers and sleeping End points. All of which are capable of sending and receiving data to any other node within the network.
The same module can be loaded with two different firmware versions that offer different protocols. The fist is the IEEE 802.15.4. This is a lower level Point to point, point to multi-point, Peer to peer protocol that operates under the Zigbee protocol.
The third is the propitiatory Mesh protocol called Digi Mesh. The Digi Mesh protocol while offers a Coordinator function for communicating with sleeping synchronized end devices, unlike Zigbee, it is a true peer to peer mesh. That is to say, any nodes can talk to any other node in the network without a parent child relationship.
Hi
Thank you @mvut for the explanation , that was helpful
so if it’s the same module, that mean i can replace the firmware from digi to zigbee or vise versa.
i will give you the context so i can be clear, in my situation i’m not very sure about the distance between my nodes, but i know it’s more than 150m and since it’s an outdoor project and with the pro version i can reach 1200m, that will be a good. also the power consumption of that module is good for me. the thing is, i want to test if i’m going to need to use zigbee protocol and place routers between nodes, or i can go with mesh digi mesh protocol and nodes will forward msgs to the gateway (this is a central device that received all mesgs) to cover the whole region which probably between 2-3km . also i want to check the sleeping synchronization, if it will be suitable or not since i’m putting all my devices in sleep mode. so a lot of test i need to do and i was wondering if i can buy only couple modules of the same model and switch between protocols to test which one is good in my situation.
best reguards
Yes you can. But you had better make sure you are ordering the proper module as the PRO versions do have limits on where they can be used. For example, if you are in Europe or Asia, you are not allowed to use the PRO module. The reason for this is that its output power level exceeds regulations. So you would have the use the Lower powered modules or the ones listed as International (-J in the part number)…