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Cellular Cameras.

Wildlife

Wildlife

Denny
Supporting Member
5,396
191
Ross County
jagermeister said:
You guys running external batteries… Is it because the property is far away and a pain to replace batteries? I’m consistently getting 2+ months and several thousand pictures on each set of regular alkaline batteries. It’s even better when I run lithiums. I’ve just never seen a reason to go through the trouble of an external battery supply or solar panel, even on properties that required me to put in some effort getting there.

Edit - I just checked the status of one of my cams… SPYPOINT Link Dark… launched on 9-30-2022 and still showing 67% battery life. El cheapo alkaline batteries from rural king or harbor freight.
Click to expand...

I don't use AA batteries anymore now that I've gone down this path.

I do still have a few of the older TCs that require AA's, and they will be completely phased out eventually. I only have two of those out now. One for the driveway and one for the home feed station.

All future trail cameras of mine will be Tactacam Reveals. I have three of them now and have no desire in getting anymore. I never used trail cameras prior to 2015. I do not consider myself to be an expert on the topic of trail cameras, however what I've been doing over the past few years seems to be working for me.

I was having a hard time getting AA lithium batteries in bulk through Amazon believe it or not, through my scheduled monthly order, so I went this route for powering up my new Tactacams, which has been a blessing in disguise the way I see it.

The way I do things now should save me money in the long run, and without all the headaches too. Nothing but easy street now.

Far easier for me to maintain my Reveals than any other trail camera I've ever used before, hands down!

Like I mentioned before, I'm very satisfied with the cell-cam solution I went with.
 
Dustinb80

Dustinb80

#FACKCANCER
Supporting Member
18,578
198
S.W. Ohio
Wildlife said:
I don't use AA batteries anymore now that I've gone down this path.

I do still have a few of the older TCs that require AA's, and they will be completely phased out eventually. I only have two of those out now. One for the driveway and one for the home feed station.

All future trail cameras of mine will be Tactacam Reveals. I have three of them now and have no desire in getting anymore. I never used trail cameras prior to 2015. I do not consider myself to be an expert on the topic of trail cameras, however what I've been doing over the past few years seems to be working for me.

I was having a hard time getting AA lithium batteries in bulk through Amazon believe it or not, through my scheduled monthly order, so I went this route for powering up my new Tactacams, which has been a blessing in disguise the way I see it.

The way I do things now should save me money in the long run, and without all the headaches too. Nothing but easy street now.

Far easier for me to maintain my Reveals than any other trail camera I've ever used before, hands down!

Like I mentioned before, I'm very satisfied with the cell-cam solution I went with.
Click to expand...
Are your Italics broke?
 
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Outdoorsfellar

Outdoorsfellar

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
16,407
222
Newark / Hanover, Licking County
Cabelas / Bass Pro has the Spypoint Micro Solar for $99. That's a hell of a deal. You can't have enough for that price.
Here's a HD pic from mine ...

spypoint (1)hhh.jpg
 
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Stressless

Stressless

Active Member
2,423
85
Keene, OH
Sgt Fury said:
I have both the tactacam and Spartan. The tactacam is cheaper for the original purchase but slightly higher to operate for the year. Spartan cams are more expensive up front but the picture quality is much better. Spartan cams will cost $36 per year (credit purchased from Spartan…$3 per credit and a credit lasts one month) you download Spartans app and it’ll send pics right to your phone. Verizon is $5 a month ($60 for the year)…total cost to run the camera is $96 a year. If you use lithium batteries (as a backup) and purchase their solar panel (they have a internal battery), you won’t have to visit the camera but once a year to change the lithium AA batteries. You can get a security box, and the camera has a GPS built into it and it’s pretty damn accurate. You can also manage all of your settings from your phone or iPad. The saying “you get what you pay for” is very true with cellular cams. I use the cheaper cellular cams (tactacam) near home and use the Spartan in Ohio as it is pretty self sufficient once set up. They also have a Spartan community on Facebook that people post questions/problems and they are answered pretty quick. Customer service is also pretty good. If I was to only have one trail cam, it would be a Spartan.
Click to expand...


