Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[Trlblzr3]

Wonder if this will require more than my current G home based camera to do? If so, I would upgrade to an L. Be interested to hear more about this and how it will work. Huge development.....IMO.

this feature is coming at some point but wont be available this fall.

This will require a firmware upgrade I’m sure to require the reverse transmission

 

[beansunited]

it runs on the rechargeable bank first then the other bank and finally the camera internals unless youre using a K then bank 2 and internals run concurrent. I would recommend jsut running a new solar with a 4d internal, in most cases you can get thru and enter winter if you have it in good sun. the dual power bank is overkill and will be discontinued soon.

Does the battery pack in the solar ever come into play?

 

[Trlblzr3]

Does the battery pack in the solar ever come into play?

The batteries in the solar panel come into play when it’s dark or cloudy. I’ve had cameras show Ext Low in the morning and Ext Ok at night when running 2 reports a day. If you are referring to the batteries in the camera they come into play if you get multiple days of no sun, not enough sunlight during the day and connected cord chewed into or pulled out

 

[MadMadHoosier]

Does the battery pack in the solar ever come into play?

If you are running solar on the dual power bank - the way I think it was originally intended - the solar panel does NOT have any internal batteries. One of the 6-packs in the dual has rechargeable, and the other 6-pack in the dual has alkaline. When rechargeable has power to spare, the system runs on that 6-pack. When rechargeable gets below its threshold, the alkaline 6-pack takes over. When the alkaline 6-pack is depleted, the camera internals take over. I’m not sure if the rechargeable will take back over if the solar recharges them or not, because I never ran my duals with solar. I’d put 12 alkaline in the two 6-packs of the dual and between those and the 4 alkaline in the camera, it would run about a year between battery swaps.

 

[squerril]

Can someone tell me what error code 45 means? I have a J with solar. Cam was working great until two days ago. Now it will not power on, the arm light blinks 2 times and goes off

Sent from my SM-S921U using Tapatalk

 

[Herald3294]

Any ideas why a cam would go from 40-45 link level to <10 from one day to the next? On daily reports I've seen it go from 8 to 44 to 42 to 6 to 12 to 8, on the days it was 42-44 everything worked great, but now I'm getting significant (24hr+) delays in pics from that cam and the other cam further down the road that links to it. Distance is 680ft through heavy woods from the low signal level cam to the one I believe it is connecting to that is closer to the home unit.

My whole setup is L series if that matters, 4 cams and 1 home, all cams mounted to trees with genius mounts and solar panels. This specific cam is mounted about 12ft high on the tree looking down at a gate for security while the rest are game cams mounted about 3ft high on trees. I would think the height would actually improve the signal strength, but maybe not?

 

[john volkman]

Any ideas why a cam would go from 40-45 link level to <10 from one day to the next? On daily reports I've seen it go from 8 to 44 to 42 to 6 to 12 to 8, on the days it was 42-44 everything worked great, but now I'm getting significant (24hr+) delays in pics from that cam and the other cam further down the road that links to it. Distance is 680ft through heavy woods from the low signal level cam to the one I believe it is connecting to that is closer to the home unit.

My whole setup is L series if that matters, 4 cams and 1 home, all cams mounted to trees with genius mounts and solar panels. This specific cam is mounted about 12ft high on the tree looking down at a gate for security while the rest are game cams mounted about 3ft high on trees. I would think the height would actually improve the signal strength, but maybe not?

can you post your report? its not uncommon for link levels to fluctuate this time of year and also if it is linking directly or thru another cam that can change the level, let us knwo which cam not he report is the issue

 

[Herald3294]

can you post your report? its not uncommon for link levels to fluctuate this time of year and also if it is linking directly or thru another cam that can change the level, let us knwo which cam not he report is the issue

Hi John,

The problem camera is 003 GATE. I moved these cams from my home where I had successfully tested them out for a few months to my hunting property on Sep 18.

I believe cams 001 FRONT and 002 LANE are connecting directly to my HOME unit, and I believe 003 GATE is connecting to 002 LANE and 004 FIELD is connecting to 003 GATE (but not 100% sure on that).

After moving the cams to the property, 003 GATE and 004 FIELD did not show up on a report for 2 days, despite all cams having >40 link level on the camera LCD when the cameras were installed.

As you can see in the report, 003 and 004 showed up on Sep 20, but with 003 at a Link Level of only 10, but on Sep 21 003 showed a link level of 44 so I thought it just took a few days to settle out and everything would be good. I got lots of queued pics that day, so it really did have a good connection, temporarily, at least.

But on Sep 22 and ever since the link level of 003 GATE dropped and has been very low and most pics are delivered 24 hours+ late, if ever (this morning I got a pic from 003 from Sep 26, over 3 days late). The Image Queue has started growing on 003 & 004 the last few days.

I originally had the channel set to 15-15 but I drove back out and set it to 07-15 hoping it was interference, but it didn't get better.

