Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Dont. Their apps and data pricing sucks. We have had some that worked well, some of the early model defenders. We also bought 8 of the defender ridgelines that were absolute trash.
What cellular cams are you buying for 2024?
- Thread starter PrairieShadow
- Start date
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
My primary cams have been ridgetecs for a few years. I have 9 of them and i'm a big fan of performance and price for data even when using almost entirely video function on them. They just came out with a new model that is intriguing. https://ridgetecoutdoors.com/products/lookout-x-4g-lte They take Li-ion 18650s as a battery option. not sure if that is a good thing? They are also sub $200 now where as the model I have retailed for $400.
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356
5 year old buck +
Let us know what you decided upon. I have really like the new StealthCam Revolver, and I continue to have good luck with the Cuddeback system (added four more L-series black flash this year) and SpyPoints.
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
I haven't tried them because cell signal is so spotty. There are places it would work, those just aren't places I'd have a reason to put a cam.
The last few times I was working on my micro-kill plot I got phone calls and text. (though I was unable to answer/reply to them, no signal). So I took a gamble and bought a Reveal 3. I'm going to find out in a day or so if I wasted money or not. The problem is I won't REALLY know if it's working or not until it's too late. I have no signal in camp, so it won't be till a few days and 350 miles later that I know if it's working or not.
The last few times I was working on my micro-kill plot I got phone calls and text. (though I was unable to answer/reply to them, no signal). So I took a gamble and bought a Reveal 3. I'm going to find out in a day or so if I wasted money or not. The problem is I won't REALLY know if it's working or not until it's too late. I have no signal in camp, so it won't be till a few days and 350 miles later that I know if it's working or not.
Mattyq2402
5 year old buck +
I grabbed two of three of the new reveal 3.0. Anyone have thoughts, I haven’t got them out yet, curious how they are performing.
split toe
5 year old buck +
They did not get good reviews on trail cam pro website.
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
So far it seems to be working okay for me? Though even in my back yard testing it, with tons of signal, it was taking way more pictures than it was sending and I had no idea. Wasn't until I cleared the card when I stuck it in the woods that I saw how many photos it really took. 2-3 times as many as I was sent.
The ap frustrates me since it's full of options that are extra add ons. "That function is an additional $9 a month..."
The ap frustrates me since it's full of options that are extra add ons. "That function is an additional $9 a month..."
I immediate you knew you had TCs as i am so sick of their "new feature" which means a new charge. Their dumb map thing is only $120 a yr and does half what all the mapping apps do.
Im let down by their 3 series. Just had the kick in the shin of placing 4 new ones on our place 6 hrs away. Let them run for a day- all was good. Half way home i get the "90% of batt used) on one wiht a solar panel and built in battery.
I have 15 going right now. I can check the app in the am and see 50-100 pics from the las day. If i go back to that time period a day or two later there is 120-150 pics often out of chronological order. The best ones were the first gen and the quality has just gone down.
Another great snag is the plans- you have to have multiple accounts or all of your cams have to be on the same cam. IE- one cam needs the $15 pro plan.....all others must do the same.
There CS is composed of nice English speaking folks but most just read through the dichotomus tree infront of them. "please remove the batts and restart"...."but i live in the northeast and the cam is in the midwest"..."Im sorry about that, but....."
Theyve gone to sponsors now to overcome their shortfalls, but financially make more.
I stlll see deer turn inside out with their trigger too.
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
I put it up Monday. Got pictures of a doe that night. Haven't gotten anything but the check in picture since then. (No, yesterday I got two pictures of nothing, so one was a check in, one was a false trigger, or a slow trigger?) That COULD very well be the spot, because that's just the way the area is. Or, it could be I'm just not getting them. I used it in my back yard in the suburbs for 3-4 days before taking it to the woods, I got pictures of racoons one night and a rabbit one day. But when I cleared the card there were birds and squirrels and cats.... none of which I got pictures of.
Prairie Acres
5 year old buck +
I don't think I have ever had this happen in the three years I have been using the Reveal cell cams. I would contact Tactacam customer service through the online chat. Maybe your camera has an issue sending pictures? I have had very good luck with Tactacam customer service. They have fixed a couple of issues for me. I was having some issues with what I thought were false triggers. CS was able to upload the last ten pictures from the "problem" camera. Turns out my camera was picking up the movement of a tree in the wind (I thought it was to far away to pickup). They suggested pointing the camera in a slightly different direction and that fixed the issue.
The trigger speed is slow on these Reveal cameras. I find it best to set the camera to take one picture (which is sent to me) and then a 10 second video. I check all my cameras every few weeks and I really enjoy the videos and get good intel from the video I would miss from just pics.
