Solar Panels
- Thread starter Watty
- Start date
After a year of playing around and wasting a lot of time and not much money, The Cuddeback 3600 are still the best thing out there.
After a year the 3600s have given me zero failures. I have at least one that boggles my mind it even still worked because of how little sun it was getting. All of my homebrew units except one have failed because they do not keep up. One that keeps with it and hits full charge most days is doubled up and has full southern exposure.
The one on the right is about a $22 investment. The biggest cost is always the battery. I can't find those, same style as the 3600, for less than $20+ now. I have to double the panels and chargers up, so thats now a $34 pia.
On the left is my next attempt at failure with a "100w" folding panel which I estimate to be at best 7w. For a battery it will use a "5000 MAH" "solar" powered power pack. Both of these are examples of gross examples of chinese honest advertising. They all connect by usb and sealed with silicon. Total cost is about $25, and $180 in labor. I expect it to make it less than a year when the lipo battery swells and splits the case. Or something eats the folding panel.
After a year the 3600s have given me zero failures. I have at least one that boggles my mind it even still worked because of how little sun it was getting. All of my homebrew units except one have failed because they do not keep up. One that keeps with it and hits full charge most days is doubled up and has full southern exposure.
The one on the right is about a $22 investment. The biggest cost is always the battery. I can't find those, same style as the 3600, for less than $20+ now. I have to double the panels and chargers up, so thats now a $34 pia.
On the left is my next attempt at failure with a "100w" folding panel which I estimate to be at best 7w. For a battery it will use a "5000 MAH" "solar" powered power pack. Both of these are examples of gross examples of chinese honest advertising. They all connect by usb and sealed with silicon. Total cost is about $25, and $180 in labor. I expect it to make it less than a year when the lipo battery swells and splits the case. Or something eats the folding panel.
356
5 year old buck +
I am running just about all cameras on solar. Several of my Cuddeback 3600’s have been deployed two years and are working great. These seem to work well in fairly shaded areas. The SpyPoint cameras with built in solar are nice, but almost all of them experienced full discharge during long periods of cloudy/overcast winter days. While the SpyPoints revive when the sun comes out, the Cuddeback continue to run even after several days of bad weather.
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Hoytvectrix
5 year old buck +
I sheepishly need to admit this as well. I have had two drop off the report and the camera sit out for 8-10 months or so because I forgot about them. In both cases, a rodent chewed through the older solar cable. I said to hell with that now and only put out metal wired cables.
I'm considering the cuddeback solar panels. Most of my cameras are NOT in full sun. Is the sun and shade PW003 worth the extra cost over the 3600? Are they the same size? Can't find much for specs on the website
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356
5 year old buck +
Jackpine, I use the 3600's on all of my Cuddeback's and they work fine. Three are in serious shade, the other four are in partial shade. I have never had one run out of juice. The PW003 is definitely larger.
MadMadHoosier
5 year old buck +
PW3 is about double the size of the 3600. The three 3600s I have only work well in full sun, and they perform best when tilted upward about 30 degrees. The PW3s are mounted vertically, on the south side of the tree, and have worked everywhere I've put them in the woods. In my mind absolutely worth the extra cost.
The PW3 panels also have twice the battery capacity over the 3600. The 3600 can be fit with a second battery I believe, but at minimum of $25 for the battery, might as well go with the PW3.
The only problem I have had with the 3600 in shady spots is the battery never reaches peak voltage and now they have a memory and probably only about 50% capacity of new, but still no outages because of it.
The only problem I have had with the 3600 in shady spots is the battery never reaches peak voltage and now they have a memory and probably only about 50% capacity of new, but still no outages because of it.
Thanks guys! It sounds like the sun and shade is worth the extra cost then. My only concern is the larger size because I will probably relocate some cams on a seasonal basis. I see the 3600 is about 6"x7", so is the 003 like 12"x14" then?
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Not quite double in size, but close. Easier to install.
Trick for panel setup. Find time when best sun hitting your panel through opening in canopy. Hold your finger or stick with tip directly over (6-8") center of panel. Note where shadow hits on panel. Adjust panel till shadow centered on panel. You now have 90° between panel and best sun for maximum charging.
This angle will change as Sun's path changes, so readjust through the year. You can even get a shadow on cloudy days.
This angle will change as Sun's path changes, so readjust through the year. You can even get a shadow on cloudy days.
hunts_with_stick
5 year old buck +
Stay away from solar panels, pagers and walkie talkies ;). Sarc/
