General Trail Cam Conversations

[Spencie]

Thought I would start a thread for general trail cam questions, answers or info.

I will start it off with I sent 4 Exodus cams in for repair. 1 lift that would go to factory settings and January 1 after each pic. This cam was beyond the 5 year warranty. A trek cam that wouldn’t turn on and 2 treks that the closing clips had broke off. They repaired all 4 at no cost. That’s customer service! 5 day turnaround.
I also sent in an out of warranty Tactacam Reveal that was using batteries in a couple weeks. They deemed it irreparable and offered a new one at a $20 discount. Still better than nothing. 6 day turn around.

 

[Spencie]

Reveal has rechargeable lithium battery banks for $50 now. They are supposed to last longer than regular lithium batteries. If I get 2 uses out of them they pay for themselves. I ordered 4 and will try them in 3 cams with a spare to swap out when needed. If they work I will pick up more.

 

[Fletch]

Reveal has rechargeable lithium battery banks for $50 now. They are supposed to last longer than regular lithium batteries. If I get 2 uses out of them they pay for themselves. I ordered 4 and will try them in 3 cams with a spare to swap out when needed. If they work I will pick up more.

Friend of mine bought these, they seem to be working pretty good so far...

 

[Trueroots]

I have 2 Reveal’s. Have used the cartridge that they offer and AA lithiums… for my application (feeder)neither lasted very long so I went to a 12v external setup. Been working great for a couple months. Pretty much tested it to the max( pic & video) set on “timely” to see how long the battery would last. Thus far I’m happy. Got the info from a fellow member!

 

[Trueroots]

Haven’t had to swap the battery out yet. Sorry kinda missed putting that in there

 

[Fletch]

Friend of mine bought these, they seem to be working pretty good so far...

I'll add something to that... He has it set up to transmit in groups.... Not every time it takes a pic as this is said to draw more power from batteries...

 

[Spencie]

I'll add something to that... He has it set up to transmit in groups.... Not every time it takes a pic as this is said to draw more power from batteries...

I have mine sent immediately. Batteries typically last 3+ months. The one cam worked great all fall but something happened to it in late November.

 

[Bighoun52]

On feeders I started sending mine in a bunch once an hour. Helped a lot with battery life

 

[bowhunter1023]

I'll be pulling all my cams this weekend and intend on offloading some of the older ones to make room for more cell cams w. solar/battery packs. One thing I've been very intentional about in recent years is pulling all my cams from Feb-July with one exception, which is more a security cam than an animal cam. I'll clean the battery terminals, blow them out with compressed air, reformat all the cards, update firmware, and then let them hang out in a stable climate for a few months before subjecting them to the elements again.

 

[gjs4]

I think charging for customer service is a crap move of tactacam. Have had the majority of my tactacams function great but have had a few quirky ones. I’m interested in those battery packs as well, as I am solar w batteries in them.

on a different note- am I the only one that feels like deer sense something with cell cams … as they don’t appear to react/sense/avoid to regular (non cellular) ones as much?

 

[Fletch]

I think charging for customer service is a crap move of tactacam. Have had the majority of my tactacams function great but have had a few quirky ones. I’m interested in those battery packs as well, as I am solar w batteries in them.

on a different note- am I the only one that feels like deer sense something with cell cams … as they don’t appear to react/sense/avoid to regular (non cellular) ones as much?

I'm not sure if deer react when a cell cam is up over a regular cam... I am a firm believer that they do react to an infrared flash... Therefore I'm a believer in black flash cameras...

 

[Stressless]

I think charging for customer service is a crap move of tactacam. Have had the majority of my tactacams function great but have had a few quirky ones. I’m interested in those battery packs as well, as I am solar w batteries in them.

on a different note- am I the only one that feels like deer sense something with cell cams … as they don’t appear to react/sense/avoid to regular (non cellular) ones as much?

I had a Spartan, which has a setting to make a sound and a red light when motion activated... I quickly figured that one out with many deer looking at the camera, just an example to make sure and check your setting for no IR red bulb or sound.

 

[Spencie]

I think charging for customer service is a crap move of tactacam. Have had the majority of my tactacams function great but have had a few quirky ones. I’m interested in those battery packs as well, as I am solar w batteries in them.

on a different note- am I the only one that feels like deer sense something with cell cams … as they don’t appear to react/sense/avoid to regular (non cellular) ones as much?

Honestly I haven’t noticed it much at all. I think most deer now have grown up around cameras and they do not bother them. I’m sure there are exceptions though.

 

["J"]

Looks like the access too the cell cameras will be down for a while on the 7th.

 

[Fletch]

I'm still leary about Spypoint cams... Friend bought a couple and 2 crapped out due to moisture getting in them... I'm still a big fan of Spartan cameras... Although Reveal Tactacam perform very well for the money... Probably gonna pick up 2 tactacams and additional solar panels for our in Illinois....

 

["J"]

I'm still leary about Spypoint cams... Friend bought a couple and 2 crapped out due to moisture getting in them... I'm still a big fan of Spartan cameras... Although Reveal Tactacam perform very well for the money... Probably gonna pick up 2 tactacams and additional solar panels for our in Illinois....

I’ve been running one since September, no issues so far. It’s a solar powered and has maintained its charge since then. I did put it on charge while I was hunting up there in November, just because I wasn’t sure how lo g it would last. But it was t needed.

 

[Fletch]

I’ve been running one since September, no issues so far. It’s a solar powered and has maintained its charge since then. I did put it on charge while I was hunting up there in November, just because I wasn’t sure how lo g it would last. But it was t needed.

J... I guess like anything it's hit or miss... Maybe my friend got a bad batch... So count your lucky stars yours is running like a champ ...

 

[bigten05]

I've got 6 reveals here in ohio, and 8 muddy and stealth cams in Kentucky. They have all worked great besides 2 of the first reveals I got. Replaced them no problem. One thing I'm doing this year is running more regular cams early and not running the cell cams til hunting season. Paying for all those cams from July to February is not one of my smartest moves.

 

[Fletch]

I've got 6 reveals here in ohio, and 8 muddy and stealth cams in Kentucky. They have all worked great besides 2 of the first reveals I got. Replaced them no problem. One thing I'm doing this year is running more regular cams early and not running the cell cams til hunting season. Paying for all those cams from July to February is not one of my smartest moves.

My friend runs his cell cams all year out in Illinois.... Me... I run them from Aug through the end of Nov. I'm not interested in pics of does or bucks in their early stages of growth.. Saves a lot of money... Plus no need to let them out in the harsh winter....