XBee3 Thing Plus Hookup Guide
Contributors:
Alex the Giant, Ell C
Alex the Giant, Ell C Introduction
Who doesn't love a Bee? With these 2 versions of SparkFun's XBee3 Thing Plus - the XBee3 Thing Plus (u.FL) and the XBee3 Thing Plus (PCB Antenna), we've taken DIGI's XBEE3 802.15.4 and plopped it into the Thing Plus footprint and the result has us all abuzz. For all intents and purposes, the 2 variants are the same board - the difference being in the antenna.
Required Materials
To follow along with this tutorial, you will need the following materials. You may not need everything, depending on what you have. Add it to your cart with your choice of the XBee3, read through the guide, and adjust the cart as necessary.
Heads up! If you are using the Xbee3 with the u.FL connector to transmit data, you will need an external antenna! Here are some suggestions from our antennas.
Suggested Reading
If you aren’t familiar with the following concepts, we recommend checking out these tutorials before continuing.
How to Solder: Through-Hole Soldering
This tutorial covers everything you need to know about through-hole soldering.
Serial Terminal Basics
This tutorial will show you how to communicate with your serial devices using a variety of terminal emulator applications.
Exploring XBees and XCTU
How to set up an XBee using your computer, the X-CTU software, and an XBee Explorer interface board.
MicroPython Programming Tutorial: Getting Started with the ESP32 Thing
MicroPython is an implementation and subset of the Python 3 programming language that can be used on microcontrollers. This guide will walk you through writing MicroPython programs for the ESP32 Thing development board.
Heads up! If you are using the Xbee3 with the u.FL connector to transmit data, make sure to check out the following tips for adding an external conenctor.
Three Quick Tips About Using U.FL
Quick tips regarding how to connect, protect, and disconnect U.FL connectors.