Security camera

Howboutthemdawgs

5 year old buck +
So I’m looking for something to put up at the farm. Need probably 3 of them. I don’t have WiFi and preferably don’t want to have to run them off of power. I’ve been researching but I go cross-eyed looking at electronic stuff. I understand you can use most of them without WiFi and they just save to an sd card which is fine but in a perfect world I’d like for them to be connected to a network and send me alerts when triggered. Any experience with these cams?
 
I’m considering a couple of these for that purpose still.

 
So I’m looking for something to put up at the farm. Need probably 3 of them. I don’t have WiFi and preferably don’t want to have to run them off of power. I’ve been researching but I go cross-eyed looking at electronic stuff. I understand you can use most of them without WiFi and they just save to an sd card which is fine but in a perfect world I’d like for them to be connected to a network and send me alerts when triggered. Any experience with these cams?

Year's ago, I did a deep dive into trail cams. I actually taught a class for the state for a number of years. China had entered the market and, like they often do, flooded the market with high capability but very low QC and very cheap devices. You were often lucky for a trail cam to last a year and it was not uncommon to be sending them back under warranty several times in that first year. Beyond the poor QC and a lot of part swapping to further reduce cost, they don't use coated electronics, so any moisture in the battery compartment evaporates in the heat and the humid air gets into the electronics and then condenses on the boards.

At the time, these Chinese cams were selling in the $300 price range and most were using SD cards and eventually the cell network.

I found two camera brands that had the engineering quality to have a decent life span. Keep in mind with the Chinese QC issues, it is a statistical issue. One guy can get a camera that lasts well off the line with no issue and the next guy gets a dud with multiple returns and a very short live. The two brands with the engineering quality were BuckeyeCam and Reconyx. Both, significantly more expensive than the others in the same class.

BuckeyeCam offered a private 900 mhz network so I went for them. I bought the Orion series when they first came out and my network is still up an running. They transmit full resolution pictures to a PC base that you connect to your computer. There is no recurring bill like the cell cams and the pictures are not decimated for the cell network. They are full resolution. My network covers 378 acres and with appropriate solar panels, runs 24/7/365. I can get well over a year on a single SLA battery. The transmission distances vary at 900 mhz depending on vegetation and topography. You can't transmit through ground and signals don't bend much at this frequency, but the cameras have a "repeater" function so you can set up a distant camera to transmit through a closer camera. On the down side, it take a bit more technical understanding to setup one of these networks. Buckeyecam no longer sells the Orion. It has been replaced by the X80. I bought a single one of those for testing when they first came out. The radios used in them are shorter distance than the original Orion but they still have decent transmission range. They are physically smaller, higher resolution, and run on a 12v system which is much easer to deal with power-wise than the 6-volt Orion.

If you don't need full resolution pictures transmitted and can live with more issues and shorter transmission distances, you might want to check out the cuddie-link system. It has a lot of limitation and less user control, but is more plug-n-play than the X80 and less expensive.

Best fo luck,

Jack
 
Hard to beat Tactacam Reveal trail cams. $99 / camera. Plans for as little as $5 or $6, and no contract.
 
Jack, what does the buckeye system cost these days? No prices on the website that I can see.
 
Hard to beat Tactacam Reveal trail cams. $99 / camera. Plans for as little as $5 or $6, and no contract.
Yeah I guess why over complicated things. I was looking towards actually security cams like blink or wyze, etc but no reason a cell cam wouldn’t accomplish the same thing. Mounting could be tricky on a house and shop though
 
Yeah I guess why over complicated things. I was looking towards actually security cams like blink or wyze, etc but no reason a cell cam wouldn’t accomplish the same thing. Mounting could be tricky on a house and shop though
Besides mediocre reliability, sensor, images when motion is involved, and recovery times, I agree.

Especially at night, I’d want better images than most cell cams are going to capture and preferably video.
 
Besides mediocre reliability, sensor, and recovery times, I agree.

Especially at night, I’d want better images than most cell cams are going to capture and preferably video.
Ok that confirms my initial intuition. I want something reliable and specific for security purposes.
 
I've been researching this to death. I do a good bit with security cameras for work. I keep coming back to the Reolink Go PT Plus for a cellular camera to keep an eye on things.
 
Ok that confirms my initial intuition. I want something reliable and specific for security purposes.

I don’t know that those reolinks would be any more reliable with proven experience but there has to be something that is.

I’m going to research the hard wired ones more for right at my shack as up here having something only on intermittently is frequently a problem with cold winter temps. Having constant power keeps them warmer. Also kind of tempting to have something that records continuously and isn’t relying on a sensor to detect motion.
 
I've been researching this to death. I do a good bit with security cameras for work. I keep coming back to the Reolink Go PT Plus for a cellular camera to keep an eye on things.
Just looked them up. I’m sold. Getting 2 tonight and will install this weekend.
 
I don’t know that those reolinks would be any more reliable with proven experience but there has to be something that is.

I’m going to research the hard wired ones more for right at my shack as up here having something only on intermittently is frequently a problem with cold winter temps. Having constant power keeps them warmer. Also kind of tempting to have something that records continuously and isn’t relying on a sensor to detect motion.
I think you are Meateater guy if I’ve read correctly, not sure if you listened today but that poor guy in Missouri with the white trash burning down his cabin has motivated me to not skimp on security.
 
I think you are Meateater guy if I’ve read correctly, not sure if you listened today but that poor guy in Missouri with the white trash burning down his cabin has motivated me to not skimp on security.

I used to listen to nearly every meateater podcast. I rarely listen anymore unless it’s a situation or guest I have particular interest in but I heard that Missouri cabin torching story a while back, was there a recent update?

