Trail Camera Discussion of Manufactured Cameras.
I have added the new lookout to my store here. ... ing-camera
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I am going to get a review started this week end.

Plan information:

I am going to update the plans and add several more tiers with better pricing for users who need more data in a few days.
In photo mode I have been getting as many as 2000+ photo uploads on a set of Costco Kirkland alkline AA. there are a handful of high res requests thrown in there. Lithium would do a lot better. That number is 75% at night. also in medium upload resolution. Not the smallest but not the largest either. the higher the res the longer the file transfer. Also that is with a 4G LTE connection with a > 50% signal.

In 3G fallback battery life will be poorer because uploads can take 3 times as long. In optimum condition My camera can upload 4 or 5 motion photos (0s quiet time) in a minute. That wil burn through your battery quickly.

I have stopped using alkaline and exclusively use a solar power station with 7 to 10 HA SLA battery and 12W solar panel.

My 30W solar set up is still going since 4/1/2018 which is 6 months so far. I expect it will run indefinitely.
One question, do they send picture to email address and portal or just the portal?

Also how is the SMS messages charged by points or do you have to have money in the account?

The camera talks only to the portal, like Spartan. You can configure up to 20 email address that photos will be dispersed to on each upload. you can also use the mobile app to avoid email (best solution).

Use of the portal and mobile apps is 100% free. all you pay is for the data plan.

If you need to run a camera in remote control (I am not sure why unless its a law enforcement sting operation maybe??) then there is a .10 charge per command send from the portal as we are charged per SMS. You will add a Points Reserve and the .10 is deducted from that. the reserve can be a "reserve" for points and SMS commands.

Can you explain your application and why you will need remote control to help me understand it?
Well I set the cam to watch the feeder but we set it so it watches the greenfield also. This way we can watch the greenfield even if deer are not at the feeder by sending remote control command. We set longer trigger times to avoid excess pictures around the feeder but if something comes in interesting with remote control we can take 2 or 3 pictures between trigger time. As far as the hog trap it's Important to have remote control so you can view what is in the trap and trigger the door.
As for a Security Cam it's Important to have remote control so you can view what set the trigger off because what set the trigger off may not have been in view at the time.

The last two you can set trigger time short and that will help, but when you have a trap full of hogs you would get many pictures needlessly. I am sure there are some work rounds but none of them replace remote control.

If the Cam can snap a picture, send that, then record a video that would help .
Sometimes you just want to look around and see whats going on without waiting for an event!

The reason I am considering changing over to RidgeTec is because of the remote control.
Ok, I agree. for both security and for hog trapping, remote control does make more sense. Other than that, if there is no motion, I see no reason personally to randomly request a photo, when the battery penalty is high (as it is with all manufacturers).

The Ridgetec cameras will operate in Video Mode. as well as Photo Mode.

In Video mode, The camera wakes on Motion or Time lapse, captures the video to the SD card, then the first frame of the video is sent to the Portal. Then you decide if you want to spend both $$ and battery to send the videos. you get only the videos you want. You are in control. If you run your camera in HD 720p video, for example, the first frame sent is also 720p (1280x720) so you get a large photo to help you decide what is in the video. then when you need them you can request the video.

I would suggest running your camera with time lapse turned on rather than use Remote Control (unless hog trapping etc ...). You can have the camera wake on time lapse as infrequently as 2,4,6,8,10, or 12 hours between triggers. (12 hour time lapse is two pics a day)

Running in time lapse every 2 hours will consume much less battery than running in remote control 24 hours a day. think about that and see if it could also work for you.

time lapse and motion work together and at the same time.

also, if the camera is in Video mode, time lapse causes the camera to wake and capture a video.
Power Consumption isn't a problem because I run external batteries just for that purpose, Cost isn't a problem because I accept that as a condition of having remote control. The remote control aspect is enough to make me switch to RidgeTec in the near future..
Thats great. When I talk to people and they grimace about the $12.95/mo... I ask them how much do they spend in gas pulling a 4 wheeler to the hunting property each month?

the answer is normally $200 or something ridiculous. If you just saved one trip to hunt club. It could pay an entire year or more of your monthly cost.

The biggest benefit is putting out the cellular camera with an external battery and leave it for 6 months. Staying out of the area is extremely important. then one morning you slip in there and get into a stand.

If you crash bang through the woods and drive 4 wheelers in the area leaving your scent every 2 weeks, it does nothing for your hunting experience.
$12.95/mo is a bargain, really it's no higher than the cost of the data and portal for the Spartan cams when you add in the Telco taxes per month.

I would be interested to know what resolution would you need to set the RidgeTec cam on when sending pic to get the same Pic resolution that you get sent by default by the Spartan cam?

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