Hi everyone. We have about 50 J series cameras, and a few K. We have noticed ants living in a lot of them. They either get into the faceplate on the front that houses the display screen and buttons, or lately their favorite place is inside the actual camera shell. There seems to be 2 small holes (one on either side of the camera) near the top of the cameras. A camera yesterday was swarming with ants and when I removed the battery component and then removed the inside plate, there was a hollow area at the top of the camera inside that was filled with ants and eggs. Thankfully they don't seem to be able to access the electronic bits though I struggled to keep them out of the electronics area while removing them, but the empty compartment inside the top of the cameras seems to be an ideal little home; at least THEY think so. When they get inside the front panel they set up shop (other bugs do too unfortunately like spiders and small roaches) and I find a fine blue powder on the front panel. It seems like they chew on the buttons. Neither situation is ideal obviously. It's difficult to handle a camera when you pick it up and it is literally swarming with frenzied ants trying to carry their eggs away. Has anyone else had this issue? If so, how did you deal with it? I wish there was a rubber seal on the front panel like there is on the battery door. Also, we have considered trying to block the small holes on the top of the camera with putty, but I don't know if they are important to leave open. What is the purpose of the small holes at the tops of the cameras and why doesn't the front panel have a rubber seal to keep out moisture and insects?
Cuddeback's Cuddelink
- Thread starter Peplin Creek
- Start date
john volkman
5 year old buck +
i use a combo of spray on the pole mount and granules on the ground to keep ants away where i have issues. . Using a pole alone helps since they dont tend to climb up it as much as they do tree or foliage. The front door is not designed to have a gasket since the inside is sealed to keep water out. . being able to open it easily without a lock is the trade off. The holes on the top are a vent for heat but you can put tape over them in most cases it wont cause much issues unless you are in severely high temps.
Peplin Creek
5 year old buck +
On pole mounts a ring of Vaseline stops bugs from advancing to the camera and holds up well through the elements. If you have ideas how they are getting in... electrical tape on the openings can help. I used to have those issues on old moultries until I started doing that.
If they are getting in through the sd card slot though... I don’t know what can be done for that.
If they are getting in through the sd card slot though... I don’t know what can be done for that.
John so after a few months of the new J-1521 that was replaced under warranty with the D batteries, they were going low as expected. so I replaced them with new Rayovacs. When I arm it, it says Bat Lo. After support checked the setting for the battery making sure it says 4D, they say I have to send it in again. I is only a couple months old. Is there anything else to look at or try before I send it in again?
Before you send it back try removing the batteries and pressing the mode button and the more button with no batteries until the screen goes blank,then replace the batteries. I ususally run a battery test with no batteries untill screen goes blank. Takes about a minute
Happy to help
john volkman
5 year old buck +
sorry i havent kept up on here lately , i wasnt getting notifications when i was asked a question.
Has anyone had success with the "Clear Remote Queue" in camp? I have a camera that has 1200 pictures in queue that I want to stop sending. I've tried this option twice now and it won't clear the queue.
I want the camera to keep sending pictures, just not the ones that it took back when we had our winter storm.
I want the camera to keep sending pictures, just not the ones that it took back when we had our winter storm.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
this should work but you would also need to clear the SD card on the camera remotely in the event it took more pics and you had your CL count set ot "all". Default setting is 250 but in reality it should never need to be set higher than 50 -100
Thanks as usual John for your quick responses. I've tried to clear the remote queue twice now with no luck. Is the suggestion to hit the clear SD card?
Here are my settings on this one...
Attachments
john volkman
5 year old buck +
yes clear both remote que and clear sd card. you cell que may also need ot be cleared if it has a buildup of the undesired images.
Ok, I'll try clearing the remote queue on the camera itself as well as the SD card. Home unit shows 0 in queue on last report and 1143 in queue on the camera, so I don't think the cell home has the images transferred
john volkman
5 year old buck +
there are specific to the carrier, either ATT or Verizon, future models may have the capability to use either but current models do not.
John -- was spitballing with a buddy and we came to a curiosity after a recent parts order we had to make. Has Cudde considered creating "remote" antennas for their units, either mesh device antennas or cell antennas? I would think you could have a flexible coax that runs from the device for 6-8 feet followed by a rigid antenna. This would allow a higher mounting position for better comms and would prevent wildlife from breaking it off the device.
For background, we had cows break antennas off of cameras because of how they are mounted (i.e. best mounting height is 24-36 inches), and we also lost connectivity because a couple of antennas were pointed down rather than up.
I'd gladly be a guinea pig and I would pay $10 more per antenna than what you're charging now.
For background, we had cows break antennas off of cameras because of how they are mounted (i.e. best mounting height is 24-36 inches), and we also lost connectivity because a couple of antennas were pointed down rather than up.
I'd gladly be a guinea pig and I would pay $10 more per antenna than what you're charging now.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
they played with some scenarios with longer rf antennas with limited to no success. On the cell antenna, they have not tried anything like that. Im not sure if enough people would have the initiative or desire or would go thru the effort to make it work. I think the bulk and effort would turn the average user off. That said thpeople on this site are not typically average users.
gonzalezeb
5 year old buck +
I'm not a RF expert...but, I'm sure with a few connectors, this would not be that hard to achieve (though it may not look very sexy). Let me make sure I got this straight. Essentially you are looking at using the existing RF (not cell) antenna and adding some sort of "extension cord" to it, to elevate the antenna - thus increasing range.
Do you have one or two of the broken antennas?
Here is my idea, use the existing broken antenna's female connector - run some sort of shielded wire through it...and then try to 3D print a male connector to a new "Cuddelink" antenna. Maybe as part of the 3D printed male connector, add a few mounting brackets to screw into a tree.
You can probably test the theory with a (fine) alligator clip, a coax, and a unbroken antenna. But you may not even need the unbroken antenna...you could simple expose the coax wire (this is where an RF guy would come in handy...he could help with the specs on just how much you would want to expose).
If you move on this...let me know how it goes. I have one camera that is in a valley that gets crappy reception despite being only a few hundred yards from the home camera.
No, we are definitely not the "normal" user, that's for sure. All of that said, I'm interested if you have any ideas or they want to try it again.
I do have several of the broken cell and RF antennas. Would need to find out what coax is used, run a thicker wire as the intermediary, and recreate the male/female mounts. None of it is rocket science except for the last part since I don't have a 3d printer
