Tdbduckhunter
Yearling... With promise
I am using Energizer Max batteries. Camera said low so I changed them. When I put new batteries in it still said low. So no I probably did not let screen go blank before new batteries in.
Cuddelink 2020 GEN 2 version
- Thread starter john volkman
- Start date
john volkman
5 year old buck +
energizer is most certainly the issue they can be out of spec size and cause issues in our cameras, we continually have issues with energizer . we recommend rayovac high energy and have very consistent success with them.
Tdbduckhunter
Yearling... With promise
Ok. Will change out. Thank you.
To make sure screen is blank, cut camera off, dump batteries then press Mode button continuously until screen goes blank.
12point
5 year old buck +
I put 3 different sets of batteries in a J one time before i did that John. I thought all the batteries were bad, then let all power run out. All the batteries were good.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
yes the camera needs ot reset so it knows there are new batteries in it.
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
Is anyone else having issues with their K on Verizon's network still? I have a K that hasn't sent any photos since yesterday morning. I have a K with 8 other cameras on the same network, and nearly always have 5-30 photos delivered every 6 hours. I just received yesterday's report a bit ago and it looks interesting. Several of the cameras show up as a 0 cuddelink level. Since I updated the K to 8.1, I have been having this issue (the rest of my cameras are still on 8.0). I am certain the cameras have been taking photos, but nothing is showing up in the image queue. This happened to me about two weeks ago as well when many others were having connectivity issues. Eventually, I needed to do a cell test at the unit to get the reports and the images to be sent. I'm really hoping this isn't the case now.
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I just recently purchased and deployed two new J cameras. Both with the 8.1. The rest of the system is 8.0 Didn't realize this until I arrived home and looked. Rookie mistake. They pass pictures through but I am not receiving any pictures from those cameras. I attribute it to the different firmware.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
if you want to pM me your contact info ill have someone for Cuddeback contact you but i did notice you have remotes on 8.0 and your K is on 8.1
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
My apologies if this has been covered elsewhere in the thread, but do you think that could be a cause for my issues? With the issue before, all of my cameras were on 8.0. I can change my K back to 8.0 this weekend and try and see if it helps. I would normally go in and update all of my cameras at the same time, but I am starting to get close to the season and would prefer to just leave them alone for the remainder of the season. If and when I go to do that, should I just plan on changing all cameras to 8.1 on the same day? Thanks John!
john volkman
5 year old buck +
i would try to have them all the same wether its 8.0 or 8.1, 8.1 has some enhancements sued for the photos option on the cuddeback camp site.
The cuddelink system has been around for a few years now, and it seems some of the bugs have been worked out. I am within an inch of diving in. I don't need to complicate anything else in my life. What are the chances I purchase one of the starter sets - (1) CuddeLink Dual Cell Trail Camera and (3) CuddeLink J-Series Trail Cameras - and go put them out and they work from the get go?
Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
I just bought my 13th Cuddeback camera - all have been purchased in less than a year. I bought into it last November when you could buy the two J's and get a free cell camera, and have been slowly adding as I could get them on sale/save up the money for them. I absolutely love the idea of Cuddelink and can't believe people are messing around with multiple cell cameras on the same property. I have 11 of them deployed right now. I only had 1 camera have any sort of malfunction straight out of the box or any issues at all. I sent it into Cuddeback and am getting back a new one next week. I have had a few minor issues with the cell service, but that is looking like it is my fault. Overall, my biggest complaints with the system is the fact that it is not as intuitive to set up as other cameras, but that is to be expected with the sophistication in technology. My other big complaint is that you cannot program the cameras to take videos and photos at the same time (when having the cameras armed on the cuddelink network). To me, this is only not possible because of a power issue. Having each of my cameras hooked up to a 12V battery eliminates the power issues. I haven't quite figured out how long the batteries can last on a single charge, but the few that I have checked seem like I will get at least 6 months out of them. Not entering an area to pull cards or replace batteries for several months is the single greatest reason for investing in Cuddeback cameras and the Cuddelink system in general. I had to learn the whole setup from reading this forum but mostly figured it out on my own. There are some great videos on how to set it up online, but if you do buy into it, PM me and I can walk you through it over the phone if needed.
davidhelmly
5 year old buck +
Similar to Hoytvectrix, I have 10 cuddelink cameras, 7 J’s, 2 G’s and 1 K and have had basically zero problems with them. That being said I read the camera and cuddelink instructions front to back, I love my system.
