Donald asked 5 years ago
Was wondering if, once a sketch is uploaded to the ESP32 cam… does the FTDI board serve any purpose besides providing power?
I put the ESP32 cam board onto a breadboard along with a standard power supply board (it takes either a 9v battery or can be used via household ac via power adapter) I was hoping that it would broadcast locally and I’d be able to view the cam images on a very small board. But my URL (10.0.0.156) is saying “it can’t be reached” even when using the AC adapter.
I’m guessing that the FTDI board must be incorporated into the circuit?
Steve Mercer answered 5 years ago
AFAIK the FTDI is only USB to UART so only for programming. Once flashed it’s no longer needed. I would have thought you could disconnect the cable, provide 5V and hit the reset button it should just run your sketch. Try it with the blink code and see if that’s true.
Sara Santos Staff answered 5 years ago
Hi Donald.
After uploading the code, you don’t need the FTDI programmer.
You can simply power up the ESP32-CAM using the 5V and GND pins. After providing power, make sure you press the RST button to make sure it restarts and stars running the code.
Regards,
Sara
Donald answered 5 years ago
Ha! Yes, it works with just a power source and the board itself. I use the AC adapter that came included with the Elegoo Mega starter kit. Its onboard antenna isn’t so great, the cam is located where it’s usually a -60 wifi strength.
Now, I want to see about how to make it so more than one client can view the feed!
Sara Santos Staff answered 5 years ago
Hi again.
What is the example that you’re running?
The “default” example only works for one client at a time.
Regards,
Sara
Donald answered 5 years ago
No, I’d like to see about a version that allows more than one client. I tested the web server example (Start and Stop) but I think that’s a one client only type as well.
Steve Mercer answered 5 years ago
This article outlines how to use the ESPAsyncWebServer library to do just that.