Digi Digi XBee SX User manual

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX
Radio Frequency (RF) Module
User Guide

Revision history—90001477
Revision Date Description
A February,
2016
Baseline release of the document.
B May, 2016 Removed the indoor range specification. Removed the pending status of
the Australia certification. Various specification updates.
C September,
2016
Added New Zealand certification and firmware information.
D February
2017
Added Brazil certification and firmware information. Updated the CMand
P2 commands.
E May 2017 Added GPIO specifications. Updated BroadcastTxTime formula.
Trademarks and copyright
Digi, Digi International, and the Digi logo are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United
States and other countries worldwide. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the
property of their respective owners.
© 2016 Digi International Inc. All rights reserved.
Disclaimers
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent a
commitment on the part of Digi International. Digi provides this document “as is,” without warranty of
any kind, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of fitness or
merchantability for a particular purpose. Digi may make improvements and/or changes in this manual
or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Warranty
To view product warranty information, go to the following website:
www.digi.com/howtobuy/terms
Send comments
Documentation feedback: To provide feedback on this document, send your comments to
[e-mail].
Customer support
Digi Technical Support: Digi offers multiple technical support plans and service packages to help our
customers get the most out of their Digi product. For information on Technical Support plans and
pricing, contact us at +1 952.912.3444 or visit us at www.digi.com/support.
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 2

Contents
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide
Applicable firmware and hardware 12
Technical specifications
Regulatory conformity summary 14
Power requirements 14
Networking specifications 14
Performance specifications 15
General specifications 16
GPIO specifications 17
Hardware
Mechanical drawings 19
Pin signals 20
Pin connection recommendations 22
Getting started with the XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module Development
Kit
XBee SX Development Board 24
Connect XBee-PRO SX development boards to a PC 25
Connect the XBIB-U-SS development board to a PC 26
Configure the device using XCTU 26
Configure the devices for a range test 26
Perform a range test 27
Mesh network demonstration 28
Modes
Transparent and API operating modes 32
Transparent operating mode 32
API operating mode 32
Comparing Transparent and API modes 32
Modes of operation 33
Receive mode 33
Transmit mode 34
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 3

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 4
Sleep mode 34
Command mode 34
Sleep modes
About sleep modes 38
Asynchronous modes 38
Synchronous modes 38
Normal mode 38
Asynchronous pin sleep mode 39
Asynchronous cyclic sleep mode 39
Asynchronous cyclic sleep with pin wake up mode 39
Synchronous sleep support mode 39
Synchronous cyclic sleep mode 40
The sleep timer 40
Indirect messaging and polling 40
Indirect messaging 40
Polling 41
Sleeping routers 41
Sleep coordinator sleep modes in the DigiMesh network 41
Synchronization messages 42
Become a sleep coordinator 44
Preferred sleep coordinator option 44
Resolution criteria and selection option 44
Commissioning Pushbutton option 45
Auto-early wake-up sleep option 46
Select sleep parameters 46
Start a sleeping synchronous network 46
Add a new node to an existing network 47
Change sleep parameters 48
Rejoin nodes that lose sync 48
Diagnostics 49
Query sleep cycle 49
Sleep status 49
Missed sync messages command 50
Sleep status API messages 50
Networking methods
The MAC and PHY layers 52
64-bit addresses 52
Make a unicast transmission 53
Make a broadcast transmission 53
Delivery methods 53
Point to Point / Point to Multipoint (P2MP) 53
Repeater/directed broadcast 54
DigiMesh networking 54
Serial communication
UART data flow 59
Serial data 59
SPI signals 59

