A great way to add wireless control to your Make Controller projects is using the XBee wireless modules from MaxStream.  These are cheap (starting at $19), powerful little modules that are easy to work with.  Some of the of the feature highlights:

• Great range - up to 300 ft. (clear line of sight) for XBee and up for 1 mile (clear line of sight) for XBee Pro modules.
• 9 input/output lines for analog and digital IO
• Low power for long battery life - < 50 mA when working hard, < 10 uA when sleeping
• Easy serial interface
• 65,000 network addresses for each of 16 address channels - you can have LOTS of these boards in a network if you want
• Easy to integrate with the Make Controller:
  • MakingThings XBee Board plugs right into the Make Controller Kit, and has small form factor for remote sensing/control
  • Communicate easily with the modules via OSC or directly from your Make Controller programs

Disclaimer - there will be some soldering involved in getting this set up.  There are a number of different ways to use these wireless modules, so really the only way to allow for the widest range of possitibilities is to rely on you to select and put together the things you need.  Otherwise, we're imposing some situation that you might not need or want to pay for.  We know this is a little bit of a pain for people who don't/can't solder, but after some deliberation we decided it was the best way to go.

Disclaimer #2 - in order to make use of all the functionality in this guide, you'll need to make sure you're running the latest version of the XBee firmware, which does not usually come pre-installed.  You can use the Make Controller to upgrade it, but it requires a computer running Windows.  But don't worry - it's just a one time operation, so you can borrow your friend's computer and be on your merry way!  See the how-to here for details.

Shopping List

The general list of things we'll need is:

• The XBee module itself
• An adapter board to fit it onto the Make Controller or other breadboards
• Additional connectors and components if we want to connect sensors or other devices directly to the XBee modules

XBee Modules

Firstly, you'll need to purchase a pair (or more) of XBee modules - you need to have one for each of the devices you want to communicate between.

Because MaxStream doesn't let just anybody (ie MakingThings) distribute their modules, you'll have to buy the modules themselves elsewhere.  There are two options for the modules - the normal version and the Pro version.  Both will work just fine - there are just a few differences. 

The normal version has a range of 100 feet indoors, and 300 feet outdoors (clear line of sight).  The Pro version has a range of 300 feet indoors, and 1 mile outdoors (clear line of sight).  The Pro version also consumes a bit more power than the normal version.

Part numbers

• XBee (normal) module - $19, part # XB24-AWI-001-ND at www.digikey.com
• XBee Pro module - $32, part # XBP24-AWI-001-ND at www.digikey.com

Note - there are a couple different antenna options for each module.  The basic ones listed above should be fine, but you can browse them at DigiKey if you're so inclined.

Other Stuff

MakingThings provides a few products to make it easy to work with the XBee modules - the XBee Interface Board and the XBee Connector Pack. 

You'll definitely want to get an XBee Interface Board (or make your own) for each XBee module, while you'll only need the Connector Pack if you want to connect sensors and devices directly to the XBee module.

Next, we'll get into how to physically connect your modules, and then how to configure and use them.

Note - this tutorial contains lots of concepts and reference material.  If you're feeling impatient, you might just want to jump to the sample setup page to get started, then come back and fill in the blanks.