12pointer
5 year old buck +
Thanks John,
Can the home unit go inside of does it have to go outside? Meaning will the signal transmit through the walls of the house? I'd like to out it inside if possible!
Cuddeback's Cuddelink
- Thread starter Peplin Creek
- Start date
Thanks John,
Can the home unit go inside of does it have to go outside? Meaning will the signal transmit through the walls of the house? I'd like to out it inside if possible!
john volkman
5 year old buck +
you can nest them togehter and put them on the same mount but it wouldn't lock both since the camera is on the outside of the battery pack. If you used two genius mounts you could run the cable thru both but you would have both mounted independently to the tree.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
i have had my home unit inside since i started using cuddelink , transmission is better outside but you shouldn't have an issue inside unless your home is a large metal building.
I got my cell and J units already. They seem pretty solid. Couple complaints.
I think the firmware on their website is outdated. The J-1415 doesn't accept the SD card with the firmware so it is unclear if I'm doing something wrong or there just is no update. I thought I read that they all use the same firmware but the cell unit is 700 and the J is 6 something so I'm confused. I tried multiple cards and confirmed the zip file was on the cards each time.
Creating the cellular account references reading the manual to understand how to enter text for your email or cell phone (where you want the pictures to go). I can't find that documentation in either manual and I have no idea how to use the buttons to delete text. I started putting something in for the secondary value and now I can't get rid of it. The manual references the support website having up to date documentation but when you click on it (http://www.cuddeback.com/Updates/CuddeLink_Help.pdf) you just get an empty PDF.
My suggestion for these trail camera companies would be to go buy a google wifi mesh router and look at how setup works. There are no little buttons or small lcd screens. You plug it in, download an app on your phone, connect your phone's wifi to the router's wifi and complete the entire setup in the app. Very user friendly. I don't know what the cost tradeoff is between a small wifi or bluetooth chip and getting rid of all those little buttons and LCD but man is it nicer doing it through the phone. The Cuddelink is still like programming a first generation VCR.
I know I just wrote a couple negatives there but I am super excited to use these. I'm an hour from my farm. I recently had trespassers rip the lids off my goose pits for no reason apparently other than to be jerks. I have to go pump them out tomorrow. There are several places on the farm I'd like to scout but are not super easy to get to so this also fits the bill perfectly for that. If these first couple cameras work, I'm going to buy another 4 right away for this season.
I think the firmware on their website is outdated. The J-1415 doesn't accept the SD card with the firmware so it is unclear if I'm doing something wrong or there just is no update. I thought I read that they all use the same firmware but the cell unit is 700 and the J is 6 something so I'm confused. I tried multiple cards and confirmed the zip file was on the cards each time.
Creating the cellular account references reading the manual to understand how to enter text for your email or cell phone (where you want the pictures to go). I can't find that documentation in either manual and I have no idea how to use the buttons to delete text. I started putting something in for the secondary value and now I can't get rid of it. The manual references the support website having up to date documentation but when you click on it (http://www.cuddeback.com/Updates/CuddeLink_Help.pdf) you just get an empty PDF.
My suggestion for these trail camera companies would be to go buy a google wifi mesh router and look at how setup works. There are no little buttons or small lcd screens. You plug it in, download an app on your phone, connect your phone's wifi to the router's wifi and complete the entire setup in the app. Very user friendly. I don't know what the cost tradeoff is between a small wifi or bluetooth chip and getting rid of all those little buttons and LCD but man is it nicer doing it through the phone. The Cuddelink is still like programming a first generation VCR.
I know I just wrote a couple negatives there but I am super excited to use these. I'm an hour from my farm. I recently had trespassers rip the lids off my goose pits for no reason apparently other than to be jerks. I have to go pump them out tomorrow. There are several places on the farm I'd like to scout but are not super easy to get to so this also fits the bill perfectly for that. If these first couple cameras work, I'm going to buy another 4 right away for this season.
Genius Mount doesn't include a lock clip even though it is in the instructions.......? So, you can't actually lock your camera with the genius mount? No python cable loops either on the camera so there isn't anyway to lock your camera to the tree?
Well, I guess I will take a ladder or stand on the back of the mule and point them down. Hoping anyone looking to steal them doesn't shimmy up the tree or bring a ladder themselves.
Well, I guess I will take a ladder or stand on the back of the mule and point them down. Hoping anyone looking to steal them doesn't shimmy up the tree or bring a ladder themselves.
12pointer
5 year old buck +
John,
I got my home unit installed and all cameras are reporting back! However, I do notice one problem. I have battery boosters on all my cameras, and when one of the 8 cameras was also my home cameras the cuddelink HTML file and the status images all showed EXT OK FOR each camera, but now all cameras say just OK, and only the home unit says EXT OK! Is there someway to fix that? I would like to know when the booster booster is low to let me know I will be on the 4 D batteries shortly!
