Digi Development Kit Setup

Set up your kit

The quick start process provides a demo and ensures proper setup.

Identify your kit components

Confirm that all of the following components are present.

Download Digi XCTU®

Digi XBee Configuration and Test Utility (XCTU) is a multi-platform program that enables users to interact with Digi radio frequency (RF) devices through a graphical interface. The application includes built-in tools that make it easy to set up, configure, and test Digi RF devices.

To use XCTU, you may need to install FTDI Virtual COM port (VCP) drivers onto your computer. Click below to download XCTU and the drivers for your operating system.

Connect your device to the cellular network

Once your device is communicating with the network the ON.SLEEP light on the board will turn on and the Conn Status light will be flashing.

Add your Digi XBee modules to XCTU

Use XCTU to find your XBee modules and add them to the tool.

1. Click Discover radio modules from the toolbar.
2. In the Discover radio modules dialog, select the serial port(s) in which you want to look for radio modules. If you do not know the serial ports where your modules are attached, select all ports. Click Next.
3. In the Set port parameters window, maintain the default values and click Finish.
4. As XCTU locates radio modules, they appear in the Discovering radio modules… dialog box. Once the discovery process has finished, click Add selected devices.
5. At this point, assuming you have three modules connected to your computer, you should see three modules in the Radio Modules section on the left.

Configure the Digi XBee modules

To transmit data wirelessly between your XBee modules, you must configure them to be in the same network. The modules are pre-programmed to communicate with their default configuration.

The Node Identifier

The Node Identifier (NI) can be modified by the user and will allow you to uniquely name each module. The ID value defines the network that a radio will attach to. The ID must be the same for all radios in your network.

Check the network

Once you have configured your XBee modules, use XCTU to verify that they are in the same network and can see each other. Click the discover button on the base radio. The two router nodes should be discovered.

1. Discover radio nodes in the same network button of the first radio module. The device searches for radio modules in the same network.

Send messages

In order to send messages to the coordinator, use the XCTU console or any serial port terminal application such as CoolTerm or TeraTerm (for Windows only). In this case, we will use the XCTU console.

To send messages to the coordinator:

1. If XCTU is not already running, open it. Switch to the Consoles working mode. This working mode of XCTU allows you to communicate with the radio modules in the devices list. XCTU loads a list of consoles in the working area — one for each module of the devices list, sorted in a tabbed format. If it is not already there, add an XBee to XCTU so it is listed in the Radio Modules list.
2. Then, open the serial connection of the radio module: select the XBee in the Radio Modules section, and click the Open serial connection button. The background changes to green to indicate that the connection is open.
3. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other Digi XBee modules.
4. You will see the consoles in three tabs. Click the Detach view button to see multiple tabs at the same time.
5. Use the Console log section to type messages. Type something like Hi, this is XXX! in the ROUTER or END_DEVICE console. The XBee sends every character to COORD and XCTU displays those characters in the corresponding device console.
6. To disconnect, click the Close serial connection button on for each console.

Next steps

To learn more visit our documentation below.