The property is about 2 hours away from my home. Report screenshot attached for a timeframe where you can see 003 had a decent signal but then dropped off.

The latest report shows the following levels:
001 - 99
002- 78
003 - 10
004 - 42

I'm new to CuddeLink, but very tech savvy if you have any suggestions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[john volkman]

Hi John,

The problem camera is 003 GATE. I moved these cams from my home where I had successfully tested them out for a few months to my hunting property on Sep 18.

I believe cams 001 FRONT and 002 LANE are connecting directly to my HOME unit, and I believe 003 GATE is connecting to 002 LANE and 004 FIELD is connecting to 003 GATE (but not 100% sure on that).

After moving the cams to the property, 003 GATE and 004 FIELD did not show up on a report for 2 days, despite all cams having >40 link level on the camera LCD when the cameras were installed.

As you can see in the report, 003 and 004 showed up on Sep 20, but with 003 at a Link Level of only 10, but on Sep 21 003 showed a link level of 44 so I thought it just took a few days to settle out and everything would be good. I got lots of queued pics that day, so it really did have a good connection, temporarily, at least.

But on Sep 22 and ever since the link level of 003 GATE dropped and has been very low and most pics are delivered 24 hours+ late, if ever (this morning I got a pic from 003 from Sep 26, over 3 days late). The Image Queue has started growing on 003 & 004 the last few days.

I originally had the channel set to 15-15 but I drove back out and set it to 07-15 hoping it was interference, but it didn't get better.

The property is about 2 hours away from my home. Report screenshot attached for a timeframe where you can see 003 had a decent signal but then dropped off.

The latest report shows the following levels:
001 - 99
002- 78
003 - 10
004 - 42

I'm new to CuddeLink, but very tech savvy if you have any suggestions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

View attachment 69058

we need to figure out how to get a stronger signal on gate , as that is likely the cause of the slow images, when it drips below 10 it may even drop off ciomplelty at times ,getting off a tree and on a post can help and it will certainly get stronger as the leaves fall and humidity drops - i would suggest a cell rate of 1 hour to keep the ques clear as well. The initial level of 44 doesnt tell us much since it was only once and the reading is a snap shot - at times a move of even 10 feet or off a tree that is blocking the signal can drop the level 30 or more points. everything else looks ok. You can also try a different antenna but i doubt thats it. is there anyway to centralize your home unit more than it is now ?

 

[Herald3294]

we need to figure out how to get a stronger signal on gate , as that is likely the cause of the slow images, when it drips below 10 it may even drop off ciomplelty at times ,getting off a tree and on a post can help and it will certainly get stronger as the leaves fall and humidity drops - i would suggest a cell rate of 1 hour to keep the ques clear as well. The initial level of 44 doesnt tell us much since it was only once and the reading is a snap shot - at times a move of even 10 feet or off a tree that is blocking the signal can drop the level 30 or more points. everything else looks ok. You can also try a different antenna but i doubt thats it. is there anyway to centralize your home unit more than it is now ?

Thanks for the suggestions! Since this cam that is looking at the gate is more for security than game, I have it mounted high on a tree looking down at the gate to get a wider perspective of the gate and surrounding area. I'm really happy with the placement other than the signal level, so mounting it on a pole would be tough.

Do you suggest taking it off of the tree due to the density of the tree trunk potentially blocking the signal?

If so, would something like an antenna extender/pig tail that allowed me to move the antenna to the back side, or another side, of the tree help here, leaving the cam where it is, you think? If so, is there one you know will work with the antenna connectors on the camera?

I could also try moving my Home unit to a more central location, however it is currently near 001 and 002 because those are my primary game cameras where 90% of the activity is and I wanted those to have really good links so that images did not build up in the queue on those.

 

[john volkman]

Thanks for the suggestions! Since this cam that is looking at the gate is more for security than game, I have it mounted high on a tree looking down at the gate to get a wider perspective of the gate and surrounding area. I'm really happy with the placement other than the signal level, so mounting it on a pole would be tough.

Do you suggest taking it off of the tree due to the density of the tree trunk potentially blocking the signal?

If so, would something like an antenna extender/pig tail that allowed me to move the antenna to the back side, or another side, of the tree help here, leaving the cam where it is, you think? If so, is there one you know will work with the antenna connectors on the camera?

I could also try moving my Home unit to a more central location, however it is currently near 001 and 002 because those are my primary game cameras where 90% of the activity is and I wanted those to have really good links so that images did not build up in the queue on those.

yes if the tree is larger and in-between where the gate is and the others it can make a big difference, i run all my on posts and the signal strength is much stronger, keep in mind if you move your home to a more central spot it doesnt slow down image transmission unless the remotes regularly fall below 10-20 for a link level and the levels will get batter as fall arrives.

 

[RGrizzzz]

@john volkman Wher can I find manuals for the single and dual power banks?

 

[Herald3294]

yes if the tree is larger and in-between where the gate is and the others it can make a big difference, i run all my on posts and the signal strength is much stronger, keep in mind if you move your home to a more central spot it doesnt slow down image transmission unless the remotes regularly fall below 10-20 for a link level and the levels will get batter as fall arrives.

