Reolink Go PT Plus as a cellular trail camera

BenAllgood

5 year old buck +
My 3G Spypoint cellular camera keeps telling me I need to upgrade my camera because 3G service for it will only last until July before my camera stops sending pics. So, I'm looking at what to go to next. I'm cheap, and the Spypoint has worked great for me. But, I'm looking at alternatives since I have to get a new one anyway. I'm leaning towards the Reolink Go PT Plus. I like the pan, tilt, zoom features, live video, etc. The sim cards are pretty reasonable too. This guy has a ton of videos on using it as a trail camera.

 
My 3G Spypoint cellular camera keeps telling me I need to upgrade my camera because 3G service for it will only last until July before my camera stops sending pics. So, I'm looking at what to go to next. I'm cheap, and the Spypoint has worked great for me. But, I'm looking at alternatives since I have to get a new one anyway. I'm leaning towards the Reolink Go PT Plus. I like the pan, tilt, zoom features, live video, etc. The sim cards are pretty reasonable too. This guy has a ton of videos on using it as a trail camera.

My buddy uses them all around his cabin in SE Ohio, they work great for him!
 
My 3G Spypoint cellular camera keeps telling me I need to upgrade my camera because 3G service for it will only last until July before my camera stops sending pics. So, I'm looking at what to go to next. I'm cheap, and the Spypoint has worked great for me. But, I'm looking at alternatives since I have to get a new one anyway. I'm leaning towards the Reolink Go PT Plus. I like the pan, tilt, zoom features, live video, etc. The sim cards are pretty reasonable too. This guy has a ton of videos on using it as a trail camera.

I have liked his channel for the past few years. He does a bunch of DIY stuff and does pretty good product reviews.
 
That looks like a great option.. curious how they’d hold up in below zero temps?

Edit: looking at the specs i see a few issues-
Infrared night vision: up to 10 meters (33')
PIR detecting distance: up to 10 meters (33')
Operating Temperature: 14 - 131 degrees F
That said what a manufacturer publishes for specs and what the product actually does are often two different things, but those 3 items would by my biggest concerns. In MN you could be below the min temp for 2 months of hunting season.

I think i'll get one to keep near the equipment/hunting shack where I have a ridgetec cell cam already anyway.
 
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That looks like a great option.. curious how they’d hold up in below zero temps?

Edit: looking at the specs i see a few issues-
Infrared night vision: up to 10 meters (33')
PIR detecting distance: up to 10 meters (33')
Operating Temperature: 14 - 131 degrees F
That said what a manufacturer publishes for specs and what the product actually does are often two different things, but those 3 items would by my biggest concerns. In MN you could be below the min temp for 2 months of hunting season.

I think i'll get one to keep near the equipment/hunting shack where I have a ridgetec cell cam already anyway.
He did a video on the older model in snow (not MN snow, hats off to you guys that deal with that). He also shows in this video the difference in night at measured distances in the woods vs open.

I don't know. I might try one. I want to be able to monitor my place and my pollinator planting when I'm not there. A live view would be really nice.

 
Figured I'd put my ramblings here as i get experience with the Keen Ranger PT (by reolink) and be interested to see input from @BenAllgood and @omicron1792 too.

I've only had mine up for a week and it's awesome to see how/when deer are using one of my plots more consistently. How they enter, exit, frequency of use, travel patterns, etc makes a big difference. The one thing I'm not sure about right now is the PIR trigger and playback function. I've seen deer pretty close on the live stream over the past couple days but there are zero recorded videos in the playback for 2 days. I've seen the little paw symbol pop up with deer on live stream which i assumed meant the PIR was triggering. I've looked through the settings and it seems it should be recording but it isn't. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Would that paw symbol come up on live stream without the PIR triggering?

I know the PIR detection range spec is quite short compared to my other cams so maybe it just doesn't reach far at all. I have the cam up maybe 7'-8' on a box blind leg so that might reduce range a bit?
 
Figured I'd put my ramblings here as i get experience with the Keen Ranger PT (by reolink) and be interested to see input from @BenAllgood and @omicron1792 too.

I've only had mine up for a week and it's awesome to see how/when deer are using one of my plots more consistently. How they enter, exit, frequency of use, travel patterns, etc makes a big difference. The one thing I'm not sure about right now is the PIR trigger and playback function. I've seen deer pretty close on the live stream over the past couple days but there are zero recorded videos in the playback for 2 days. I've seen the little paw symbol pop up with deer on live stream which i assumed meant the PIR was triggering. I've looked through the settings and it seems it should be recording but it isn't. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Would that paw symbol come up on live stream without the PIR triggering?

I know the PIR detection range spec is quite short compared to my other cams so maybe it just doesn't reach far at all. I have the cam up maybe 7'-8' on a box blind leg so that might reduce range a bit?
You have to go into settings and change the trigger intensity. I have mine all up around 90% which helps a ton.
 
And I will say, I put these cameras up high and use for exactly the things you say. I still have traditional cameras down low in high impact areas. I am not sure this camera would be perfect doing both. Maybe, I just haven’t really tried that.
 
You have to go into settings and change the trigger intensity. I have mine all up around 90% which helps a ton.

I have mine at 80, i'll turn it up.

Does the paw symbol showing up in the upper right while watching live stream indicate it detected animal movement? If so, I wonder why that didn't record and show in my playback?
 
Yes. With cloud you can filter by that and I only watch the videos with animals detected.
 
Mine crapped the bed after 6 months. But to their credit they stood by their product and a new one arrived today. I use mine as a security camera
 
How are people liking these, I came across them today while looking for a cellular video cam to cover my barn where i dont have electric or wifi but now i'm thinking these could be better than trailcams for use in fields where you can see a lot more coverage area when signed in live.
 
I like the one i have still. I'm looking forward to watching deer at night in the fall plot it sits on once things start growing! Detection range is not as good as my ridgetec cell cams but it isn't bad.
 
I use mine for security purposes. It’s pretty good. I had a bad solar panel so it was down for a while. Detection isn’t great and the card I have is Verizon but I should have gotten an AT&T cause there are stretches where I can’t connect
 
I have standard blinks on my cabin, turned one around from watching my deck to the yard which covers the bird feeder, wild flowers patch, and pond in view. It's been really fun to sign in and see the wildlife hanging in the yard when we aren't there although they are almost never close enough to set off the motion. Right now I just have a tactacam inside my barn facing the door but I'd like to get something cellular that watches outside and has more of the security options and microphone capabilities ect.

Once I came across these I thought maybe that's not a bad idea for watching some plots, I know I have a few spots where I will get a single picture all evening and it will be a deer up close setting it off and the picture will have 5,10 maybe more outside the detection zone in the background it'd be nice for the on demand feature and ability to pan. I have excellent at&t service

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