After extensively reading through the documentation, I picked the Rabbit ZigBee kit because it seemed to have all the hardware I need to support the use of an ultrasonic sensor.
The sensor in question is the PING))) Ultrasonic Distance Sensor sold by Parallax. The specifications for its operation are as follows:
Supply Voltage: 5V
Supply Current: 30mA typical, 35mA max
Detection Range: 2cm to 3m
Input Trigger: Positive TTL pulse of 2uS minumum, 5uS typical
Echo Pulse: Positive TTL pulse from 115uS to 18.5mS
Burst Frequency: 40 kHz for 200uS
Delay for Next Measurement: 200uS
It has 3 pins. 1 digital I/O, one power to 5V, and one Ground.
The digital I/O will require the TTL pulse to serve as the sensor’s trigger. I’ll then write the algorithm for the controller to convert the sensor’s reading, which is sent to the controller as a uS measurement, into cm.
Since this is my first time ever working with Dynamic C and ZigBee in general, I have many questions.
First, are there any examples of using the pins on the ZigBee modules as I/O pins? I will need just one to trigger the sensor and read the detected distance. I see the Serial Connection on the ZigBee modules and understand what is what according to the schematic, but I don’t know how to utilize them in Dynamic C and am looking through all the examples provided.
Any ideas?