Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[john volkman]

1. 
   
   Not a CL expert but when I spoke with them I got same impression Catscratch describes. USB to a PC.
   Once this connection is made any other features of texting or emailing are not that important. For about $12/year you can download splashtop streamer and create a secure connection to the network from anywhere in the world if you have the Internet at camp.
   
   The problem is modems, routers, software ect. can hang and your locked out. To combat this I have a PC with bios that allows me to tell the PC to reboot after a power failure. Everything is plugged into an outlet timer that cuts power every 24 hours for 2 minutes. Everything reboots daily. This was if a modem hangs you're not locked out until you get back to camp.
   
   RF will travel through walls but everything it has to pass through lessons the signal. When I get my hands on a home unit I will figure out how to adapt a cable to a roof mounted omni directional antenna.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Bill, i have had a camera set as a home inside my residence for the last year, it has transmitted into the house with ease. I do have some large windows on one side of the house so maybe that helps a bit but i know others that did the same in their house or cabin with good success. I will be picking your brain on some of those options you stated above> i plan on running a home plus when we release them. The plan now is to link them to a one drive folder so you can access the images from a smart phone remotely using the existing internet service already on site.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I could be wrong but I think Mark cuddeback actually mentioned that the signal weakens as it runs through more cable so mounting on the roof could do more harm. That’s why cuddeback went with the antennas they did. I think eventually they will sell repeaters so if the signal is weak inside the home I would just put a repeater outside if it’s a problem.

For what it’s worth. I have a lot of different brands for cameras and so far cuddebacks have been my most reliable cameras. There are others that might do somethings better but I find them to be pretty well built and the one time I did have to send a camera in, they were very accommodating and sent an accessory back with it to offset the cost of shipping. Compared to other companies, I would say it’s inline with industry or even a step up. Again just my experience. Others may have different.

 

[Bill]

I do have some large windows on one side of the house so maybe that helps

Not sure with RF but with wifi windows actually reduce signal. That UV protection stuff slows signal.

 

[john volkman]

just to confirm. YES i know these are astronomical pic numbers!! :)

5 cams set up.
1 home unit.
5 cams all with 16 gig card
1 home unit 32 gig card.

5 cams transmit to home unit for two months.
1 home unit is full of 32 gig of pics.
5 cams are full at 16 gigs each.

1. Because the home camera is full. the images are saved on the internal SD card. you just pull the card and swap with a new one? My guess you will need to replace batteries anyways.
2. If you put in a new card in the home unit will the 5 cams just start to transmit the other images that are stored that didn't send? Or are they just stuck on the card until you swap them?

Not a deal breaker but wondering if I walk out to my cams if I will be needing to be armed with new cards.

I am assuming the CL system has a function that allows for SD card formatting at each camera, right??? that would be a HUGE deal breaker for me!

I hope im reading your question correctly-
if for any reason the home camera is unable to receive images because the card is full or the battery dies or its turned off, once it is powered back up etc, the remote cams will start sending images that have not been sent yet. They will be held in the que until they can transmit.
You can format the card at the cam but not remotely, if you end up putting 16 gig or larger cards in your remote cams that will be a large amount of image space in excess of 10-20k images depending on what resolution and if images are day or night. IF you aren't using a battery pack or a solar panel the batteries will probably need replacing before you fill a 16 gb card.
IF a remote camera fills the internal card that camera turns itself to Repeater mode so as to not interrupt the link or chain.
Keep in mind the home camera is receiving images at a lower res so it will be hard to fill a 16 or 32 gig card, they would hold an insane amount of images.

 

[Bill]

I could be wrong but I think Mark cuddeback actually mentioned that the signal weakens as it runs through more cable so mounting on the roof could do more harm.

I could be way wrong but I think a long cable slows transmission rates not signal strength. BE also recomends a cable no longer than needed for that reason.

You're correct though if the repeater is cheap enough, one outside would work. Feeding it power would be the issue. I'd love a plug in unit and could probably void the warranty and wire it to plug in. :)

 

[Red Picqua]

I hope im reading your question correctly-
if for any reason the home camera is unable to receive images because the card is full or the battery dies or its turned off, once it is powered back up etc, the remote cams will start sending images that have not been sent yet. They will be held in the que until they can transmit.
You can format the card at the cam but not remotely, if you end up putting 16 gig or larger cards in your remote cams that will be a large amount of image space in excess of 10-20k images depending on what resolution and if images are day or night. IF you aren't using a battery pack or a solar panel the batteries will probably need replacing before you fill a 16 gb card.
IF a remote camera fills the internal card that camera turns itself to Repeater mode so as to not interrupt the link or chain.
Keep in mind the home camera is receiving images at a lower res so it will be hard to fill a 16 or 32 gig card, they would hold an insane amount of images.

