Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[crenshawco]

I've got something odd going on with my cell home lately. It is the older cell home model, not the new cell camera. It has been in place and working for over a year.

So about 2 weeks ago, I pulled the 4GB card on it because it had about 16,000 images on it. I received images after I swapped the card at all three of the next 2 hour intervals, then nothing for 2 days. I've got 11 cameras out, and it's rare that I go a 2 hour interval without a single picture.

I figured I had some kind of card error since that was the only thing that had changed. When I went to check it, the cell home showed that it was armed with no sign of any problem when I opened the screen. So I turned it off, swapped to a new card, formatted the card and armed the cell home.

I immediately started receiving images again and it has been working normally for about 10 days. Then today, I received my report and images up to the 10:00AM email, and since, nothing.

I plan on going to check it tomorrow on my lunch break, but any ideas what could be going on?

 

[RRAB58]

I've got something odd going on with my cell home lately. It is the older cell home model, not the new cell camera. It has been in place and working for over a year.

So about 2 weeks ago, I pulled the 4GB card on it because it had about 16,000 images on it. I received images after I swapped the card at all three of the next 2 hour intervals, then nothing for 2 days. I've got 11 cameras out, and it's rare that I go a 2 hour interval without a single picture.

I figured I had some kind of card error since that was the only thing that had changed. When I went to check it, the cell home showed that it was armed with no sign of any problem when I opened the screen. So I turned it off, swapped to a new card, formatted the card and armed the cell home.

I immediately started receiving images again and it has been working normally for about 10 days. Then today, I received my report and images up to the 10:00AM email, and since, nothing.

I plan on going to check it tomorrow on my lunch break, but any ideas what could be going on

4GB is mighty small if you are getting a lot of pictures and not pulling cards regularly. I didn't know a 4GB card would hold 16000 pics. If you are in Cuddelink mode and that SD card gets full, it will stop taking pictures. It will not overwrite pictures. Not sure if it's just in Cuddelink mode that it like this, as I never not run Cuddelink.

What are your settings? Post the report and a pic lets look at the Metadata.

 

[crenshawco]

I wasn't very clear about that. The 4GB card came out of a cell home that was only receiving thumbnails. It is the old cell home model that doesn't take pictures. I wasnt getting any alert that the card was getting full, but I also figured 16,000 thumbnails was a lot for a 4GB card, so I decided to put a fresh card in.

Here is this mornings report, and one of the last pics I got in the 10AM batch. It's so warm down here the gobblers think it's Spring already

 

[RRAB58]

I wasn't very clear about that. The 4GB card came out of a cell home that was only receiving thumbnails. It is the old cell home model that doesn't take pictures. I wasnt getting any alert that the card was getting full, but I also figured 16,000 thumbnails was a lot for a 4GB card, so I decided to put a fresh card in.

Here is this mornings report, and one of the last pics I got in the 10AM batch. It's so warm down here the gobblers think it's Spring already

First, there is a newer firmware out. But if everything working ok. I might wait post season to do it.

I could not pull data from that picture to check your settings for some reason. But I would definitely increase card size. Or just swap card with one of your others. I’m not sure on that particular home unit, it might not overwrite as well.

Maybe ok, but you have 2 camera’s with real low signals. <20 sometime ties the network up. But I do not see any pictures in queue, so it’s probably ok.

 

[crenshawco]

Yea I thought about doing a firmware update on everything too, but I still don't think that is the cause of whatever is going on. Everything had been in place and working fine since August until I changed the card in the cell home.

I also don't think the card size is the issue. The 4GB card had been in there since August and never caused an issue. When I swapped it out, I put an 8GB card in there. When it quit working with the 8GB card, I swapped it back to the 4GB card that had been in there. Like I said, it worked for about 10 days, and now it has quit.

I really expected to see some type of card error such as "SD FULL" or something like that when I opened the screen. I've had that happen before with some type of card formatting error, but swapping cards resolved that. I don't understand why it shows that it is in the normal Armed mode and everything looks normal, but no pictures are being transmitted.

Anyway, I will report back after I go check it at lunch today.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I couldn’t be more disappointed with cuddeback support. I have a dual flash cam that’s been a run away since I got it. This year I just took it out of the woods and said forget about it and would call and get it replaced after season. This is a common problem from what I gathered on this forum with this type of camera. It’s not a big deal... if cuddeback would replace it.... anyway I called support I went through a bunch of commands. Yes the firmware is old because I pulled it earlier in the year. Well long story short. I can’t send it in for replacement because it doesn’t have the latest firmware installed. So now I have to mess around more with a broken camera... just to prove I still can’t use it. What a bunch of crap. When asking and telling them this camera has done this from day one and the other 6 I own do not... and that it wasn’t firmware related. I was simply told we can’t replace unless it has the latest firmware. So there’s that. So would be nice if they just stood behind their issues and made it right.

