Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[FredG]

At what point does a remote send pics to home camera. After 1 pic, 10 pics or ?

I would say "or".

When I was testing to find that answer it seemed like the first transmission after linking up could take some time... like 30 minutes or so but once the camera seemed to get in the groove it was more like a minute or two after a picture was taken. I would assume (but don't know for sure) that there is some kind of an internal delay in the firmware that postpones transmission during periods of continuous picture taking activity because to the best of my knowledge the camera can't walk and chew gum at the same time... taking pictures is a no go during transmission events. The next time you're out in the field you can test this for yourself. Go to a remote that's up and running and open up the user interface door and trip off a picture or two. You should see "IMAGE" flash on the screen as each pic is taken. Then hold something over the PIR lens and patiently watch the screen during the quiet interval for something like "XMIT" to flash indicating that the remote is transmitting back to the home.

 

[tdawgcj7]

Any news on the Cuddeback Dual Power Bank, Brown, 3563? I ordered mine from OpticsPlanet back in June knowing there would be a delay. I just contacted their support and they told me the MFG estimated delivery date is Jan 2, 2020. Not a big deal since i have not had to put batteries in my K cell camera yet, but mostly curious. Just for others that may come a crossed this thread when researching CuddeLink systems, I LOVE MINE. I just added my 4th camera and got the strobe option. I had it out on my new throw-Mow food plot and get great night color pictures.

 

[RRAB58]

I would say "or".

When I was testing to find that answer it seemed like the first transmission after linking up could take some time... like 30 minutes or so but once the camera seemed to get in the groove it was more like a minute or two after a picture was taken. I would assume (but don't know for sure) that there is some kind of an internal delay in the firmware that postpones transmission during periods of continuous picture taking activity because to the best of my knowledge the camera can't walk and chew gum at the same time... taking pictures is a no go during transmission events. The next time you're out in the field you can test this for yourself. Go to a remote that's up and running and open up the user interface door and trip off a picture or two. You should see "IMAGE" flash on the screen as each pic is taken. Then hold something over the PIR lens and patiently watch the screen during the quiet interval for something like "XMIT" to flash indicating that the remote is transmitting back to the home.

Needs a “Test” function like the K model.
The RF signal on remotes is a strange thing. I would walk 2-3 ft, stop for about 1 minute and check signal strength. I finally found 50% and hung it on nearest tree and immediately lost signal. I raised it up over my head thinking that might help, lost signal. Everywhere I had good signal there either was not a tree or not where I wanted it. I would literally lose signal in less than 2ft. I’m gonna make some conduit poles to hang them on. Also, been reading about a piece of wire to hang on antenna. Called Tiger Tail or Rat Tail. Anybody tried it?

I’m going to make some conduit poles and mount that bracket on. Going to put a foot peg on bottom to drive it in the ground. The heck with that strap! The camera and pack weight and height overwhelms that bracket and strap. I have to find little sticks to put behind bracket to level it up.

But other than that It’s a great system!

 

[cspot]

I would say "or".

When I was testing to find that answer it seemed like the first transmission after linking up could take some time... like 30 minutes or so but once the camera seemed to get in the groove it was more like a minute or two after a picture was taken. I would assume (but don't know for sure) that there is some kind of an internal delay in the firmware that postpones transmission during periods of continuous picture taking activity because to the best of my knowledge the camera can't walk and chew gum at the same time... taking pictures is a no go during transmission events. The next time you're out in the field you can test this for yourself. Go to a remote that's up and running and open up the user interface door and trip off a picture or two. You should see "IMAGE" flash on the screen as each pic is taken. Then hold something over the PIR lens and patiently watch the screen during the quiet interval for something like "XMIT" to flash indicating that the remote is transmitting back to the home.

I did some "unofficial testing". I have walked past remote cameras on my way back to the cabin and sometimes the pics would be on the home camera and sometimes they wouldn't (maybe 5 min elapsed time). Since this is middle of the day there isn't any pics taken after mine. I have never seen any real pattern, but I agree that when first deploying it seems like it takes a long time.

 

[JLemon]

Looks like I’ve got a tree down right in front of my camera.

 

[roosterstraw]

Any news on the Cuddeback Dual Power Bank, Brown, 3563? I ordered mine from OpticsPlanet back in June knowing there would be a delay. I just contacted their support and they told me the MFG estimated delivery date is Jan 2, 2020.