SOLD again. perfect. totally stoked to get these. unreal.

 

[yoderjac]

I could be way wrong but I think a long cable slows transmission rates not signal strength. BE also recomends a cable no longer than needed for that reason.

You're correct though if the repeater is cheap enough, one outside would work. Feeding it power would be the issue. I'd love a plug in unit and could probably void the warranty and wire it to plug in. :)

Ok, lets talk about cables and antennas. I'll try to keep things fairly simple. The radio/amplifier puts out a certain amount of power. Any cables and connectors between the radio and connector reduce that power. Depending on antenna design it may increase the effective power in a particular direction. The amount of loss from cable varies. At 900 MHz, a 200-series cable may have 7 db of loss per 100' of cable and 400-series cable may have about 1/2 that.

Also keep in mind that the FCC regulates the amount of radiated power these devices can put out.

There are broader considerations than simply cable type/length and any attenuation from the structure. One of the biggest sources of signal attenuation is water at this frequency. Pines are effectively standing water. What you want is as much line of sight between cameras as possible. Much will depend on your terrain and vegetation.

Provided that cuddeback provides and external antenna connection, you could add an antenna. High gain Omni-directional antennas have pattern that looks kind of like a doughnut. Power is redirected from above and below the antenna more laterally. You can get these with up to about 8 db gain. Yagi antennas redirect power from behind the antenna to in front of it. The higher the gain, the narrow the beam in front of the antenna. 6db and 8db antennas are fairly small. Yagi's up to 14 db can be practical but they get much larger than 6db or 9db and the beam is much narrower.

Bill,

If your base is located with cameras on all sides, an Omni is the right choice. If you base is at the corner of your property, a yagi may be a better choice.

One more thing to consider. I don't know how weather resistant Cuddeback's base will be and how good the USB hardware will be, but you can buy pretty long active USB cables. You can test the active USB extension cables with the Cuddeback to make sure they work. If the device doesn't have issues and go on and off line, you'll do better with a long USB and a shorter Coax. Whether you use an external antenna or just place the base in a good transmission location in your house it is something to consider.

And just so Red doesn't think I'm above pointing out issues with BEC, this is one area where I don't think they paid enough attention during the design of the Orion series. For folks using antenna masts to get above vegetation, it would be much better to run a usb cable and power cable up the mast to the PC base than using the long 400-series cable runs from the PC base to the antenna. I did some testing with a couple active USB extension cables. They would run for a few days and then go off line. To be fair, this could be a shortcoming with the USB hardware in my old computer. However, I would have like to see them consider this an even offer an active USB extension cable they had tested with the base.

Maybe Cuddeback will consider this as well. The places that folks often put computers are often not the best place to put a transmitter/receiver.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Bill]

Jack,
Not quite 360 from the base to the cameras but if these things can deliver a signal 1/4 mile "plus a little" I want cams at about 270. Based on my time with yagi's and omni's on the BE system I'm thinking an omni is best. There are some places close to home I'd love to have as much Intel as possible. Both deer and neighbor movement.

I'm not looking for this system to replace the BE system at this point, just enhance it if their reliable. Wish it was a 12 volt system and lots of other things on my wish list. But I'm not the designer and didn't put a $ million plus into making it happen so I'll try to work with what they produce, again, if it's reliable. I'm hoping for the best....

I suspect in ten years time we will be tossing our Buckeyes in the trash if they don't really step up their game on video, flash, sound and picture quality. Not to mention the price is still way too high. They quoted me about $30 for a cable to hook up my own solar charged car battery to the camera. I rewired an exiting BE battery box for about .95 cents.

Like you I love my BE cams for what they can do and have many complaints about what they can't do. Right now they are the top for transmission and longevity. I'd put a BE on the same tree as anything else and wait years knowing it would outlast anything on the market. CL is nipping at their heels. As a consumer I hope they bite their butt and cause a chain reaction that benifits us all.........

