How long do your Camera batteries/solar last?

[MadMadHoosier]

Does Cuddebacks sell the extra batteries separately?

They do. I usually buy from farmsteadoutdoors.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

They do. I usually buy from farmsteadoutdoors.

Thanks! I was originally planning on waiting for the larger solar panel to be released, but it sounds like they might have limited stock anyways. This might be a good thing to try.

 

[yoderjac]

I

Thanks! I was originally planning on waiting for the larger solar panel to be released, but it sounds like they might have limited stock anyways. This might be a good thing to try.

Solar is not tough. I've been buying raw panels up to about 60 watt depending on my application and then adding a PWM or MPPT controller to charge an external battery. I use the panels the camera seller offers for simple terminal cams, but for routing cams, I DIY it. Of course, if your system doesn't let you control the routing, you may not know which cams need how much power available and that may change over time. Once I found out what connectors they were using, I just bought the connectors from Digikey and built my own cables.

Your system may be different, but this works well for me.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[buckdeer1]

I wonder if any other systems will work on Browning?

 

[Tree Spud]

I have switched from Bushnell to Browning Spec ops. I run videos and used to get 2 months on the Bushnells. On the Brownings i change the batteries once every 6 months. The new Spec Ops only take 6 - AA so will see how well they last.

 

[yoderjac]

I wonder if any other systems will work on Browning?

If you have an external battery port, it should not matter what the camera is. You just need to know the voltage it wants to see. You can then provide an battery of whatever AH you want with that voltage. The key from a camera standpoint is matching the connector they use. Now, from the solar panel perspective, things may be more difficult. It would be ideal to have a charge controller that would directly charge the battery from the controller. Most controllers are 12 volt but I found some 6 volt controllers which is what my cams use. Otherwise you would need to step down the voltage from the controller which is more complicated.

Some cameras may have a port for a solar panel rather than an external battery. That is not the same as having an external battery port. On my cameras, it is the same port on the outside of the cam. Inside, you can jumper it to the charging circuit for using a solar panel supplied by the camera vendor for that camera. Or, you can jumper it directly to the camera bypassing the charging circuit for using an external battery. Not all cams are the same in this respect. Some may not have both. I don't have a browning, so I don't know what they have.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[356]

I complete a J camera conversion to solar and am using AA rechargeables on three, with a 4D on one and a G-camera on solar as the "home" unit. I have one J unit that is struggling to keep the AAs charged (something I noticed when relocating cameras) so I am moving it to a sunnier location. However, the solar panel batteries in the PW3600s seem to be working well and keeping everything running in light timber, and the AA rechargeable are backup only.

My experience is not as long as many, but my G-camera on solar is at 120 days in semi-shade and it is doing great, and the J-cameras, which used to require new batteries about every 60 days are good.

I am also running three SpyPoint Link-S LTE solar cameras and they seem to be doing every well...180s days and never under 90%...these are not over feed, so they do not get a massive number of pictures. So far, I am pleased with both systems. and both have their place. My plan is to retire all non-cuddeback or cell cameras and be 100% solar next season

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I have switched from Bushnell to Browning Spec ops. I run videos and used to get 2 months on the Bushnells. On the Brownings i change the batteries once every 6 months. The new Spec Ops only take 6 - AA so will see how well they last.

The non-cellular brownings get pretty astonishing battery life. I think one of them I have out has filled a couple 16 gb cards with video on the same 6 Lithiums I put in a year ago.

 

[Tamarack]

I wish more companies would come out with these battery boxes. Most of my cameras don't do well with solar panels unless it's the sun and shade ones. I bought some of these with the cameras some time ago but have yet to try them. Looking for decent prices on rechargeable li-ion batteries. Only available directly from the company at the moment:
http://www.ereagle.com/View.asp?SetFun=PRO&LG=en&TMenu=1&Spec_ID=105

 

[Fair oak]

I have 8 tactacam cell cameras now and I’m up to 6 solar panels. A couple of them have been out since early October last year and still showing 100%. Pretty nice not worrying about battery life and wasting valuable time changing batteries. I’ll probably pick up 2 more panels for my tactacams and deploy all my non cellular cameras in the next couple weeks.

 

[Tamarack]

Yeah I have a solar panel on my single Tactacam as it sits along the edge of a woods getting plenty of sun and is always showing 100%. I should have mentioned most of my cams are set for videos so they use more juice. When they're in the shade quite a bit to full time the panels don't make it. I did get one from Herd360 which is bigger and made for sun/shade but I'd prefer battery boxes as they don't stick out so much etc. Also have a sun/shade one for a Cuddelink.

 

[Fair oak]

All of my cameras are set to 10-15 second video clips. It’s kinda crazy what we miss when only using cameras on the picture setting.

 

[Foggy47]

I have a Cudde G as my "home camera". It's got an internal and external D battery pack. I and two months short of two years.....and still on the same rechargeable batteries. Been using Everready batteries......but I think my rechargeable are Tenex. The batteries in the camera are still good too. Hard to believe......never had a hitch with these. Only two cameras in my system over winter....but I will soon add 5 more cameras.