That story got me fired up and sent me down rabbit hole of reading about that area, watching winters bone, etc. definitely makes a case for having a solid security cam setup.
 
I used to listen to nearly every meateater podcast. I rarely listen anymore unless it’s a situation or guest I have particular interest in but I heard that Missouri cabin torching story a while back, was there a recent update?

That story got me fired up and sent me down rabbit hole of reading about that area, watching winters bone, etc. definitely makes a case for having a solid security cam setup.
I’m the exact same way. I can’t stomach 3/4 of the episodes anymore but if I see a good topic I’m in. Yeah little update but moreso a recap. Basically the guy is in prison but not for burning down his cabin for stealing a generator and four wheeler. The poor landowner ended up just selling and moving cause he never felt safe. Damn shame we can’t just put bullets in bad people anymore.
 
trailcampro.com has a different cams they recommend for security.I believe there is a motion light that has a cam and a sd card from menards and may offer solar also
 
Jack, what does the buckeye system cost these days? No prices on the website that I can see.

I just checked and it looks like their store front is closed but their website shows all their current products. I'd try calling them. It may be related to the supply chain issues.

Just to give you a ball park, I'll tell you what I paid.

This is for their current system, not the older Orion.

Back in 2012, I bought an X7D (their first camera after Orion) for about $600 for the cam and $250 for the PC base. They then came out with an upgraded version (better radio) called the X80. They offered an upgrade to X7D customers and I bought that for another $200. That gave me the basic single camera system for a total of a little over $1K. This includes the basic rubber ducky antenna for the cam and base. I bought upgraded antennas from L-com.

This seems pretty expensive but my older BuckeyeCam Orion system has a PC base and a dozen camera. I added cameras over time. They first came out with the Apollo back around 2008 and I bought one. It is basically an Orion without a radio. I then upgraded it to an Orion and bought more cams each year. The Orion network is still up an running. The reason I bought the X80 was for testing. I figured the Orion system would eventually fail and I wanted to be ready to upgrade without losing data. I've had a few minor issues over the years with the cams and sent them back for repair, No design or fabrication issues. They have been things like connectors wearing out or lexan lens covers weathering over time. I became concerned that the technology was getting so old, it may be difficult for BEC to get parts for the Orion. Then John, (Who used to own Big Rock Trees), retired, moved, and sold me all his Buckeye Orion cams and accessories. I figured I'd uses them as spares over time. Turns out I deployed them rather than letting them sit on a shelf.

Right now, the Orion network is running just fine, so I have no near-term plans to upgrade.

My oldest Orion and PC base is 14 years old now and has been running 24/7/365 since it was deployed. When I amortize the high initial cost over the life span of the system (14 years so far) it was much less expensive than systems with lower up front cost.

Thanks,

Jack
 
I just checked and it looks like their store front is closed but their website shows all their current products. I'd try calling them. It may be related to the supply chain issues.

Just to give you a ball park, I'll tell you what I paid.

This is for their current system, not the older Orion.

Back in 2012, I bought an X7D (their first camera after Orion) for about $600 for the cam and $250 for the PC base. They then came out with an upgraded version (better radio) called the X80. They offered an upgrade to X7D customers and I bought that for another $200. That gave me the basic single camera system for a total of a little over $1K. This includes the basic rubber ducky antenna for the cam and base. I bought upgraded antennas from L-com.

This seems pretty expensive but my older BuckeyeCam Orion system has a PC base and a dozen camera. I added cameras over time. They first came out with the Apollo back around 2008 and I bought one. It is basically an Orion without a radio. I then upgraded it to an Orion and bought more cams each year. The Orion network is still up an running. The reason I bought the X80 was for testing. I figured the Orion system would eventually fail and I wanted to be ready to upgrade without losing data. I've had a few minor issues over the years with the cams and sent them back for repair, No design or fabrication issues. They have been things like connectors wearing out or lexan lens covers weathering over time. I became concerned that the technology was getting so old, it may be difficult for BEC to get parts for the Orion. Then John, (Who used to own Big Rock Trees), retired, moved, and sold me all his Buckeye Orion cams and accessories. I figured I'd uses them as spares over time. Turns out I deployed them rather than letting them sit on a shelf.

Right now, the Orion network is running just fine, so I have no near-term plans to upgrade.

My oldest Orion and PC base is 14 years old now and has been running 24/7/365 since it was deployed. When I amortize the high initial cost over the life span of the system (14 years so far) it was much less expensive than systems with lower up front cost.

Thanks,

Jack

How is the detection and image quality?
 
Just looked them up. I’m sold. Getting 2 tonight and will install this weekend.
Let me know how it works out. I'm torn between that and a regular trail cam; either the Reveal XB or the new Spypoint Flex coming out in a couple of weeks. I'd love to have the ability to pan/tilt my camera and view it live just to keep an eye on my pollinator planting.

These are a couple YT videos that I saw about that Reolink that made me really like it. They each have a couple videos about that camera:


 
I use a Tactacam Reveal for a security camera on my shack. FWIW I'm at 5241 pics on the same set of batteries (I used that camera during hunting season out on land, then moved it to be a security camera since winter). Battery is still at 35% (not super reliable since the Lithiums drop off quick at end). I have it mounted high enough on a tree that I need to use one climbing step to reach it. By the time someone would see it and get to it, I should have plenty of pics. Lag time of a few seconds between the pic and when I get the alert of my phone. Usually get woken up a few times a week from coons or deer going by... Every time I'm out there it gets pics of me instantly. Very happy with that for $5 a month.
 
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