I've ordered this antenna that was suggested in another thread here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CDJ66K2

Hopefully it works. Even if the antenna itself is not better than the stock antenna, the cable on this antenna should hopefully allow me to get better signal by moving the antenna to another side of the tree without moving the camera. I'll report back with results after I get it installed (hopefully before the leaves start falling to get an apples to apples comparison).

 

[john volkman]

@john volkman Wher can I find manuals for the single and dual power banks?

pm me your email and ill send you pdf's of each

 

[West_Fork]

Any ideas why a cam would go from 40-45 link level to <10 from one day to the next? On daily reports I've seen it go from 8 to 44 to 42 to 6 to 12 to 8, on the days it was 42-44 everything worked great, but now I'm getting significant (24hr+) delays in pics from that cam and the other cam further down the road that links to it. Distance is 680ft through heavy woods from the low signal level cam to the one I believe it is connecting to that is closer to the home unit.

My whole setup is L series if that matters, 4 cams and 1 home, all cams mounted to trees with genius mounts and solar panels. This specific cam is mounted about 12ft high on the tree looking down at a gate for security while the rest are game cams mounted about 3ft high on trees. I would think the height would actually improve the signal strength, but maybe not?

That's normal for mine. No issues. Most of mine are 1-2 links out with a few threes. I think it could reconfigure for better signal, but would add links and likely add to the delivery time.

 

[West_Fork]

I've ordered this antenna that was suggested in another thread here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CDJ66K2

Hopefully it works. Even if the antenna itself is not better than the stock antenna, the cable on this antenna should hopefully allow me to get better signal by moving the antenna to another side of the tree without moving the camera. I'll report back with results after I get it installed (hopefully before the leaves start falling to get an apples to apples comparison).

Rodents seem to prefer antenna wire, I thinks its the white creamy filling.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

What is everyone running for their cell plan? I feel like it is getting to be kind of pricey for the size of network(s) I am running.

I have one network with 11 cameras and another with 5. Most cameras are set on food plots or access trails and I typically average between 60 and 90 images per day (~2250 images/month) on the larger network. I don't like to scale the camera delay back (currently at 10-30 second delays depending on the location), but I am feeling like I am going to have to. The whole point of the Cuddelink system is to have fewer cell plans, but I am averaging somewhere around $25/month for the larger network and $15/month for the smaller one. Maybe my expectations are out of whack. I know it would be more expensive if I was running individual cell cameras, especially considering how many images I am getting per day/month.

What are some tips folks have for getting the best intel with the least amount of images transmitted? For the record, I average probably 1-2 false triggers per day, which considering the number of cameras and photos taken, I think that is incredibly impressive.

 

[RGrizzzz]

What is everyone running for their cell plan? I feel like it is getting to be kind of pricey for the size of network(s) I am running.

I have one network with 11 cameras and another with 5. Most cameras are set on food plots or access trails and I typically average between 60 and 90 images per day (~2250 images/month) on the larger network. I don't like to scale the camera delay back (currently at 10-30 second delays depending on the location), but I am feeling like I am going to have to. The whole point of the Cuddelink system is to have fewer cell plans, but I am averaging somewhere around $25/month for the larger network and $15/month for the smaller one. Maybe my expectations are out of whack. I know it would be more expensive if I was running individual cell cameras, especially considering how many images I am getting per day/month.

What are some tips folks have for getting the best intel with the least amount of images transmitted? For the record, I average probably 1-2 false triggers per day, which considering the number of cameras and photos taken, I think that is incredibly impressive.

Our network is now 11 cameras. I'm on the middle tier plan (2000 pics) on the yearly price. Most cams are on food plots with a 1 minute delay. I'm thinking about going to unlimited so I can up the frequency as we hit the rut and prime hunting season. Then we have flexibility to add another cam or two.

 

[Herald3294]

I know it would be more expensive if I was running individual cell cameras, especially considering how many images I am getting per day/month.

Yeah you're paying $40/mo now.

For those 16 cameras with another brand it would be $200-$300/mo

 

[Herald3294]

yes if the tree is larger and in-between where the gate is and the others it can make a big difference, i run all my on posts and the signal strength is much stronger, keep in mind if you move your home to a more central spot it doesnt slow down image transmission unless the remotes regularly fall below 10-20 for a link level and the levels will get batter as fall arrives.

You were correct.

I tried the bingfu antennas and they are junk. In the same place the link level dropped from 12 to 8 (if I could get it to show anything at all) vs the stock antenna. Moving the antenna to the other side of the tree, which I really thought would help, actually dropped the link level to nothing.

As you suggested I moved the home unit to a more central location and now I'm at a link level of 50-70 on all cameras and the 157 images in the GATE cam's queue sent through over night. Now I get all new pics as quick as expected.

Thanks for your advice, the bingfu antennas are going back to amazon.