Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[Lewgar]

I have a question on the newer model J-1521 series. I had a J-1415 replaced under RMA as it stopped taking pictures. All of my J cameras had a CuddePower Solar Kit Model 3501. Looking at the website, this solar panel is not compatible with the J-1521, is this correct? I have another J-1415 being replaced under RMA and I am trying now to figure out if I need to buy multiple new solar panels Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 for the J-1521s? I hope they are compatible these cameras and solar panels are only a year and a half old, and buying new solar panels would be a waste of money if not compatible.

If I have to purchase new Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 to use with the J-1521s, does the Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 recharge the backup batteries in the camera itself? Yes I have to purchase the 4 D rechargeable batteries for the camera or 4 D regular alkaline, that is what I am trying to figure out.

 

[john volkman]

I have a question on the newer model J-1521 series. I had a J-1415 replaced under RMA as it stopped taking pictures. All of my J cameras had a CuddePower Solar Kit Model 3501. Looking at the website, this solar panel is not compatible with the J-1521, is this correct? I have another J-1415 being replaced under RMA and I am trying now to figure out if I need to buy multiple new solar panels Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 for the J-1521s? I hope they are compatible these cameras and solar panels are only a year and a half old, and buying new solar panels would be a waste of money if not compatible.

If I have to purchase new Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 to use with the J-1521s, does the Solar Power Bank Model PW-3600 recharge the backup batteries in the camera itself? Yes I have to purchase the 4 D rechargeable batteries for the camera or 4 D regular alkaline, that is what I am trying to figure out.

with any camera that has a 4 d battery pack on it, you want to use rayovac alkaline batteries. The 4 d's act as a back up to the 3600 solar panel. The 3600 panel has internal batteires that run about 7.4 volts so it uses those first and will show up as EXT on your report when in use. . The internals end up being 6 volts so they are only used when the panel battery depletes. 4 rechargeable D's do not have enough voltage to run the camera. if you want to continue to use the 3501 panel you will need put either a 12 aa pack on it or a 6 d pack on it. In that case you would run rechargebales in the camera. Cuddeback probably sent you a new camera since all our cameras are now 4d. IM sure they could swap it out for a 12 aa camera if you prefer that.

 

[Lewgar]

Thanks for the clarity on the batteries. I understand the newer model uses D, sounded like I was complaining there, but it was not meant to come across that way, just a little frustration. I am in IT, so I know how technology advances and we learn and adjust, replacing equipment for compatibility is just part of the process. Once I hear back on the 2nd camera and RMA status, I can then buy 1 or 2 of the 3600 solar panels. I can use the older solar panels on the J-1415s if one goes bad. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[john volkman]

Thanks for the clarity on the batteries. I understand the newer model uses D, sounded like I was complaining there, but it was not meant to come across that way, just a little frustration. I am in IT, so I know how technology advances and we learn and adjust, replacing equipment for compatibility is just part of the process. Once I hear back on the 2nd camera and RMA status, I can then buy 1 or 2 of the 3600 solar panels. I can use the older solar panels on the J-1415s if one goes bad. Thanks for the quick response.

i didnt take it as a complaint , the power options are confusing since we have made so many inline changes, they are finally streamlined now with all cameras taking 4 d internals so this should really help in the future. Honestly, the 4 d cam with a 3600 panel in full sun is the best option. i know of several that ran this way well over a year without touching them. If you need to swap Js so you can continue to use a 3501 just pm me and ill make sure it gets arranged.

 

[shotgunmik]

I'm brand new here and there is a ton of quality information here.

I have an issue with my J-series cams and my cellular K Cam. There isn't an option in my menu system to have a burst of images per detection. At first I thought that maybe the J-series and K Cam didn't have that option and I was a little frustrated. After looking at the website and the description of the functions of the J-series and K Cam it looks like there is supposed to be an option for image burst 1-5. I've reached out to Cuddeback multiple times through email and phone and have not gotten a response yet.