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 5
Signal description 60
Slave mode characteristics 60
Full duplex operation 61
Low power operation 61
Configuration considerations 62
SPI and API mode 62
SPI parameters 62
Serial port selection 62
Serial receive buffer 63
Serial transmit buffer 63
UART flow control 63
CTS flow control 63
RTS flow control 63
AT commands
Special commands 65
AC (Apply Changes) 65
FR (Software Reset) 65
RE (Restore Defaults) 65
WR (Write) 65
MAC/PHY commands 66
AF (Available Frequencies) 66
CM (Channel Mask) 66
MF (Minimum Frequencies) 67
HP (Preamble ID) 68
ID (Network ID) 68
MT(Broadcast Multi-Transmits) 68
BR (RF Data Rate) 68
PL (TX Power Level) 69
RR (Unicast Mac Retries) 70
Diagnostic commands - MAC statistics and timeouts 70
BC (Bytes Transmitted) 70
DB (Last Packet RSSI) 70
ER (Receive Count Error) 71
GD (Good Packets Received) 71
EA (MAC ACK Failure Count) 71
TR (Transmission Failure Count) 71
UA (Unicasts Attempted Count) 71
%H (MAC Unicast One Hop Time) 72
%8 (MAC Broadcast One Hop Time) 72
Network commands 72
CE (Routing / Messaging Mode) 72
BH (Broadcast Hops) 73
NH (Network Hops) 73
MR (Mesh Unicast Retries) 73
NN (Network Delay Slots) 74
Addressing commands 74
SH (Serial Number High) 74
SL (Serial Number Low) 74
DH (Destination Address High) 74
DL command 75
TO (Transmit Options) 75
NI (Node Identifier) 76
NT (Network Discovery Back-off) 76

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 6
NO (Network Discovery Options) 76
CI (Cluster ID) 77
Diagnostic - addressing commands 77
N? (Network Discovery Timeout) 77
Addressing discovery/configuration commands 78
AG (Aggregator Support) 78
DN (Discover Node) 78
ND (Network Discover) 79
FN (Find Neighbors) 79
Security commands 80
EE (Encryption Enable) 80
KY (AES Encryption Key) 80
Serial interfacing commands 81
BD (Interface Data Rate) 81
NB (Parity) 82
SB (Stop Bits) 82
RO (Packetization Timeout) 83
FT (Flow Control Threshold) 83
API Enable 83
AO (API Options) 84
I/O settings commands 84
D0 (DIO0/AD0) 84
D1 (DIO1/AD1) 85
D2 (DIO2/AD2) 85
D3 (DIO3/AD3) 86
D4 (DIO4) 86
D5 (DIO5/ASSOCIATED_INDICATOR) 87
D6 (DIO6/RTS) 87
D7 (DIO7/CTS) 88
D8 (DIO8/SLEEP_REQUEST) 88
D9 (DIO9/ON_SLEEP) 89
P0 (DIO10/RSSI/PWM0 Configuration) 89
P1 (DIO11/PWM1 Configuration) 90
P2 (DIO12 Configuration) 90
P3 (DIO13/DOUT) 91
P4 (DIO14/DIN) 91
P5 (DIO15/SPI_MISO) 92
P6 (SPI_MOSI Configuration) 92
P7 (DIO17/SPI_SSEL ) 93
P8 (DIO18/SPI_SCLK) 93
P9 (DIO19/SPI_ATTN) 93
PD (Pull Direction) 94
PR (Pull-up/Down Resistor Enable) 94
M0 (PWM0 Duty Cycle) 95
M1 (PWM1 Duty Cycle) 95
LT (Associate LED Blink Time) 96
RP(RSSI PWM Timer) 96
I/O sampling commands 96
AV (Analog Voltage Reference) 96
IC (DIO Change Detect) 97
IF (Sleep Sample Rate) 97
IR (Sample Rate) 98
TP (Board Temperature) 98
%V (Voltage Supply Monitoring) 98
I/O line passing commands 98

