Cellular game cameras

[L1986]

Which ones are you guys having the best luck with? Any I should stay away from?

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Tactacam is super easy. Setup is less than 2 minutes.

I got one with lithium rechargeable battery pack in it. It doesn't last nearly as long as regular AA batteries. So if it isn't easy to get to just get the battery one. With lithium they will run all season no problem. Regular AA about 2-3 months of heavy use. I usually put fresh batteries in in August and again end of October.

Spypoint sucks

 

[effendude]

I've bought three of the Skypoint cell cameras, the Link-Micros-S models with solar charging about 5 years ago. My hunting property is very marginal for cell service so I received photos infrequently, especially in the summer with tree coverage. I bought the external antennae devices for all three and receive great photos regularly now.
The cameras just take still shots, not videos, but quality is great. I charged the batteries before putting out the cameras, and the solar panel keeps them working year round her in east central MN.
Scott

 

[jds holler]

Am I correct in that WiFi must be available at the camera site?? jd

 

[L1986]

Thanks for the replies guys….any more opinions?

 

[JayHHI6818]

Son and I have Tactacam‘a and really like them. Bought the solar panel which has battery in it. Doesn’t get enough sunlight to charger the battery but when it goes dead then it runs off AA’s. Takes decent pictures but if you try and zoom in they loose detail. I have played with the statistic's and it’s amazing

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Am I correct in that WiFi must be available at the camera site?? jd

No. Cellular service

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Son and I have Tactacam‘a and really like them. Bought the solar panel which has battery in it. Doesn’t get enough sunlight to charger the battery but when it goes dead then it runs off AA’s. Takes decent pictures but if you try and zoom in they loose detail. I have played with the statistic's and it’s amazing

That's pretty cool

 

[jds holler]

No. Cellular service

Thankyou. That can still be sketchy around here. Specially in the best hunting areas. jd

 

[nwmnbowhunter]

Thankyou. That can still be sketchy around here. Specially in the best hunting areas. jd

External antenna and get them as high as you can.

Cuddeback.... who i will never recommend.... makes a link system. Only one camera needs reception. The rest send the pictures to each other (they have to be in communication range with each like walking talkie)

 

[Charwell]

Google up reolink keen pt ranger . I have a pair of them , and we get along ok.

 

[ken158]

Am I correct in that WiFi must be available at the camera site?? jd

Don’t get Wi-Fi confused with cell service. No wifi needed at camera site. If you get like 3 bars of cell service you will get pictures send to the APP on your phone - ipad, etc.

 

[effendude]

The corded external antennae makes all the difference in the world. I simply toss them as high as possible into the tree top the camera is strapped to. I even use one pointed at my cabin as cheap security.
Scott

 

[L1986]

The corded external antennae makes all the difference in the world. I simply toss them as high as possible into the tree top the camera is strapped to. I even use one pointed at my cabin as cheap security.
Scott

Do squirrels seem so bother the cords at all?

 

[jrb06]

I have two Spy Point units both with the built in solar charger panel. One is Link Micro S LTE I have had activated since 12/22 and it still says 100% battery in it. The other one is a Flex S just activated last month and stays at 99% battery. Both in far north east Wisconsin and maintain between 70%-90% cell signal strength now that leaves are off. During summer the older one maintains between 50%-70% signal strength.

 

[LHSmith]

Tactacam is super easy. Setup is less than 2 minutes.

I got one with lithium rechargeable battery pack in it. It doesn't last nearly as long as regular AA batteries. So if it isn't easy to get to just get the battery one. With lithium they will run all season no problem. Regular AA about 2-3 months of heavy use. I usually put fresh batteries in in August and again end of October.

Spypoint sucks

Ditto Spypoint SUCKS. My experience was so bad I doubt I'll even try another cell cam.

 

[effendude]

Do squirrels seem so bother the cords at all?

Not yet, been about three years.

 

[spaniel]

External antenna and get them as high as you can.

Cuddeback.... who i will never recommend.... makes a link system. Only one camera needs reception. The rest send the pictures to each other (they have to be in communication range with each like walking talkie)

The Cuddeback system is actually great, I'm going on year 5 I believe. One transmitter/one cell plan, up to 16 cameras. I'm running 11 cameras and a repeater (13 devices plus the cell-linked transmitter on top of a ridge). Very shaded cameras have extended battery packs (12 D cells), and can run ~4 months without being touched. Anything with some sun is on solar, some of those cameras I haven't set eyes on in 2 years.

The older K cameras had a liability that ants could get in and eat them, I lost a few that way. The newer L cameras have been bulletproof. As have the newer/larger solar/battery units.

Radio range between cameras is pretty good. I had to add one repeater unit to grab signal to a couple cameras obstructed by a ridge and nearly 400 yards from the transmitter. Everything within 300 yards connects directly. Three of the cameras provide security coverage to my cabin, those ones trigger immediate emails if they take photos. Everything else I get an email every 6 hours.

 

[Intell]

My first cell cam was a spypoint and it worked fine, great battery life. I bought a second and shortly after they said I had to upgrade to new 5G cameras and offered a $50 coupon so I quit using them.
Next was a Bushnell, it was good for a year then the night flash stopped working beginning of the next season, I bought another and all was good for another year and that one suddenly stopped sending data.
Off to the store a couple days ago and got a Moultrie edge 2, great pics and distance day or night. I went back to get another but they were sold out so I got a Stealth cam to try instead. I do like the Moultrie better than the Stealth so far but they both seem to take nice pictures, hopefully they last longer than the Bushnell's. I’ll put up some day and night photos from the three.

 

[timeout]

I have two Spypoint micro LTE's. While they have worked well for two years, in the past year I have added two Reveal X-pro's and I like them a little better. They utilize no glow flash technology. Here is a link to them. https://www.tactacam.com/reveal-x-pro I have watched a podcast where the theory that larger, older bucks avoided cell cams. In my experience that just isn't the case. I regularly get pics of the largest bucks on my property with the cell cams. I use both cellular and non cellular cameras. Maybe the absolute giant 200" inch bucks avoid cellular cameras? I can't say because neither myself, nor my non cellular cameras, have seen any of those on my property!