Cuddelink general Q&A recommendations

[JustDoMore]

Just completed EBay purchase of 3 J1415 cameras 3 power banks, and 3 3501 solar panels. Each power bank and solar panel has a cable but I see only one port on each device. How does the system hook together or is it either the power bank or solar? Do I need rechargeable batteries in the bank or camera?

 

[MadMadHoosier]

Just completed EBay purchase of 3 J1415 cameras 3 power banks, and 3 3501 solar panels. Each power bank and solar panel has a cable but I see only one port on each device. How does the system hook together or is it either the power bank or solar? Do I need rechargeable batteries in the bank or camera?

Which model power bank?

There was a very early power bank that looked like the back of a J camera and held 12 AA rechargeable batteries. It had an in port for 3501 solar and an out port that went to the camera.

The Cuddelink dual power bank also has an in port for solar and an out port for the camera. One bank containing 6 of the 12 D batteries in it need to be rechargeable if you plan to use a solar panel.

I think all the other power banks use 6 D Alkaline batteries and do NOT have a solar in port - only an out port to the camera.

PS: The 3501 is solar panel only, with a single out port and NO internal battery. The 3600 solar panel has an internal battery (with room for a 2nd battery, if you want.) The 3600 also has two out ports. A yellow port that feeds directly from the solar panel, and bypasses the internal battery(s), and a brown port that provides power from the 3600s internal battery(s). The PW003 (sun and shade) solar panel has an internal battery (with room for a 2nd battery, if you want), and has a single out port to the camera.

PW3563 Dual power bank…..

PW3624

PW001

 

[JustDoMore]

It appears to be a PW3624 with just a single out port. Not being familiar with the products I assumed they could be connected like the 3600 and a dual power bank. Since the old camera has AA batteries it looks like the best option will be to use the 6 d cell power bank and discard the 3501.

I’m curious why the PW003 has only a single output. Did Cuddeback determine that it was so powerful that there was little to be gained by using a power bank in addition to the panel? And are the batteries bypassed in the 3600 on the output to the power bank because the batteries in it don’t play nice with the rechargeable D cells in the dual power bank?

Sounds like the PW003 solar panel won’t work with the dual power banks. Found good deals for both on EBay. If I leave the rechargeable bank empty in the dual bank I’m guessing power won’t flow across it and the system would immediately start using the alkaline bank. Just trying to get maximum life for the home cell unit.

 

[MadMadHoosier]

It appears to be a PW3624 with just a single out port. Not being familiar with the products I assumed they could be connected like the 3600 and a dual power bank. Since the old camera has AA batteries it looks like the best option will be to use the 6 d cell power bank and discard the 3501.

I’m curious why the PW003 has only a single output. Did Cuddeback determine that it was so powerful that there was little to be gained by using a power bank in addition to the panel? And are the batteries bypassed in the 3600 on the output to the power bank because the batteries in it don’t play nice with the rechargeable D cells in the dual power bank?

Sounds like the PW003 solar panel won’t work with the dual power banks. Found good deals for both on EBay. If I leave the rechargeable bank empty in the dual bank I’m guessing power won’t flow across it and the system would immediately start using the alkaline bank. Just trying to get maximum life for the home cell unit.

I’ve had the Cuddelink since they first came out and have had about every combination on the farm as they progressed. A J camera with internal AA batteries and the 3624 can run for about 6-months, unless they are on a feeder taking constant pictures. Don’t discard the 3501solar, as you can repurpose them to recharge a feeder battery or something else.

The PW003 IS so good you don’t need an additional power bank. I have some that have been running for 2-years and this is my current GoTo configuration. I think you are probably correct about the batteries not playing nice together.

I doubt the PW003 would work with a dual, but have never tried it. But, if you have a dual power bank, with Alkaline batteries in both banks, it will run a J camera (also with internal batteries) for about a year before they need swapping. For maximum life (continuous in my experience) put internal batteries in your home camera and put it on a PW003.

 

[RGrizzzz]

This mirrors what I see too. I had two cameras with 2 links before the update. Now I think all but two have 2 links.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check to see if there's a difference between the reports in the APP vs CAMP. I believe there's a known issue with the link count in the new APP.

 

[Trlblzr3]

Here is a copy of an older Cuddeback power guide.

 

[West_Fork]

Check to see if there's a difference between the reports in the APP vs CAMP. I believe there's a known issue with the link count in the new APP.

Yes, known issue, most of mine are 5 links or 0 on the app.

 

[Turkey Creek]

You would not think that a 2nd downloaded copy of a file would make you want to pull your hair out, but believe me it will! Do not leave the file on your card that has a (1) or any other parenthesis. It will give you a SD card error on your camera when you try and download to the camera. Luckily the tech lady at Cuddeback knew what was causing the error almost as soon as the words came out of my mouth. Wasted 2 hours and alot of cuss words before I broke down and called.

 

[356]

I am having the same issue and submitted pictures of my reports to the address John mentioned. However, I say that the number of links and long queue is directly related to the upgrade to Gen 3, as I never had more than 2 links or long queues, and now I have 2-15 links per camera (with 9 cameras) and three showing double digit queues. Additionally, once I did the update, the link levels are all over the chart (ranging from 98 to 4 on the same camera in a week) whereas before they were relatively stable day to day.

I appreciated the communication from support, "Thank you for sending over your report, our engineering team is looking into this and we will contact you once we have a solution." I empathize with anyone trying to debug software type issues!

Since the post above last week, Cuddeback tech appears to have resolved most of the issues. I no longer have queues of photos (which at one point was 42 pictures). Most cameras now have only one or two links--however, one remote still has 11--which is more links than I have cameras.

Another issue, random cameras showing up in the report as disconnected, is also much better. I look forward to the trends feature going active in the future.