Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[john volkman]

So I have my cuddelinks spread out pretty far and let's say camera 2 is getting a signal of 40-50 to camera 1. I then set up 3 and 4 within 300 yards of camera 2 and both say signal of 99. But when I check the status update on the home unit it says a signal of 16 or 18 on camera 3 and 4. Any thoughts John? I thought it should be going through camera 2 and getting a higher signal.

the connections can and do change daily, a camera will try to connect with home directly if it can , but will switch to bouncing images thru a another cam. The simplicity of the system is designed so the user doesnt need to determine which camera or how it makes it home, if figures it out on its own. If you can set up your system so images get home with the least amount of hops it will work faster and more efficiently.one just needs to know as long as all are connected to home in some way you are good to go.

 

[Forstyle]

thank you john

 

[ssesox]

Buyer beware on the Cuddelink system. Its a great concept and I was excited to use it like many new concepts it wasn't designed very well. There's a reason other camera companies don't use a system similar to it. The camera itself is okay
The cameras just destroys batteries. I used AA Lithium Ion batteries. They shouldn't even sell them without the auxiliary battery pack. I bought the D cell battery pack. For some reason the camera turns off after a day or two. Before it powers down it does take and receives picture's. If I screw the battery pack off the camera and put it back on it works fine. The battery monitor says the batteries are fully charged.
Surprisingly I called Cuddeback and actually spoke to a nice person. As suspected she ran me through the normal directions and was unable to fix the problem.

 

[ssesox]

I also loaded the new firmware. Which didn't work. Despite trying two different SD cards with the firmware loaded on them it wouldn't accept the card. Seems like I've been screwing and worrying about these cuddeback camera since I hung them in July. I hate to say anything bad about them since they are a WI company.

 

[archer100]

I have had nothing but good luck with my 9. Had few issues on getting s couple to link up. But after some PMing with John, he gave me some pointers and they are linking good. All my cams except one have battery packs. And actually very suprised with the one that doesn’t have pack as it is lasting a lot longer then I expected. It is a j series. The G series imo definantly need the battery pack but for the minimal added price, I am not complaing


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[davidhelmly]

I have had nothing but good luck with my 9. Had few issues on getting s couple to link up. But after some PMing with John, he gave me some pointers and they are linking good. All my cams except one have battery packs. And actually very suprised with the one that doesn’t have pack as it is lasting a lot longer then I expected. It is a j series. The G series imo definantly need the battery pack but for the minimal added price, I am not complaing


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I’m with you archer, I’ve only got 6 of them and mine have been great and I don’t think the battery life is that bad. I’ve been getting 60-75 days on my J series that are Cuddelinked together using alkaline batteries.

 

[john volkman]

I also loaded the new firmware. Which didn't work. Despite trying two different SD cards with the firmware loaded on them it wouldn't accept the card. Seems like I've been screwing and worrying about these cuddeback camera since I hung them in July. I hate to say anything bad about them since they are a WI company.

Be sure not to unzip the file when copying it to your card , it will not load if you do this. Regarding the camera you have the issue with it’s under warranty and cuddeback will fix or replace it for you. I will assume the person you talked to offered this?

 

[ssesox]

I'm glad they are working well for you. I used AA Lithium and the home unit would last 3 weeks max. Remote unit about 6 weeks. This was during warm summer temps. I suspect the home unit burns more battery because its searching for a signal from the other cameras. If your getting 60-75 days with AA Alkaline batteries there's definitely something wrong with mine. Like I said they shouldn't even sell them without the D battery pack.

 

[john volkman]

I'm glad they are working well for you. I used AA Lithium and the home unit would last 3 weeks max. Remote unit about 6 weeks. This was during warm summer temps. I suspect the home unit burns more battery because its searching for a signal from the other cameras. If your getting 60-75 days with AA Alkaline batteries there's definitely something wrong with mine. Like I said they shouldn't even sell them without the D battery pack.

I've posted on the lithium issue before but wanted to reiterate that lithium offers limited advantages, they are superior in cold weather( 10 degrees and below) and they provide full power until dead. Beyond those two advantages the cost of a good alkaline especially in this system is a better choice. They dont last any longer in normal fall conditions than the alkaline models.
I continually suggested that anyone using this system consider using the d pack or the solar pack which will pay for itself in short order. Cuddeback is constantly working on new and better battery options and 2019 should bring more choices for those that want extended life on their existing systems.

