Sharing text through XBee on Arduino - xbee

Question

How do I share text through an XBee module?
I tried, but instead of a word, I am getting some numbers every time. I want to exchange text data from both sides. I am using an Arduino for communication. How can I fix this problem?

Answer 1

I've been through a similar problem and was able to work around it. I assume you're using a MEGA 2560 and have a set of XBEE modules connected to two computers through the SPARKFUN XBEE USB explorer.
I've included my code that you can upload to both of the XBEEs and use them as a simple walkie-talkie pair. The program is meant to read an entire incoming word/string terminated with a defined character.
//xbee walkie-talkies
#define EndOfInput '#'//define a terminating character
void setup() {
Serial1.begin(9600); //serial thru pin 19
Serial.begin(9600); //Serial monitor
}
String incomingWord=""; //initialize to NULL
char input; //to read the incoming character
void loop() {
if (Serial.available()>0) {
// send out whatever is typed at the serial
//monitor thru the XBEE
Serial1.write(Serial.read());
}
//read the entire incoming word
while(Serial1.available()>0){
input = Serial1.read();
if (input != EndOfInput) incomingWord+=input;
else break;
}
//print out the word received on the serial monitor
Serial.println(incomingWord);
incomingWord = ""; //reset the string
}
It should be pretty self-explanatory.