Cuddeback's Cuddelink

[john volkman]

To anyone with the Cuddeback Solar kit for the J cams. I just got a few, and see an AC transformer to charge the batteries. I assume you have to put them in a camera, then plug the cam in? My cams are at the farm and was hoping to charge the batteries before I get there, so I don't have to drag the cams in then put back out...

I bought a tenergy aa bay charger off amazon that works great to charge the batteries , it’s a worthy investment if you run solars and it works better than the dc plug supplied with the solar panel kit. https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_electronics_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A01110901JO5JAZT6P7UP&url=/Tenergy-TN160-12-Bay-Battery-Charger/dp/B006ML9SO0/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=1M5RG762QPS7Z&keywords=tenergy+aa+battery+charger&qid=1552568388&s=electronics&sprefix=tenergy++aa+battery+charger%2Caps%2C209&sr=1-1-spons&psc=1&qualifier=1552568388&id=2869883000829627&widgetName=sp_atf

 

[Ed Brodt]

Here is a status report on our longest running camera with the Cuddeback solar panel. Almost 8 months.

 

[aa961jester]

I have a few J cameras with the solar panels as long as you can be sure the panel gets about 8 hours of full sun a day they will run forever. I set two of mine up in June and they are still running without an issue one of them being a J camera used as a home unit on my cabin receiving images from 7 other cameras.

 

[swat1018]

I have 5 J's, the only issue is power. I just bought 3 solar units, probably should have bought 5. Sounds like a good addition.

 

[aa961jester]

The solar panels do work but they must have good sun exposure. I did have an issue with one set of the Tenergy rechargeables that came with the solar panels one of the batteries was bad and the unit kept shutting down and I got an error message, I don't remember the code maybe 45. After installing new charged rechargeables I had no issues. I also suggest getting the Tenergy charger and pre-charging the batteries.

 

[flyingtexan86]

I’ve been building my own solar / battery packs and have gotten great results so far. No more changing batteries every few weeks!
Also, I switched the D batteries to Rayovac D Ultra Pro Alkaline on the remaining Cuddelinks that are still running the D battery pack and have seen 100+ days so far. Big improvement over other batteries going dead within 2-3 weeks.

 

[ormsbybrian]

I’ve been building my own solar / battery packs and have gotten great results so far. No more changing batteries every few weeks!
Also, I switched the D batteries to Rayovac D Ultra Pro Alkaline on the remaining Cuddelinks that are still running the D battery pack and have seen 100+ days so far. Big improvement over other batteries going dead within 2-3 weeks.

Can you share your recipe/parts that you have settled on for the external battery packs and chargers?

 

[crenshawco]

What does it mean when "Cell TX" is displayed on the cell home unit? Mine quit sending pictures this morning and that was on the monitor when I opened it. I couldn't get it to go away so I pulled the batteries and let it reset. Started it back up and it warmed like normal. Any ideas?

 

[john volkman]

What does it mean when "Cell TX" is displayed on the cell home unit? Mine quit sending pictures this morning and that was on the monitor when I opened it. I couldn't get it to go away so I pulled the batteries and let it reset. Started it back up and it warmed like normal. Any ideas?

It was in the process of sending images via cell network . It would be a good idea to not touch I while it’s sending pics via cell

 

[crenshawco]

Thanks for the reply John. Does that process get bogged down an delayed for extended periods of time sometimes? The reason I ask is I received pictures at 4, 6, and 8 this morning then nothing after that. After I reset the camera I received pictures at 6 this evening and it was like a backlogged batch of pictures from around 9 this morning

 

[john volkman]

Thanks for the reply John. Does that process get bogged down an delayed for extended periods of time sometimes? The reason I ask is I received pictures at 4, 6, and 8 this morning then nothing after that. After I reset the camera I received pictures at 6 this evening and it was like a backlogged batch of pictures from around 9 this morning

What is your cell delay setting or batch set at? It’s possible it was backed up if cell service was slow or if iit has a lot of pics and the batch is set low

 

[crenshawco]

What is your cell delay setting or batch set at? It’s possible it was backed up if cell service was slow or if iit has a lot of pics and the batch is set low

It is set to send every 2 hours or at 30 pictures, I guess whichever comes first. When the batch came through at 6 this evening it was a batch of 30 pictures.