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 7
IU (I/O Output Enable) 99
IA (I/O Input Address) 99
T0 (D0 Timeout) 99
T1 (D1 Output Timeout) 99
T2 (D2 Output Timeout) 100
T3 (D3 Output Timeout) 100
T4 (D4 Output Timeout) 100
T5 (D5 Output Timeout) 100
T6 (D6 Output Timeout) 101
T7 (D7 Output Timeout) 101
T8 (D8 Timeout) 101
T9 (D9 Timeout) 101
Q0 (P0 Timeout) 101
Q1 (P1 Timeout) 102
Q2 (P2 Timeout) 102
Q3 (P3 Timeout) 102
Q4 (P4 Timeout) 102
PT (PWM Output Timeout) 102
Sleep commands 103
SM (Sleep Mode) 103
SO (Sleep Options) 104
SN (Number of Cycles Between ON_SLEEP ) 104
SP (Sleep Time) 105
ST (Wake Time) 105
WH command 105
Diagnostic - sleep status/timing commands 106
SS (Sleep Status) 106
OS (Operating Sleep Time) 107
OW (Operating Wake Time) 107
MS (Missed Sync Messages) 107
SQ (Missed Sleep Sync Count) 107
Command mode options 107
CC (Command Character) 108
CT (Command Mode Timeout) 108
GT (Guard Times) 108
Firmware version/information commands 108
VR (Firmware Version) 108
HV (Hardware Version) 109
HS (Hardware Series) 109
DD (Device Type Identifier) 109
NP (Maximum Packet Payload Bytes) 109
CK (Configuration CRC) 109
Operate in API mode
API mode overview 112
Use the AP command to set the operation mode 112
API frame format 112
API operation (AP parameter = 1) 112
API operation with escaped characters (AP parameter = 2) 113
Length field 114
Frame data 114
Calculate and verify checksums 114
API frames 115
API frame exchanges 116

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 8
Code to support future API frames 118
Legacy TX Request frame - 0x00 119
AT Command Frame - 0x08 121
AT Command - Queue Parameter Value frame - 0x09 122
Transmit Request frame - 0x10 124
Explicit Addressing Command frame - 0x11 126
Remote AT Command Request frame - 0x17 129
Modem Status frame - 0x8A 131
Transmit Status frame - 0x8B 132
Route Information Packet frame - 0x8D 134
Aggregate Addressing Update frame - 0x8E 137
Legacy RX Indicator frame - 0x80 139
AT Command Response frame - 0x88 141
Legacy TX Status frame - 0x89 143
RX Indicator frame - 0x90 144
Explicit Rx Indicator frame - 0x91 146
Node Identification Indicator frame - 0x95 148
Remote Command Response frame - 0x97 151
Work with networked devices
Network commissioning and diagnostics 154
Local configuration 154
Remote configuration 154
Send a remote command 154
Apply changes on remote devices 154
Remote command response 154
Establish and maintain network links 155
Build aggregate routes 155
DigiMesh routing examples 155
Replace nodes 156
Test links in a network - loopback cluster 156
Test links between adjacent devices 157
Example 158
RSSI indicators 159
Discover all the devices on a network 159
Trace route option 160
NACK messages 161
The Commissioning Pushbutton 161
Associate LED 163
Monitor I/O lines
Pin configurations 164
Queried sampling 165
Periodic I/O sampling 166
Detect digital I/O changes 166
I/O line passing
Configuration example 168

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 9
General Purpose Flash Memory
General Purpose Flash Memory 171
Access General Purpose Flash Memory 171
General Purpose Flash Memory commands 172
PLATFORM_INFO_REQUEST (0x00) 172
PLATFORM_INFO (0x80) 172
ERASE (0x01) 173
ERASE_RESPONSE (0x81) 173
WRITE (0x02) and ERASE_THEN_WRITE (0x03) 174
WRITE _RESPONSE (0x82) and ERASE_THEN_WRITE_RESPONSE (0x83) 175
READ (0x04) 175
READ_RESPONSE (0x84) 176
FIRMWARE_VERIFY (0x05) and FIRMWARE_VERIFY_AND_INSTALL(0x06) 176
FIRMWARE_VERIFY_RESPONSE (0x85) 177
FIRMWARE_VERIFY _AND_INSTALL_RESPONSE (0x86) 177
Update the firmware over-the-air
Over-the-air firmware updates 179
Distribute the new application 179
Example 179
Verify the new application 180
Install the application 180
Important considerations 180
Regulatory information
FCC (United States) 182
OEM labeling requirements 182
FCC notices 182
FCC antenna certifications 183
XBee-PRO SX RF Module antenna options (30 dBm maximum RF power) 184
XBee SX antenna options (13 dBm maximum RF power) 189
Industry Canada (IC) 194
Labeling requirements 194
Transmitters for detachable antennas 194
Detachable antennas 194
ACMA (Australia) 195
Power requirements 195
RSM (New Zealand) 195
Power requirements 195
Brazil (Anatel) 195
ANATEL Brazil for XBee-PRO SX radio products (XBP9X) 195
SX ANATEL Brazil for XK9X-DMS-1 XBee SX RF Module Dev Kit (XK9X-DMS-1) 196
ANATEL Brazil for XBee SX radio products (XB9X) 197
PCB design and manufacturing
Recommended footprint and keepout 200
Design notes 202
Host board design 202
Improve antenna performance 203