 

[crenshawco]

When I got to the cell home at lunch, it was in the Armed mode and appeared to be working fine. I turned it off and loaded the latest firmware. I put a new card in it and armed it again, so I should know by 4:00 if it is sending pictures now or not. On the card I pulled from the home, it has been receiving images from the remote cameras, it just isn't transmitting them in the email. It also didn't send the daily report. So, I'm not real sure what is going on.

 

[Kooch]

I couldn’t be more disappointed with cuddeback support. I have a dual flash cam that’s been a run away since I got it. This year I just took it out of the woods and said forget about it and would call and get it replaced after season. This is a common problem from what I gathered on this forum with this type of camera. It’s not a big deal... if cuddeback would replace it.... anyway I called support I went through a bunch of commands. Yes the firmware is old because I pulled it earlier in the year. Well long story short. I can’t send it in for replacement because it doesn’t have the latest firmware installed. So now I have to mess around more with a broken camera... just to prove I still can’t use it. What a bunch of crap. When asking and telling them this camera has done this from day one and the other 6 I own do not... and that it wasn’t firmware related. I was simply told we can’t replace unless it has the latest firmware. So there’s that. So would be nice if they just stood behind their issues and made it right.

I don't work for trailcampro.com. BUT when it comes to trail cameras, if they don't sell it, I won't buy it. They handle warranty issues for you, and extend it to two years. I don't know if they do cuddeback or not.

YMMV - but I'm a huge fan. I realize this won't help your current situation. Just thought somebody else may benefit eventually.

 

[Peplin Creek]

I don't work for trailcampro.com. BUT when it comes to trail cameras, if they don't sell it, I won't buy it. They handle warranty issues for you, and extend it to two years. I don't know if they do cuddeback or not.

YMMV - but I'm a huge fan. I realize this won't help your current situation. Just thought somebody else may benefit eventually.

Yeah trailcampro is good a company that’s stands behind what they do.

 

[No-Tox]

I couldn’t be more disappointed with cuddeback support. I have a dual flash cam that’s been a run away since I got it. This year I just took it out of the woods and said forget about it and would call and get it replaced after season. This is a common problem from what I gathered on this forum with this type of camera. It’s not a big deal... if cuddeback would replace it.... anyway I called support I went through a bunch of commands. Yes the firmware is old because I pulled it earlier in the year. Well long story short. I can’t send it in for replacement because it doesn’t have the latest firmware installed. So now I have to mess around more with a broken camera... just to prove I still can’t use it. What a bunch of crap. When asking and telling them this camera has done this from day one and the other 6 I own do not... and that it wasn’t firmware related. I was simply told we can’t replace unless it has the latest firmware. So there’s that. So would be nice if they just stood behind their issues and made it right.

It's not too difficult to update the firmware. The problem is that many issues get resolved by firmware and even though it sounds like yours won't, Cuddeback has a process to go through before giving out a RA#. The rep is just following the process.

 

[Peplin Creek]

It's not too difficult to update the firmware. The problem is that many issues get resolved by firmware and even though it sounds like yours won't, Cuddeback has a process to go through before giving out a RA#. The rep is just following the process.

Bold is why i'm frustrated... we all know where this is heading so why waste the time.... I've already updated the firmware in the camera and it's back out for "testing".... but yes this isn't a firmware problem, the camera never worked right from the time I got it. eventually on a set of batteries it'll just start triggering and won't stop until the batteries are dead. This is a common issue and even common on this thread, with pretty much the resolution being replace it. I'm sure they are going through the process but at this point it's a waste of time for both myself and the next rep that has to take the call and tell them it didn't work. I've worked in software support before so I know they have a "checklist" but there are times where they need to read and understand the situation, thus not cause more call incoming call volume and just make it right the first time. Honestly if you're paying a couple hundred for each camera and it's under warranty, it should be replaced. There is nothing worse as a customer than having a defective product and feel like you need to get the run around first.

I'm not gonna lie, but i'm going to take a long look at other brands from a cell perspective because of this and seriously wonder if I should stick another dime into this system, especially if this how it's going to be moving forward. I don't have the time or patience to play some of these games. i'd rather go with a brand that puts the customers needs first.

 

[No-Tox]

It's not too difficult to update the firmware. The problem is that many issues get resolved by firmware and even though it sounds like yours won't, Cuddeback has a process to go through before giving out a RA#. The rep is just following the process.