John, can you confirm this? I have been waiting to purchase additional cameras because I have been waiting on the dual pack. If they aren't going to be released until next year I will go ahead and purchase additional cameras.

 

[aa961jester]

In post # 2433 John said the dual power banks should be available at the end of August with a large shipment in September. I am also waiting to buy four of them I keep checking daily. I go back to my farm in KY towards the end of September a 900 one way mile drive so I hope I get them for the trip.

 

[roosterstraw]

In post # 2433 John said the dual power banks should be available at the end of August with a large shipment in September. I am also waiting to buy four of them I keep checking daily. I go back to my farm in KY towards the end of September a 900 one way mile drive so I hope I get them for the trip.

That’s a trip. I live in Kentucky, what part of the state is your farm? If it’s reasonably close I don’t care to help you out if need be.

 

[aa961jester]

South Central, Summer Shade Metcalfe County.

 

[john volkman]

Unfortunately this software looks extremely outdated and I'm not able to get it to install on my windows 10 PC. I really hope cuddeback has something in the works for photo management/tracking. A lot of competitors are moving this direction with apps or web based portals. I use the huntstand app and I am jealous of their recent agreement with wildgames innovations.

at this time we have no plans to move to an app, competitors have had serious issues with apps including downtime during peak/important times( as an example november 2018 ). We have had zero downtime , no interruptions after millions of emails sent to date. the goal is for our system to be reliable and consistent. As far as image photo management , trophy room had a lot of effort behind it with very limited consumer usage when it was launched. All our efforts currently are focused on continually improving and enhancing cuddelink and cell technologies.

 

[john volkman]

Any news on the Cuddeback Dual Power Bank, Brown, 3563? I ordered mine from OpticsPlanet back in June knowing there would be a delay. I just contacted their support and they told me the MFG estimated delivery date is Jan 2, 2020. Not a big deal since i have not had to put batteries in my K cell camera yet, but mostly curious. Just for others that may come a crossed this thread when researching CuddeLink systems, I LOVE MINE. I just added my 4th camera and got the strobe option. I had it out on my new throw-Mow food plot and get great night color pictures.

there should be a small amount arriving soon with a very large shipment in late september.

 

[john volkman]

At what point does a remote send pics to home camera. After 1 pic, 10 pics or ?

the newest firmware mates the link delay to the Camera delay meaning that the image will be sent home immediately after its taken- note if multiple cameras are in the process of sending images home each camera will have to wait "in line" so to speak since the network and home cant transmit and receive multiple images simultaneously , a cuddelink network can process up to 30K images per month max.
Imagine the network as a highway and each image as a car on the highway. Individual Cars(pics) each need their own space on the highway when traveling home.

 

[davidhelmly]

I would say "or".

When I was testing to find that answer it seemed like the first transmission after linking up could take some time... like 30 minutes or so but once the camera seemed to get in the groove it was more like a minute or two after a picture was taken. I would assume (but don't know for sure) that there is some kind of an internal delay in the firmware that postpones transmission during periods of continuous picture taking activity because to the best of my knowledge the camera can't walk and chew gum at the same time... taking pictures is a no go during transmission events. The next time you're out in the field you can test this for yourself. Go to a remote that's up and running and open up the user interface door and trip off a picture or two. You should see "IMAGE" flash on the screen as each pic is taken. Then hold something over the PIR lens and patiently watch the screen during the quiet interval for something like "XMIT" to flash indicating that the remote is transmitting back to the home.

Fred I believe that you are indeed correct about the system not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. When I first got my cell unit and set it up I wanted to make sure that I had it setup to send pics as quickly as possible since I was using the system in more of a security setting so I spoke with one of the CS managers, he went pretty far over my head but what I brought away was that the FCC will not allow the cell camera to take pics, transfer pics from a remote or email pics at the same time, it has to shut down all other processes to take a pic, check for pics on a remote and transfer it or email a pic.
My cellular system is 1 K cam and 2 J remotes, I get pics from the K camera within a minute or so of being taken but the remotes take longer and it just depends on how many pictures are being taken, this past weekend we were up working in the area covered with the cameras and there were a couple of hundred pictures taken between the 3 cameras and it took around 48 hours for the system to catch up and send all of the pics to me. I love the system but it certainly isn't real time but that hasn't been a problem.