A little information you might need to know. Cameras were all bought brand new last year and they are all the D battery cameras. I also just updated the firmware to the latest version of the Gen 2 firmware, thinking that might be the issue but it didn't change anything.

Any thoughts?

 

[john volkman]

I'm brand new here and there is a ton of quality information here.

I have an issue with my J-series cams and my cellular K Cam. There isn't an option in my menu system to have a burst of images per detection. At first I thought that maybe the J-series and K Cam didn't have that option and I was a little frustrated. After looking at the website and the description of the functions of the J-series and K Cam it looks like there is supposed to be an option for image burst 1-5. I've reached out to Cuddeback multiple times through email and phone and have not gotten a response yet.

A little information you might need to know. Cameras were all bought brand new last year and they are all the D battery cameras. I also just updated the firmware to the latest version of the Gen 2 firmware, thinking that might be the issue but it didn't change anything.

Any thoughts?

Burst mode was removed (when the camera is in cuddelink mode) several firmware updates ago.. The shortest delay in which a camera can transmit images to the home is 5 seconds. Anything less than 5 seconds and you will only receive the first image in a series or "burst". This created a huge amount of confusion and was a CS nightmare since users were constantly calling because every image wasnt being transmitted to the home unit. There is a way to enable faster camera delay in surveillance mode online in your settings but it still wont transmit all the images. This is a limitation of the system. I find that i get enough images with my delay set at 5 seconds.

 

[shotgunmik]

Burst mode was removed (when the camera is in cuddelink mode) several firmware updates ago.. The shortest delay in which a camera can transmit images to the home is 5 seconds. Anything less than 5 seconds and you will only receive the first image in a series or "burst". This created a huge amount of confusion and was a CS nightmare since users were constantly calling because every image wasnt being transmitted to the home unit. There is a way to enable faster camera delay in surveillance mode online in your settings but it still wont transmit all the images. This is a limitation of the system. I find that i get enough images with my delay set at 5 seconds.

Thanks John! That makes a lot more sense. I still think it would make sense to have the burst mode even though it only sends the first picture but at least now I know its not just me.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Burst mode was removed (when the camera is in cuddelink mode) several firmware updates ago.. The shortest delay in which a camera can transmit images to the home is 5 seconds. Anything less than 5 seconds and you will only receive the first image in a series or "burst". This created a huge amount of confusion and was a CS nightmare since users were constantly calling because every image wasnt being transmitted to the home unit. There is a way to enable faster camera delay in surveillance mode online in your settings but it still wont transmit all the images. This is a limitation of the system. I find that i get enough images with my delay set at 5 seconds.

Something I've noticed with a lot of the Cuddeback (and Cuddelink) releases is that there are changes to and from a particular setup. This seems to me like it could be a quality assurance issue at the time of roll out, whether it be a new firmware or new product. Do you know if there is a volunteer product testing program to help sort out these types of bugs ahead of time? I'm sure there are some internal testers with these types of things, but it's apparent more testing is needed somewhere prior to release. I'm sure there are several of us on here that would be willing to beta test some things to help catch more issues prior to release. Just a thought, John. Thanks!

 

[Mtyhunter]

Ya, count me in on that program. I'm just a little guy, but I hunt a lot and my system is in use pretty much all year. I'm old school hunter in a lot of ways (recurve bows, wood stocks, etc), but technology is so beneficial to my experience that I felt like I'd be "doing my part" if I could contribute to improve it

 

[hinson1225]

Did you let the screen go blank after removing the old batteries? If you press that Mode button after you remove the batteries the lcd screen will come back on. Press buttons until Ir goes blank.

Yes I have tried everything, but when powered back up the screen goes back to error:03

 

[gonzalezeb]

Anyone aware of any Black Friday deals on Cuddeback? I know they don't really ever go on sale so just curious.

Try here: https://farmsteadoutdoors.com/produ...ameras/cuddeback-trail-cameras-trail-cameras/

 

[shotgunmik]

So I just received my 8 new cuddeback J series cameras. 4 black flash and 4 long range. 3 out of the 4 long range cameras won't turn on. I've tried everything.