 

[archer100]

I feel that is pretty good battery life considering what the camera has to do with the link system. How many pictures u getting on average.

Heck, even some of my spartan cell cameras without external battery pack only last around 3-6 weeks depending on how many pics and which settings I have set


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[Ed Brodt]

I have had the solar panel kit installed on a Cuddeback J series camera now for a couple of months. Extremely pleased with performance. Just wish they would come out with the solar unit for the G Series.

 

[davidhelmly]

I feel that is pretty good battery life considering what the camera has to do with the link system. How many pictures u getting on average.

Heck, even some of my spartan cell cameras without external battery pack only last around 3-6 weeks depending on how many pics and which settings I have set


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Yes battery life of these J cameras is actually better than I expected. These don't get tons of pics, maybe 100 per week per camera.

 

[Potter co notill]

So far I like these cameras, my biggest concern was getting enough cell service in my area as its very poor. I went to my highest point in my area and on the ground I would get test failure to connect to home cell. So I took my climber and climbed up the tree 20ft and now get Test-Success and its been sending me pics for over a week. only 1 day did I not receive anything, not sure why. Good thing with it being 20ft up in the tree is no one will steal it.
I have 3 G cams a 1 J Cam connected in the cuddelink. I have the battery packs for the G and home units, my only complaint is I have the G-cams in metal boxes because of bear problems, I wish they would make a box for the battery pack, I can see a bear ripping that off of the tree and then my batteries won't last as long. I may end up going to a 6V battery as I can get a box for those, but I want to see what kind of battery life I can get with battery pack.

 

[Booner21]

Buyer beware on the Cuddelink system. Its a great concept and I was excited to use it like many new concepts it wasn't designed very well. There's a reason other camera companies don't use a system similar to it. The camera itself is okay
The cameras just destroys batteries. I used AA Lithium Ion batteries. They shouldn't even sell them without the auxiliary battery pack. I bought the D cell battery pack. For some reason the camera turns off after a day or two. Before it powers down it does take and receives picture's. If I screw the battery pack off the camera and put it back on it works fine. The battery monitor says the batteries are fully charged.
Surprisingly I called Cuddeback and actually spoke to a nice person. As suspected she ran me through the normal directions and was unable to fix the problem.

1 out of the batch of cell cams we put up is doing this. Has turned itself off 3 times now in 2 weeks. All the others are doing great and I just flipped through 5 properties of pics acrossed 4 counties in about 5 minutes after supper. My cams are going on 40 days and still showing ok batt life. No extender and powerhouse black flash

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[john volkman]

1 out of the batch of cell cams we put up is doing this. Has turned itself off 3 times now in 2 weeks. All the others are doing great and I just flipped through 5 properties of pics acrossed 4 counties in about 5 minutes after supper. My cams are going on 40 days and still showing ok batt life. No extender and powerhouse black flash

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

make sure that cell unit has firmware versions 7.3 or higher in it.

 

[Booner21]

It had 7.0 on it cs provided a 7.4 update hope it works

1 out of the batch of cell cams we put up is doing this. Has turned itself off 3 times now in 2 weeks. All the others are doing great and I just flipped through 5 properties of pics acrossed 4 counties in about 5 minutes after supper. My cams are going on 40 days and still showing ok batt life. No extender and powerhouse black flash

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

make sure that cell unit has firmware versions 7.3 or higher in it.

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[john volkman]

It had 7.0 on it cs provided a 7.4 update hope it works

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That update should fix your issue.

 

[john volkman]

For those of you waiting on the Solar option for the g series, a very limited supply of adapters just arrived. this adapter will need to be used with the solar kit to work with a g camera. If you need help finding a dealer that will have these and the solar kit to go with it, PM me and i can give you a couple options. Cuddeback is sold out of solar kits so if you dont already have one you will need to pick that up at an authorized dealer as well.

 

[SELFILMED]

Can these be used on the powerhouse black flash cams? Output plug on bottom says 9v which doesn't match the G series cam.

Package doesn't say it is compatible, but the same model number on cuddeback website says it is.

I also just noticed the clip area that attaches the cam to the battery pack is also different.

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[FredG]

Can these be used on the powerhouse black flash cams? Output plug on bottom says 9v which doesn't match the G series cam.

Yes, it works great with the G cams. However, if the one you're holding is an older model (I assume it is because the package advertising doesn't specify the G model) the power cord may be an inch or two short for the G camera so you will either have to splice the cable to lengthen it or buy the longer Battery Booster Cable Model 9038 here.