Cuddelink general Q&A recommendations

[Hoytvectrix]

I have some of the older 3501 panels and the output is 9volts. No idea what the 3600 output voltage is. I have some J's with no internals, with the cuddeback cable to input 9v to camera from 12v SLA battery. Looking to add solar. I'm thinking I need specifically 12v solar Maintainers which have circuitry to prevent over charging and battery drainage at night. I've ordered piggyback wire connectors which allow two female connections to blade connectors on battery. One for cuddeback cable to cam, other for solar Maintainer.
Now question is how many watts are needed to offset what the camera consumes. Think I'll experiment with 5 watt panel. Learning that letting SLAs discharge too far and they're toast.
I do have a J with 12AA rechargeables and a 3501 panel getting 5 hours great sunlight running perfectly.

Do you have a product number of link of the two female connectors? That is exactly what I am looking for and was going to build if I couldn't find it.

 

[JonJ]

Do you have a product number of link of the two female connectors? That is exactly what I am looking for and was going to build if I couldn't find

 

[JonJ]

One choice if your panel wires need ends.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01ECEZFTK/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_T68R9XKJ966TSWFFVQPC
If both cables have female plugs like cuddenback cable has.
Ancor 230613 Marine Grade Electrical Double Male-Female Adapter (5-Pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NI1G0C/ref=cm_sw_r_awdo_navT_g_84J8MR1R1ABV7YSS3M3D

 

[Trlblzr3]

Does anyone use used D batteries left over from previous year for a Spring set up or a close by setup? If so where do you use the used vs new batteries, in the camera or external pack. What voltage level do you use as a cutoff? 1.35v, 1.4v etc.

 

[john volkman]

Does anyone use used D batteries left over from previous year for a Spring set up or a close by setup? If so where do you use the used vs new batteries, in the camera or external pack. What voltage level do you use as a cutoff? 1.35v, 1.4v etc.

put yoru old batteries in the camera and put new in the external pack, this will allow the new to draw down further before switching over to the internals, the camera always goes to the highest voltage and wont switch until the external voltage is lower than the internal.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

put yoru old batteries in the camera and put new in the external pack, this will allow the new to draw down further before switching over to the internals, the camera always goes to the highest voltage and wont switch until the external voltage is lower than the internal.

Wait….pretty sure it will not switch to internals, until externals are depleted - right?

 

[john volkman]

Wait….pretty sure it will not switch to internals, until externals are depleted - right?

its all about what voltage each pack(internal and external) is at, the camera always wants to go to the higher voltage source, if the internals are new and at 6volts or higher the camera will switch to them once the external voltage drops below 6 volts , if the internals have been used a bit and are as an example 5.9 volts, then the external would keep working until 5.8. There are other factors like temperature etc that can effect this but if you want to use up old batteries that arent dead yet , always put them in the camera and use your new batteries in the external pack. There is a point where the voltage wont power the camera and this doesnt matter but this is the best way to pinch pennies and get the most out of your alkaline batteries.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

its all about what voltage each pack(internal and external) is at, the camera always wants to go to the higher voltage source, if the internals are new and at 6volts or higher the camera will switch to them once the external voltage drops below 6 volts , if the internals have been used a bit and are as an example 5.9 volts, then the external would keep working until 5.8. There are other factors like temperature etc that can effect this but if you want to use up old batteries that arent dead yet , always put them in the camera and use your new batteries in the external pack. There is a point where the voltage wont power the camera and this doesnt matter but this is the best way to pinch pennies and get the most out of your alkaline batteries.

Hmm. Then I may have been throwing away some batteries with reasonable life left in them. My 4-battery cameras with 6-battery externals will start out saying Ext OK, then transition to Ext Low, then to OK, then to Low! I always assumed the externals were being fully depleted before switching to internals.

Now, assuming every battery started at 1.5v, what you are saying is once the external total voltage drops below approx 6v, the setup will switch to the internals that started at 6v, leaving 5.9v or so unused in the external pack??? Or, as the internals are depleted below 5.9v is it supposed to switch back to the externals? Then back and forth until all batteries are fully depleted???

I'm suspicious it never switches back to the external, based on some frustrating experiences with some 6-battery cameras coupled with 6-battery externals. I've always felt they showed dead long before the 4/6 setups. Is that because, depending on the starting voltages, the external might never get connected? If so, I've been throwing away some brand new batteries!

