Have cell cams gotten better?

[SuperMag]

4 years ago or so i bought a Bushnell wireless trophy cam and it seems like every year i struggle to set it up. I brought it out this morning and could not get it to work, i just get a "modem init fail". What i find is that the cause of this is lack of cell reception, but I've tried it in many different locations and mainly in a wide open field where i have perfect reception on my phone. I ended up setting a few regular cams up and bringing the Bushnell back frustrated. Now here i am on my front porch at home and its still giving me the same error. Ive had it working in the years past but not like it should. It would take pictures and then send them to me all at one time a week later. Im thinking of just retiring this one all together and buying a new one even thought this one was not cheap at the time ($400 i think). I see theres many different options now and a lot of them are $100-150 but i don't want to run into the same issues. My phone provider is Verizon if that matters.

[Jeremy K]

My ATT revealX has been great so far. I have a new moultrie delta that is garbage and a moultrie 6000 that works good but has a hard time getting good signal.

[Lucky118]

Stopped using cams and the deer i shot got bigger. Coincidence? I don't  know. Maybe I'm  just getting luckier. Lol

[phade]

Bushnell really hasn’t ever made a great cell cam let alone a good one.

[loworange88]

I have two Reveal X (Verizon). One at my dads works great.  Batteries are still reading 100%, strong service and get pictures frequently.  The other one is in the NZ, and it reads moderate cell signal.  That one doesn’t send hardly any pictures.  But I’m reserving judgment based on the moderate cell service.

[Nytracker]

Wish I could find another reveal camera.

[phade]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:43 PM, Nytracker said:

Wish I could find another reveal camera.

I have ATT in stock.

[mowin]

I've got two original reveals, a new reveal x and a stealth cam fusion. They all work well. 

[Rack Attack]

I have to agree with what has already been said here.  I've tried a bunch of the different cell cams and bang for the buck I would say tactacam has it right now.  Others I've used work okay for the most part but are 2-3 times the price.  I will say the tactacam app is a bit clunky, but it functions.  I think the biggest thing with most cams is the batteries.  I don't trust the level indicator on any of the cams.  I know for a fact that I've had cameras that said the batteries were full charge and I replaced them anyway and they go back to working as they should once new batteries are installed.  I would bet that your old bushnell was likely setup for a 3G network and now it's no longer supported, or the firmware is so out of date it won't work.

[Five Seasons]

I am running 5 browning ridgeline defenders. A lot of frustration and headaches getting them setup, and then more headaches getting them to work, only to find out there is a firmware update that ISN'T on their website that fixed my issues. So after some unnecessary headaches I'm happy. The camera's are $200 a piece which isn't bad, but I feel they nickle and dime you on the plans. 

PS I find it odd that I have to do firmware updates the old fashion way with an SD card when everything else connected in this world can do it over the air. I understand this tech is new and growing fast, but they don't need to reinvent the wheel here and yet they seem to be trying to.

[phade]

1 minute ago, Belo said:

I am running 5 browning ridgeline defenders. A lot of frustration and headaches getting them setup, and then more headaches getting them to work, only to find out there is a firmware update that ISN'T on their website that fixed my issues. So after some unnecessary headaches I'm happy. The camera's are $200 a piece which isn't bad, but I feel they nickle and dime you on the plans. 

PS I find it odd that I have to do firmware updates the old fashion way with an SD card when everything else connected in this world can do it over the air. I understand this tech is new and growing fast, but they don't need to reinvent the wheel here and yet they seem to be trying to.

Some cams do OTA but it is risky with cell cams as power cut can brick or kill the camera. 

Iphones are updated when 80% or more or plugged in - and they're using a constant measured internal battery. Not AAs. 

Most cams opt not to build that function in because it's a big issue. Users are not savvy to understand this. They just are not.

[Five Seasons]

7 minutes ago, phade said:

Some cams do OTA but it is risky with cell cams as power cut can brick or kill the camera. 

Iphones are updated when 80% or more or plugged in - and they're using a constant measured internal battery. Not AAs. 

Most cams opt not to build that function in because it's a big issue. Users are not savvy to understand this. They just are not.

I know I get it, I do. but certainly it is doable. Especially when you pack 16 brand new lithiums into one of those bad boys. I guess I'm more frustrated that I did my due diligence to check for updates before placing these out in the wilderness in areas I wanted to be low impact, only to have to return to troubleshoot a few of them, and then again to update the software. The lady from Prometheus was nice enough, but when I asked her why she has a firmware update, but the website doesn't she didn't have an answer. In general I've had good luck with all my brownings, but their instructions, troubleshooting website and service here leave a lot to be desired. 

[sbuff]

Using a spy point micro link s,no issues to report . Pondering trying one of these tacta cam reveals .

