So this is going to seem like a fairly bizarre question, but I am going to ask anyways. I have been using 5 of the seeed studio cameras for a few months now in a test design and prototype that I am developing. They work great, and so I am moving to the next phase which is taking me off of the shields and boards, and going to a single non-modular design. I have studied the schematic you have online, as well as the datasheets for the vc0706 and the ov7725. I’m not financially able to pay a professional for this so I am having to go it alone. So please forgive if I am asking a question that you would usually charge to answer. My question is that the VC0706 says it can be configured using external memory, and naturally you have an I2C EEPROM chip connected to CS_SDA and CS_SCL, so is that chip being used to configure the vc0706, or is it being used as a buffer.
The data sheets from Vimicros leave many many questions unanswered. Before I fabricate this board and start mounting components, I wanted to know if I should be preprogramming that EEPROM with some form of command structure. In your design you have the OROM_Mod set to boot from internal rom, so I am thinking you are using that chip as a buffer, and not to set the registers. Is my assumption accurate or should I continue researching. I apologize for asking you and not vimicro but after 3 weeks of calling their offices all over the world and no one answering, and all of their electronic contact links and emails being non-functional, I figured I would return to where I started. Which was with your camera shields. Any help that you can provide would be very very much appreciated.
If it is being used to set registers on the vc0706, how would I know which registers to set and how to set them. Would you recommend reading the entire EEPROM chip and copying its contents to another chip. The data sheet contains absolutely no register information at all. I don’t know the register address, values, options, or functions. I am worried that I cannot simply fabricate the board, mount the components, plug it into my software, and it start working. Please tell me if I am on the correct path.
I have taught myself all the electrical and software engineering that I know in the last 6 months. I am in way over my head, but I love the challenge.
Thank you so much for your assistance. Also your products have been great and I have learned a lot from studying them.
Charlie