A positive shout out to Cuddelink's customer service once again. I was on hold for 7 or 8 mins this morning(not long compared to other companies I've had the pleasure of waiting to talk to a human to discuss issues. Diane picked up and was able to give me a suggestion to get the 2 repeaters that kept saying bat low no matter replacing the batteries on unit or hooking up the booster pack to it. She suggested taking all batteries out, disconnecting the booster, and leaving the alone for 20 to 30 min. I waited 30 min, put the new batteries back in and all was good except it was a bit frustrating trying to get the new firmware to take.
That took several attempts, not sure what the deal was. This occurred on both of them. I tried several sd cards, reloaded, retried, kept saying check card. Finally after about 10 attempts it to upload the firmware on one of the repeaters it worked and then I put it in the other and it took as well. Not sure what the deal was but it's working fine now.
Prior to trying the firmware upload on the above mentioned repeaters the firmware upload was immediately successful on 8 g cams and 2 other repeaters.
My experience has been very positive with cuddelink customer service. If I've had an issue they have stood behind their product and took care of the issues in a timely manner with no cost to me except inconvenience.
That took several attempts, not sure what the deal was. This occurred on both of them. I tried several sd cards, reloaded, retried, kept saying check card. Finally after about 10 attempts it to upload the firmware on one of the repeaters it worked and then I put it in the other and it took as well. Not sure what the deal was but it's working fine now.
Prior to trying the firmware upload on the above mentioned repeaters the firmware upload was immediately successful on 8 g cams and 2 other repeaters.
My experience has been very positive with cuddelink customer service. If I've had an issue they have stood behind their product and took care of the issues in a timely manner with no cost to me except inconvenience.
tn4hunting
5 year old buck +
I believe also it is Terrain dependent. Where I'm at in Southwest Virginia the steep hills and deep valleys, lots of woods, play havoc on the signal and make it harder to set up. I did end up buying a repeater and it makes it better but inconsistent on sending pictures/communicating with each other. Full disclosure, they mention the terrain but not the humidity, rain/shine and fog etc. Saying that once you understand this and get used to it not a big deal but just a delay.
Two other things - 1. on food plots they are not performing well for me. I've changed the lens and moved it at least 3 times and my reconyx cell is picking up deer where the cuddelink is not. I've placed two different new j cameras on that field and both are the same so not a camera defect on one camera. 2. I have pictures of the deer jumping when the camera takes a picture especially at my mineral lick which is in a tight valley but the camera is 15 feet from the mineral lick.
The benefit for me using this system is that i only get cell signal on top of one mountain. So linking them with repeaters is what i had to have in order to get anything via cell and not have to check SD cards for my entire property.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
regarding your food plot issue cameras not detecting. make sure you have your cuddelink's set lower than what many set their other brands. Setting them thigh high to waist high at the highest and using a 9004 fresnel lens should give you detection well beyond what is useful in most cases.
I recently purchased a PW-3600 and a little confused about the different charging scenarios.
Mode 1:
Using the brown ends cord provides 7.2v output from the PW3600 internal batteries to power the camera
Mode 2:
Using the yellow ends cord provides 12v from the PW3600 panel itself to charge an external power bank? Not to be plugged into a camera directly?
Is there anyway combination whereas the PW3600 internal batteries are being charged and used to power a camera with internal rechargeables so that they trickle charge when the camera is not drawing the full output from the panel?
Thanks
Al
Mode 1:
Using the brown ends cord provides 7.2v output from the PW3600 internal batteries to power the camera
Mode 2:
Using the yellow ends cord provides 12v from the PW3600 panel itself to charge an external power bank? Not to be plugged into a camera directly?
Is there anyway combination whereas the PW3600 internal batteries are being charged and used to power a camera with internal rechargeables so that they trickle charge when the camera is not drawing the full output from the panel?
Thanks
Al
john volkman
5 year old buck +
there isnt , reason being that when using rechargeable you need at least 6 ds or 12 aa batteries in the camera for it to operate, rechargeable voltage is lower than alkaline so 4 rechargeable d's dont have enough voltage to run the camera. . If you run 6 D or 12AA rechargeable in a camera with the 3600 , the camera will always use the internal batteries first since they are higher voltage than the panels internal battery(7.4). It will charge the internal batteries though but you are not using the internal panel battery at all in that case.
The ideal way to use a 3600 panel is with a 4 d camera with 4 alkaline d internals as back up , this way the camera runs on the solar panel unless it drops below 6 volts , then it switches to the internal alkaline while the panel recharges.
The yellow ended cable is only to be used with the Dual power bank when 6 d rechargeables are installed in bank 1.