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 10
RF pad version 203
Recommended solder reflow cycle 204
Flux and cleaning 205
Rework 205

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide
The XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module is an embedded radio frequency (RF) device that provides wireless
connectivity to end-point devices in mesh networks.
The XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module delivers up to 1 Watt of RF power and has excellent receive
sensitivity, low operating current, and exceptional performance in low power modes. The module’s
frequency hopping technology offers advanced interference immunity, affording long range data
throughput even in challenging RF environments. The XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module uses a
microprocessor that supports host communication through Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) or
universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter (UART), as well as digital, analog, and pulse width
modulation (PWM) lines for interfacing with peripherals.
Applicable firmware and hardware 12
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 11

XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide Applicable firmware and hardware
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 12
Applicable firmware and hardware
This manual supports the following firmware:
n0x900X USA and Canada, XBee/XBee-PRO SX
n0x920x Australia, XBee/XBee-PRO SX
n0x930X Brazil XBee/XBee-PRO SX
n0x960X New Zealand, XBee SX only
Note The New Zealand firmware only works with non-PRO hardware.
nv.10xx zigbee
It supports the following hardware:
nXBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module

Technical specifications
Regulatory conformity summary 14
Power requirements 14
Networking specifications 14
Performance specifications 15
General specifications 16
GPIO specifications 17
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 13

Technical specifications Regulatory conformity summary
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 14
Regulatory conformity summary
This table describes the agency approvals for the devices.
The Australia, New Zealand and Brazil certified devices are separate variants from the USA and
Canada approved device.
Country Approval
XBee-PRO SX XBee SX
United States FCC ID: MCQ-XBPSX FCC ID: MCQ-XBSX
Canada IC: 1846A-XBPSX IC: 1846A-XBSX
Australia RCM RCM
New Zealand R-NZ
Brazil ANATEL: 05774-16-01209 ANATEL: 05776-16-01209
Power requirements
The following table describes the power requirements for the XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module.
Specification Condition XBee SX value XBee-PRO SX value
Supply voltage range 2.4 to 3.6 VDC 2.6 to 3.6 VDC
Typical supply voltage 3.3 V
Receive current VCC = 3.3 V 40 mA 40 mA
Transmit current VCC = 3.3 V 55 mA @ 13 dBm 900 mA @ 30 dBm
VCC = 3.3 V 45 mA @ 10 dBm 640 mA @ 27 dBm
VCC = 3.3 V 35 mA @ 0 dBm 350 mA @ 21.5 dBm
Sleep current VCC 3.3 V, temperature = 25 °C 2.5 µA 2.5 µA
Networking specifications
The following table provides the networking specifications for the device.
Specification Value
Modulation Gaussian Frequency Shift Keying (GFSK)
Spreading
technology
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
Supported network
topologies (software
selectable)
Peer-to-peer (master/slave relationship not required), point-to-point/point-
to-multipoint, mesh

