I scored four Xbee Pro wireless modules for a great price on Ebay. I will be able to use these for wireless connections to my controllers out in the yard once they are installed in a Ren-W board, and hopefully eliminate some Cat5 runs from the yard.
Xbee Modules
Also pictured above in an Xbee USB explorer board, which is used to set up the firmware and options on each Xbee so that they will communicate only with each other, as well as be locked down from outside interference.
Xbees and Ren-W
This photo shows two more Xbees that I purchased last year and used for testing and setup. These use external antennae for better range and signal strength. It also shows one of the Ren-W boards that I have set up for the receiving end. I will be purchasing some snap-in boards to install the Xbees on the SS series of boards that I have been building for this year’s setup. I could potentially even set one up across the road! This definitely opens up some possibilities for enlarging the display, and spreading it out some.
