First light, then a deliberate pause

The session brought the Camera Module 3 Wide onto the Raspberry Pi 5 and prepared the AI HAT+ stack. The camera’s first response was blunt: no cameras available.

Troubleshooting checked the ports, cable seating, software, and camera-detection configuration. The fault was the Pi-side ribbon contact orientation, following an incorrect ChatGPT instruction. With power removed, the ribbon was corrected and secured. Keeping that mistake in the record matters: a confident instruction still needs physical verification.

The camera then enumerated as an IMX708 Wide and captured a 4608 × 2592 image. The first-light record is dated September 26 at 2:57 p.m. Eastern. Exposure, color, and focus were usable; the upside-down view came from loose bench placement rather than a sensor defect.

The AI HAT+ 26 TOPS was mechanically installed above the Pi with the stacking header, spacers, and active-cooler clearance checked. Its short PCIe ribbon had initially seemed missing before turning up with the packaging.

The session stopped before the first post-install power-on check. Camera capture had passed. The HAT was physically installed and cabled, but accelerator enumeration was still pending at this dated checkpoint.