Problem with communicating between PC and PIC16F877 via xbee

[orxanb]

Hi everyone

As it is apparent from the title, I have a communication problem between PC and the PIC. Xbees are definitely configured correctly because I tested them by connecting between two computers and sending data from one to another.

What I am basically trying to do is send a character from a computer terminal to PIC and eventually turn on a led in the circuit.

I am using polling to test whether data has arrived or not:

while(!kbhit())
{}
c = getc();

Actually the code inside the while loop is not empty, but it is just blinking a LED such that when the blinking goes off, I know that the PIC has received the data. But the thing is, it never stops even though I keep sending characters on and on.

If there is anything you can suggest, it is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

P.S.: I attached the part of the code I am talking about from the whole

 

[bigdogguru]

Are the Xbees configure in AT (Transparency) Mode?

The Xbees have a buffer, however it's small. Do you have the hardware control lines implemented in your design for flow control?
Without these you basicly have no buffer.

Did you use X-CTU to verify the configuration?

---------- Post added at 23:35 ---------- Previous post was at 23:27 ----------

Also without seeing your entire code, the snippet rarely tells the whole story. But using std library functions like:

printf("HiThere");

Is rarely a good idea. Zip up both sides of the project, PIC and PC, and upload to the forum. What PIC compiler are you using?

 

[orxanb]

Actually I used X-CTU to configure the xbees(in AT mode) and afterwards I tested them from two computer terminals.

I am not using hardware control lines for flow control implementation because there is no such a need in this project. I am going to send 4 bytes of information every 3 or 4 seconds.

Before trying printf, I already used

putc('a');
putc(13);

to send data from xbee, but with no luck.

Right now there is no PC side, I am using a simple terminal to send and receive characters. The code that I uploaded is the only one that is essentially working. The rest of the code is to compare the received data and output pwm values for motors, that is it.

I am using CCS compiler.

 

[orxanb]

With regard to xbees, they work with 3.3V and thus have a output high voltage of 3.3V. And I am directly connecting that 3.3V output to the PIC's serial input.

Do you think there can be a problem, with PIC not being able to interpret 3.3V as high?

 

[bigdogguru]

Absolutely, you need a level shifter. Otherwise, excessively current flows could overheat and damage the XBee.

Also, here's a check list to setup a peer to peer XBee Network without the need of a Coordinator.

Otherwise the network must have at least one Coordinator and the other XBee is designated an Endpoint.

A peer-to-peer network can be established by configuring each module to operate as an End Device (CE = 0), disabling End Device Association on all modules (A1 = 0) and setting ID and CH parameters to be identical across the network.

XBee®/XBee-PRO® RF Modules