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
Double checking the pictures, I realized it doesn't seem see be a false trigger, but an extra check in? I have check ins for three days, all 3:28AM. And on one day there's one from 3:27PM. I doubt that's a coincidence.
Also remembered I'm not getting pics via email. I got a one or two the first test day at home and never again. Forgot all about it till now.
ETA: 3:28PM my check in photo came. So I'm getting daily check in photos twice a day. (?)
Also remembered I'm not getting pics via email. I got a one or two the first test day at home and never again. Forgot all about it till now.
ETA: 3:28PM my check in photo came. So I'm getting daily check in photos twice a day. (?)
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I have 10 or so spy points. Pictures aren’t great but they are cheap and for $99/year every camera you have gets 250 pictures per month. For $0 you get 100 per month I think. I sometimes have to bump the plan on a camera or two during the season but otherwise I’m good. I think it is $8 for 1000/month in one camera if you need to go higher than the 250/month you get with the $99/year insiders club.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I have seven Cuddeback cams on the Cuddlink system. For the monthly fee I can connect the rest of my family with the pics and they can watch for themselves what game is coming thru the land. I ike that feature allot. The thumbnail size / clarity could be better.....but the pics are generally good enough for my purposes. Third year with these cams....and they have been bullet proof for me.
The base camera it still on original batteries.....and has a solar powered battery back. Three years and still going strong. I really like not having to do card pulls and dorking around with chips. I like looking at the pics twice a day on my computer.
I’m still loving my Moultrie Mobile Edge cams.
I had one have its batteries run out because I put it in a spot with no signal. My phone doesn’t even detect any signal when I’m in that spot (goes into emergency satellite mode), but I got check-in pictures probably 60% of the days it was out until it died. The poor signal will quadruple or more the power usage, as it is constantly trying to send data.
It will be moved and replaced with a non-cell camera instead.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I had one have its batteries run out because I put it in a spot with no signal. My phone doesn’t even detect any signal when I’m in that spot (goes into emergency satellite mode), but I got check-in pictures probably 60% of the days it was out until it died. The poor signal will quadruple or more the power usage, as it is constantly trying to send data.
It will be moved and replaced with a non-cell camera instead.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
Request an HD version of a photo, $5 for 50. Request a video $5 for 50. Which of course irks me, but not terrible so. Other than that when you set the camera to photo and video, it doesn't mention there's a charge if you actually want to see it. The one that I laughed at was the "Request on demand photo" being an extra $9 a month. That's a bit much.
I got a "flurry" of photos this morning, five in a row. It's Sunday morning. The last photo I got before this one was in the wee hours Mon night/Tues morning. Now, it could be because I had turned the sensitivity down to 5. Then yesterday turned it back up to 7, which I think was the default setting. OR... it could just be that nothing came by. lol That's how it works where I hunt. I have a cam on one spot, between May 6 and June 8 I got 1800+ pics. Other times I can go 5 months and get less than a dozen.
Well I was a spend thrift and requested not only an HD photo, but also a video. Curious to see the quality, as well as a better photo to judge the condition of the seeding I did. I've already wasted a ton of money on this thing, why stop now! Bought the cam, ordered the solar panel. After a couple days in I'm told the panel wouldn't make it before I was set to leave. The only way to get it in time was from another vendor, buying the combo solar panel and battery pack (which a few people said they were unimpressed with and that they wouldn't buy it again), but I knew this was my only chance, I probably wouldn't get back there till it was time to bow hunt. So a lot of money in hardware (I didn't even know would work).
I probably would be fine with the lowest plan, but not knowing how much action there would be, and how many photos I'd eat up with testing, setup, fiddling farting around the plot and other things, I decided to get the second tier. Then I did the "might as well" thing, If I'm gonna waste this much, I might at was well waste this much! So I got the unlimited plan. I figured why not for the first year, then I'll know what to drop down to next year. So all in this sucker was so small chunk of change.
But now it's made all my other cameras really seem lacking. Other than the occasional "I wonder if deer ever come over here?" they were never really a tool for hunting, just a fun hobby to get pictures of animals. I don't regret buying the cell cam now that I know that it works. I regret buying the regular cam I put up in the same spot a month before.
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Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
I still have not received my "requested" HD pic or video. I thought maybe it didn't go through. Tried again and it wouldn't take it, because I'd already requested it once before. For the heck of it I requested a different one, and it said I was still at 0 of my 50 for $5.00 Odd. We'll see if and when that one comes.
Electrodigical
5 year old buck +
Well heck, I finally got it to send me an HD photo after a half dozen or more requests. I did it by immediately requesting it when I got notification. Only it doesn't look any better than the usual photos? Maybe because it's night shot. I dunno.