GCO-ET camera dead?

AlJa · Oct 4, 2023

Hi all,
My CGO-ET camera seems to be dead. only a steady white LED is powered on the camera .
If I put a empty SD card in the camera, then the map DCIM and MISC was created by the camera.( half dead?)
but no Wifi.

any suggestions?

regards,
Alan

WTFDproject · Oct 4, 2023

It will probably need to be sent for repair, but you can try to reset the camera first.
The attached drawings show the buttons and which functions are reset by which buttons.

AlJa · Oct 4, 2023

WTFDproject said:
It will probably need to be sent for repair, but you can try to reset the camera first.
The attached drawings show the buttons and which functions are reset by which buttons.
View attachment 29872

Thanks for your reply!
I will try that tomorrow.
BTW, Is there a way to (re)flash the camera with only the use of the SD card?

WTFDproject · Oct 4, 2023

AlJa said:
Thanks for your reply!
I will try that tomorrow.
BTW, Is there a way to (re)flash the camera with only the use of the SD card?

Not an actual reflash. The firmware can be reloaded using SD cards. I have a firmware version I think this is the EU firmware for the CGoET for Typhoon H520 but I don't have a way to confirm it. I don't want to upload it to the forum unless you really want to try.
Do you have reason to suspect a firmware error? If not, a firmware update is not likely to help, and is always a risk of causing more harm than good.

AlJa · Oct 8, 2023

WTFDproject said:
Not an actual reflash. The firmware can be reloaded using SD cards. I have a firmware version I think this is the EU firmware for the CGoET for Typhoon H520 but I don't have a way to confirm it. I don't want to upload it to the forum unless you really want to try.
Do you have reason to suspect a firmware error? If not, a firmware update is not likely to help, and is always a risk of causing more harm than good.

Thank you for your reply!
When I push the button(s), the white (RGB LED on the camera) goes off and on, but still dead.
I think that there is some issue(corruption) with the firmware because, when I insert a clean SD card, the camera create two directory's on that SD card : DCIM and MISC. So I there are some CPU / read/write activity within the camera's CPU.
the only strange thing is the White LED witch is always on.
So, I want to give it a try to flash the camera.
It would be great to have the firmware!
Can and will you attach the firmware?
and maybe some instructions?

Best regards,
Alan

WTFDproject · Oct 8, 2023

AlJa said:
Can and will you attach the firmware?
and maybe some instructions?

Best regards,
Alan

This link is to what I believe is the latest CGoET camera firmware. I have not updated a CGoET, but I have a damaged camera available I can use to at least try an update before you risk your camera. Give me about 20 minutes and I'll know more.

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

WTFDproject · Oct 8, 2023

WTFDproject said:
Give me about 20 minutes and I'll know more.

Unfortunately, this CGoET can't run the test. It has a bad ribbon on the thermal image camera, which has the camera locked at the solid white led you see on your camera. The solid white condition can be caused by other things of course, so it will probably not hurt anything to attempt an update. It just does not sound very encouraging.
These instructions are written pretty much on the fly and have never been reviewed or even successfully used. Use at your own risk.

Also, you will notice in a few places mention of things that basically say, "it looks finished, but it's not". The key to this type of update is patience. Those who are more patient are more often successful.

AlJa · Oct 8, 2023

WTFDproject said:
Unfortunately, this CGoET can't run the test. It has a bad ribbon on the thermal image camera, which has the camera locked at the solid white led you see on your camera. The solid white condition can be caused by other things of course, so it will probably not hurt anything to attempt an update. It just does not sound very encouraging.
These instructions are written pretty much on the fly and have never been reviewed or even successfully used. Use at your own risk.

Also, you will notice in a few places mention of things that basically say, "it looks finished, but it's not". The key to this type of update is patience. Those who are more patient are more often successful.

thanks, ill give it a try.

AlJa · Oct 9, 2023

Unfortunately, no results. When I insert the SD card and boot the camera, nothing happed. The camera LED stays steady white.
Is there a way to order the main camera PCB, not the wifi or CCD board but only the main PCB?

h-elsner · Oct 9, 2023

The solid white front LED means the camera FW remains in initialization mode. This happens also if the WiFi board is dead. In nearly all cases this was the reason. I found only one CGO3+ where the main board causes the problem. Most probably it is the WiFi board especially if the file system on main board is working well.
I do not have a source for the CGO-ET WiFi board. The board from a CGO3+ is not working. I have had the hope to get the main camera working with that but no, is not working at all.

br HE

AlJa · Oct 9, 2023

h-elsner said:
The solid white front LED means the camera FW remains in initialization mode. This happens also if the WiFi board is dead. In nearly all cases this was the reason. I found only one CGO3+ where the main board causes the problem. Most probably it is the WiFi board especially if the file system on main board is working well.
I do not have a source for the CGO-ET WiFi board. The board from a CGO3+ is not working. I have had the hope to get the main camera working with that but no, is not working at all.

br HE

Thanks HE,
As we speak, I read the WiFi board issues om some other forums.
I think thats the issue.
But if the CGO3+ WiFi board is not working in the ET version, than there is some problem to order a working CGO-ET Wifi board.
Just thinking.. what if I replace the RTL8192 chip. (I have the knowledge and tools to do this.)

h-elsner · Oct 9, 2023

AlJa said:
Just thinking.. what if I replace the RTL8192 chip. (I have the knowledge and tools to do this.)

Would be very interesting to see what's happen!

AlJa · Oct 9, 2023

h-elsner said:
Would be very interesting to see what's happen!

That's what I thinking to, the RTL8192DU Chip on AliExpress cost only $1.68 ex shipping, so the board is already dead (nothing to lose) and for 2 bucks its been worth to try...
In meanwhile I have order 2 pcs on AliExpress. Delivery on dec 08. To be continued..

AlJa · Oct 9, 2023

Other question, Can I fly the bird without the camera?

Vaklin · Oct 9, 2023

Yes, you can.

h-elsner · Oct 9, 2023

Vaklin said:
Yes, you can.

Yes, but without telemetry on the ST16 screen. However, looking at the drone, not the screen and all is OK

.

Vaklin · Oct 9, 2023

H520 has a mode without a camera on the ST16S. Didn't test it, but I think all will be visible on the screen.

AlJa · Oct 28, 2023

Does anyone know if there a serial debug pins/pad on the main camera board? And what is the function of the mico USB connector?

h-elsner · Oct 28, 2023

There are a lot of pads on the main board of the camera but I don't know for what. The main processor Ambarella S2E is a high integrated system with a 2-core ARM Cortex A9 CPU.

However, there is a serial connection from drone to gimbal board and from gimbal board to camera. This connection is used for gimbal calibration, firmware updates and data transport.
If and for what the USB port is used I don't know.

At the CGO3+ the USB plug is not connected, the board design is there but empty.