+1
 
Fletch

Fletch

Senior Member
Supporting Member
6,207
136
Looks like a great day in the woods... Only gonna get better... Thanks for sharing...
 
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Jackalope

Jackalope

Dignitary Member
Staff member
39,068
274
bowhunter1023 said:
Even when he's asleep, he looks like he's 2 seconds from ninja choppin' you with that stick 😂
Click to expand...

He carried that damn thing around all day but I think I know why.. When we went to get in the truck at my parents' this morning there was a dog across the road in the woods barking at us. I kept an eye on him but turned my back for a second to open the back of the Excursion and I heard him run across the road. I looked over my shoulder to my left to see him running up the bank towards us about 15 yards away. I drew my pistol but the dog was at about 8 o'clock and sterling was to my right so I came across my chest and turned left while trying to tuck sterling behind me with my other hand. I shot and the dog was only about 7 feet away and it went right under his chest between his legs and hit under him. He didn't seem hit but turned to run barking over his shoulder as he left. I fired another shot but he was hauling the mail by then.

My dad said that dog is always coming down the road barking at him when he goes to check the mail but it has never run up on him. He said he was going to go talk to the guy and I asked him not to. He lives at some shit ass trailer about a 1/4 mile down the road. My dad has gotten soft in his old age when it comes to killing things. But I'm not. I'll be back.
 
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Wildlife

Wildlife

Denny
Supporting Member
5,396
191
Ross County
Wildlife said:
Yes, each Tactacam cell-cam of mine are equipped with both internal & external rechargeable lithium power sources (batteries). I attached the two different methods I use for all to review, however eventually all of them will be configured just like the one you see below within the first photograph.

I was going to create a video on this topic at some point, just haven't gotten there yet. Been a little busy lately.
__________________________________________

Power Option #1 - my preferred 'go to' method. Can go for months, up to 6 possibly, depending how busy your camera is, before having to swap out with freshly charged batteries.

View attachment 166946

Power Option #2 - This one has the Tactacam Solar Panel with internal lithium rechargeable battery that connects to the Tactacam modular lithium internal rechargeable camera battery, and it does okay as long as the panel gets daily and direct sunlight. It too can go for months before having to swap them out with freshly charged ones however, I usually swap all batteries when I swap out the SD card with this power source setup.

View attachment 166948
_____________________________________

The weatherproof box for the external battery.

www.herd360.com

DIY External Battery Box Tactacam Reveal

Fits Tactacam Reveal X and Reveal. Also for the WiseEye, WingHome, Barn Owl, Creative XP and any other camera that uses a 4.0x1.7mm DC input. We've made it simple for you to source your own parts to build your own external battery box and use a 12v 12ah SLA battery for extended use of your...
www.herd360.com

Amazon is where I purchased the following items that I need and use for all Tactacam Reveals.
Click to expand...

Quick follow-up regarding external power supply for my Tactacam Reveals.

This afternoon, I converted my last Tactacam Reveal XB from the Tactacam external Solar Panel w/ an internal rechargeable lithium battery over to the external battery inside a new weatherproof box that connects to the camera's modular internal rechargeable battery for it's power supply.

I did this due to the shorter daylight hours along with less sunshine days throughout the winter. By going with the external battery inside the weatherproof box that connects to the camera's modular internal battery, I know I won't have to worry about having enough power to operate my cameras for several months.

Western Stand Tactacam Reveal XB that I just converted.

20221206_151311.jpg
20221206_151330.jpg
20221206_151346.jpg


Feed-station Tactacam Reveal XB that was configured for power utilizing the external battery inside the weatherproof box ever since early August of 2022 and the power is still at 100% today, yet to swap out with a recharged set of batteries waiting in the wings.

20221206_163534.jpg
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20221206_163520.jpg


Home feed-station where both troughs got scrubbed, thoroughly cleaned and replenished with 150lbs/trough of fresh whole corn.

20221206_163443.jpg


Latest snapshot of my Tactacam cellphone application.

SmartSelect_20221206_171010_Tactacam Reveal.jpg


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Bonus photograph attached.
 

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