Cuddeback CuddeLink Cameras
- Thread starter Stevieray
- Start date
MilkweedManiac
New Member
I started down the road of building a home brew solar system for my Cuddelinks, but I couldn't really justify it because Cuddelink is selling solar panel kits with rechargeable batteries for $49.99. Making one myself would be pretty close to that, plus a giant case with a battery sitting on the ground at the base of my tree instead of the sleek panel-only system Cuddelink offers.
I'm also excited about the dual-power bank system they are releasing this summer as it will connect to their solar panel system for (hopefully) 9 months to a year of power. So far my solar panels have over a month on them and are hanging in there. I wanted to test them in the winter months to see how they will perform this coming season.
I'm also excited about the dual-power bank system they are releasing this summer as it will connect to their solar panel system for (hopefully) 9 months to a year of power. So far my solar panels have over a month on them and are hanging in there. I wanted to test them in the winter months to see how they will perform this coming season.
Joseph Lemon
New Member
I bought 2 packs of larger panels from Harbor Freight for $20 and put 12v batteries with regulators in small plastic ammo boxes. I put them as high as I could reach in the tree and the deer didn't seem to notice them. The problem with any solar system though is in the woods during the summer/fall I wasn't getting enough sun to make it work it. The Cuddeback solar panels and rechargeable batteries were even worse. This year I'm just going to run the external batteries without solar. With good D cells in the G series I should get a few months before changing and recharging.
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
I have my home unit plugged into wall power and have a WiFi SD card in it setup and running as of today.
I also have two cameras in the field that are running off a home brew solar setup. Each camera has 12 AA energizer rechargeable batteries with the solar panel connected to it. Each solar panel has a 12v rechargeable battery in a plastic electrical box mounted to the back of the solar panel. I am also using a voltage regulator. I am using the same setup the handy hunter did a YouTube walkthrough on.
The solar panels have only been up for two weeks, but so far so good. One is in full sun and one is in partial sun. Time will tell how each one does.
Also have two more cameras that just have standard alkaline batteries.
I also have two cameras in the field that are running off a home brew solar setup. Each camera has 12 AA energizer rechargeable batteries with the solar panel connected to it. Each solar panel has a 12v rechargeable battery in a plastic electrical box mounted to the back of the solar panel. I am also using a voltage regulator. I am using the same setup the handy hunter did a YouTube walkthrough on.
The solar panels have only been up for two weeks, but so far so good. One is in full sun and one is in partial sun. Time will tell how each one does.
Also have two more cameras that just have standard alkaline batteries.
Joseph Lemon
New Member
That's the same system I've been running. It worked great until there was a good canopy of leaves. Cameras that were on the edges of fields getting good sunlight ran forever but anything in the woods wasn't getting enough charge from solar to make a difference so I unplugged and took off the panels and just used the external battery as a backup.
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
Thanks again for your help. I’ve got the parts to build two more solar setups except for the voltage regulators. I bought a five pack and three of them were bad. I’m glad I tested them
. I’m going to get the other two built and put them in the timber. I assume I’ll have similar results. I did test the solar panel in ambient light briefly and was getting over 18v from it. I’ll take one in the timber once the leaves are out and see how they do.
I also thought about getting a longer cord to power the camera so I can put the solar panel higher in the tree.
Joseph Lemon
New Member
There's a great 86 page thread about Cuddelink cameras on Habitat Talk. Pretty much any question you would have has been answered.
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/cuddebacks-cuddelink.7859/
http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threads/cuddebacks-cuddelink.7859/
HB_Hunter
Well-Known Member
Yep. I’ve been splitting time between both threads
. I love the concept of these. The monthly fees scared me away from the cell cams. The upfront cost of these cams wasn’t bad either. I’ll keep testing through turkey season and summer and should have a solid setup for deer season.Great thread! Answered a lot of questions, this system jumped out to me since we don’t have cell service back at camp. So cell cams are out of the picture, and checking a pile of cams gets old. We also just had a few cams stolen, lock boxes and all beat off the tree. With this system, the pictures would be sent back to the home system and boom this time we got them! Anyways, I’m curious about the battery life, did they come up with something over the summer that helped this?
