Faulty camera on PiDog v2. Is there a Diagnostic tool? Can I get a replacement?

General
1

Is there a way to test the camera connected to the PiDog? Maybe some diagnostics on the Raspberry Pi side?

When asssembling, the camera on the small board was disconnected from the board. I thought that all I needed to do was push the camera back into place (affixing the tape as per the instructions), and reconnecting the connector on the board (sort of a gold plug immediately above the camera). It seemed okay and I continued the assembly instructions.

However, it might be that the camera board isn’t working (the other possibility might be the ribbon cable).

When attempting to run sunfounder controller, I get the following:

cd ~/pidog/examples
sudo python3 12_app_control.py
vilib 0.3.20 launching …
picamera2 0.3.38
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/home/andrewmercer/pidog/examples/12_app_control.py”, line 5, in
from vilib import Vilib
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/vilib/init.py”, line 2, in
from .vilib import Vilib
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/vilib/vilib.py”, line 182, in
class Vilib(object):
…<648 lines>…
return img
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.13/dist-packages/vilib/vilib.py”, line 184, in Vilib
picam2 = Picamera2()
File “/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/picamera2/picamera2.py”, line 346, in init
raise RuntimeError(
f’No camera number {camera_num} found - use “rpicam-hello --list-cameras” to check connected cameras’
)
RuntimeError: No camera number 0 found - use “rpicam-hello --list-cameras” to check connected cameras
$ rpicam-hello --list-cameras
No cameras available!

I’ll check the connections - but in the event that the camera is faulty, is it easy to get a replacement?
I live in Australia (and bought my PiDog through a local company).

Cheers

2

To determine whether this is a cable connection issue or a faulty camera module, could you please send us a few photos first:

Clear photos of the camera module itself, front and back (showing the lens, the components on the board, and the ribbon connector).
Photos of both ends of the FPC ribbon cable:
the connector on the camera board;
the connection at the Raspberry Pi CAMERA port.
Please make sure the orientation of the gold contacts and how far the cable is inserted are clearly visible, so we can check whether it is reversed or not fully seated.
You can also compare your wiring with the official assembly video:

If, after re-seating both ends of the cable and locking the connector latches, running
rpicam-hello --list-cameras
still returns “No cameras available”, please also send us that output (text or screenshot).

You can attach the photos and output directly in your reply, or upload them to a cloud drive and share the link with us (please set the link permission to “anyone with the link can view”).

Once we receive these, we will identify the cause as quickly as possible and give you a clear solution. In the meantime, please also let us know your purchase channel (the name of the local distributor in Australia) and roughly when you bought it, so we can follow up on the replacement/warranty process.

Thank you for your cooperation!