Thank you, John. Once again your input is very helpful. I'll run with what I have on order and supplement once the near gear is fully available. I'm looking forward to the new power option. It would be great to run the season with a single battery change.
Cuddeback's Cuddelink
- Thread starter Peplin Creek
- Start date
aa961jester
5 year old buck +
John,
The new dual power bank 3563 that Cuddeback is coming out with, can that be used on a J camera that already has a D battery adapter 3495 attached?
Joe
The new dual power bank 3563 that Cuddeback is coming out with, can that be used on a J camera that already has a D battery adapter 3495 attached?
Joe
john volkman
5 year old buck +
should work with all cuddelink cameras, there will be some previous G series cameras that will need an adapter plug that will be available thru cuddeback and our dealers.
I may have jumped before reading everything.
Noob here.
Ordered 2 kits with main cellular verizon cam and three J1415 (think that is the #)
Both sets will be used in west central Illinois, on two different farms. Have fair Verizon service on both farms.
But, I live in SC.
Long term, will add addl satellite cams on both networks.
My main dilemma is how to keep them powered up long term.
Have many other questions too
So, I don’t need convincing but some advice would be great. Will find the time to try to work through the other pages!
Many thanks
Noob here.
Ordered 2 kits with main cellular verizon cam and three J1415 (think that is the #)
Both sets will be used in west central Illinois, on two different farms. Have fair Verizon service on both farms.
But, I live in SC.
Long term, will add addl satellite cams on both networks.
My main dilemma is how to keep them powered up long term.
Have many other questions too
So, I don’t need convincing but some advice would be great. Will find the time to try to work through the other pages!
Many thanks
swat1018
5 year old buck +
My cell home is on 178 days on D batteries. I'm running the external pack, plus the internal D's. At 178 days it hasn't even switched to the internals yet. Pretty impressed with that. I have one J camera on 150 days on D battery pack, the other 4 died between 35 and 49 days on the same D pack, wierd. I just bought 3 solar kits for the J's I'm going to try in full sun.
Ed Brodt
5 year old buck +
Solar is the way to go. Take a look at how long these cameras have been running on solar. The solar units were added at different times so that explains the difference in days. Since adding solar we have not had to replace any batteries. As you can see the longest one has been running continuously for 276 days.
Wow, great data. Is this a report you punch manually or is this out of a Cudde app?
I am almost an IT idiot but love that info.
Thanks for posting!
Ed Brodt
5 year old buck +
That report is generated automatically. It is on the SD card every time you take it from the home camera.
Nice!!!
The solar sounds best to me, no debate.
I don’t have the cams yet but think they run on 6 VDC.
I looked at Cuddeback solar system and it is expensive and they are short on technical details.
Is there any reason a 6v 4.5 AH feeder batt could not be used to power the camera externally – and have this battery replenished by a 2W solar collector?
If done in this manner, would there even have to be batteries inside the cam?
If batteries MUST be inside the cam, would they have to be rechargeable batteries or could they be standard.
Several worries come to mind – squirrels or other issues could cause an open in the wiring – which would put the camera out of business instantly.
If standard batteries were used, they can leak and damage the cam, as the unit may go long periods with no eyes on them (this is intentional and desired). Not sure if rechargeable batteries can leak like a standard batt?
I get it that Cudde is not going to like this idea but innovation drives improvement.
My long range plan would be to have a great many Cudde cams out there (I currently run about 40 - 50 standard cams) – and I am interested in a more cost effective manner.
That said, here is sort of what I am thinking:
Small plastic box with 6v batt inside – box is secured to camera strap – generally on opposite (or close to opposite) side of the tree
2 watt solar collector mounted to box with adjustable brackets, up/down and side/side (for aiming)
18/2 in thick rubber coating from box to camera – coating will HELP eliminate pest damage
Rechargeable batteries in camera
Guess the real question is can I make this for less than Cudde sells it for?
Think the kit is about $65 and the camera is basically $160 -$170 or so… that means the charging system would cost about 40% of what the cam costs?
Maybe with the 2w collector and rechargeable batts, the external batt is not really even needed??
Cams are gonna be 14 hours from me – and I stake my entire Midwest season on 2 weeks in November – want as much redundancy as is possible – but don’t want to be stupid about it…
Thoughts?