12pointer
5 year old buck +
I pulled the card from the home unit again this morning and now camera 1, which used to be the home camera say's battery low with a red exclamation point! I find it hard to believe that it went from EXT OK on Friday to the internal 4 batteries low on Sunday. The 7 other cameras still say OK instead of EXT OK, which still has me a little puzzled. I may just return the home unit and set camera 1 back to being the home unit if I can't see the status of external battery packs on the Cuddelink HTML. I'm going to call Cuddelink customer support tomorrow!
FredG
5 year old buck +
Can you post the last picture that camera 1 transmitted? It makes no difference what the picture is of, the point of posting it is so we can extract the information stored within the picture to perhaps get an idea of what's going on. The information contained within each picture is much more detailed and could shed some light on the situation. I'm game to look at it if you're game to post an unaltered pic.
12pointer
5 year old buck +
Thanks Fred I really appreciate you taking the time to look at it for me....Below is the Cuddelink HTML (153409860097) and last image taken (I_00002) Friday morning prior to changing camera 1 to a remote camera and adding the home unit to the system.
The next image is the Cuddelink HTML file from the home unit Saturday afternoon (8/11/2018) approximately 24 hrs. after installing the home unit. (Camera 1 had not taken any images yet). as you can see all cameras now say OK for battery, except for the home unit, which says EXT OK, when before they all showed EXT OK in the previous image.
I checked the card on the home unit again Sunday morning and here's HTML file and the last image taken.
Looking forward to your response
FredG
5 year old buck +
Thanks for posting those 12pointer.
For some reason the metadata has been stripped from the before picture but the after picture is intact. Go figure.
The first thing to note is that you're using firmware v.6.0 and there is an update to v.7.0.0 available on the Cuddeback website at http://www.cuddeback.com/update. It is probably best that you update all of your G models to v.7 cause that may take care of your problems. Even though the instructions on that page say you don't have to unzip the downloaded file, upgrades never work for me unless I unzip the directory and just put the file needed (cdy_1200_1_0_0.fw) on the card.
The report you're getting that doesn't show the remotes being on external power is bogus for some reason (maybe addressed in the firmware update?). Below is the data that the camera is carrying in the last picture... it's recorded in the "Comments" field of the exif data and is recorded with each picture taken so the information provides a means of totally auditing the condition and performance of your camera through time:
MR=C.1,AD=4/14/2018,LD=121,BT=16,RD=120,LH=2370,LI=796,BL=7467,BP=50%,BS=Ext,BD=120,BI=1860,CF=Enabled,EX=Centered,ID=FOOD PLOT,LO=001,SM=ADV,DD=10sec,DI=1,DV=OFF,DL=OFF,ND=10sec,NI=1,NV=OFF,NL=OFF
From the above data we can see that at that point in time the picture was taken the BL=7467 (battery level or voltage was 7.467 volts), BS=Ext (battery source was external), BD=120 (battery run days were 120), and BI=1860 (handicapped battery images on these batteries was 1860... 1 per day pic and 5 per night pic handicapping). The internal batteries run the camera as a six volt system and the external pack runs the camera as a nine volt system, so since your voltage is too high for internals and the camera itself is recording that it's running with externals, the report is clearly in error. It will be interesting to see at what voltage the external pack gives up the ghost and switches over to the internals.
That's just the quick run-down. If you want more info on what the other stuff in that data string means, I'll be happy to fill you in on what I know (or what I think I know
). I personally think that any serious Cuddeback user should know about this information... how to find it, how to use it, etc because you can often self diagnose issues or put your mind at ease whatever the case may be.
For some reason the metadata has been stripped from the before picture but the after picture is intact. Go figure.
The first thing to note is that you're using firmware v.6.0 and there is an update to v.7.0.0 available on the Cuddeback website at http://www.cuddeback.com/update. It is probably best that you update all of your G models to v.7 cause that may take care of your problems. Even though the instructions on that page say you don't have to unzip the downloaded file, upgrades never work for me unless I unzip the directory and just put the file needed (cdy_1200_1_0_0.fw) on the card.
The report you're getting that doesn't show the remotes being on external power is bogus for some reason (maybe addressed in the firmware update?). Below is the data that the camera is carrying in the last picture... it's recorded in the "Comments" field of the exif data and is recorded with each picture taken so the information provides a means of totally auditing the condition and performance of your camera through time:
MR=C.1,AD=4/14/2018,LD=121,BT=16,RD=120,LH=2370,LI=796,BL=7467,BP=50%,BS=Ext,BD=120,BI=1860,CF=Enabled,EX=Centered,ID=FOOD PLOT,LO=001,SM=ADV,DD=10sec,DI=1,DV=OFF,DL=OFF,ND=10sec,NI=1,NV=OFF,NL=OFF
From the above data we can see that at that point in time the picture was taken the BL=7467 (battery level or voltage was 7.467 volts), BS=Ext (battery source was external), BD=120 (battery run days were 120), and BI=1860 (handicapped battery images on these batteries was 1860... 1 per day pic and 5 per night pic handicapping). The internal batteries run the camera as a six volt system and the external pack runs the camera as a nine volt system, so since your voltage is too high for internals and the camera itself is recording that it's running with externals, the report is clearly in error. It will be interesting to see at what voltage the external pack gives up the ghost and switches over to the internals.