 

[yoderjac]

Jack,
Not quite 360 from the base to the cameras but if these things can deliver a signal 1/4 mile "plus a little" I want cams at about 270. Based on my time with yagi's and omni's on the BE system I'm thinking an omni is best. There are some places close to home I'd love to have as much Intel as possible. Both deer and neighbor movement.

I'm not looking for this system to replace the BE system at this point, just enhance it if their reliable. Wish it was a 12 volt system and lots of other things on my wish list. But I'm not the designer and didn't put a $ million plus into making it happen so I'll try to work with what they produce, again, if it's reliable. I'm hoping for the best....

I suspect in ten years time we will be tossing our Buckeyes in the trash if they don't really step up their game on video, flash, sound and picture quality. Not to mention the price is still way too high. They quoted me about $30 for a cable to hook up my own solar charged car battery to the camera. I rewired an exiting BE battery box for about .95 cents.

Like you I love my BE cams for what they can do and have many complaints about what they can't do. Right now they are the top for transmission and longevity. I'd put a BE on the same tree as anything else and wait years knowing it would outlast anything on the market. CL is nipping at their heels. As a consumer I hope they bite their butt and cause a chain reaction that benifits us all.........

Yes, I agree. For 270 degrees a 6db or 8db Omni is the best choice. As far as knowing things like reliability and lifespan, you are right that you never really know for sure until years down the road, but there are good predictors. I spent a lot of time talking to the engineers at BEC before I ordered my first one. They even sent me a loaner to do some testing since I was teaching a class and agreed to demo it along with some other cameras manufactures sent. When a company is doing shock and vib and environmental testing, has good QC practices, and is coating the electronics, chances of having reliability and longevity are much better. I had high confidence when I started with the Orions. A lot of that testing came from the fact that they were selling them to the military before they started selling them to the public. We as consumers benefited from that. My guess is they could have not brought the price down as low as it was without the military contract covering a lot of the NRE.

That is also why I'm still a little hesitant to fully endorse the X-series. I have less experience with it since I only have one of them, but beyond that, it has a different origin. It was attempt to reach for a lower price point in the market. I doubt this redesign had the same level of wring-out as the Orion given all the mishaps the first year it was out. They addressed them fairly quickly, but time will tell. You have more experience with the X-series than I do.

I'm interested in the cuddeback system for similar reasons as you. It is not close to a replacement for my Orions. I sent most of mine back for refurbishment this year. Most cost me less than $50. It was things like scratched lexan, seals, and stuff, and I thought some of the battery connectors on the boards were shorted out. I was having battery related issues after they were refurbished and found it was actually the female connectors on the battery leads that were wearing out. I bought a bunch of those from dig-key and made my own leads. That fixed the issue. It was BEC that suggested I check this. When I Orions eventually begin to fail, I'll see what is available at the time. I thinking of the cuddeback as a hunting/trespass tool more than QDM tool. Thumbnails are good enough for most hunting applications. I also bought a small property for a retirement home. They could serve a trespass function there as well. I won't be an early adopter but I'm watching your experience and those of others closely.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I am planning on adding a few of these to my collection, but at the present time, I have enough functionable cameras that I will wait for some of them to quit. I have been running mostly cell cameras, but I have one area that I dont get very good cell reception, and it eats batteries trying to send the pictures, so I have just plain cameras back there. The CL system would work perfect back there. I would still like an option to plug one of the home bases into an AC outlet. I would probably take a home base, put it inside my cabin, and have it transfer pictures over a cell network to my phone.

 

[Catscratch]

I am planning on adding a few of these to my collection, but at the present time, I have enough functionable cameras that I will wait for some of them to quit. I have been running mostly cell cameras, but I have one area that I dont get very good cell reception, and it eats batteries trying to send the pictures, so I have just plain cameras back there. The CL system would work perfect back there. I would still like an option to plug one of the home bases into an AC outlet. I would probably take a home base, put it inside my cabin, and have it transfer pictures over a cell network to my phone.

Wouldn't any device plugged into a computer with a USB cord stay charged?

 

[4wanderingeyes]

I was thinking of not using a computer, and just plugging it into an ac outlet, but I assume, a phone charger outlet would work.

 

[Catscratch]

I was thinking of not using a computer, and just plugging it into an ac outlet, but I assume, a phone charger outlet would work.

