Cuddelink 2020 GEN 2 version

[Adal2154]

Is there a way to fix a run away camera I have a camera on the driveway of camp and last night it just keeps sending pics of nothing it’s been up there 2 weeks without issue then last night all of a sudden it went crazy

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Change it to repeater for a day or change the delay to an hour or more for a couple days and then change it back

Tried changing it to repeater and as soon as I changed it back bam run away
Brand new camera 11 days old


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[Terra]

Has anyone noticed a delay in receiving pictures after changes are made online to the camera settings? It can sometimes take 2 or 3 reports before the cameras catch up and send pictures like they normally do. I have noticed that after receiving the update, the camera has a significant lag in taking pictures or stops taking pictures altogether. Even though we were not receiving any new pictures through Cuddelink, I thought that maybe the camera was still taking pictures and storing them on the SD card. But when I pulled the cards that was not the case, almost all of the pictures that were on them were sent to us.

Logically it makes sense, if I have this correct, the home unit contacts Cuddelink to send a report and receives the update for changes made online. Then the home unit has to wait for the next communication with the camera before it sends the changes to it. The camera makes the necessary changes to the settings. How long does it take for the camera to make them? Does it then have to wait for the next report before everything is working as it should? To speed up this process, I now receive 4 reports per day. It is an overkill, but it was the only way that I can think of to force the communication between cameras, home unit and Cuddelink.

Is anyone else having a problem with receiving pictures after changes to the settings?

Another question, in the future, will the Gen2 firmware cameras be able to take multiple pictures per trigger? I miss that feature when the SD cards are pulled. It was nice to get a picture of a bigger buck, who come in after a younger one set off the camera trigger. Now without the additional image, we might miss pictures of the larger buck.

Thanks!
Terra

 

[john volkman]

Has anyone noticed a delay in receiving pictures after changes are made online to the camera settings? It can sometimes take 2 or 3 reports before the cameras catch up and send pictures like they normally do. I have noticed that after receiving the update, the camera has a significant lag in taking pictures or stops taking pictures altogether. Even though we were not receiving any new pictures through Cuddelink, I thought that maybe the camera was still taking pictures and storing them on the SD card. But when I pulled the cards that was not the case, almost all of the pictures that were on them were sent to us.

Logically it makes sense, if I have this correct, the home unit contacts Cuddelink to send a report and receives the update for changes made online. Then the home unit has to wait for the next communication with the camera before it sends the changes to it. The camera makes the necessary changes to the settings. How long does it take for the camera to make them? Does it then have to wait for the next report before everything is working as it should? To speed up this process, I now receive 4 reports per day. It is an overkill, but it was the only way that I can think of to force the communication between cameras, home unit and Cuddelink.

Is anyone else having a problem with receiving pictures after changes to the settings?

Another question, in the future, will the Gen2 firmware cameras be able to take multiple pictures per trigger? I miss that feature when the SD cards are pulled. It was nice to get a picture of a bigger buck, who come in after a younger one set off the camera trigger. Now without the additional image, we might miss pictures of the larger buck.

Thanks!
Terra

under surveillance mode you can set the delay to FAP which is one image per second but you will only get 1 out of 3-5 images , running multiple reports is the only way ot speed up the command process,. it should make all changes within 24 hours, keep in mind RF transmitting is not in real time.

 

[john volkman]

Tried changing it to repeater and as soon as I changed it back bam run away
Brand new camera 11 days old


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i would call to set up a return as they should get you a new one quickly , it could be a fresnel lens issue,

 

[Trlblzr3]

Tried changing it to repeater and as soon as I changed it back bam run away
Brand new camera 11 days old


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Try relocating. If it’s pointing north move it 30 yards and point it south. Maybe its sensing something the way it’s facing. I had my home camera doing it and swapping it with another camera in network fixed the problem.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

John and others who might help:

First, I'll start by asking you not to judge me. I did not grow up this way, but am now semi-retired and (over?)-enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Since their introduction I've gone a little crazy and have now accumulated 48 CuddeLink cameras (with various solar and battery pack additions) on a 550 acre farm. This has been an awesome addition since the farm is 600 miles from where I live, and being able to see camera images within a day is incredible. Until the rut starts moving them around, I've got a great idea of what deer, turkey, predators, trespassers, etc, are living on and visiting the farm. My main goal is to get the battery life as long as possible and keep my activity and scent away from the cameras.

