Serious about Zigbee? MSP26xx, MSP54xx, and CC2530 recommended for new Zigbee designs

I wish I had known that before purchasing the eZ430-RF2480 Evaluation kit. Guess I will go back and look at the CC2520 & CC2530.

Sorry about that... it still is a pretty cool kit for 99 bucks. You can still do a lot with it, but I thought I would mention this before people started thinking you could be able to support Zigbee Pro and this and that.

For some applications CC2480 is still viable. However, when embarking on a new design you should consider the latest options.

PS. Did you draw your avatar?

My wife did the avatar...she is the artist of the family, I'm just the geek.

Can you elaborate on the disadvantages of using the CC2480 other than the ZigBee Pro? 

Thanks,

Mike (desnotes)

Haha nice.. i like the drawing :)

So one thing for example is not having the native support cluster library, so you have to write your own, or try to "port" the one from existing Z-stacks and add a layer in the host mcu to talk to the AF interface.

Hi!

CC2530 is really good news!

But for those that want to use a multiprocessor system and separate application and ZigBee, the CC2480 still have unique features compare to CC2530. When will we see CC2530 preformance with similar serial interface?

-Ørjan

Are the addresses (0x0001 & 0x143E) for the target boards in the evaluation kit configurable?

I can understand why the eZ430-RF2480 Evaluation kit is no longer recommened. In addition to upgraded designs, the software is extremely buggy. After awhile, it would no longer start, even after completely uninstalling and re-installing. I even installed on a 2nd computer and again after two days it would no longer find the target sensors.

I realize it is only evaluation software but I would expect it to work long enough to be properly evaluated.

I am moving on to another brand.

Michael Fisher

Hi, I'm not sure what exact problems you had but with only 2 sensors you shouldn't have any problems running it for days...

What do you mean by "no longer start"? In any case, another thread should be started to help you resolve those problems. :)

Btw, the short addresses are assigned automatically using the Cskip tree addressing scheme and you cannot hard code them.

Ørjan,

My current answer is "soon". I wish had more to share right now!

Stay tuned...

I apologize for not starting a new thread. You may delete or close out my thread.

regards,

Michael Fisher

No worries at all Michael, no intentions of deleting or closing it. I just wanted to help you with the problems you were seeing with your eval kit so a different thread would be better for that discussion. Let me know when you start a new one, I'd be glad to help.

Dear Sir,

               i  m using CC2530 eval board Rev 1.7.1.....and i m trying to use ztool but its not working .it always shows "No Device Found"......

  can u please help me.is there any specific setting ..?

Hi Double O,

I am completely new to this Zigbee platform, and need your assistance. I have recently started working on the CC2530ZDK, but because this is my first time with the zigbee platform, I dont have much knowledge about the various library functions and source code for the Zigbee Development Kit, and how to program it for the vairous applications. Apart from the 3 software examples and a "Get Started" guide avalilable on the CC2530ZDK webpage, I couldn't come across any constructive information that could halp me understand the programming environment and other characterstics regarding the kit.

I would really appreciate if you could mention some resources that could help me in getting familiarized with the kit, especially the programming enviromnent, and the various library functions used for the same.

Thanks in advance....

Regards,

Ishaan Bir Singh

Hi,

        Programming Method is given in the Z-stack user guide available in the zigbee stack, then follow the application guide to knw about the application .

A complete workshop is available here: http://tiexpressdsp.com/index.php?title=Low_Power_RF_Solutions#Workshop_Contents 

Ishaan, take a look at the thread I posted above this thread which talks about the Wiki site. It's got lots of relevant information regarding the programming that can be re-used for the CC2530 hardware platform.

Cheers,

-- Setsuna

Hey guys, 

Firstly, thanks a ton for those suggestions and links, they helped immensely.

Now, I am stuck with another problem at the moment. The Temperature Sensor Demo application provided along with the CC2530ZDK kits does not compile and debug using the IAR Embedded Workbench V 7.51. Its only when I use the hex files I can program the kits for the application. Could you guys help me with that.

Another issue am struggling with is the unavailability of the instructions sets for the CC2530 kits, as the IAR Embedded Workbench platform is extremely wide and includes compiler options for numerous kits and micro controllers. The links specified earlier in the forum provide API instructions for the CC2430 kits, which, sadly, doesnt work with the CC2530 kits. Can anyone help me find the updated API docs regarding the CC2530 kits?

Also, is there a way by which I can communicate with the PC through the RS232 Cable and send data serially from the PC to the gateway node ( node connected to the PC serially ). I came across the temperature sensor example that communicates with the PC and sends data periodically to the PC to update the temperature sensor monitor. But, without using the temperature sensor monitor, is there a way to display the values during run time in the IAR Embedded Workbench debug window? And how can I send data packets from a memory location on the PC to the gateway node using IAR embedded workbench alone?

Thanks in advance to all....

Cheers,

Ishaan

Hey

I have been looking for the network layer function definitions for the Z-Stack. But could not find anything apart from the function declarations. Could anyone help me procuring the definitions, as its a very important part of the research work am conducting using the CC2530 ZDK. 

Also, may I request the TI engineers to clarify if its possible to lend the source code for the entire/partial network layer implementation, including the routing algorithm implemented (simplifed AODV, as far as my knowledge goes) so that I can modify a bit of the code to test some customized routing algorithms using the kits.

I tried contacting technical support regarding this issue, but was advised to visit the forums and post the issues over here.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks..

Hi,

How do i get user manual for cc2520. I tried to download it from TI, but its showing that the file is corrupted.

can i use Msp430FG4618  with cc2520 ?

I m planning to design a wireless sensor network (zigbee)  with wifi communication to the Master node.

If i use Beagle board  as master node, then can i use cc2520 along with it, in order to communicate with other nodes??

Thanks in advance !