ESP32 CAM - 10 Dollar Camera for IoT Projects

@ddaved You want to select Serial Monitor, NOT plotter.

Thanks Ron - Now I get Brownout detector etc. see attached screen. I'll go look what to do when that happing. I remember seeing something about that somewhere.

@ddaved Thats normal, proceed, or maybe you have 3v3 instead of 5v? In any case, just carry on the brownout is often seen but not a show stopper.

@ddaved What sketch is that?

@ddaved Ok, I figured out the sketch and loaded it. Here is mny serial output plus a couple pictures of the ESP32CAM board I use, no need for FTDI. Here is amazon .ca link, change to .com if US https://amz.run/64VZ

In Ron's video, when the camera is attached, It says WiFi connected and displays an ip address like in my screen shot. Mine doesn't display that. I think the Brownout message is a problem.

@ddaved Do you have correct voltage?

Hi @ddaved,

  Unless I am missing something, your camera is ready and the ESP32 is working ... you need to get a browser to go to the http://192.168.1.168 address ... which could be your next hurdle or two to jump.

Is your local router network also on 192.18.1.x ? subnet addresses?

As a reminder, with Linux, if you type ifconfig into a terminal window, you should get a status report for that PC, and that will include the local address .. maybe something like

inet 192.168.1.7

as well as lot of other stuff!

If it is 192.168.1.<something> then you should be able to connect, but if it is say

192.168.2.<something> then you will need a software change.

----------

Assuming it is 192.168.1.<something>, then make sure the ESP is fairly near and 'in line of sight' of the router.  Go to a browser, and type in http://192.168.1.168 and hopefully the web page will appear!

(There is also a possibility that you have another device on http://192.168.1.168 but unless you have a large number of WiFi active devices, this is fairly unlikely to be a problem.)

------------------

If you need to change the IP address the ESP32 picks, this is a software change.

The nice folks at Random Nerd Tutorials have written an article

https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-cam-static-fixed-ip-address-arduino/

---------

As for the 'brownout' message ... it is not a good sign, as it implies it is close to crashing at that moment, but if it carries on working, ignore it!!

Good luck, Dave

@davee That isn't his screen, he is in full brownout, possibly due to using 3.3V where 5V is needed.

@davee That isn't his screen, he is in full brownout, possibly due to using 3.3V where 5V is needed.

@davee @ddaved From the NERDS

Hi Ron @zander and @ddaved,

  Ah .. sorry if I have misunderstood the origin of the picture that @ddaved showed ... was it from Bill's blog or similar?

In which case, Ron you are right ... we need to back track a step -- hopefully my effort will come in handy later on!

----------------

And unfortunately, there is a considerable inconvenience looming ...

Previously, the FTDI board was displayed as

and following one of my 'briefer' question-style sermons, @ddaved wrote:

Thanks for the help. The 3v/5v switch switches the VCC and TxD voltages from 3v to 5v.

Looking at the board there is only 1 power output pin labelled VCC

So it appears you either get 3.3V power and 3.3V logic levels, OR 5V power and 5V logic levels.

I do not see a way of getting a combination of 5V power and 3.3V logic.

------------------

Ron, you are copying a valid suggestion .. namely use 5V power connected to the 5V input pin on the ESP32-CAM board

BUT the ESP32 (and possibly the FTDI chip) is liable to fail if you feed it 5V logic levels

----------------------

The only solution I can see is to provide a separate 5V supply.

If @ddaved is prepared to do a little surgery to his FTDI card, it might be feasible to take the 5V supply directly from the USB input part of the FTDI card.

Or some other variation on this theme of accessing USB 5V power.

---------------------

Alternately, provide an independent 5V supply to the ESP32 card.

The grounds from the independent supply and from the FTDI card should meet at just one point, possibly at the ESP32 Cam ground input pin.

----------

Make sure the independent power feed cannot get back to the PC ... ie remove the VCC output wire from the FTDI card to the ESP32 board.

A few people have connected 'dubious' power sources to USB connected equipment (not ESP32-CAM), and the supply has for some reason delivered more than 5V to their PC USB socket, and made their PC uneconomic to repair. (Laptops are espeicially vulnerable .. the same 5V line is power to a number of expensive and unobtainable chips!)

The risk is small, but the effect on your wallet will be considerable if it happens!

---------------------

And whilst we are mentioning unexpected power problems, I saw one report of someone who had an ESP32 card with two pins labelled Ground .... unfortunately, only one was actually connected to the electronics on the card. Quality control at its best! Check everything twice!

----------------------- 

Best wishes,

Dave

@davee I am sure Bill covered this somewhere, maybe even the $10 vid? Either get a MB board or a different FTDI that is correctly wired. I have a bunch that are now useless since I switched to ESP32CAM-MB boards.