 

[john volkman]

It is set to send every 2 hours or at 30 pictures, I guess whichever comes first. When the batch came through at 6 this evening it was a batch of 30 pictures.
possible one of two things happened, 1 the cell service was down for a period of time in the area. 2. the weather conditions for a period of time didnt allow the remotes to send pictures to the home unit.
another possibility was the unit was altered when you powered it down while it was sending. what time did you check it when you noticed the "Cell transmit" code displayed on the LCD display ?

 

[crenshawco]

It was about 545 this evening when I checked it and it displayed the Cell TX message. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a temporary outage in cell service in this area. It's very remote and my cell home is on about the only 5 acres that have service on the entire place

 

[aa961jester]

I’ve been building my own solar / battery packs and have gotten great results so far. No more changing batteries every few weeks!
Also, I switched the D batteries to Rayovac D Ultra Pro Alkaline on the remaining Cuddelinks that are still running the D battery pack and have seen 100+ days so far. Big improvement over other batteries going dead within 2-3 weeks.

Yes if you can post how you assembled your units and where you got the parts from/ part numbers I would appreciate it.

 

[crenshawco]

I think my cell home must be locked up on the Cell TX thing again. I had pictures throughout the night and up until my 8 o'clock batch this morning and nothing on the last two updates. If I haven't gotten any by my 4 o'clock batch, I'm going to swing by there again on my way home and check it. It has worked fine from this exact location for 3 or 4 months, so I don't know what is going on.

 

[john volkman]

I think my cell home must be locked up on the Cell TX thing again. I had pictures throughout the night and up until my 8 o'clock batch this morning and nothing on the last two updates. If I haven't gotten any by my 4 o'clock batch, I'm going to swing by there again on my way home and check it. It has worked fine from this exact location for 3 or 4 months, so I don't know what is going on.

If it’s locked up again call cs and send it back for repair or replacement , the unit is still under warranty.

 

[crenshawco]

It sent pics at 4 and at 6, so it seems to be working fine again.

 

[john volkman]

It sent pics at 4 and at 6, so it seems to be working fine again.

just to be clear on your settings, if you have it set at 2 hours it will send every 2 hours IF there are pictures to send. It will also send anytime the que reaches 30 pics (sometimes more depending on how fast they come in). If you have it set at Batch 30, it will only send when the que reaches 30 images and also one time per day regardless of how many pics are in que, this takes place typically early morning after the report is generated.

 

[HB_Hunter]

Can you share your recipe/parts that you have settled on for the external battery packs and chargers?

Here is my solar setup. I am using the J series camera. All the credit goes to the handy hunter on YouTube:

12v Rechargable Battery - https://www.amazon.com/Tenergy-2000...s/dp/B077Y9HNTF/ref=sr_1_20_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=

Plastic Junction Box (and cover) - https://www.lowes.com/pd/CANTEX-3-4-in-PVC-Conduit-Body/3276293 / https://www.lowes.com/pd/Hubbell-Ta...tic-Weatherproof-Electrical-Box-Cover/3773447

Camera Cable - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CGLWWJN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

5.5x2.1mm Female Jack to 4.0x1.7mm (to fit the camera plug) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07D49WQ7M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

9 Volt Regulator (**Make sure to test to ensure they are regulating the voltage and get the correct voltage for your camera**) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092CRNF2/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Solar Panel - https://www.harborfreight.com/15-watt-solar-battery-charger-62449.html

My wife's uncle made the bracket to mount the solar panel and electrical box to. I am going to get a crash course in welding and will try to make these myself next time.

I also put 12 Energizer Rechargables in the camera - https://www.amazon.com/Energizer-Rechargeable-batteries-NiMH-2300/dp/B01C7U4E1Q/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3F0BVH90I0M1A&keywords=energizer+rechargeable+aa&qid=1553356501&s=electronics&sprefix=energis,electronics,988&sr=1-4