PoECAM TTL Connection

Ingeej

I recently received the PoECAM and want to connect to it with a FTDI cable (using the FT232RL IC).
The printed labels are not very helpful, can someone confirm the pinout of the camera? Studying the schematic I have:
3v3 - 3v3
G1 - TX (of PoECAM)
G2 - RX (of PoECAM)
G - GND
G0 - RTS
EN - CTS

Given this is correct, I should be able to use the FTDI adapter to get the IP address when the PoECAM is connected to a eth. switch, right?

felmue

Hello @Ingeej

have a look at the esp32 downloader kit (and its schematic). You'll see that G0 and EN are not directly connected, but require some transistors.

That said, if you only want to see debug output, GND and TX (camera) to RX (FTDI) are the only two connections required. (Assuming the PoECAM is already powered.)

BTW: you should also be able to see the IP address your camera acquired in the DHCP lease list on your router.

Thanks
Felix

Ingeej

Thank you for the help Felix!
Just connecting the GND, TX and RX worked perfectly.

The camera is however not allocated an IP address as it says it is 0.0.0.0.
I have it connected to an ethernet switch with DHCP enabled. Reading online I see several people having problems using the W5100 ethernet controller with switches. Is this something you are aware of?

Is it possible to use the FTDI adapter to program a static IP to the camera without modifying the adapter or do I need to buy the official downloader board?

felmue

Hello @Ingeej

I am glad to hear you got that part working.

I do not have the PoECAM to test myself, but I own other PoE devices from M5Stack and so far they behaved when connected to a PoE switch, e.g. the get an IP from the DHCP server.

Have you tried a different PoE switch and/or a different cable?

I am not sure I understand your question regarding static IP. Are you asking if there is a way to set a static IP through the serial console? That I don't know.

Or are you asking in general whether an FTDI adapter can be used to program different camera firmware (setup to use a static IP instead of DHCP) into the ESP32? In general an FTDI adapter can be used to program an ESP32, yes, but some additional hardware might be needed to get the ESP32 into download mode.

Thanks
Felix

Ingeej

Hi,
I only have one switch available at the moment, but I will see if I can test with another one.
Using the FTDI to set the IP without a full reprogramming would be ideal, but I might as well just reprogram it with a static ip.

Thank you for the help!