My bad. I had it in mind that it would USB into a computer that would then automatically email pics, or store them in a cloud type folder that could be reached anywhere you had internet.

 

[Boone]

This setup would work for us also as our cabin is 1/4-1/2 mile from our cams. A few questions, does the home camera take pics as ours would not need to being in the cabin. Still would like the option of a cell plan. Also, is their anything new with this coming in 2018?

 

[yoderjac]

Whether USB is sufficient for power depends on the power consumption of the device. My higher powered Orion PC base uses both USB and external power. It will work with just USB but for maximum transmission power it requires a separate AC based power supply to be attached. My lower powered X-Series base only has a USB connection. USB can provide all the power it can consume. I presume that the cuddeback falls into this latter category if it does not have a separate power connection.

 

[john volkman]

This setup would work for us also as our cabin is 1/4-1/2 mile from our cams. A few questions, does the home camera take pics as ours would not need to being in the cabin. Still would like the option of a cell plan. Also, is their anything new with this coming in 2018?

you will have multiple options in 2018

1. Set any existing Cuddelink camera as your home , you can turn off the camera function on this camera and it would only receive images from remotes on your property or leave it on to take pics and receive. (Available now)

the below are slated for 2018 launch-
2. Purchase a Cuddelink camera with cell that will take pics, receive images from remote cameras , and then send those pics to your smart phone/email address etc. MSRP about $450
3. Home plus unit, this will be an affordable priced unit that only receives images from remote cameras( ideal for someone who lives on their property or has a cabin with or without internet access. Can be used indoors or outdoors. MSRP is about $130. The plan is to also have this unit adapt to where it can plug into a computer on site and load images to a google drive file that can be accessed remotely with a smartphone.
4. Home plus with Cell, home unit with cell module that will receive images from remote cams and then send/ forward them to your smartphone/email. Used indoors or outdoors. MSRP about $200

 

[Peplin Creek]

you will have multiple options in 2018

1. Set any existing Cuddelink camera as your home , you can turn off the camera function on this camera and it would only receive images from remotes on your property or leave it on to take pics and receive. (Available now)

the below are slated for 2018 launch-
2. Purchase a Cuddelink camera with cell that will take pics, receive images from remote cameras , and then send those pics to your smart phone/email address etc. MSRP about $450
3. Home plus unit, this will be an affordable priced unit that only receives images from remote cameras( ideal for someone who lives on their property or has a cabin with or without internet access. Can be used indoors or outdoors. MSRP is about $130. The plan is to also have this unit adapt to where it can plug into a computer on site and load images to a google drive file that can be accessed remotely with a smartphone.
4. Home plus with Cell, home unit with cell module that will receive images from remote cams and then send/ forward them to your smartphone/email. Used indoors or outdoors. MSRP about $200

Couple of questions hopefully you can answer but understand if you can’t yet.

1.) what cell service or services will be used with the system?

2.) do you know if the home plus will still being using 6volt battery power or will it be 12volt? Curious because i am really interested in the cell base and eventually probably maxing out the network with cameras. I would imagine battery consumption will be high. So my plan is to put it on a battery/solar unit... a beefy one at that.

 

[john volkman]

Couple of questions hopefully you can answer but understand if you can’t yet.

1.) what cell service or services will be used with the system?

2.) do you know if the home plus will still being using 6volt battery power or will it be 12volt? Curious because i am really interested in the cell base and eventually probably maxing out the network with cameras. I would imagine battery consumption will be high. So my plan is to put it on a battery/solar unit... a beefy one at that.

1. Verizon will be first.
2. The home plus will work on D Cell batteries, ( an optional extra 6 d cell battery pack is available as well. ) or a 110 wall plug.
3. we will have a solar panel available for certain cameras as well.

 

[Peplin Creek]

1. Verizon will be first.
2. The home plus will work on D Cell batteries, ( an optional extra 6 d cell battery pack is available as well. ) or a 110 wall plug.
3. we will have a solar panel available for certain cameras as well.

Thanks John.

 

[Catscratch]

1. Verizon will be first.
2. The home plus will work on D Cell batteries, ( an optional extra 6 d cell battery pack is available as well. ) or a 110 wall plug.
3. we will have a solar panel available for certain cameras as well.

Are you with the company? If so what would a single camera and a receiver for the home computer run $$$? Just looking for a basic system to test out...
Thanks!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk