[ale] Z-Wave or ZigBee

[Alex Carver]

Yep, same idea as the Spark Fun versions of the board.  However,
remember there's a TTL UART already on the IO header of the RasPi if you
haven't used it already.  You can wire that right to an XBee.

On 2015-08-04 16:51, Chris Fowler wrote:
> This is sweet. I would need this and the ZigBee transceiver to go on it. 
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Raspberry-Pi-XBee-Pro-Zigbee-USB-Adapter-Explorer-Board-with-3-3V-regulator-/281099487149?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4172d5c7ad 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> 
>> From: "Alex Carver" <agcarver+ale at acarver.net>
>> To: ale at ale.org
>> Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 7:13:09 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ale] Z-Wave or ZigBee
> 
>> On 2015-08-04 15:57, Chris Fowler wrote:
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>
>>>> From: "Alex Carver" <agcarver+ale at acarver.net>
>>>> To: ale at ale.org
>>>> Sent: Tuesday, August 4, 2015 6:40:32 PM
>>>> Subject: Re: [ale] Z-Wave or ZigBee
>>>
>>>> There's modules from Digi that support Zigbee (the Xbee series) and they
>>>> also have Xbee modules that support wifi (I currently have three for
>>>> various HA tasks).
>>>
>>> I've seen the ZigBee and I see shields for arduino. How would my desktop
>>> interface with that system? Is there a USB transceiver that will
>>> communicate with the modules over RF?
>>>
> 
>> Sure there are many choices including building one. The interface to
>> the ZigBee radio is usually a very simple two wire UART so you can use
>> that to get to your desktop via a USB UART.
> 
>> Check this page from Spark Fun:
> 
>> https://www.sparkfun.com/categories/111
> 
>> You'll see at the top the Xbee USB explorer (in dongle and wired form)
>> upon which you mount one of the blue Xbee ZigBee Mesh modules (caution
>> because there are other versions of Xbee). That's the DIY route (which
>> is what I like to do). For the packaged version you can get something like:
> 
>> http://www.adaptivem2m.com/zigbee-technology/zigbee-usb-dongle.htm
> 
>> There are others around, too.
> 
>> Either way it exposes a serial terminal to the computer and works as a
>> bridge. There are also ZigBee to Ethernet gateway modules available
>> which would allow any machine to speak ZigBee via TCP. For example:
> 
>> http://www.digi.com/products/xbee-rf-solutions/gateways/xbee-gateway
> 
>> (there are USB sticks and other modules at the bottom of that page, too)