Technical specifications Performance specifications
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 15
Specification Value
Encryption Optional 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) cipher block chaining
(CBC) Encryption. Use the EE command to enable encryption. Use the KY
command to set the encryption key.
Performance specifications
The following table describes the performance specifications for the devices.
Specification Condition XBee value
XBee-PRO
value
Frequency range ISM 902 to 928 MHz
RF data rate
(software selectable)
Low data rate 10 kb/s
Middle data rate 110 kb/s
High data rate 250 kb/s
Transmit power
(software selectable)
Up to 13 dBm Up to 30
dBm1
New Zealand
specific
Up to 13 dBm, at the high data rate
(BR 2) it is capped at 7.5 dBm
Maximum data
throughput
High data rate 120 kb/s
Channels 10 hopping sequences share 50 frequencies
Available channel
frequencies
Low/middle data
rate
1012
High data rate 50
Rural range line of
sight
Low data rate Up to 14.5 km (9 mi) Up to 105
km (65 mi)3
Urban range line of
sight
Low data rate Up to 2.5 km (1.5 mi) Up to 18 km
(11 mi)4
130 dBm typical at 3.3 V and above. Maximum power will decrease at lower voltages. For more information on
adjustable power levels, see PL (TX Power Level).
2The device hops on 50 channels selected using the CM command, from 101 available frequencies. For more
details, see CM (Channel Mask).
3We estimate rural ranges based on a 14.5 km (9 mi) range test with dipole antennas.
4Range estimated assuming that the urban noise floor is approximately 15 dB higher than rural. The actual
range depends on the setup and level of interference in your location.

Technical specifications General specifications
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 16
Specification Condition XBee value
XBee-PRO
value
Receiver sensitivity Low data rate -113 dBm
Middle data rate -106 dBm
High data rate -103 dBm
Receiver IF selectivity Low data rate ± 250
kHz
40 dB
Low data rate ± 500
kHz
50 dB
Middle data rate ±
250 kHz
30 dB
Middle data rate ±
500 kHz
40 dB
High data rate ± 500
kHz
30 dB
High data rate ±
1000 kHz
45 dB
Receiver RF
selectivity
Below 900 MHz and
above 930 MHz
> 50 dB
UARTdata rate
(software selectable)
1200 - 921600 baud
SPI clock rate Up to 6 Mb/s
General specifications
The following table describes the general specifications for the devices.
Specification Value
Dimensions 3.38 x 2.21 x 0.32 cm (1.33 x 0.87 x 0.125 in)
Weight 3 g
Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Compliant
Manufacturing ISO 9001:2008 registered standards
Host interface connector 37 castellated SMT pads
Antenna connector options U.FL or RF pad
Antenna impedance 50 Ω unbalanced
Maximum input RF level at antenna port 6 dBm

Technical specifications GPIO specifications
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 17
Specification Value
Operating temperature -40 °C to 85 °C
Digital I/O 13 I/O lines, 5 output lines
Analog-to-digital converter (ADC) 4 10-bit analog inputs
Pulse width modulator (PWM) 2 outputs
GPIO specifications
The following table provides the electrical specifications for the GPIO pads.
GPIO electrical specification Value
Voltage - supply 2.4 - 3.6 V
Low Schmitt switching threshold 0.3 * VCC
High Schmitt switching threshold 0.7 * VCC
Input current for logic 0 -0.1 μA
Input current for logic 1 0.1 μA
Input pull-up resistor value 40 kΩ
Input pull-down resistor value 40 kΩ
Output voltage for logic 0 0.05 * VCC
Output voltage for logic 1 0.95 * VCC
Output source/sink current 1 mA
Total output current (for GPIO pads) 20 mA

Hardware
Mechanical drawings 19
Pin signals 20
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 18

Hardware Mechanical drawings
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 19
Mechanical drawings
The following figures show the XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module mechanical drawings. All dimensions are
in centimeters. The XBee/XBee-PRO SX RF Module differs from other surface-mount XBee modules. It
has an additional ground pad on the underside of the module used for heat dissipation. For more
details, see PCB design and manufacturing.

Hardware Pin signals
XBee®/XBee-PRO SX RF Module User Guide 20
Pin signals
The following table describes the pin signals. Low-asserted signals are distinguished with a horizontal
line over the signal name.
Pin Name I/O
Default
state Function
1 GND - - Ground
2 VCC I - Power supply
3 DIO13/DOUT I/O Output GPIO / UART data out
4DIN/DIO14/
CONFIG
I/O Input GPIO / UART data in