rather not believe when reading the discussion about XBee Explorer Serial can not work well, after seeing the schematic is given, there is an error in the installation of capacitor terminal section IC MAX232 series, I think the capacitor C6 is connected to the foot of the IC number 6 foot and the other foot should not be connected to GND but to 3.3 V.

Hi guys, I have some bytes of data coming from an external device using RS-232. Can this board receive the data and broadcast it through the Xbee or is it just used for programming the Xbee?

This may be the first time Sparkfun has let me down. Besides for the price ($30?! Really?!), the physical size (again, really?!), the location of the RSSI/DIN/DOUT LEDs (this huge board and you put them under the xbee?) and the placement of the power adapter on the same side of the board as the DB9 (thus preventing you from just plugging it directly into a router or computer without using a cable), lack of a silkscreen or other easy marking to determine how to orient an XBee in the socket, not to mention not mentioning whether this is DCE or DTE (hint: it's DCE - so you need a straight through cable to connect to a computer), the thing was broken when it arrived. The power LED's SMD resister was only soldered to the board on one side. Fortunately I can do hot air rework and was able to fix this, but, really, this seems like something SFE QA should have caught. And to think I was complimenting SFE on the extremely high production quality of their products the other day! You can do better - this board is due for a redesign, ideally with a DTE and a DCE version produced (or, even better, switchable, maybe via jumpers - if you have a big board, use it!). Alternatively, post the Eagle files for this and I'll fix it for you. :) From the comments on this thread, it is also clear that people are not aware that this needs a power supply, even when cabled to a remote RS232 port - you might want to update the description - I can see where someone might not understand that you need the power adapter. I am still waiting on a cable (from a different supplier) so I don't know if this actually works as a serial adapter yet - hopefully that part works good. :)

This board is not at all working for me.. i am using 12V adopter with 1A current. please help

can anyone tell me which transistor is used between dtr and rs232. And is there any use of cts dtr and rts when hooking xbee to PC, meaning do these pins take part in configuring the module? anyone please

Link to the schematic is broken. (404 error)

Does anyone have Eagle file for this PCB?

OK, have a design suitability question for you all. I need to seamlessly bridge a PC device at one end of a house to a serial device (solar inverter) at the other. I need what output would normally appear at the DB9 connection on the inverter to magically appear at the DB9 or USB port at the remote end.
So if I have two xbees, and use this device at one end, and either another of them or a USB explorer at the other, will that work? I guess my main concern is whether the serial bridge will just take input from the inverter and push it over the xbee network; but when I break it down to that it seems like it should..... but if anyone could confirm that'd be awesome ! :)

What a big mess this xbee stuff turns out to be ! Here's what I want to do : some arduino (preferably mega for the extra serial pots) as a node, connecting to a remote server over a distance of 2 or 3 km (mostly open air, from a rooftop to a car driving around the area). The XBee 900 high power would do, but is there any way to connect this to the arduino while having enough juice to use the full range (power would come from car battery / lighter) ? Can I use this serial board but connect one of the mega serial ports to the XBee, while using the boards power supply to maintain full range ? Do I need to desolder the serial connector ?
Also on the server side, do I really HAVE to go to a serial port ?? Is there any usb based connector that carries enough juice for a 900 high-power ?

I was looking at the schematic, it appears that you'll need a null adapter. I'll get some tomorrow and let y'all know what I find out

also remember to have the xbee oriented properly.
the pointy part points away from the serial jack.
see sparkfun's picture if you're in doubt.

mine didn't work, then i realized that the board needs power. the board says 5-16vdc. pretty sure serial doesn't deliver power, and a USB to serial adapter probably doesn't deliver power either.
red LED should come on by the on/off switch.
just to be safe, i set it to off before i connected everything.
digi recommended a straight up serial connection, so i bought this board instead of the USB. i was having issues with XCTU thru my Xbee --> Xbee arduino shield --> arduino, so that's also why i bought this.

I just bought one of this Xbee explorer serial but can't still make it work with X-CTU, it always appears Unable to communicate with modem. Any one can help???