Hi everyone, I’m stuck trying to get an Arducam IMX477 12MP PTZ camera (the IR-cut switchable one, B0167B12) running on a Jetson Nano. I’ve followed the setup steps but can’t get anywhere. Has anyone had this combination working?
Welcome. First thing: have you been following the PTZ camera quick-start for Nvidia Jetson? Quick Start - Arducam Wiki Which step exactly does it fail on?
Yeah I’ve been through that quick-start a number of times now. I keep getting stuck at the python-smbus install. Running sudo apt install python-smbus fails and says the package isn’t available anymore.
That step trips a lot of people up now that python-smbus has been removed from the repos. Can you share a screenshot of where it gets stuck and paste the exact apt output?
Here’s a screenshot of where it stops. The output basically says it can’t locate the python-smbus package. Same result every time, even after running apt update.
Okay, let’s skip that step for now and test the focuser directly. Try one of these:
python FocuserExample.py -i 7
or
python FocuserExample.py -i 8
Let me know what you get.
Getting closer now! I’ve attached some screenshots showing the current progress. It definitely runs further than before.
Good progress. One important note: use python3 rather than python2 since python2 is dead. So:
python3 FocuserExample.py -i 7
or
python3 FocuserExample.py -i 8
Different error this time. It’s not the same as before. Not sure what to make of it. Would it be easier to just try another OS?
Hold off on reinstalling the OS for a bit. Let’s verify the hardware connection first. Can you double-check your wiring against the diagram in the demo section here: Quick Start - Arducam Wiki A shifted jumper is a common cause of weird errors.
Fair enough, I’ll double check all the connections against the diagram.
Take your time, and let me know what you find.
I went through it wire by wire — all the wiring matches the diagram. So that’s not the problem.
Alright. I spent a couple of days debugging the FocuserExample program itself and found some errors in it. Try this new command to control the camera:
python FocuserExample.py -i 1
That did something! The camera is now moving with the keys. But now I need to get the image onto the screen — how do I do that?
Just to clarify, are you saying the PTZ movement works but you can’t see any video image? Or are you looking for the key mapping to display video?
Right, I can move the camera with the keys but I can’t view the camera on the screen. I tried running cheese and it says ‘no cameras available’.
That makes sense now. The PTZ control and the camera video output are two separate things. The IMX477 camera driver isn’t installed, which is why cheese reports no cameras available. You need to install the IMX477 driver by following the native camera quick-start guide, specifically the 12MP IMX477 section: Quick-Start-Guide - Arducam Wiki Run those commands, then reboot.
I’ve installed the driver and restarted as you said. Should the cheese command bring the camera up now?
Yes, with the IMX477 driver properly loaded you should now see the camera appear in cheese. Give it a shot.