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Cuddeback Question

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newfarmer

Well-Known Member
So I am looking at starting a fight with my wife- so I need to make sure I know what I am doing :) So I am wanting to maybe make the jump to cuddeback and have the 1 cell plan, or in my case of my home farm, just the one home camera.
Now if I dont use the LTE at home, its strictly on a card and not a mobile app correct?
Whats the best options for batteries in them, in the past I didnt feel C batteries were all that great, things change?
Anyone have much concern with the system, I know it will have it quirks at first, but once dialed in, pretty solid?
Anyone think the non camera transmitter is better than the camera transmitter?
I would be looking at 6 or 7 on each farm, so 12-14 total I would be after in time- The wife says we already have enough cameras and just keep spending the monthly. I say put up the investment and drop to 10 a month versus 125 right now. I would do a slow phase out, not one entire bulk purchase. Thoughts, suggestions, ideas? I could for sure get away with less cameras, right now I just have extras on scrapes and high area trails, but could do just the "major" ones until it makes sense.
Any insight is great, Thanks all!
 
If you don't use a cellular home it's card pull only. If you do choose a cellular home you have to have an active cell plan on that camera for it to function. They have gone to all D batteries with external power packs and solar. They do make a 12v cord so you can run off of a battery. Great system. You won't get every picture, having a non camera home should keep that to a minute vs a camera home as they can't send or receive while taking a picture which causes interruption. Also 1 hr is the realistic fastest you can get your pictures if thats of concern

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100% use cuddeback solar panels. It's never change batteries vs eating thru them. Cudde has the best solar setup on the market imo. It comes with a bracket to adjust the angle of the panel to catch the most sun and the feature I like the most is the twist lock cable ends. This prevents critters from pulling out the connection cord from the panel to the camera. Lastly, the panels have built in batteries so no need to have a seperate external battery.
 
The solar panels also have the option to add a second internal battery for longer cloudy spells. I have cameras on solar and 4 internal D camera batteries still going strong from this summer

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I live where I hunt and initially went with the non-cell home and pulled the card. I quickly switched to the cellular as the convenience can't be beat. I got a non-camera home and put it in the top of a tree on the top of a hill. I can add more cameras and everything will be able to connect from that central location. I love them. The only thing I would caution you on is SD cards. The cameras seem very finicky. I wouldn't go over 32G and SanDisk Ultra are what I have the best luck with. Once you get a card and camera paired up, I wouldn't touch it! :D
 
Oct-Lull said:
The solar panels also have the option to add a second internal battery for longer cloudy spells. I have cameras on solar and 4 internal D camera batteries still going strong from this summer

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They also have larger panels that don't require direct sunlight.

I use the smaller panels and never change batteries.
 
Same. The camera still has internal D batteries with the smaller solar panel. Those will last for months and months on their own so they will cover plenty of cloudy days with the smaller panel. I did have a deer chew through the connector cable from one of my solar panels. That camera has been running on the internals for a couple months now. I will replace the cable with a metal sheathed version that Cuddeback offers.
 
Long post, but want you to know what you're getting into:

The Cuddelink system is nice if you have a main farm that you want a lot of cameras on, or have limited cell service. I have had the decked out system since its inception, and it definitely has both pro's and some noteworthy cons.

The main issue is battery life in a real life setting. Factor in an additional $50 for external power for every camera right from the get go. They are all virtually worthless just with the D's in the main camera. If you have camera locations in the wide open where you can face the solar panel south, do it. That camera will run flawlessly for YEARS. I have some I haven't touched in 3+ years without batteries even in the camera.

The problem is - at least half of your desirable camera locations aren't going to offer that wide open, south facing sun exposure. At that point your two options are the new ambient light panel ($100), or an external battery pack which is like 20-30$ and 6 to 12 D's depending on the option you choose. I like to deploy cameras in late summer, and they will not link strongly more than a couple hundred yards away if the foliage is thick, let alone if there's some topography in there too. That weak signal from then until say November when the leaves are dropped, really takes a toll on the external D powder. Many of those wont make it from August to Christmas time, and that's in a trail/scrape type setting.

They also are VERY angle sensitive and just aren't that sensitive overall compared to other brands. That is good so you don't get a million wind trips, but they also will miss some fringe deer if they aren't walking at a great sensitivity angle. You can put in the fresnel lens which is cheap and will mitigate that, but outside of the new L series, they dont have sensitivity settings and will miss some.

In conclusion - I am definitely not on your wife's side, but want you to know that the cell savings are kind of a wash after all the extra costs to make them effective. D's are over a buck a battery too. Splitting hairs here but its $16 and change every month actually, not sure why they keep saying its 10. All that said, Dan Schultz and customer service is fantastic, which is worth a lot IMO
 
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