Arduino XBEE Wireless Shield

Several companies now make wireless shields for Arduino. Now called the Arduino wireless
shield (because other radio devices with the same footprint can also work on this shield), it has a
few nice features, such as a prototyping area, an optional microSD card slot and a serial select
switch to allow you to change the XBee’s serial pin connections.

When the wireless shield’s serial select switch is set to “Micro,” the XBee will be
connected to communicate with the ATMega328 microcontroller on the Arduino. When
switched to “USB,” it will be connected to communicate directly through the USB-to-
Serial processor on the Arduino, bypassing the microcontroller. In this position, you can
use the Arduino’s USB-to-Serial connection to configure your XBees.

When you’re programming the Arduino, it’s a good idea to remove the XBee so that the
radio’s serial communications don’t interfere with the program upload. To configure the
XBee radio on the shield using your Arduino board as a USB-to-Serial converter (instead
of using a XBee-to-USB serial adapter), program the Arduino with a blank sketch, just like
this:

void setup() {
}

void loop() {
}

Then switch the serial select switch to USB. Open a serial terminal connection to the
Arduino board’s serial port, and send commands to Configuring the XBee Module
Serially. Once you’ve configured the radio, unplug the XBee from the shield, set the serial select
switch back to “Micro,” and program your Arduino as usual.