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esp32 Cam with external antenna

Q&A Forum › esp32 Cam with external antenna
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Alan Johnstone asked 5 days ago

Having just ruined 2 esp32 cams trying to move the 1ohm resistor I was wondering if anybody has found a source of these boards with the external antena already connected

EDIT Third time lucky.

I thought I would describe what I did so that others can benefit.

Joining the 2 pads with a blob of solder did not work for me. Adding more and more solder was a recipe for disaster and eventually some got into the antenna connector and I could not get it out. First fail! I then tried soldering a piece of wire between the 2 pads. Waving the wire and the soldering iron around at the same time soldered it alright but to the wrong place and in the process of unsoldering it solder got into the antenna connector again. Second fail. For the third and finally successful attempt I took a 4cm piece of single core wire and stripped and tinned 5mm. I then held the wire in place flat on the  surface and held it and the ESP with finger and thumb. I adjusted the position with a pair of tweesers so it was pressed hard onto the 2 pads. Only when it was absolutely right did I pick up the cleaned soldering iron ( ie hardly any solder) and one touch did it. I then clipped off the excess.

It sounds so easy and it is. I admit that a friend once described my soldering as ‘agricultural’ but I should have been able to do this without such a waste. Hope this all helps somebody

5 Answers
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Sara Santos Staff answered 5 days ago

Hi.
Usually, when you buy boards that come with an antenna in the package, they are already arranged to use the external antenna.
So, search for something like “ESP32-CAM with antenna” when trying to find a new ESP32-CAM.
 
In my case, when I simply bought an ESP32-CAM, sometimes they come arranged to use the external antenna, and others to use the onboard antenna, totally random…
 
Regards,
Sara

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Alan Johnstone answered 4 days ago

I did that and some results did come up but they are all shipping from China and delivery is about 6 weeks! If  you are on Amazon you can zoom the pictures and usually you can see where the resistor is placed. and about half the time it is where you want it.

0 Vote Up Vote Down
Sara Santos Staff answered 4 days ago

66 weeks??? That’s a long time….
Yes, as I said, I think it’s totally random the board you’ll receive. So, I think the best strategy is to order some from different vendors.

Regards,
Sara

0 Vote Up Vote Down
Sara Santos Staff answered 4 days ago

Hi again.
I just saw that you edited your question.
I’m glad you made it work. And thank you for describing the process.
Regards,
Sara

0 Vote Up Vote Down
Sara Santos Staff answered 4 days ago

I’ll mark this issue as resolved. If you need further help, you just need to open a new question in our forum.
Regards,
Sara

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