# Cellular game cams?



## bg (May 21, 2004)

Does anybody have any experience with the game cams that will transmit the image over the cell network? I'm looking at one of these - http://www.amazon.com/Covert-Scouting-Camera-Special-wireless/dp/B00806KGY6 - primarily to be used for site security since I have a big theft problem.

I need something that can be hidden, doesn't rely on the utility power (they like to steal copper) and will give me instant notification with a picture good enough that it could be used in prosecution.

If any of you have used one of these, or a different cellular game cam, I'd love to hear about your experience and any tips you might offer.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

We have had 2 HCO Pandas on our lease for almost a year. The seller we used said that in the next year these cellular game cams should improve by leaps and bounds as they gained traction with hunters.

We've been very happy with them. We have them transmit MMS/Text photos versus emails. Max photo size is 6MP on our models. They are great game cams, but it seems like you might have better results from a dedicated security camera that transmits or records? These cellular game cams came about from security camera manufacturers seeing the massive potential market available with hunters. Their unmodified security cameras might be better suited for what you want, if they make them to use batteries/solar anyway.

PM your cell # if you want to see day/versus night examples. I have an ongoing text message with a ton of the pics. That would allow you to see the photo quality as it is on your phone versus an uploaded copy.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for the feedback. A regular security camera has the drawbacks of not being battery operated, harder to hide, most of them need a separate Internet source that would require full time utility power and they're a lot more expensive. There isn't anything down there worth stealing anymore, it's all been stolen already, but I would like to be able to put a door back on the building (yes, they stole the door also) and put a window in without it getting taken again. If I could have something to send me a picture from the gate that would get a clear license plate or face when it was happening then I could call the Sheriff and maybe get them caught in the act. I'm thinking of having ADT or something installed on the building as well. 

I'm not going to leave anything worthwhile down there again and I can deal with hauling air mattresses, cooler, etc. back and forth all the time but I do want my door left alone so that animals aren't going in and out of the building and I'm not getting ate up with mosquitoes at night and I'd like to be able to have utility power again with my copper going missing.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

Here's the dealer we used. He's out of state but he knows the wireless game cams inside/out. The only gripe about the HCO Pandas we have is the setup interface is really unintuitive compared to your typical game cam. So we emailed the guy twice on a Sunday from the lease and he answered us both times with answers in 20 minutes. If he thinks one of the brands he handles will do what you describe to him, I'd trust him. His day job is a lineman, but he's very motivated with his game cam dealership.

Rick
three one five-632-6073
www.camonlinestore.com

During the week he typically starts call returns around 7pm Eastern

I'm definitely no expert, but if he doesn't think you'll achieve images from an elevated location that would be good for law enforcement ID purposes, here's a thought. Go with the lowest priced model and you'll at least know when they show up. We typically have the text photo on our phone within two minutes. Get the text, make the call to the PD, or go John Wayne on them yourself if so inclined.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Thanks. 

I wish I could go John Wayne on them but the property is 4 hours away so that makes it kind of tough.


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## das71198 (Aug 12, 2005)

Covert Black Ops makes a great cam that will send pictures to a mobile device. Get a Sims card from AT&T or your cellular provider & put it in the camera.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

das71198 said:


> Covert Black Ops makes a great cam that will send pictures to a mobile device. Get a Sims card from AT&T or your cellular provider & put it in the camera.


Looked that one up. Man, one of their models does 12 megapixel. The HCOs we use do a great job, but as mentioned before the setup interface is tricky.

The only other gripe would be that they really go through the batteries. The internal 8 AAs last 3-4 weeks at best. Adding in an external 6 volt adds a couple of weeks, and even after tying in solar panels they still drain down.

If you're 4 hours away BG, that battery drain might be a problem. As more models come out and they improve the existing ones maybe they've gotten better at it though.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

I try to be there at least 1 -2 times a month so I can change batteries. I'd like to put solar panels on them but if I do, I need to make them inconspicuous. I'm going to put up some signs that say the property is under 24 hour video surveillance and I think I'm going to go ahead an put a monitored alarm on the building with a cellular link to the monitoring company and harden the doors and windows so that it will take some time to break in. Hopefully with all that I can discourage them or at least make it take long enough for them to break in that the sheriff can get there. The sheriff's office is only 10 minutes away.

We'll see what happens. This not being able to leave _*ANYTHING*_ there has gotten old.