Even after reading all the posts above, I'm a bit confused on how best to rearrange my setup for best performance. Attached is a list of the cameras that I've sorted by HW Version. From memory, both of my home devices (G-0 & K-23) have an additional Dual battery pack. Three or four of my J's are running rechargeable AA's with a solar panel. The rest of my cameras are interior woods and I found the old solar was not viable there. The remaining J's have the battery pack swapped to the 3495 6D version. And a few of those have the 3563 Dual battery pack on top of that. I think all of the G's have the addition of the 3624 6D battery pack, but a couple could have the 3563 Dual??? Just cannot remember them all.

So my question is, do I have the best packs working with the right cameras? Should I wait until the external low notice goes away before I swap the external batteries, so I get the full life out of them? They seem to still run a long time once reporting low. Which of my setups will automatically work on the externals first, before swithing to internal? Would the new PW-3600 work in some of the interior locations? Any chance future reports could give the condition of both the internal and external batteries? It's hard to understand which set ups use which batteries first, and how to understand when one still has a pack to switch to vs just going dead.

PS: I've already done a pretty good job getting the home cameras where they receive the remotes with the fewest links, and am still trying to tweak away those that need more than 2-3. But on the heavily wooded ridge portion of the farm, it's a tough task. Once finished, I'll try to arrange the repeating cameras with the biggest battery packs. I also plan to replace my G-0 home with another K home, in the future, to get one more image taker out there :-)

Thanks for any help, Steve.

 

[john volkman]

John and others who might help:

First, I'll start by asking you not to judge me. I did not grow up this way, but am now semi-retired and (over?)-enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Since their introduction I've gone a little crazy and have now accumulated 48 CuddeLink cameras (with various solar and battery pack additions) on a 550 acre farm. This has been an awesome addition since the farm is 600 miles from where I live, and being able to see camera images within a day is incredible. Until the rut starts moving them around, I've got a great idea of what deer, turkey, predators, trespassers, etc, are living on and visiting the farm. My main goal is to get the battery life as long as possible and keep my activity and scent away from the cameras.

Even after reading all the posts above, I'm a bit confused on how best to rearrange my setup for best performance. Attached is a list of the cameras that I've sorted by HW Version. From memory, both of my home devices (G-0 & K-23) have an additional Dual battery pack. Three or four of my J's are running rechargeable AA's with a solar panel. The rest of my cameras are interior woods and I found the old solar was not viable there. The remaining J's have the battery pack swapped to the 3495 6D version. And a few of those have the 3563 Dual battery pack on top of that. I think all of the G's have the addition of the 3624 6D battery pack, but a couple could have the 3563 Dual??? Just cannot remember them all.

So my question is, do I have the best packs working with the right cameras? Should I wait until the external low notice goes away before I swap the external batteries, so I get the full life out of them? They seem to still run a long time once reporting low. Which of my setups will automatically work on the externals first, before swithing to internal? Would the new PW-3600 work in some of the interior locations? Any chance future reports could give the condition of both the internal and external batteries? It's hard to understand which set ups use which batteries first, and how to understand when one still has a pack to switch to vs just going dead.

PS: I've already done a pretty good job getting the home cameras where they receive the remotes with the fewest links, and am still trying to tweak away those that need more than 2-3. But on the heavily wooded ridge portion of the farm, it's a tough task. Once finished, I'll try to arrange the repeating cameras with the biggest battery packs. I also plan to replace my G-0 home with another K home, in the future, to get one more image taker out there :-)

Thanks for any help, Steve.

Steve, wow! 48 ! thats more than i run on one farm and i rep for Cuddeback!
on to your questions. you have good set ups but the deal set up is running a 4 d internal mated with either the new 3600 solar, the 6 d booster or the #3563 you already have, Im not saying you need ot switch everything out though.
As far as when to switch batteries,. i try to change batteries at the point the external dies and switches to internals, that gives me leeway on when i can get in there and get them swapped out.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

John and others who might help:

First, I'll start by asking you not to judge me. I did not grow up this way, but am now semi-retired and (over?)-enjoying the fruits of my labor.

Since their introduction I've gone a little crazy and have now accumulated 48 CuddeLink cameras (with various solar and battery pack additions) on a 550 acre farm. This has been an awesome addition since the farm is 600 miles from where I live, and being able to see camera images within a day is incredible. Until the rut starts moving them around, I've got a great idea of what deer, turkey, predators, trespassers, etc, are living on and visiting the farm. My main goal is to get the battery life as long as possible and keep my activity and scent away from the cameras.