Bold is why i'm frustrated... we all know where this is heading so why waste the time.... I've already updated the firmware in the camera and it's back out for "testing".... but yes this isn't a firmware problem, the camera never worked right from the time I got it. eventually on a set of batteries it'll just start triggering and won't stop until the batteries are dead. This is a common issue and even common on this thread, with pretty much the resolution being replace it. I'm sure they are going through the process but at this point it's a waste of time for both myself and the next rep that has to take the call and tell them it didn't work. I've worked in software support before so I know they have a "checklist" but there are times where they need to read and understand the situation, thus not cause more call incoming call volume and just make it right the first time. Honestly if you're paying a couple hundred for each camera and it's under warranty, it should be replaced. There is nothing worse as a customer than having a defective product and feel like you need to get the run around first.

I'm not gonna lie, but i'm going to take a long look at other brands from a cell perspective because of this and seriously wonder if I should stick another dime into this system, especially if this how it's going to be moving forward. I don't have the time or patience to play some of these games. i'd rather go with a brand that puts the customers needs first.

You also have to remember how many "I know what's wrong and nothing you tell me over the phone will correct it" phone calls the reps receive. Also, I don't know if they have tech support versus customer support and there could be an issue within itself. More technical people could troubleshoot with a bit more understanding the level of the caller to determine if a return needs to be done without more "home testing".

 

[No-Tox]

It may not help but thought this was a cool picture from this morning.

 

[RRAB58]

Bold is why i'm frustrated... we all know where this is heading so why waste the time.... I've already updated the firmware in the camera and it's back out for "testing".... but yes this isn't a firmware problem, the camera never worked right from the time I got it. eventually on a set of batteries it'll just start triggering and won't stop until the batteries are dead. This is a common issue and even common on this thread, with pretty much the resolution being replace it. I'm sure they are going through the process but at this point it's a waste of time for both myself and the next rep that has to take the call and tell them it didn't work. I've worked in software support before so I know they have a "checklist" but there are times where they need to read and understand the situation, thus not cause more call incoming call volume and just make it right the first time. Honestly if you're paying a couple hundred for each camera and it's under warranty, it should be replaced. There is nothing worse as a customer than having a defective product and feel like you need to get the run around first.

I'm not gonna lie, but i'm going to take a long look at other brands from a cell perspective because of this and seriously wonder if I should stick another dime into this system, especially if this how it's going to be moving forward. I don't have the time or patience to play some of these games. i'd rather go with a brand that puts the customers needs first.

Hey Peplin, I feel for you buddy. Don't take offense, we're just trying to help. I've never seen a brotherhood of users more eager to help. Most of the time the problem with troubleshooting is that the camera is in the field when trying to troubleshoot. I would do my testing and troubleshooting at home. It saves a lot of time. The runaway picture taking is a common problem with other brands as well. I don't die for the brand, I have many other brands as well. I have 2 other brands taking runaway pictures and one that has been sent back 3 times (mfg paid no shipping) and still don't work. But, if I was virally unhappy with any of brand I wouldn't hesitate jumping ship.

Nearly all component's in a camera are controlled in some form or fashion from the firmware. It changes timing, thresholds & logic for components to function. I'm not going to step out on a limb and say it is or isn't related to firmware, but firmware is critical to correct operation of most of the components. On my last job, technicians updated firmware on million dollars pieces of equipment a couple of times a year. More often if needed. Looks like for that much money they could get it right the first time. But not.

Good luck Peplin! If you stick with us, keep us posted on progress.

 

[RRAB58]

It may not help but thought this was a cool picture from this morning.

Good buck. Nice rack and a long legs... Sounds like bar room talk huh! lol

 

[Potter co notill]

Ok well I spoke to soon as thinking my problem was the same as everyone’s problem with the g series false triggers, but in my case (and probably others as well) it is without a question the direct cause of false triggers on my cameras.

Well I can now confirm the Cuddeback Security box is the reason for a runaway on 1 G cam when raining. I had a G cam in a box runaway only when it would rain, took it out of the box and it stopped. Yesterday put back in the box and its been taking random pics since I put it in. I don't need the security boxes now but do when the bears are out roaming around. I like this system but my biggest complaint is the runaway cameras, I had 5 already and this makes 6 out of 10 cams. At this rate they will all be replaced.

 

[swat1018]

Well I can now confirm the Cuddeback Security box is the reason for a runaway on 1 G cam when raining. I had a G cam in a box runaway only when it would rain, took it out of the box and it stopped. Yesterday put back in the box and its been taking random pics since I put it in. I don't need the security boxes now but do when the bears are out roaming around. I like this system but my biggest complaint is the runaway cameras, I had 5 already and this makes 6 out of 10 cams. At this rate they will all be replaced.

Is it the Cuddelink box? Custom1 makes them too.

