XBee and IO Expanding Shield for Arduino

XBee and IO Expanding Shield for Arduino

The XBee and IO Expanding Shield for Arduino is a multifunctional IO expansion module that you can use with hardware in the Arduino® ecosystem;
making it easy to integrate different communication protocols like XBee, Bluetooth, RS485, and various sensors into your board.
Thanks to its comprehensive communication infrastructure, it is ideal for use in complex projects requiring wireless data transfer.

All pins of the microcontroller are brought to a standard 3-pin (DATA-VCC-GND) structure on the board.
Thanks to this design, you can make sensor and servo motor connections without complex wiring.
In addition, you can feed servo motors without straining the board by providing an external 5V from the "Servo Power" terminal on the module.

On the communication side, there are ready-made pin headers for XBee module connection.
You can also easily connect the Bluetooth modules you need via the APC & BT pins.
There is an SP485 Half-Duplex RS485 Transceiver IC on the board to establish an RS485 connection, and connections can be made safely via the terminal block.

With the RS485/TTL selection jumpers on the board, you can choose whether pins 0 and 1 (RX/TX) are connected to the RS485 line or the XBee/Bluetooth line.
Additionally, a special pin output has been added to the module so that you can use an SD card module.

Note: It is recommended to check the pin layout before plugging in your SD card module; the pin order of your module may differ from the output on the board.

XBee and IO Expanding Shield for Arduino Technical Specifications

• Input Voltage: 7-12V (via VIN terminal or pins)
• Communication Support: Bluetooth, XBee Module, RS485
• SD Card: SD card module support via SPI pins
• Power Management: External 5V power input for servo motors
• RS485/TTL Selection: Flexible port management with jumpers

Products That Can Be Used Together:

• Arduino® UNO R3
• UNO R3 Development Board Compatible with Arduino
• Arduino® Mega 2560 R3
• Mega 2560 R3 Development Board Compatible with Arduino
• XBee Module Models

Documents and Useful Links:

• XBee and IO Expanding Shield Detailed Wiki Page
• XBee and IO Expanding Shield Schematic Diagram (PDF)
• SP485C Datasheet File
• RS485 Data Communication Sample Code

If you are unfamiliar with the Arduino® ecosystem, you can check out our Lessons for Arduino® series on our blog.