XBee Breakout Boards and Shields

One of the first problems I noticed in my design is that XBee pin spacing is 2.00mm, instead of the common 0.100" spacing. I am hoping to do a bunch of testing on breadboards before even considering making a custom PCB, so I needed a good way to connect one XBee to an Arduino and another to on-board circuits.

First thing I looked at was making homemade PCBs. However most people suggested that while it looks cheaper, it will actually end up being similar in cost due to high losses and equipment costs. In addition, quality is generally poor, you end up needing to dispose of dangerous chemicals, etc.

Luckily I found a couple cheap solutions. Sparkfun has both a Breakout Board for XBee Modules ($2.95) for the robot side, and an XBee Shield ($24.95) for the Arduino side. Actually I found it cheaper to get both from eBay instead, though shipping times may be longer. I'll post some pictures when they arrive!