 

[john volkman]

Hmm. Then I may have been throwing away some batteries with reasonable life left in them. My 4-battery cameras with 6-battery externals will start out saying Ext OK, then transition to Ext Low, then to OK, then to Low! I always assumed the externals were being fully depleted before switching to internals.
Now, assuming every battery started at 1.5v, what you are saying is once the external total voltage drops below approx 6v, the setup will switch to the internals that started at 6v, leaving 5.9v or so unused in the external pack??? Or, as the internals are depleted below 5.9v is it supposed to switch back to the externals? Then back and forth until all batteries are fully depleted???
I'm suspicious it never switches back to the external, based on some frustrating experiences with some 6-battery cameras coupled with 6-battery externals. I've always felt they showed dead long before the 4/6 setups. Is that because, depending on the starting voltages, the external might never get connected?

that is the correct progression and sometimes depending on several factors the camera will switch back and forth , usually cold temps will do this. Keep in mind the camera cant operate at some point even though the batteries may have some voltage left in them, so you can't draw them to 0 volts. When you were running 6 d internals with 6d externals together the camera was drawing from all 12 batteries concurrently at the same time which helps a bit with overall battery life but its not as efficient or as cost effective as the 4d internal/ 6 d external set up. This is why all cameras are now 4d and all external accessories are set up for higher than 6 volts, The solar panels batteries are 7.4-7.8 roughly and the 6 d power boosters and 12 volt adapter cables provide 9 volts.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

that is the correct progression and sometimes depending on several factors the camera will switch back and forth , usually cold temps will do this. Keep in mind the camera cant operate at some point even though there batteries may have some voltage left in them, so you can draw them to 0 volts. When you were running 6 d internals with 6d externals togehter the camera was drawing from all 12 batteries concurrently at the same time which helps a bit with overall battery life but its not as efficient or cost effective as the 4d internal/ 6 d external set up. this is why all cameras are now 4d and all external accessories are set up for higher than 6 volts, The solar panels batteries are 7.4-7.8 roughly and the 6 d power boosters and 12 volt adapter cables provide 9 volts.

I understand the system cannot draw to 0v before showing Bat Dead. But I just want to triple check what you are saying. Is this a true statement..... Once the setup has switched from the 6D external to the 4D internal, it will NOT usually switch back to the external - but sometimes (cold) it might.

 

[john volkman]

I understand the system cannot draw to 0v before showing Bat Dead. But I just want to triple check what you are saying. Is this a true statement..... Once the setup has switched from the 6D external to the 4D internal, it will NOT usually switch back to the external - but sometimes (cold) it might.

yes it normally doesn't switch back when running alkaline. When running the 3600 solar its common and is designed to switch back and forth as needed.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

yes it normally doesn't switch back when running alkaline. When running the 3600 solar its common and is designed to switch back and forth as needed.

As a trained electronic technician I wonder how I got so confused on how these worked. I've sure wasted some battery battery life, but oh well, I still love the system.

Makes me even more anxious to see the solar panels that will work in the woods! I have a handful of solar panel setups, in open fields, that have been running for years.

 

[Trlblzr3]

As a trained electronic technician I wonder how I got so confused on how these worked. I've sure wasted some battery battery life, but oh well, I still love the system.

Makes me even more anxious to see the solar panels that will work in the woods! I have a handful of solar panel setups, in open fields, that have been running for years.

What John has said is why I test every battery with a voltmeter before tossing. Also what John says makes sense. I’ve been doing this backwards. I’ve been putting the new in the camera . I guess I need to change that up. Glad I asked.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

What John has said is why I test every battery with a voltmeter before tossing. Also what John says makes sense. I’ve been doing this backwards. I’ve been putting the new in the camera . I guess I need to change that up. Glad I asked.

At what voltage do you decide to keep or toss? I'm now rethinking how I use the 6 pack externals.

 

[Trlblzr3]

At what voltage do you decide to keep or toss? I'm now rethinking how I use the 6 pack externals.

Well I’d been using 1.35v in external, but I may go a little lower (1.25v) switching them to internals.

 

[cheech53]

 

[cheech53]

This is a battery discharge curve as you can see 1.1 volts it won’t last must longer , so any time you can use them with 6 in series you have 6.6 volts . I have a G camera at 5.1 volt still working that’s 1.27 volts each 4 D internals my report says low at 25% . So if I had a 6 D power pack with batteries at 1.1 volts = 6.6 v total it would be running off the power pack till batteries went dead

 

[MadMadHoosier]

This is a battery discharge curve as you can see 1.1 volts it won’t last must longer , so any time you can use them with 6 in series you have 6.6 volts . I have a G camera at 5.1 volt still working that’s 1.27 volts each 4 D internals my report says low at 25% . So if I had a 6 D power pack with batteries at 1.1 volts = 6.6 v total it would be running off the power pack till batteries went dead

That's helpful - Thanks! I'm sure it varies a bit, but does anyone know at at what voltage the internals start showing Batt Dead?

 

[Trlblzr3]

This is a battery discharge curve as you can see 1.1 volts it won’t last must longer , so any time you can use them with 6 in series you have 6.6 volts . I have a G camera at 5.1 volt still working that’s 1.27 volts each 4 D internals my report says low at 25% . So if I had a 6 D power pack with batteries at 1.1 volts = 6.6 v total it would be running off the power pack till batteries went dead

So you are saying the externals would die before it flopped over. That poses the question would it flop and how long would you have or what voltage should you limit internals.

 

[cheech53]

That's helpful - Thanks! I'm sure it varies a bit, but does anyone know at at what voltage the internals start showing Batt Dead?

I am not sure but I will know soon my G camera is 5.1 v and still working,it’s 4 hours away so I force a picture on Cuddeback sight and check EXIF data to check voltage on camera,I will post when it goes dead