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## RB II (Feb 26, 2009)

Not to interject alternatives, but why don't you invest in a 20' conex box. I have seen them with lock box setups on the doors that would take a cutting torch to get into. At least you could leave some things there and they would be secure. Just a thought.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

I'll probably put a box down there also for storage stuff but the thing is that they will come in with a cutting torch or a grinder to get into things down there. We're having to have a city water tap put in because they drove a truck through our existing gate to pull our well pump out of the ground so it not only needs to be hard to get into but we also need to have some way of knowing when they've made the effort to do so. I'm going to replace the gate with a heavy pipe gate that can't be driven through with the lock inaccessible to bolt cutters as well. My only real defense is to make it so difficult to get to anything that it is no longer worth the effort to them and to make it likely that if they do make the effort that they will get caught. It sucks to have to exert this much money and energy to keep what belongs to me but the only other options are to abandon the property entirely (which we did for 4 years) or just keep buying them new stuff.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

We had a 500 gal LP tank stolen...1/2 full....bolted to a concrete pad. Took pad and all. If they want it, it's as good as gone. We can't keep ANYTHING at our camp house and it's 3 1/4 miles off the beaten path between Tarpley and Hondo in the hills. If I could get a cell signal I'd get some of these.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Bankin' On It said:


> If they want it, it's as good as gone.


Exactly.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

I went ahead and got one of the Covert Black Ops, picked up my SIM card today and set it up in the back yard to see how it does. Here's the first picture, quality isn't too bad for a text photo, it should give me enough detail to know what's going on. It also saves 8MP images on the SD card and I've got it setup to do 5 photo bursts when it detects motion. I'm going to leave it setup here for a day or two and see how the night images look and if I need to adjust any of the settings.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to take it down to the property later this week. I'll keep you guys updated on how well it's working.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

bg said:


> I went ahead and got one of the Covert Black Ops, picked up my SIM card today and set it up in the back yard to see how it does. Here's the first picture, quality isn't too bad for a text photo, it should give me enough detail to know what's going on. It also saves 8MP images on the SD card and I've got it setup to do 5 photo bursts when it detects motion. I'm going to leave it setup here for a day or two and see how the night images look and if I need to adjust any of the settings.
> 
> Hopefully I'll get a chance to take it down to the property later this week. I'll keep you guys updated on how well it's working.


 I'd definitely be curious as to how it works out for you. How was the setup on that camera? Like I mentioned before, the HCO Panda was the most unintuitive one I've ever used.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Setup wasn't bad if you followed the instructions. Most of it is done with a little computer program that saves the configuration to a file on the SD card and the camera loads when it powers up. 

I had an issue with it not wanting to connect to the cell network at first but it eventually started working.


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## Bankin' On It (Feb 14, 2013)

How quickly do you receive the pic/message?


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

About a minute.


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## CP1 (Sep 13, 2009)

I have the Covert and the detection range is amazing. Best I have ever seen. It also has great reviews on trailcampro.com which is a great place to get it.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

One other thought BG. You probably went with an unlimited plan on your sim card since this is for security. If you didn't go unlimited be sure and cap the max transmissions a day so your bill doesn't go through the roof.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

I got a pre-paid card for it and got 200 txt/mo to start. If I'm seeing more than that, I'll upgrade it, hopefully I'm not having that much traffic at the gate though. Thanks for the heads up.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

Our AT&T SIM cards are $120/year and it gives us around 1,000 texts a month per camera. We ended up capping at 33 texts/day. We get a lot of the typical nuisance shots on windy days, more so off my camera.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

You know, I hadn't considered the nuisance shots from the wind. I might need to go with the 1000/mo or unlimited plan.


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## goatchze (Aug 1, 2006)

bg,

I feel your pain. We've got a place in a similar situation as yours. Broken into several times and they take anything! Doors, well pumps, sinks...

..and get this! They stole two iron fireplace inserts! Seriously???

One question I have is about the the reception on that Black Ops. Cell service is sketchy where our place is. Is the service worse, on par, or better than your cell phone?


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

I can't really answer the question on reception because - 

a - I have Verizon for my phone and the camera has to use AT&T or T-Mobile

b - I haven't taken it to the property yet but the cell service in general is pretty strong down there.