Putting new batteries in, taking batteries out for a while then putting new in again, warming up the camera and the batteries, SD card in/SD card out. I guess I'm going to have to send them back. Anyone else have any luck?

Also I got my other 5 cameras out in the woods with no problems and all very good signal to the HOME camera. So now I have a total of 7 J series and 1 K Cam as my HOME camera. I checked all the cameras twice to make sure they were all getting good signal and the HOME camera is still only reading 7 nodes. It says it may take a few hours to get the system all linked up so I decided to go ahead and get out of there. More intrusion than I wanted to be doing. As of this morning I am still only getting reports for 6 cameras and my last report had only the HOME camera on it. Is this normal?

 

[Trlblzr3]

So I just received my 8 new cuddeback J series cameras. 4 black flash and 4 long range. 3 out of the 4 long range cameras won't turn on. I've tried everything.

Putting new batteries in, taking batteries out for a while then putting new in again, warming up the camera and the batteries, SD card in/SD card out. I guess I'm going to have to send them back. Anyone else have any luck?

Also I got my other 5 cameras out in the woods with no problems and all very good signal to the HOME camera. So now I have a total of 7 J series and 1 K Cam as my HOME camera. I checked all the cameras twice to make sure they were all getting good signal and the HOME camera is still only reading 7 nodes. It says it may take a few hours to get the system all linked up so I decided to go ahead and get out of there. More intrusion than I wanted to be doing. As of this morning I am still only getting reports for 6 cameras and my last report had only the HOME camera on it. Is this normal?

They probably have the Bat Type at 6D. Do you have a Battery Booster you can plug in to them?

 

[shotgunmik]

They probably have the Bat Type at 6D. Do you have a Battery Booster you can plug in to them?

I do have one, but it's in the woods being used by another camera. I guess I could go out and plug it in and see what happens.

 

[JDEROUIN]

I do have one, but it's in the woods being used by another camera. I guess I could go out and plug it in and see what happens.

 

[JDEROUIN]

I haven't seen this issue but I would try what shotgunmik suggested. other than that you could try cleaning contacts see if that helps. make sure your cams are all on same firmware too im sure you checked but just in case. The system can take time so be patient I would send a test image from home camera thats helped me several times if a camera if offline for no apparent reason.

 

[shotgunmik]

They probably have the Bat Type at 6D. Do you have a Battery Booster you can plug in to them?

That fixed it!! Holy crap thank you Trlblzr3! So glad I didn't have to send them in.

 

[john volkman]

Something I've noticed with a lot of the Cuddeback (and Cuddelink) releases is that there are changes to and from a particular setup. This seems to me like it could be a quality assurance issue at the time of roll out, whether it be a new firmware or new product. Do you know if there is a volunteer product testing program to help sort out these types of bugs ahead of time? I'm sure there are some internal testers with these types of things, but it's apparent more testing is needed somewhere prior to release. I'm sure there are several of us on here that would be willing to beta test some things to help catch more issues prior to release. Just a thought, John. Thanks!

there is a fairly large group of beta testers already but invariably something gets missed or input brings something to our attention that needs to be addressed. the latest updates revolve around the shear number of new cuddelink users and the challenges it causes when you base doubles and triples in size in a short period of time. i will pass on that there are some interested and if anyone on the page is interested pm me and ill try to get you included.

 

[JDEROUIN]

there is a fairly large group of beta testers already but invariably something gets missed or input brings something to our attention that needs to be addressed. the latest updates revolve around the shear number of new cuddelink users and the challenges it causes when you base doubles and triples in size in a short period of time. i will pass on that there are some interested and if anyone on the page is interested pm me and ill try to get you included.

You can add me to the list. im running 10 cams currently

 

[JDEROUIN]

Has anyone experienced the following.... My report shows low Battery on 3 diff units when its text or emailed. When I check the report on the camp website it shows all cams are fine no low batteries or !
what report is correct??????