That's just the quick run-down. If you want more info on what the other stuff in that data string means, I'll be happy to fill you in on what I know (or what I think I know
). I personally think that any serious Cuddeback user should know about this information... how to find it, how to use it, etc because you can often self diagnose issues or put your mind at ease whatever the case may be.
12pointer
5 year old buck +
Thanks for posting those 12pointer.
For some reason the metadata has been stripped from the before picture but the after picture is intact. Go figure.
The first thing to note is that you're using firmware v.6.0 and there is an update to v.7.0.0 available on the Cuddeback website at http://www.cuddeback.com/update. It is probably best that you update all of your G models to v.7 cause that may take care of your problems. Even though the instructions on that page say you don't have to unzip the downloaded file, upgrades never work for me unless I unzip the directory and just put the file needed (cdy_1200_1_0_0.fw) on the card.
The report you're getting that doesn't show the remotes being on external power is bogus for some reason (maybe addressed in the firmware update?). Below is the data that the camera is carrying in the last picture... it's recorded in the "Comments" field of the exif data and is recorded with each picture taken so the information provides a means of totally auditing the condition and performance of your camera through time:
MR=C.1,AD=4/14/2018,LD=121,BT=16,RD=120,LH=2370,LI=796,BL=7467,BP=50%,BS=Ext,BD=120,BI=1860,CF=Enabled,EX=Centered,ID=FOOD PLOT,LO=001,SM=ADV,DD=10sec,DI=1,DV=OFF,DL=OFF,ND=10sec,NI=1,NV=OFF,NL=OFF
From the above data we can see that at that point in time the picture was taken the BL=7467 (battery level or voltage was 7.467 volts), BS=Ext (battery source was external), BD=120 (battery run days were 120), and BI=1860 (handicapped battery images on these batteries was 1860... 1 per day pic and 5 per night pic handicapping). The internal batteries run the camera as a six volt system and the external pack runs the camera as a nine volt system, so since your voltage is too high for internals and the camera itself is recording that it's running with externals, the report is clearly in error. It will be interesting to see at what voltage the external pack gives up the ghost and switches over to the internals.
That's just the quick run-down. If you want more info on what the other stuff in that data string means, I'll be happy to fill you in on what I know (or what I think I know
Thanks Fred....I would like any information you can provide about what information is in the string. I was surprised that I remember (from one of your earlier post) on how to find this string and how much I remembered about what it meant...Almost everything you described I was correct on. Is BP battery percentage? What does "handicapped battery images on these batteries was 1860... 1 per day pic and 5 per night pic handicapping" mean? You lost me on that one! Is it bad? Sounds bad! :-)
Here's the metadata to that first picture if helps with any information:
MR=C.1,AD=4/14/2018,LD=119,BT=16,RD=118,LH=2325,LI=779,BL=7512,BP=50%,BS=Ext,BD=118,BI=1843,CF=Enabled,EX=Centered,ID=FOODPLOT,LO=001,SM=ADV,DD=10sec,DI=1,DV=OFF,DL=OFF,ND=10sec,NI=1,NV=OFF,NL=OFF
If I read it correctly it looks like the signal low battery signal came when the battery dropped below 7.5v, is that correct? When it switches to the internal batteries will the metadata say so and then record the internal battery voltages starting down from 6 volts?
'
Fred, I have been reading your comments about the latest firmware for the G cameras. Whrn i went to cuddebacks site and downloaded the latest firmware to my sd card it still said version 6 not 7 on my camera. Is this correct?Thanks for posting those 12pointer.
For some reason the metadata has been stripped from the before picture but the after picture is intact. Go figure.
The first thing to note is that you're using firmware v.6.0 and there is an update to v.7.0.0 available on the Cuddeback website at http://www.cuddeback.com/update. It is probably best that you update all of your G models to v.7 cause that may take care of your problems. Even though the instructions on that page say you don't have to unzip the downloaded file, upgrades never work for me unless I unzip the directory and just put the file needed (cdy_1200_1_0_0.fw) on the card.