 

[RRAB58]

the newest firmware mates the link delay to the Camera delay meaning that the image will be sent home immediately after its taken- note if multiple cameras are in the process of sending images home each camera will have to wait "in line" so to speak since the network and home cant transmit and receive multiple images simultaneously , a cuddelink network can process up to 30K images per month max.
Imagine the network as a highway and each image as a car on the highway. Individual Cars(pics) each need their own space on the highway when traveling home.

I was just trying to find an easier way to confirm that a remote is linked without having to go to home camera. My home camera's rate is set at 10, so I made remote take 10 or so pics while I was standing there. I had good cell phone reception so I thought it might send it to Home camera and email me fairly quickly. When I do a Test on home camera, my cell phone will receive it before I leave spot. Not instantly but pretty darn quick. I had 30-40% signal on remote when I left, but I guess it may have lost the signal as soon as I left.

What is the signal strength based upon? I have 2 remotes that are close to one another but neither are linking to home camera. Is the signal strength on one of these remotes using the other remote as a reference for strength measurement?

 

[RRAB58]

Fred I believe that you are indeed correct about the system not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. When I first got my cell unit and set it up I wanted to make sure that I had it setup to send pics as quickly as possible since I was using the system in more of a security setting so I spoke with one of the CS managers, he went pretty far over my head but what I brought away was that the FCC will not allow the cell camera to take pics, transfer pics from a remote or email pics at the same time, it has to shut down all other processes to take a pic, check for pics on a remote and transfer it or email a pic.
My cellular system is 1 K cam and 2 J remotes, I get pics from the K camera within a minute or so of being taken but the remotes take longer and it just depends on how many pictures are being taken, this past weekend we were up working in the area covered with the cameras and there were a couple of hundred pictures taken between the 3 cameras and it took around 48 hours for the system to catch up and send all of the pics to me. I love the system but it certainly isn't real time but that hasn't been a problem.

I just went back through some prior emails to CS.
"Is the picture taking ability of Home camera disrupted when a Remote is transmitting pics into the Home camera?
What about Linked cameras. Is the camera that is being used to link a Remote and Home disrupted during transmission?" -
"No, It does not get disrupted when transmitting. However, when the home is emailing, the CL network gets put on hold until it’s done sending. This should not cause an issue."

 

[RRAB58]

Looks like I’ve got a tree down right in front of my camera.

Lol, nothing like driving 4 hrs round trip and get home to find a tree or vine right in front of camera.

 

[Bpressley]

Fred I believe that you are indeed correct about the system not being able to walk and chew gum at the same time. When I first got my cell unit and set it up I wanted to make sure that I had it setup to send pics as quickly as possible ......this past weekend we were up working in the area covered with the cameras and there were a couple of hundred pictures taken between the 3 cameras and it took around 48 hours for the system to catch up and send all of the pics to me. I love the system but it certainly isn't real time but that hasn't been a problem.

I had one of cell units setup like this last year (send batch 1) thinking i could really stay up to date on all the action in the woods. Big mistake, just like you experienced, the system back logged big time. I now do every hour and it works great.

 

[WillowRidge]

What are my options for extending the range between my cameras? I was curious if attaching some sort of extended antenna would work, or can I just purchase a "home" unit to act as a remote gateway where there is no need for a camera? I'm trying to stretch 9 cameras on 520 acres and it is proving difficult. I've had to settle for less than ideal placements.

 

[RRAB58]

What are my options for extending the range between my cameras? I was curious if attaching some sort of extended antenna would work, or can I just purchase a "home" unit to act as a remote gateway where there is no need for a camera? I'm trying to stretch 9 cameras on 520 acres and it is proving difficult. I've had to settle for less than ideal placements.

Same here. I’ve been reading where some people attach a certain length wire to antenna. Not sure if will work or not. I’m also looking at some different antennas that are 5dbi gain. Not sure what gain the stock antennas are but Im going to do some experimenting.

 

[john volkman]

What are my options for extending the range between my cameras? I was curious if attaching some sort of extended antenna would work, or can I just purchase a "home" unit to act as a remote gateway where there is no need for a camera? I'm trying to stretch 9 cameras on 520 acres and it is proving difficult. I've had to settle for less than ideal placements.

the option is either another camera or the SD home unit used in repeater mode. In testing other antennas did not enhance the connection distance at all so we dont advise changing that .