Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on? - General discussion, announcements and releases

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

FoxRun3D — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 15:14:06 +0000

You mean esp32 cameras with that custom firmware Prusa did?

Yes. Very underwhelmed.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

_KaszpiR_ — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 13:15:01 +0000

You mean esp32 cameras with that custom firmware Prusa did?

I'm using esphome on them and use curl to upload images via rpi doing cron job, no issues.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

FoxRun3D — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 10:48:25 +0000

A few months ago I added esp32 cams to all my printers. I found them to be very unreliable, going offline all the time requiring a reboot. Plus it's only snapshots in PrusaConnect, not live streams. And with the mega monster fan of the Mk4S, the placement that worked well on the Mk4 is now unusable. I'm actually going back to the Wyze cams I used before and will be removing the ESP32's. Only downside is I need to open a separate app but will have a live streams, all the time.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

_KaszpiR_ — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 09:18:16 +0000

AFAIR PrusaConnect shows images only when the printer is on and sending telemetry. So your camera may actually send the pictures but they will not be shown ( or processed?) unless the printer is on and connected to PrusaConnect.

I have esp32 cam and exactly the same thing happens.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

Razor — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 03:06:01 +0000

You would think that, but it’s Prusa’s firmware on it. If they decide the camera shouldn’t be on when the printer is not, they could turn it off due to personal security reasons. Reach out to customer service and see what they say. Mine hasn’t arrived yet, I wish I could test for you.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

BitSmith — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 23:21:27 +0000

Makes sense, but if I have PrusaConnect open, it should not matter whether either the actual printer is on or off. It’s still on my network.

RE:

Razor — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 21:41:21 +0000

Despite having access to every single line of code that runs on the camera, we then subjected it to extensive network testing and monitoring to ensure all communication stays strictly between the camera and our secure Prusa Connect infrastructure—nowhere else.

From the blog post, it doesn’t sound like you’ll be able to use it without a job running for security purposes.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

3Delight — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:51:18 +0000

That's the problem, it is sold specifically as a Prusa Printer monitor NOT as a security camera in general. It's only job as sold is to monitor the printer while in use and so has been designed for such. Disabling it when the printer is off saves power which make it more eco friendly which is important to Prusa. I would suggest buying a more general Cam if that's what you need.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

BitSmith — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:45:00 +0000

Because the camera has a great view into my lab, as well as the printer. I can’t imagine any reason to disable it when not printing.

RE: Buddy3D Cam Operation: ?ONLY when printer is powered on?

3Delight — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 20:19:44 +0000

Just curious, but why would you need it on if the printer is powered off? The whole point is it's for monitoring the printer printing!?