Even after reading all the posts above, I'm a bit confused on how best to rearrange my setup for best performance. Attached is a list of the cameras that I've sorted by HW Version. From memory, both of my home devices (G-0 & K-23) have an additional Dual battery pack. Three or four of my J's are running rechargeable AA's with a solar panel. The rest of my cameras are interior woods and I found the old solar was not viable there. The remaining J's have the battery pack swapped to the 3495 6D version. And a few of those have the 3563 Dual battery pack on top of that. I think all of the G's have the addition of the 3624 6D battery pack, but a couple could have the 3563 Dual??? Just cannot remember them all.

So my question is, do I have the best packs working with the right cameras? Should I wait until the external low notice goes away before I swap the external batteries, so I get the full life out of them? They seem to still run a long time once reporting low. Which of my setups will automatically work on the externals first, before swithing to internal? Would the new PW-3600 work in some of the interior locations? Any chance future reports could give the condition of both the internal and external batteries? It's hard to understand which set ups use which batteries first, and how to understand when one still has a pack to switch to vs just going dead.

PS: I've already done a pretty good job getting the home cameras where they receive the remotes with the fewest links, and am still trying to tweak away those that need more than 2-3. But on the heavily wooded ridge portion of the farm, it's a tough task. Once finished, I'll try to arrange the repeating cameras with the biggest battery packs. I also plan to replace my G-0 home with another K home, in the future, to get one more image taker out there :-)

Thanks for any help, Steve.

Steve,
I'm currently doing some testing with external rechargeable 12V batteries powering my 13 cameras through the 12V battery cable. I hate the idea of burning through single-use D batteries. One reason is for the actual waste (no idea on the recycle-ability of D batteries), and the second being it may be cheaper to run a rechargeable 12V battery compared to the D batteries for a given number of photos. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to test these in colder temperatures yet. For what it's worth, I've only had to recharge one battery since I put them out (most were put out in March), and that battery (plus the 4-Ds inside the J) supplied power for somewhere around 6500 images with a good Connection Level and no cameras linking through it. I will report back at the end of the hunting season with how the external batteries held up (for battery days, and for number of photos).

 

[MadMadHoosier]

Steve, wow! 48 ! thats more than i run on one farm and i rep for Cuddeback!
on to your questions. you have good set ups but the deal set up is running a 4 d internal mated with either the new 3600 solar, the 6 d booster or the #3563 you already have, Im not saying you need ot switch everything out though.
As far as when to switch batteries,. i try to change batteries at the point the external dies and switches to internals, that gives me leeway on when i can get in there and get them swapped out.

Hi John:
Thanks for the replies, and yeah I'm a poster child or nut job, depending on your perspective. I'll narrow my questions down to no more than three at a time.

1) So does the 3600 solar require full sun like the 3501? And if so it will not be much help in most of my locations.

2) I see in a follow up post you mention your J cameras with 4-Ds. I've only seen the J cameras with 12-AAs or the 3495 replacement back with 6-Ds. Is there a new replacement back for the J cameras with 4-Ds?

3) Not that I would change out my 6-Ds for 4-Ds. Especially if the only advantage is getting the setup to use the booster pack "before" the internals. And am I correct in assuming my 6-D Js will use the internals first, and then switch to the external packs before going dead?

Thanks again, Steve.

 

[john volkman]

Hi John:
Thanks for the replies, and yeah I'm a poster child or nut job, depending on your perspective. I'll narrow my questions down to no more than three at a time.

1) So does the 3600 solar require full sun like the 3501? And if so it will not be much help in most of my locations. it does need full sun but eery trials have shown it to extend run time in semi shaded locations i would still stick to full sun for any solar unit.

2) I see in a follow up post you mention your J cameras with 4-Ds. I've only seen the J cameras with 12-AAs or the 3495 replacement back with 6-Ds. Is there a new replacement back for the J cameras with 4-Ds? all Cuddeback units will soon be made with 4 d internal packs. we do sell a 4 d replacement pack for the J camera

3) Not that I would change out my 6-Ds for 4-Ds. Especially if the only advantage is getting the setup to use the booster pack "before" the internals. And am I correct in assuming my 6-D Js will use the internals first, and then switch to the external packs before going dead? NO, it doesnt work that way, the external pack is only used independently if the camera is running 4 d's- if you run 6 d on both.. they will drain concurrently, you will still get more life but you wont have a warning on you report it will go low and then dead. The camera needs to detect a voltage difference to use external first.

Thanks again, Steve.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

NO, it doesnt work that way, the external pack is only used independently if the camera is running 4 d's- if you run 6 d on both.. they will drain concurrently, you will still get more life but you wont have a warning on you report it will go low and then dead. The camera needs to detect a voltage difference to use external first.