But, from what I've read, it doesn't need a super strong signal to send the text. After Hurricane Ike, it was impossible to make a phone call but texts were working OK, although sometimes slow. I would expect the same to be the case in an area with sketchy service.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Well, it's working but for some reason it did not get a picture of these guys entering. I did get a picture just a couple of minutes before this one that showed the truck on the road, which I think is theirs. I'm going to move the camera next time I'm down there so that it's pointing into the property from the road brush instead of out to the road from inside. Maybe that will work better.

Oh, an I have no idea who these guys are or what they're doing. I wasn't expecting anyone out there so as far as I'm concerned they're up to no good.


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## mrau (Mar 17, 2010)

Man, that's too bad it didn't catch them on the way in. Good luck. If it works like our brand cams, once that battery level drops from that 9 to around "3," it will stop transmitting but will still write to your SIM card. If you don't already have it set this way, set it up to overwrite the SIM card next time. Our cams would have full SIM cards when they switch off cellular without that overwrite turned on.

When our cams convert to SIM card only, the cellular transmit feature has to be turned back on in setup after you slap in fresh batteries. Don't ask me how I know that little gotcha. I never leave the camera now until I have at least one fresh pic transmit after putting in batteries.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

For some reason the camera stopped sending photos last Saturday. I got down here today and found that my dog tie out was missing, looked through the SD card and found this. The lowlife had his kids with him, what a way to set and example. The presence of the rifle can only mean he was poaching as well so I guess I'll be calling the Game Warden and visiting the Sheriff this trip.

Unbelievable.


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## RockportAggie (Aug 23, 2013)

That freakin sux. I hope you catch the pos.


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## Overloaded (Apr 6, 2012)

Dang! Looks like you need a gate attendant charging an entry fee!


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## Bill C (May 23, 2004)

bg, 

What you're going through really stinks. I hope you get these folks. 

What part of the state are you in?

I want to make sure I stay away from that area. It sounds like they are way worse than the folks in NE TX.


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

Bill, 

It's South Texas, Duval County. Beautiful country and big deer but it's like the Game Warden for the county said, everything South of San Antonio is the Wild West and Duval County is a place all to itself. The area has a very rich history that has created an impoverished local population that looks to others for their needs. County government used to give it to them but now they take it from whoever they can.


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## M9 (Sep 21, 2004)

*Avoid the Moultrie cams*

I have two of the Moultrie I-45 Game Management system cameras and have had very poor luck with them staying connected and transmitting through AT&T. There is also a costly $29/month subscription to their website is required per camera. The technical support is staffed really lightly and it is obvious that they have lots of technical issues; the ladies just aren't nice any more when you call them. I spent an hour on the phone with them last week and finally they told me that the conversion of AT&T towers over to 4G is killing their service.

I am calling them tomorrow and will be discontinuing my service and will be moving over the the Covert Black Ops system. Check out http://www.trailcampro.com...lots of reviews of all the available cell cams.

Good luck!
Corwin


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## M9 (Sep 21, 2004)

*Poacher pic*

I did catch this a-hole on cam poaching on my property last year. Barry Eversole is the local game warden that helped me out and tried really hard to identify this guy. I filled the local area mailboxes with flyers offering a $1000 reward for his arrest and conviction. While I did get a few calls, we never found out who this guy was. I have had no more trespassers after the neighboring ranch owners found out that I meant business.

Corwin


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## bg (May 21, 2004)

An update on the trespasser that I posted the picture, the Game Warden had the guy identified within a couple of days of me calling him. Turned out the guy is on probation for a 2nd DWI and is a convicted felon so in addition to the Class A misdemeanor charge for trespassing with a deadly weapon, he has committed a 3rd degree felony by even possessing a firearm. He was arrested last Friday and faces 2 - 10 years for the felony charge in addition to the little petty misdemeanor stuff.


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## Bird (May 10, 2005)

bg said:


> An update on the trespasser that I posted the picture, the Game Warden had the guy identified within a couple of days of me calling him. Turned out the guy is on probation for a 2nd DWI and is a convicted felon so in addition to the Class A misdemeanor charge for trespassing with a deadly weapon, he has committed a 3rd degree felony by even possessing a firearm. He was arrested last Friday and faces 2 - 10 years for the felony charge in addition to the little petty misdemeanor stuff.


Cool. Good to hear.


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## Law Dog (Jul 27, 2010)

Glad he was identified and arrested..


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## fouL-n-fin (Jan 16, 2011)

Good stuff! 


F-n-F 

Sent from my stolen iPhone 5!


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## hog_down (Jan 11, 2010)

that's great news!


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