Many thanks, all!
ormsbybrian
A good 3 year old buck
I don't want to be the one to burst your bubble, but the J-series cams run on 9Vdc, not 6Vdc so you will need to either step up the 6Vdc or step down a 12Vdc battery (both are very inefficient and cut into run-time). One other option is to wait for Cudde's new external battery option to arrive but that requires purchasing (6 or 12) D-batts instead of using rechargeables. The cell home (G-series and I assume new K-series) will work very well on your 6Vdc idea and easily outlast using regulators to change the voltage.
You are going down a very similar path that I traveled last year...I started with (8) J-series cams and didn't like the battery life (tried solar in partial sun and the additional D-battery backpacks too). I have since replaced all of them and added many more G-series cams w/powerhouse flash modules running solely on 6Vdc external batteries...all are currently past 3 months of up-time and are all still going strong!
john volkman
5 year old buck +
just so everyone is clear - the new Dual Power Bank that is planned for release later this year will allow you to use both alkaline d's and rechargeable batteries at the same time with a solar panel. Or... you can use all alkaline if you dont want to use solar. Dual power bank has two banks , The unit will run on the rechargeable bank until its exhausted(if this happens) and then switch to the 2nd alkaline bank. If that bank is exhausted it will switch to the internal batteries in the camera. The daily report will show you the which power bank is in use so you are aware of what condition they are in.
this will insure the longest time possible for any camera. The dual power bank will work with any cuddelink camera, DUAL CELL, J series and G series. There will be some G series cameras that will need an adapter plug to work with the Dual power bank but that will be available for those that need it.
this will insure the longest time possible for any camera. The dual power bank will work with any cuddelink camera, DUAL CELL, J series and G series. There will be some G series cameras that will need an adapter plug to work with the Dual power bank but that will be available for those that need it.
aa961jester
5 year old buck +
John,
Will the new power bank work with the Cuddeback Solar Panel used for the J cameras or some other one?
Will the new power bank work with the Cuddeback Solar Panel used for the J cameras or some other one?
aa961jester
5 year old buck +
Please let us know of your results I’m curious.
john volkman
5 year old buck +
yes the same panel will work
ormsbybrian
A good 3 year old buck
I tried the included NiMH rechargeable batteries (along with 2 other brands of NiMH) and had pretty bad luck with all of them regarding uptime. I didn't see any measurable increase in uptime by adding the solar charger, all but one of my tests were in wooded areas, some with leaves in early fall and some over the late fall/winter with no leaves. I even tried one in my yard, which did see many hours of full sun exposure but not all day and the batteries still went dead in 45 days. However, it sounds like many guys are having good luck with them, but I believe all are in all day, full sun which isn't an option for my property.
Keep in mind, if you put fully charged NiMH batteries in a cam, it will only report 50-75% battery right out of the gate instead of 99% since NiMH batteries only recharge up to 1.35v instead of 1.5v+ (like fresh alkaline or lithium) so you are already starting with a handicap with this solar system. I understand that the solar charger will keep adding charge, but if you get a cloudy day, wooded area, snow cover/leaves on the panel, lots of nighttime pics, etc...your battery voltage "window" prior to entering DEAD BAT mode on the cam is really pretty small. Once DEAD BAT is reported, the cam is useless until you get there to reset it...a terrible design for a low intrusion system in my opinion...I would much rather have it keep operating even if it has to stop using the flash at night since the battery voltage was too low to re-charge it, than to get NO pics until I arrive to reset it and/or swap batteries. The real kicker was quite often by the time I arrived, since the cam was suspended, the solar charger had already caught up and recharged the batts enough to be able to run the camera again, but it still takes a person to reset it instead of it resetting itself once the voltage got back up there....grrrrr!
john volkman
5 year old buck +
K only replaces the G when it comes to Cell units , the g is still available in several cuddelink flash options
john volkman
5 year old buck +
one thing i try to recommend to all that use the solar panels is to invest in a decent charger for the rechargeable aa's , I had provided a link to one earlier in this thread but dont have it currently. Ensuring your batteries are fully charged and in good condition is vital before you deploy them. Cuddeback includes a charging cord as a convenience but its a better choice to get a trickle charger that charges and monitors batteries independently. The cost around $30 or less which is minimal when considering the cost of batteries and the system as a whole. Most users that went with this recommendation have been very happy with the solar system. tree canopy and the site can play a big part in how well it does, Its also wise to test each individual battery to make sure they are all good. Batteries are included with the Solar kit but not warrantied, its just to hard to guarantee quality control on something like batteries. Rechargeable D's are more expensive but last longer than aa's even when not being topped off by a charger.