The report you're getting that doesn't show the remotes being on external power is bogus for some reason (maybe addressed in the firmware update?). Below is the data that the camera is carrying in the last picture... it's recorded in the "Comments" field of the exif data and is recorded with each picture taken so the information provides a means of totally auditing the condition and performance of your camera through time:
MR=C.1,AD=4/14/2018,LD=121,BT=16,RD=120,LH=2370,LI=796,BL=7467,BP=50%,BS=Ext,BD=120,BI=1860,CF=Enabled,EX=Centered,ID=FOOD PLOT,LO=001,SM=ADV,DD=10sec,DI=1,DV=OFF,DL=OFF,ND=10sec,NI=1,NV=OFF,NL=OFF
From the above data we can see that at that point in time the picture was taken the BL=7467 (battery level or voltage was 7.467 volts), BS=Ext (battery source was external), BD=120 (battery run days were 120), and BI=1860 (handicapped battery images on these batteries was 1860... 1 per day pic and 5 per night pic handicapping). The internal batteries run the camera as a six volt system and the external pack runs the camera as a nine volt system, so since your voltage is too high for internals and the camera itself is recording that it's running with externals, the report is clearly in error. It will be interesting to see at what voltage the external pack gives up the ghost and switches over to the internals.
That's just the quick run-down. If you want more info on what the other stuff in that data string means, I'll be happy to fill you in on what I know (or what I think I know
Sent from my SM-G925R7 using Tapatalk
FredG
5 year old buck +
Hmmmm?! I just downloaded and installed it today and mine now read 7.0.0. I can't ever get firmware updates to take if I don't unzip them first... the camera will just say 'chk sd' or something if I try to update with the zip file.
ACCMan
5 year old buck +
Any info you would be willing to post on the metadata would be valuable info to all of us Cudde users, and thank you.
12pointer
5 year old buck +
Fred,
I need to go to each camera to upgrade the firmware, correct? I was hoping to not have to go in to these areas again before hunting season. I'm also a little nervous about upgrading 8 cameras that are linked together. Seems like a lot of thinhs could go wrong. I was hoping to upgrade them when the season was over. I may just put camera 1 back as the home camera and wait to install the home unit until next year. I really don't want to go into all 8 cameras right now.
If I do decide to go do it, I only use the Finke yoh showed correct?
I need to go to each camera to upgrade the firmware, correct? I was hoping to not have to go in to these areas again before hunting season. I'm also a little nervous about upgrading 8 cameras that are linked together. Seems like a lot of thinhs could go wrong. I was hoping to upgrade them when the season was over. I may just put camera 1 back as the home camera and wait to install the home unit until next year. I really don't want to go into all 8 cameras right now.
If I do decide to go do it, I only use the Finke yoh showed correct?
I don't no why it will not update, I have even loaded the firmware on a brand new card and i have unzipped the files. All i get is check sd and thats on multiple cameras. Hopefully i want need the updates.
Sent from my SM-G925R7 using Tapatalk
FredG
5 year old buck +
Yes... BP is battery percentage. I much prefer to just deal in voltages since percentage numbers aren't very accurate and have different meanings if on alkaline or lithium. But anything beats "OK until not OK" as a measurement scale.
There's LI (lifetime images) and BI (battery images). The lifetime images value (LI) is the total number of actual PIR tripped images taken day or night over the lifetime of the camera (not counting time lapse images).
The battery images value (BI) is a prorated measure of how many images have been taken with the current set of batteries where each daylight image counts as 1 image and each nighttime image is counted as 5 images since it takes an estimated 5X more power to run the flash array for a night image vs. a day image. This gives an estimated number of images taken on the current set of batteries as if each was a daylight picture and gives you a way to equate image counts from one set of batteries to another set where the split of day/night pics is always different. That's what I meant by 'handicapped' image count but I'm not sure this explanation is any clearer!
Yes, I think you hit the nail right on the head with 7.5 volts being the rollover point between OK and LOW. And yes again, when it rolls over to internal batteries the battery source will show BS=INT (Internal) and if the internals are fresh it will show roughly BL=6200 (6.2 volts) with BP=99%. At that point you will know to look at the prior pic's data and see what the roll-over voltage was so you'll know in the future when to expect it to switch from external to internal batteries. That bit of knowledge really helps eliminate the guesswork on when to change batteries.
FredG
5 year old buck +
Part of point I was trying to get at without saying it directly is this:
If the only problem you are having is with the report not specifically showing if the battery status is internal or external then you really don't have a problem at all! Much more detailed, accurate and useful information on battery conditions and the power source is at your fingertips with the metadata from the transmitted images. It really isn't necessity to walk all around updating firmware if you don't want to. And who knows, maybe the problem won't be solved by v.7.0 firmware. For all we know it could be the very thing that caused the problem in the first place. When all your cams were v.6.0 everything worked fine, but when you installed a new home unit with v.7.0 software the bottom fell out. Maybe it's the culprit.
