The XBee Explorer USB is the most popular of the Explorers. It’s equipped
with a mini-B USB connector, so you’ll need the proper USB cable to
connect it to your computer.
The highlight of this board is an FT231X USB-to-Serial converter. That’s
what translates data between your computer and the XBee. There’s also a
reset button
, and a voltage regulator to supply the XBee with plenty of
power. In addition, there are four LEDs that’ll help if you ever need to debug
your XBee: RX, TX, RSSI (signal-strength indicator), and a power indicator.
This board also breaks out each of the XBee’s I/O pins to a pair of
breadboard-compatible headers. So if you want to make use of the XBee’s
extended functionality, you can solder some header pins into those, or even
just solder some wire.
XBee Explorer USB Dongle
The XBee Explorer Dongle is an extension of the Explorer. In fact, the only
real difference between this and its predecessor is the USB connector. The
Dongle can be connected directly to your laptop or PC USB port.
Or, if you need some distance from your computer, you can use a USB
extension cable.
The Dongle still shares all of the features of its sibling – reset button, LEDs,
voltage regulator, and breadboard-compatible pin breakouts.
XBee Explorer Serial
Computers with an RS-232 serial port are becoming harder and harder to
find, but if you do have one of those relics, the XBee Explorer Serial is a
viable option.
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