John:
Ok, that is helpful. And I'm not familiar with every camera configuration, but the way you explained, it sounds like "any" camera with 6-Ds will run concurrently with externals - not just the Js. Trying to decide if I'd rather have the two extra days of battery life, or the warning that externals need replacing? But I'll see with time.
Having an electronics background, that does bring up this idea. If I were to create two blank D-size spacers, that still completed the battery circuit, so that only 4 live batteries were internal in my Js, would that allow the external sensing? Thinking I could somehow add a conductor inside two of these D-AA spacers and make that work. Or is there some other sensing within the 4-D cameras? At a buck a piece this might be an effective way to convert a 6-D to 4-D.

Thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions. It was very helpful!

(PS: One last explanation/reason why I have such an embarrassing number of cameras. For years I had 6-8 corn feeders around the farm with a similar number of cameras. That created an enormous amount of images to sort through (which used up a lot of camera battery life), cost a lot of time and money to keep the feeders filled and maintained, and I wondered about disrupting the deers natural habits and patterns. So the money I previously spent on feeders and corn was applied to more (and more) cameras. This new set up seems to give a quality census of my wildlife, without all the extra pics of deer feeding in place for hours. Kentucky is further restricting feeding during certain periods of the year.
I am experimenting with a single gravity feeder, in the center of my property, feeding a mix of corn and protein pellets. A nearby friend had shown a dramatic improvement in antler growth feeding his deer protein, and I'm giving it a try for next years herd.)

Thanks again and cheers, Steve.

 

[john volkman]

NO, it doesnt work that way, the external pack is only used independently if the camera is running 4 d's- if you run 6 d on both.. they will drain concurrently, you will still get more life but you wont have a warning on you report it will go low and then dead. The camera needs to detect a voltage difference to use external first.

John:
Ok, that is helpful. And I'm not familiar with every camera configuration, but the way you explained, it sounds like "any" camera with 6-Ds will run concurrently with externals - not just the Js. Trying to decide if I'd rather have the two extra days of battery life, or the warning that externals need replacing? But I'll see with time.
Having an electronics background, that does bring up this idea. If I were to create two blank D-size spacers, that still completed the battery circuit, so that only 4 live batteries were internal in my Js, would that allow the external sensing? Thinking I could somehow add a conductor inside two of these D-AA spacers and make that work. Or is there some other sensing within the 4-D cameras? At a buck a piece this might be an effective way to convert a 6-D to 4-D.
View attachment 31737
Thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions. It was very helpful!

(PS: One last explanation/reason why I have such an embarrassing number of cameras. For years I had 6-8 corn feeders around the farm with a similar number of cameras. That created an enormous amount of images to sort through (which used up a lot of camera battery life), cost a lot of time and money to keep the feeders filled and maintained, and I wondered about disrupting the deers natural habits and patterns. So the money I previously spent on feeders and corn was applied to more (and more) cameras. This new set up seems to give a quality census of my wildlife, without all the extra pics of deer feeding in place for hours. Kentucky is further restricting feeding during certain periods of the year.
I am experimenting with a single gravity feeder, in the center of my property, feeding a mix of corn and protein pellets. A nearby friend had shown a dramatic improvement in antler growth feeding his deer protein, and I'm giving it a try for next years herd.)

Thanks again and cheers, Steve.

what you described will work, as long as you update firmware to 8.1 first and then switch the internal battery selection to 4D in the camera. there are also dummy d cells that do what you described but im not sure if it would be more expensive to buy those or just convert to Cuddeback's 4d pack and then sell your 6d backs.

 

[Kb_303]

Havent been in here much lately, did something change with how ofteb the cell cam will transmit? Every hour this morning i was getting 9 to 10 pics at a time. All the pics happened around 730 this morning. Why am i not getting these in bunches earlier, instead of scattered out into afternoon. In past ,I'd get multiple transmissions back to back of 16 ish pics at a time.

 

[john volkman]

Havent been in here much lately, did something change with how ofteb the cell cam will transmit? Every hour this morning i was getting 9 to 10 pics at a time. All the pics happened around 730 this morning. Why am i not getting these in bunches earlier, instead of scattered out into afternoon. In past ,I'd get multiple transmissions back to back of 16 ish pics at a time.

nothing has changed, the relay is still is set up up the same way.

 

[cheech53]

what you described will work, as long as you update firmware to 8.1 first and then switch the internal battery selection to 4D in the camera. there are also dummy d cells that do what you described but im not sure if it would be more expensive to buy those or just convert to Cuddeback's 4d pack and then sell your 6d backs.