 

[Potter co notill]

It’s the one cuddeback makes. I have some custom 1 boxes also didn’t try that camera in one of those

 

[john volkman]

Bold is why i'm frustrated... we all know where this is heading so why waste the time.... I've already updated the firmware in the camera and it's back out for "testing".... but yes this isn't a firmware problem, the camera never worked right from the time I got it. eventually on a set of batteries it'll just start triggering and won't stop until the batteries are dead. This is a common issue and even common on this thread, with pretty much the resolution being replace it. I'm sure they are going through the process but at this point it's a waste of time for both myself and the next rep that has to take the call and tell them it didn't work. I've worked in software support before so I know they have a "checklist" but there are times where they need to read and understand the situation, thus not cause more call incoming call volume and just make it right the first time. Honestly if you're paying a couple hundred for each camera and it's under warranty, it should be replaced. There is nothing worse as a customer than having a defective product and feel like you need to get the run around first.

I'm not gonna lie, but i'm going to take a long look at other brands from a cell perspective because of this and seriously wonder if I should stick another dime into this system, especially if this how it's going to be moving forward. I don't have the time or patience to play some of these games. i'd rather go with a brand that puts the customers needs first.

PEP, i have held off commenting on your post but here goes-
whats frustrating to me... is that you started this thread, so you surely know you could have reached out to me via PM and i would have gladly helped you like i have helped countless others on this thread. The CS rep is instructed to go thru a progression.They dont know your background and they dont know that you are are a regular on this forum with more knowledge than most. The reason they go thru the progression, is that if they issued an ra for every customer that called and asked for a new camera or a return because "they know" its defective the Level and speed of overall customer service would slow down dramatically for those like yourself that really do have a problem- but for those that dont really have an issue- a simple firmware update, change of batteries, sd card or settings change can fix it. at least 95 % percent of call ins are fixed without the camera being replaced and or sent in.
Im not doubting your camera needs replacement, but you can update firmware in half the time it took to post on the thread. Or you could contact me and i would get it handled for you right away and get you taken care of.
For the record , if low batteries are what is causing your runway trigger- often times a firmware update is all it needs. If the camera is doing this on good battery power then it most often will need replacement.
You can PM me your real name and your phone # and ill have someone contact you to help you out. If you do end up switching brands i doubt you will find a brand that has better service than cuddeback and you definitely wont have a rep for the company monitoring a forum on an almost daily basis. I want to get anyone and everyone on this forum help when they need it and have success while using cuddeback cameras. If anyone needs help im here , if you arent happy with how i help you - fire away and bash me all you want- ive been a rep for over 20 years and have pretty thick skin.

 

[Peplin Creek]

PEP, i have held off commenting on your post but here goes-
whats frustrating to me... is that you started this thread, so you surely know you could have reached out to me via PM and i would have gladly helped you like i have helped countless others on this thread. The CS rep is instructed to go thru a progression.They dont know your background and they dont know that you are are a regular on this forum with more knowledge than most. The reason they go thru the progression, is that if they issued an ra for every customer that called and asked for a new camera or a return because "they know" its defective the Level and speed of overall customer service would slow down dramatically for those like yourself that really do have a problem- but for those that dont really have an issue- a simple firmware update, change of batteries, sd card or settings change can fix it. at least 95 % percent of call ins are fixed without the camera being replaced and or sent in.
Im not doubting your camera needs replacement, but you can update firmware in half the time it took to post on the thread. Or you could contact me and i would get it handled for you right away and get you taken care of.
For the record , if low batteries are what is causing your runway trigger- often times a firmware update is all it needs. If the camera is doing this on good battery power then it most often will need replacement.
You can PM me your real name and your phone # and ill have someone contact you to help you out. If you do end up switching brands i doubt you will find a brand that has better service than cuddeback and you definitely wont have a rep for the company monitoring a forum on an almost daily basis. I want to get anyone and everyone on this forum help when they need it and have success while using cuddeback cameras. If anyone needs help im here , if you arent happy with how i help you - fire away and bash me all you want- ive been a rep for over 20 years and have pretty thick skin.

no offense taken to anything you said, however 10 times out of 10. I would have done the same thing over again. Simply like you could have just PM’d me that response instead of posting it. But as a cuddeback rep you feel you needed to respond with that.

Honestly though if I have bad experience with something, I’m gonna post about it. That way other sportsman know and they can make up their mind on what’s best for them. People should know of other users experiences with all aspects of the system. Even if their experiences differed. Otherwise the Narrative gets controlled... i feel like that’s what happens on this thread at times.... Narrative Control. We all appreciate the help, but I hope cuddeback understands that this is a thread on Habitat-Talk not a cuddeback sponsered site. If they/you want to monitor the thread and provide insight that’s fine. Many of us, myself included appreciate it. However, I don’t think we should be told what we should or shouldn’t be doing though. People are free to post what they feel when they feel it.

That’s just my two cents.