diymore ESP32 CAM OV2640 2MP W-BT Camera Module+2.4G Extension Cable 20CM IPX Adapter Cable

I bought this product to make a self-made bluetooth to audio output device based on ESP32-A2DP and a PCM5102. For those who want to do something similar the external antenna works for both Wifi and Bluetooth. As others have said you will need to remove the very small jumper and bridge a pad to activate the external antenna. This modification is not for those not comfortable with a soldering iron as the pads are very small. Unit worked as advertised and is an excellent value.

I have been trying to upload programs on this board for many days with no success. It is connected to the computer via an FTDi programmer and it is powered via a separate 5 volt 2 amp usb power supply. Using the Arduino IDE with the AI Thinker ESP-32 CAM board selected. The I00 pin is connected to ground but uploads to the board fail with: "A fatal error occurred: Failed to connect to ESP32: Timed out waiting for packet header." The serial monitor shows output when the board is reset so I know that the FTDI is connected properly and working. The serial output is always the same and ends with this error: "camera_demo: Camera probe failed with error 0x20001."Searching online I found that this is a common problem with these boards. The error can be caused by a number of issues, the most common being too little power or a bad camera module. Since there are 2 amps being delivered to the board, it seems as if the problem is not too little power but a bad camera module. The camera module supplied does not match the one pictured. The module delivered is labeled XRZ00D1 - V240 V2.0 1903. Cannot find customer support for diymore so I will be returning this item.UPDATE: I got a replacement and this one works, sort of. I was able to flash it with the CameraWebServer example in the ESP32 Arduino library. It will stream video for a short period of time and then it stops. It runs quite hot and if I turn it off and let it cool off it will stream again for a while. I guess I can use it for some still image capture or figure out a way to add cooling to the board.

The ESP 32 Cam can be frustrating to load and power up, however, here are a few thoughts: the board should be powered by a 5V FTDI Serial Converter, using 5V will solve brown out detector and Camera not supported issues.This unit must be identified as AI Thinker board and Camera in the Arduino IDE; it will boot up easily and work as described. Appears to be a quality board,Shipped quickly, and arrived when promised. Highly recommend this board from Amazon. You might save two dollars from another supplier but look closely at the return policy if the board is a failure.

A decent, low cost ESP style board... Requires a TTL programmer/adapter. Documented as supporting 3.3v input, but had a hard time powering it any lower than 5v. Not much documentation available. My two major complaints: no integrated power indicator, so knowing that it is actually on is problematic; and the reset button is on the bottom - you have to press the reset button during code upload, so this makes using it on a standard breadboard nearly impossible.

This module is very well made and the camera works great. It was easy to setup and program. After I got it setup I attached a battery pack and placed it in my front window. I had it facing my bird feeder so I could see what was getting into it. I started streaming video to my laptop and found that both squirrels and raccoons where also eating out of the feeder.

ESP standard, so easy to program. Camera is 2 megapixel, so we bought it to just test concept. Now we'll be looking for 5+ megapixel and interface higher resolution camera to ESP.

The only reason I bought this particular item was the antenna. Should have looked at the part more thoroughly before buying.

The onboard LED worked great and the esp can be programmed through the FTDI programmer I have with no problem. However they seem to be shipping this board with a bad camera module. I get the same error as others here about the camera not being supported by the esp after starting a sketch up, and yes I have years of micro controller experience and have ensured I am programming this correctly with the proper defines in the sketch. I'll hold on the to the board because theoretically I can get an actual supported camera and get it working but I can't give this full stars because 80% of the functionality I bought this for doesn't work out of the box.