| << . 1 . 2 . |
| Author |
Message |
95XL883
Member
|
# Posted: 20 Aug 2018 02:02pm
Reply
Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech along with the screw in tree mount
TMT, just to share my experience with screw in tree mounts. I have two for my game cameras and love them but they have a major weakness. Sooner or later a squirrel or raccoon get on top of the camera and swing it upside down. Then it rains before I get to it and the camera is toast. As much as I like the screw in mounts, I've got to come up with a way to keep the raccoons from turning it upside and the rain ruining it. HTH.
|
|
sha748
Member
|
# Posted: 20 Aug 2018 05:51pm
Reply
Just an update.....
Got camera and system at cabin...it is so awesome to just be able to check on the cabin without driving 4 hrs.....the company is setting the system so that I only take a picture when I send a command...it is currently taking motion activiated pics and as you can imagine I am having pictures emailed to me every few minutes....
i left the cabin sunday afternoon and have over an hour drive until I can use my email on my phone,,when cell coverage activated I already had like 20 motion activated pictures due to wind blowing trees ( and that is low sesitive setting on the reconyx)..
Obviously, not what I want on a 40 pic a month subscription but I called saleman and he said no problem since they run the system on demo at first to ensure everything working so the pics are free...he is having the tech set system to only take pics when I send command..
The saleman and support people have been great and get back to me with any questions..
I guess if u put it inside ur cabin it wud only activate if a burglery but my cabin is so far out they would be long gone before a sheriff could even get in the area...so I kept all my game cameras set and just use this to do daily check of my cabin and trailer...if I see damage I would drive up and pull the game cameras...
Once I get a bit more use of this and feel good with how its going I will pass on the company info to other non-cellular coverage cabin owners...
After 20 yrs of owning the cabin I can actually look at it anytime I want without driving 4 hrs...I am liking this..
|
|
justins7
Member
|
# Posted: 21 Aug 2018 11:05am
Reply
My Spypoint camera is actually really frustrating at times. Over the last few days it totally stopped sending me photos, and I can't get to the cabin to restart the camera. It really is quite an awkward and clunky system.
According to Spypoint, live view is not possible because of limited power. Then what about an external battery? Or more batteries? There's gotta be a way.
There is so much market potential for a better remote trail camera. The companies seem to not really understand their audience. There is a very obvious demand for a camera with more, independent power — maybe multiple rechargeable battery packs along with solar panels. If folks are mounting these rigs on trees, then we don't care that much about the size, just the power. This way the camera could be mounted for a long time, and have live view. The bulk would be disguised on a tree anyway.
|
|
toyota_mdt_tech
Member
|
# Posted: 21 Aug 2018 03:22pm
Reply
Justin, get the lithium ion batteries for your set up, add a solar panel too.
|
|
geektech
Member
|
# Posted: 26 Aug 2018 08:03am
Reply
How does it work does it require an internet connection?
|
|
justins7
Member
|
# Posted: 27 Aug 2018 10:27am
Reply
These are cellular cameras we are discussing — they do not require an internet connection.
|
|
Jebediah
Member
|
# Posted: 28 Aug 2018 06:34pm
Reply
Quoting: justins7 My Spypoint camera is actually really frustrating at times
Did it stop sending pic because of power or signal strength? I use external power source 12v and it lasts forever. Soon to hook up a solar panel. I have two cameras the 4g and the Link dark. The 4g signal is weak where it is set up so it doesn't work all the time. That will soon change as the foliage disappears(and where I am cabin breakins only happen in the winter)...My link dark works flawlessly...I have an external antenna for it but I don't need it...I'm also not sure what you mean by clunky? as they are both small cameras...also the link dark has a few more security options than the 4g....both my cameras will send pics/alerts/notifications with 2 bars showing...hope you get your problem solved...
|
|
justins7
Member
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2018 10:24am
Reply
Thanks, Jebediah. By "clunky" I was referring to the software (having to wait for communication times for sending commands, which often doesn't take effect right away). I realize that much of this is due to the nature of limited-power and cell service, but with a 12v battery there should be a way to have a more robust and responsive system (and maybe live view).
My Link EVO is now working fine again! It turned out to be the batteries! Although a few weeks ago the status said the batteries level was at 62%, it just totally died. Now I don't trust that indicator at all.
I am going to buy the Spypoint 12v battery, probably with the solar panel as well. Prices are pretty low now for these, and even the Link EVO is dropping in price to around $200, so I may get another. Despite little problems with it, the camera does its job.
Do you use the Spypoint 12v battery, or another brand? Any tips?
|
|
|
Jebediah
Member
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2018 11:49am
Reply
Quoting: justins7 Do you use the Spypoint 12v battery, or another brand?
I have two 12v spypoint batteries, 1 in the case, also 1 stealth 12v with case and a few spares. I also bought two spypoint lithium battery packs one with the charger just to try them out(charger has indicator lights,(3 chargers later and I finally got one that works). I think the 12v batteries drop the same way, 100% to nothing without warning. It happened once over the winter, since then I usually change them out every two weeks. I'm trying my link dark right now to see how long it will run on 12v so far its been 25 days and no drop in battery power(hmmm!). I might write the company and see if its also possible to hook 2 12v in parallel/series for a longer run time in the winter...I think you can use the lithium pack in conjunction with the solar panel....Best of luck!
|
|
justins7
Member
|
# Posted: 29 Aug 2018 12:42pm
Reply
Thanks for the info. It's a fun challenge to get these working, especially if solar works well. I've always hated having to buy — and then throw away — endless piles of batteries.
What's the main difference between the Link EVO and Link dark?
|
|
Moomps
Member
|
# Posted: 30 Aug 2018 12:32pm
Reply
Quoting: toyota_mdt_tech Justin, get the lithium ion batteries for your set up, add a solar panel too.
I can't say for sure how long they've lasted, but I put a set of Lithium batteries in my SpyPoint camera last fall and they are still running strong. I get probably 60 to 100 pictures a month and I have it set to check the camera once every 4 hours. I have been very happy with the way my camera has functioned so far after a couple years in service. I don't really care that it won't report on instant movement since most of the pictures are of squirrels and such and it would take an hour or so for anyone, including the sheriffs, to get there if I reported it.
|
|
justins7
Member
|
# Posted: 30 Aug 2018 03:09pm
Reply
Moomps, that's great that you're getting such a lot of power out of the lithium batteries. I had the same kind in mine, and they lasted about 4-5 months.
I just bought the 12v battery kit and solar panel. It was a good price. We'll see how well the set up works!
|
|
Jebediah
Member
|
# Posted: 1 Sep 2018 09:51am
Reply
Quoting: justins7 What's the main difference between the Link EVO and Link dark
I believe the difference is just the cell service/US /CAN.
|
|
| << . 1 . 2 . |