John a just read the post about using two dummy D cell in a 6D cell batteries pack for a J camera and how you think it will work by selecting 4D in the camera setting with that said I suggested that to Dan on another forum ( Facebook) he said Cuddeback was going to look into that for the K cell camera I never heard anything else about that except for now with the J camera. Now I am reading Cuddeback is going back to the G cell camera with the 4D battery’s pack and the K will be discontinued for the future K cell Onwers will Cuddeback change some firmware so the K cell cameras will also have a option to use 6D or 4D like the older J cameras or will they let us return them for the new G camera at no cost

 

[cheech53]

NO, it doesnt work that way, the external pack is only used independently if the camera is running 4 d's- if you run 6 d on both.. they will drain concurrently, you will still get more life but you wont have a warning on you report it will go low and then dead. The camera needs to detect a voltage difference to use external first.

John:
Ok, that is helpful. And I'm not familiar with every camera configuration, but the way you explained, it sounds like "any" camera with 6-Ds will run concurrently with externals - not just the Js. Trying to decide if I'd rather have the two extra days of battery life, or the warning that externals need replacing? But I'll see with time.
Having an electronics background, that does bring up this idea. If I were to create two blank D-size spacers, that still completed the battery circuit, so that only 4 live batteries were internal in my Js, would that allow the external sensing? Thinking I could somehow add a conductor inside two of these D-AA spacers and make that work. Or is there some other sensing within the 4-D cameras? At a buck a piece this might be an effective way to convert a 6-D to 4-D.
View attachment 31737
Thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions. It was very helpful!

(PS: One last explanation/reason why I have such an embarrassing number of cameras. For years I had 6-8 corn feeders around the farm with a similar number of cameras. That created an enormous amount of images to sort through (which used up a lot of camera battery life), cost a lot of time and money to keep the feeders filled and maintained, and I wondered about disrupting the deers natural habits and patterns. So the money I previously spent on feeders and corn was applied to more (and more) cameras. This new set up seems to give a quality census of my wildlife, without all the extra pics of deer feeding in place for hours. Kentucky is further restricting feeding during certain periods of the year.
I am experimenting with a single gravity feeder, in the center of my property, feeding a mix of corn and protein pellets. A nearby friend had shown a dramatic improvement in antler growth feeding his deer protein, and I'm giving it a try for next years herd.)

Thanks again and cheers, Steve.

Steve I like this idea with the two dumy D cell I was going to try this on a K cell but have not yet if you do please report back on how this works

 

[MadMadHoosier]

Steve I like this idea with the two dumy D cell I was going to try this on a K cell but have not yet if you do please report back on how this works

Hi Cheech:
After looking around for the dummy D cells, they were rather expensive. But then I found some dummy AA that would fit in the AA-D adapter (see image) for much less. Getting enough to do 5 cameras for less than $18. With the estimated arrival date, it will then be Mid-October (opening muzzleloader weekend) before I'm back at the farm to install them. Oh, except John said I needed to update the devices to 8.1 which is a daunting task for 48 devices, and I'm not sure that would get done until after muzzleloader. But if I get it all done before someone else reports back, I will for sure let you know.
Happy hunting, Steve.

 

[cheech53]

Yep that’s for getting back to me I am very interested in how that works

 

[john volkman]

John a just read the post about using two dummy D cell in a 6D cell batteries pack for a J camera and how you think it will work by selecting 4D in the camera setting with that said I suggested that to Dan on another forum ( Facebook) he said Cuddeback was going to look into that for the K cell camera I never heard anything else about that except for now with the J camera. Now I am reading Cuddeback is going back to the G cell camera with the 4D battery’s pack and the K will be discontinued for the future K cell Onwers will Cuddeback change some firmware so the K cell cameras will also have a option to use 6D or 4D like the older J cameras or will they let us return them for the new G camera at no cost

I’m not sure they will change the firmware in the k and I know they won’t allow returns for the g, there is nothing functionally wrong with the k . The switch is being made to 4 d to allow the power options to be more simplified . You can still use external power on a k and get extended life .

 

[MadMadHoosier]

all Cuddeback units will soon be made with 4 d internal packs. we do sell a 4 d replacement pack for the J camera
Hi John:
I've looked on the CuddeBack web site for the 4D replacement pack you mentioned and only see something like that on the J-1521 & J-1538 cameras - not as as stand alone purchase. Do you know when they will be available and how much they will cost?
And not to be negative, but it looks like the new 4D pack on the above mentioned cameras still has the power port on the back of the pack. I wish while designing a new pack they had taken the opportunity to put the power port on the bottom of the pack, so it could have been used with mounting slide integral to the PW-3624 booster.
Back to positive, CuddeLink has designed a great system that I really appreciate and am happy to see it getting better and better.
Thanks again, Steve.