Xbees doesn't work if more that 1 meter away

Hello,

I setup 2 Xbees : communication is working fine, but within a limited distance : less than 1 meter.
If the 2 Xbees are more than 1 meter away, communication is stopped.
Any clue ?
Thanks for yout help.

Setup is as follow :

  • One “receiver”, connected to a USB PC via a XBee Explorer USB (from Sparkfun). The receiver is listen via hyperterminal.
  • One “transmitter”, connected to an Arduino Pro Mini - 3.3V/8MHz.
    XBee VCC <-> Arduino VCC.
    XBee GND <-> Arduino GND.
    XBee DOUT <-> Arduino RX (pin 0).
    XBee DIN <-> Arduino TX (pin 1).

The following program is uploaded into the Arduino :
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(19200);
}

void loop()
{
Serial.print(‘H’);
delay(1000);
Serial.print(‘L’);
delay(1000);
}

Below is the setup of the receiver :
XB24_15_4_10CD.mxi
FE
0
231
10CD
0
[A]CH=C
[A]ID=192
[A]DH=0
[A]DL=1
[A]MY=0
[A]RR=0
[A]RN=0
[A]MM=0
[A]NT=19
[A]NO=0
[A]CE=1
[A]SC=1FFE
[A]SD=4
[A]A1=0
[A]A2=0
[A]EE=0
[A]NI=
[A]PL=4
[A]CA=2C
[A]SM=0
[A]ST=1388
[A]SP=0
[A]DP=3E8
[A]SO=0
[A]PR=FF
[A]D8=0
[A]D7=1
[A]D6=0
[A]D5=1
[A]D4=0
[A]D3=3
[A]D2=0
[A]D1=0
[A]D0=0
[A]IU=1
[A]IT=1
[A]IC=FF
[A]IR=0
[A]IA=FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF
[A]T0=FF
[A]T1=FF
[A]T2=FF
[A]T3=FF
[A]T4=FF
[A]T5=FF
[A]T6=FF
[A]T7=FF
[A]P0=1

Below is the setup of transmitter
XB24_15_4_10CD.mxi
FE
0
231
10CD
0
[A]CH=C
[A]ID=192
[A]DH=0
[A]DL=0
[A]MY=1
[A]RR=0
[A]RN=0
[A]MM=0
[A]NT=19
[A]NO=0
[A]CE=0
[A]SC=1FFE
[A]SD=4
[A]A1=0
[A]A2=0
[A]EE=0
[A]NI=
[A]PL=4
[A]CA=2C
[A]SM=0
[A]ST=1388
[A]SP=0
[A]DP=3E8
[A]SO=0
[A]BD=4
[A]RO=3
[A]AP=0
[A]PR=FF
[A]D8=0
[A]D7=1
[A]D6=0
[A]D5=1
[A]D4=0
[A]D3=5
[A]D2=0
[A]D1=0
[A]D0=0
[A]IU=0
[A]IT=1
[A]IC=0
[A]IR=0
[A]IA=FFFF
[A]T0=FF
[A]T1=FF
[A]T2=FF
[A]T3=FF
[A]T4=FF
[A]T5=FF
[A]T6=FF
[A]T7=FF
[A]P0=1
[A]P1=0
[A]PT=FF
[A]RP=28
[A]CT=64
[A]GT=3E8
[A]CC=2B

The PL (or power level) of both modules is set to 4 according to the config files you posted (4 is max power level), so that’s a good thing. One thing that isn’t mentioned is the type of antenna being used for either module, so perhaps this is a factor.

Hi,

Thank’s for asking the antenna question.

Just realized that I ordered a Xbee module w/ U.FL connector. Then antenna is missing…

I’ll order new Xbees, w/ chip antenna.
And to continue to use the current ones, I’ll order as well as :

  • Interface Cable RP-SMA to U.FL
  • 2.4GHz Duck Antenna RP-SMA.

That should really improve your range :wink: