One more item to note: Maxstream now offers a development kit (free
download) which allows you to put your own code in the micro which is
on the XBee. I don't know the details but I imagine that if your code
is relatively simple, you may not need a second micro.

Sean


On Thu, May 8, 2008 at 10:31 AM, Timothy Weber <tw@timothyweber.org> wrote:
> Marc Nicholas wrote:
>> Can you build a Zigbee stack, microcontroller, RFN PCB for less than
>> $21? The new XBees cost that much in qty 1. Quite compelling!
>
> True, they have come down in price - and it's been compelling enough so
> far, so that's what I've used.
>
> But it seems to me that using a free stack (Microchip's ZigBee or MiWi)
> and a transceiver that costs <$2... yes, you'll have a micro but you
> probably have one in there anyway for other functionality... and you
> presumably have a PCB as well.  I don't know enough to estimate how much
> more expensive the PCB would have to be.
>
> I think ZigBee would *really* take off if it were economically feasible
> to include in products that retailed for $50 or less.  $21 is pretty
> good, but it's not quite there yet (especially if your product requires
> a sender and receiver).
> --
> Timothy J. Weber
> http://timothyweber.org
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