Game Camera with Cellular

[TomSeller]

I have 3 of the Covert 3G cameras, they work well. Texted/emailed picture isn't the highest quality but it's good enough to see what you're looking at and the camera will store high res images. I was able to have a trespasser arrested and prosecuted with photos from mine about 2.5 years ago and have had no more problems with trespassers or theft since then.

Pretty much all the cameras will use GSM networks which will mean AT&T or T-Mobile.

Sounds like what I am looking for. What cellular carrier are you using and what is the monthly cost?

 

[STx]

I have AT&T with pre-paid cards in them. You can get 500 texts for $6/mo or 1,000 for $11/mo. I'm doing the 1,000 text plan (windy days will take more pictures than you'd think) so it costs me $33/mo for all 3 cameras.

 

[TomSeller]

I have AT&T with pre-paid cards in them. You can get 500 texts for $6/mo or 1,000 for $11/mo. I'm doing the 1,000 text plan (windy days will take more pictures than you'd think) so it costs me $33/mo for all 3 cameras.

Do you have an option for images? I have a location in mind that spans a shed to the barn with no trees that trigger motion,

 

[STx]

SMS has some file size limitations. I think if you send them to email, you may be able to do larger files but then you have to have a data plan and the setup is more complicated and expensive.

 

[TomSeller]

SMS has some file size limitations. I think if you send them to email, you may be able to do larger files but then you have to have a data plan and the setup is more complicated and expensive.

I actually want to get smaller resolution image messages, just enough detail so I can tell if it is someone I need to worry about or not. ie I rent part of the place to hunters and if I see it is them, I won't do anything. If is someone trespassing, I can call the Sheriff. The 8meg pictures, or whatever size, I can download when I am there. With 1 or 2 bars I don't want to get a bunch of 8meg messages if deer are in front of the camera

 

[TomSeller]

This is sounding like something closer to what I am looking for
2015 HCO Spartan GoCam No Glow Verizon

 

[Sysop]

Do you have an option for images? I have a location in mind that spans a shed to the barn with no trees that trigger motion,

Camera motion detection isn't all that great outdoors. It doesn't even take the wind or trees to trigger a motion alert. Camera motion detection works by detecting changes in the colors of the pixels, not actual movement. Just the shadows off the clouds passing by the sun is enough to trigger the motion detection on a camera.

Most of the traditional game cameras have a separate built in motion detector that triggers the camera part of the unit.

I use Vivotek cameras at my place. I have SD cards inside them to record the most recent events, I have them connected to my network where I have network attached storage for all the cameras to record for long periods, and I run a Cradlepoint Mobile Broadband Router that I plug a USB AT&T 4G LTE Modem into for internet access over my standard cellular account.

Cellular abilities built into the camera is nice for one camera, but once you start getting a bunch of cameras it can get expensive fast. SMS is essentially a very limited form of email (which is why you can email from a PC to text message on phones by using email addresses such as 1234567890@txt.att.net; with 1234567890 being the phone number, and it works on all carriers by changing the domain name). The Vivotek cameras I use can be set to email on alerts (could be set to email to your phone's SMS), and with email not being as limited you can send yourself better resolution images.

I've found the Vivotek cams to be the most versatile. With the internal SD recording, NAS recording, built in webserver, ability to database all the video on a network server, ability to send a wide variety of alerts, awesome software works on all versions of Windows PCs, has Android & IOS apps, they're able to do almost anything someone wants. With some creative implementations of wireless access points, wireless Ethernet adapters, powerline network adapters, power over Ethernet adapters, and standard Ethernet, there really aren't many installations that can't be made pretty easy.

 

[Sodo]

I've been using game cameras for several years. You have to choose a location where there's no branches to blow in the wind. I get a lot of chipmunk selfies etc.

I tried a cellular camera called LTL Acorn ($280). I set it up where I walked by all day long, many many times, in the city in an area with good cellular signal. In a whole day it txt'd me 3 pictures. Then I set it up in the woods in an area with 2 bars signal, right next to my cabin where I walked by it all day long. From the woods it sent one picture in 2 days. This was AT&T in the mountains in WA. I'm sure ATT eqpt varies across the US.

I got a lot of great help from the tech support at LTL, they really tried to help but their product did not perform. They said that if the camera is in the process of sending a photo and the signal drops it has to start all over again. He said there will be very high battery drain if its trying to send one pic over and over again, all day long.

Not sure what to say about other brands but with 1 or 2 bars I don't think you will get any pics much less deer.

 

[Sysop]

Not sure what to say about other brands but I doubt you will get satisfaction in an area of poor cellular signal.

That is partly why I recommended a centralized cellular modem setup for everything to work on. Not only is it less expensive to have a single connection versus a connection per camera, it is also easier to locate the cellular device where it gets the best signal, and there are many options for external outdoor antennas to improve the stability and speed of the connection. You can then use a combination of Ethernet, wifi, and powerline network adapters to get the signal to the cameras.

Actually the way my system is setup to help eliminate the false positives from the camera motion detection, is I have an ISY-994i-ZW zwave automation controller also on my network, with actual motion detectors in places they will catch people moving around but not much else. When the motion detection in the cameras goes off the camera stores snapshots and a video clip of the motion to a specific network location. When any of the motion detectors detect motion, the ISY gathers all the latest snapshots from the network location and puts them into an email and sends to me with a report of what motion detector detected motion. The cameras I use are 2 megapixel and I have them save the snapshots at 1 megapixel. I can generally get several images per email.

 

[Sodo]

Sysop, you lost me right here:

With some creative implementations of wireless access points, wireless Ethernet adapters, powerline network adapters, power over Ethernet adapters, and standard Ethernet, there really aren't many installations that can't be made pretty easy.

This is the kind of thing I hear from time to time but never get to experience personally. :laughing:

But I'm interested. What is this "centralized cellular modem setup". Is there a unit (for example on Amazon) that does this? I would be *very* interested.