What is the right board for this device

Also cant tell if it has PSRam ..how to tell?

Thanks

  • Do not see one on the PCB, might be in the ESP shielding can.

It is in the part number N16R8 indicates 16MB flash 8MB PSRAM.
See page 3

This of course assumes they are telling the truth in the description.

Note that the 8MB PSRAM is octal mode so you loose some I/O pins.

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still trying to figure out if I have the right board...this is what I picked
image

but I get exceptions so not sure its right

what exceptions?
copy any output as text and post it using code tags </> plus any code

Perhaps:
ESP32S3 Dev Module
or maybe:
ESP32S3 Dev Module Octal (WROOM2) ?

The later has a config option for enabling PSRAM.

i tried dozens of boards with a simple program that printed a line...
the first one to work was ESP32-S3-USB-OTG
When I tried code dealing with a camera

#include "esp_camera.h"


void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);


    Serial.println("setup");
    
  // Configure camera settings
  camera_config_t config;
  config.ledc_channel = LEDC_CHANNEL_0;
  config.ledc_timer = LEDC_TIMER_0;
  config.pin_d0 = 5;
  config.pin_d1 = 18;
  config.pin_d2 = 19;
  config.pin_d3 = 21;
  config.pin_d4 = 36;
  config.pin_d5 = 39;
  config.pin_d6 = 34;
  config.pin_d7 = 35;
  config.pin_xclk = 0;
  config.pin_pclk = 22;
  config.pin_vsync = 25;
  config.pin_href = 23;
  config.pin_sccb_sda = 26;
  config.pin_sccb_scl = 27;
  config.pin_reset = -1;
  config.pin_pwdn = 32;
  config.xclk_freq_hz = 20000000;
  config.pixel_format = PIXFORMAT_JPEG;

 
    config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_SVGA;
    config.jpeg_quality = 12;
    config.fb_count = 1;
  

  // Initialize the camera
  esp_err_t err = esp_camera_init(&config);
  if (err != ESP_OK) {
    Serial.printf("Camera init failed with error 0x%x", err);
    return;
  } else {
    Serial.printf("Camera init OK 0x%x", err);
  }

 
}

void loop() {
  delay(10000); // Keep loop alive
}

I got the following error


Rebooting...
ESP-ROM:esp32s3-20210327
Build:Mar 27 2021
rst:0xc (RTC_SW_CPU_RST),boot:0x8 (SPI_FAST_FLASH_BOOT)
Saved PC:0x40379156
SPIWP:0xee
mode:DIO, clock div:1
load:0x3fce3818,len:0x109c
load:0x403c9700,len:0x4
load:0x403c9704,len:0xb50
load:0x403cc700,len:0x2fe4
entry 0x403c98ac
setup
Guru Meditation Error: Core  1 panic'ed (LoadProhibited). Exception was unhandled.

Core  1 register dump:
PC      : 0x42018ad9  PS      : 0x00060430  A0      : 0x82011e14  A1      : 0x3fcebde0  
A2      : 0x3fc984cc  A3      : 0x3fcebed8  A4      : 0x3c033ed8  A5      : 0xffff8fff  
A6      : 0x00000001  A7      : 0x00000000  A8      : 0x80376fef  A9      : 0x3fcebdf0  
A10     : 0x00000016  A11     : 0x00000000  A12     : 0x00000008  A13     : 0x00000060  
A14     : 0x00ff0000  A15     : 0xff000000  SAR     : 0x00000018  EXCCAUSE: 0x0000001c  
EXCVADDR: 0x00000000  LBEG    : 0x400570e8  LEND    : 0x400570f3  LCOUNT  : 0x00000000  


Backtrace: 0x42018ad6:0x3fcebde0 0x42011e11:0x3fcebe30 0x420119ce:0x3fcebe60 0x42002365:0x3fcebec0 0x420042da:0x3fcebf60 0x4037d2b6:0x3fcebf80

having trouble figuring out the procedure to isolate the problem.
I'll admit the code came from chatGPT so could be all wrong.

try Tools>Board ESP32S3 Dev Board with PSRAM: "OPI PSRAM" enabled?
try a simple program such as blink?

Most likely wrong.

You need to look at the pinout diagram for the board you have and find a matching pinout in the 'camera_pins.h' file which is part of the ESP32 core for the Arduino IDE.

incorrect pin definitions can certainly cause the ESP32S3 to throw exceptions

have a look at Real-Time-Display-of-ESP32-CAM-Camera
the microcontroller ESP32-S3 WROOM looks similar to the photos in your post 1
the code camera-to-tft.ino may assist with the pin definitions

Thanks for the great advice.... i found GitHub - mihvoi/ESP32S3CamTimeLapse: Fix timelapse also for ESP32-S3 boards
which in fact has the ESP32S3 Dev Board (as you said) AND had you set OPI PSRAM enabled (as your said). With the code the guy shared, I am able to use the camera.
I'm so impressed with the support on this forum. Thanks again.

Thanks for the suggestion about the pin definitions...i did not know enough to even think of that... so much to learn. Thanks again.

When selecting an Arduino board, it's essential to match the device’s pinout, GPIO count, and communication requirements with the board's capabilities. Understanding the board’s features, libraries, and documentation can help avoid issues later. Each project may need a different set of resources, so considering these factors upfront is key.

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