 

[Fair oak]

^^^ That’s impressive! I might have to look closer at that system. It seems complicated from the little bit I’ve seen.

The tactacams are pretty reliable and affordable for unlimited data but I know for certain they miss a lot for whatever reason.

 

[Tamarack]

I have a Cudde G as my "home camera". It's got an internal and external D battery pack. I and two months short of two years.....and still on the same rechargeable batteries. Been using Everready batteries......but I think my rechargeable are Tenex. The batteries in the camera are still good too. Hard to believe......never had a hitch with these. Only two cameras in my system over winter....but I will soon add 5 more cameras.

I have one as well- just regular Rayovacs in both the camera and pack. That may be an even better option for other companies to come out with, even if bulkier than the AA packs. Being able to piggyback/use more than one pack per camera like the AA's above would also be nice. Again, mainly for videos.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

^^^ That’s impressive! I might have to look closer at that system. It seems complicated from the little bit I’ve seen.

The tactacams are pretty reliable and affordable for unlimited data but I know for certain they miss a lot for whatever reason.

I'm not sure how much you are paying in total for all of those cell cams each month, But the appeal of the cuddelink system is that it is just one data plan for each system. If all of your cameras are on or near the same property, it's pretty much a no-brainer in my opinion.

 

[Fair oak]

Yes, all 8 of my tactacams are on the same 120 acres. I pay to much per month to be honest but now that I’ve accumulated everything it’s hard to make a switch. I had thought about cuddelink last year and looked on the website and it seemed there were a lot of items out of stock so I didn’t pursue it further and then in the meantime added on to my tactacam collection. I also have 3 browning cells and a couple exodus and I’m not even using those this year. To darn expensive for the plans.

 

[Foggy47]

I'm not sure how much you are paying in total for all of those cell cams each month, But the appeal of the cuddelink system is that it is just one data plan for each system. If all of your cameras are on or near the same property, it's pretty much a no-brainer in my opinion.

That is the way I see it too. I did miss-speak above......and I have Rayovac batteries....and not the Evereadies as stated. Also have a Cudde solar panel to charge my batteries on the home unit. I suppose I change batteries once in six months on the other six cameras (both G and J models). I am pretty happy with my set up....but the picture quality is a bit weak on the thumnails it provides. Not even close to some other cameras for detail. OK by me.....as my costs are quite good and I can tell the differences in the deer within good reason. I suppose I could do card pulls and get excellent pics......I just dont care to that extent.

 

[356]

I read about adding a second PW-001 battery in another post. If needed, its $20, so a viable is option if the solar can't keep up. I am going to see how the solar works on my 12AA J-series cameras mounted in transition points during deer season and into winter. Hopefully the solar will be a big help.

Here is my follow-up, given I now have one year on both the Cuddeback solar system and the SpyPoint solar system.

1) Cuddeback Cuddelink System
A) The discontinued J-series cameras with solar are working great...the Cuddeback system has been pretty much maintenance free, and both the 12AA (early version using rechargables) and 4D (later version) with PW3600 solar panels worked fine all winter. All J-cameras are in partial shade in the woods.
B) The G-series home cell camera is in full sun, and has not been touched in a year.
C) Summary: No issues over the past year on my five camera setup. I believe this would be a solid candidate for a remote property as a stand-alone or with the cuddelink system. Cost is moderate, with about $1800 invested in this system (cameras, solar, batteries, cards) plus the $120/year fee. In peak picture season I will likely need to upgrade the subscription to more than 2500 photos.

2) SpyPoint: I am running a six camera SpyPoint setup, three Solar Link-Micros, two Link-Micros and one Flex. Their program allows 100 pictures per month free, which is what I have done for the past year. I just discovered the "insider club" cost only $99.00/year ups this to 250 per camera, not just one camera, so I get 1500/pictures per month for $8. Great bang for the buck, and the solar cameras have kept running all year. One is in a shaded area, and went down to 50% last spring, but never quite working. All are at 100% and functioning great. The total cost for this system has been $600 (cameras [built in solar], batteries [for the non-solar, the solar come with LiOn batteries], cards) plus $100 for the one year insider club upgrade. All cameras link to a common app, so you can see all of the pictures from each camera without separate log-ins.

Since, like you, I have some remote properties, I am going to recommend the SpyPoint solar as the most cost-effective option. This summer the Flex Solar is coming out, which provides video, solar, and works on any network.

For a property with a network, or if you want to ensure you have "higher quality" cameras, I would recommend the new Cuddeback L series. You can feel the difference in quality, and having John on this forum to help answer questions is priceless.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I have Spartans, Christmas I got a 12v battery box for one. It ran from 12/26 till about 2 weeks ago. And for the first month it was on an active feeder. Not bad. Charged it for a few hours and it’s back at it. May convert all mine to that set up. It’s not super cheap but changing batteries every two weeks is worse

The problem with these cuddies and spypoints and tactacams is their quality is rough. I have buddies send me pics and I have no idea what they are trying to show me other than a grainy pic of a deer.