ESP32 CAM for Pico - alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim GitHub Wiki

ESP32-CAM for PICO

The camera for the Pico board is an ESP32-CAM board, which has its own ESP32 processor that needs to be programmed.

Here are the parts you need:

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  • ESP32-CAM board with micro-USB adapter plugged in
  • Camera with ribbon cable
  • Micro USB Cable for programming
  • Flat head jewelers screwdriver (not shown)

Start by plugging the micro USB cable into the ESP32-CAM and then follow these instructions to program it using the Arduino IDE: https://github.com/alanbjohnston/CubeSatSim/tree/pico/cubesatsim/esp32-cam-send-jpeg-serial#readme

Before doing the next steps, you should test the camera by unplugging the micro-USB adapter board and plugging it into the 1x8 female socket on the Pico board. In SSTV mode, after sending one stored image (AMSAT logo with white background), it should then send images from the camera. If not, double check your software installation.

Once you know the camera is working and programmed, you will need to swap out the camera sensor:

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First carefully lift up the black locking tab on the camera ribbon cable:

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Once you have done this, the ribbon cable will be able to slide out.

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Next, you will plug in the wide angle camera ribbon cable:

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Slide the ribbon cable into the connector, then carefully press down on the black locking tab to secure it in place:

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Next, cut a small square of double stick tape and apply it to the back of the new camera sensor:

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Stick it onto the ESP32-CAM board, rotating it 90 degrees as shown:

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Plug it back into the Pico PCB and test again:

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Here's how it looks plugged into the Pico board when the three boards are stacked:

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