[BizCT]

My only cell cam is a Spartan from @phade. it works great. I leave it up 24/7/365

[billey100]

I have a question the RevealX or really any of the wifi enabled cams.  Scenario wise can these be used without the cell activation but you can connect to them if you are within range of the camera?  In other words I don't care if I am getting them to my phone actively or pushed.  I would like to get to my stand and connect to the camera that is close by and remotely view the pics if that makes sense?  Keeps me from having to actually scent up the cam or get near it to swap cards and stuff.

[mowin]

14 minutes ago, billey100 said:

I have a question the RevealX or really any of the wifi enabled cams.  Scenario wise can these be used without the cell activation but you can connect to them if you are within range of the camera?  In other words I don't care if I am getting them to my phone actively or pushed.  I would like to get to my stand and connect to the camera that is close by and remotely view the pics if that makes sense?  Keeps me from having to actually scent up the cam or get near it to swap cards and stuff.

The tactacam works just like a non cell cam if no data plan is purchased. The SD card needs to be pulled to view the pics. So no you can't.  "connect" to the cam without a data plan. 

[mlammerhirt]

Just put my Tactacam revel x out this weekend that i got form @phade. Setup was super easy and I liked the feature where you are able to send a test pic. We are running 3 spypoint micros on this property and the tactacam and initial opinion has me leaning towards picking up more tactacams for next year.

Sent from my SM-A716V using Tapatalk

[Five Seasons]

1 hour ago, mowin said:

The tactacam works just like a non cell cam if no data plan is purchased. The SD card needs to be pulled to view the pics. So no you can't.  "connect" to the cam without a data plan. 

and it sort of defeats the purpose of buying a cell cam for the extra money. But I do get what he was asking. That would be a nice feature if you have your cams on runs or scrapes near the stand that you don't want to stink up to get to the sd card. Plus being able to view them from the phone via a card reader (more crap in the bag) would be cool.

[phade]

2 hours ago, Belo said:

I know I get it, I do. but certainly it is doable. Especially when you pack 16 brand new lithiums into one of those bad boys. I guess I'm more frustrated that I did my due diligence to check for updates before placing these out in the wilderness in areas I wanted to be low impact, only to have to return to troubleshoot a few of them, and then again to update the software. The lady from Prometheus was nice enough, but when I asked her why she has a firmware update, but the website doesn't she didn't have an answer. In general I've had good luck with all my brownings, but their instructions, troubleshooting website and service here leave a lot to be desired. 

You sir just demonstrated why people buy from me rather than Amazon.

[phade]

1 hour ago, billey100 said:

I have a question the RevealX or really any of the wifi enabled cams.  Scenario wise can these be used without the cell activation but you can connect to them if you are within range of the camera?  In other words I don't care if I am getting them to my phone actively or pushed.  I would like to get to my stand and connect to the camera that is close by and remotely view the pics if that makes sense?  Keeps me from having to actually scent up the cam or get near it to swap cards and stuff.

There are cams that do this - none have worked well. They do it via blutooth mostly - but range is inhibited on this. And it ends up consuming material power.

It's a niche sub market and one that hasn't proven reliable. So I would avoid any right now on the market.

[billey100]

Thanks @phade and @mowinvery helpful info!  

[Einsamer Krieger]

Yes, by all means.  So many to choose from than the first ones, so many colors and options, like linking them to your phone.

[Five Seasons]

2 hours ago, phade said:

You sir just demonstrated why people buy from me rather than Amazon.

Fair point I guess. However, I've built computers. Half my house is smart wired, so I know my tech. To think a reputable company like Browning has a product out there with known issues, that has a fix but isn't available unless you ask for it is certainly not something I should feel bad about and is absolutely something they should take full blame for.

[phade]

17 minutes ago, Belo said:

Fair point I guess. However, I've built computers. Half my house is smart wired, so I know my tech. To think a reputable company like Browning has a product out there with known issues, that has a fix but isn't available unless you ask for it is certainly not something I should feel bad about and is absolutely something they should take full blame for.

You'd be surprised who my customers are - heads of IT no less, lol. It's less about understanding the tech (although still applicable) and more about staying current with the companies, their tech, the carriers, industry, etc. Since I deal with Browning, I was aware of the firmware scenario and understand why it's not on their site. It's because it doesn't impact all chipsets and SIM profiles. Only the ones impacted. They call in.

In the auto industry, it's like a TSB vs a recall. That is a good comp.

[Lucky118]

On 9/19/2021 at 6:15 PM, phade said:

Bushnell really hasn’t ever made a great cell cam let alone a good 

I have a few of the older ones that have to be close to 10 yrs old now