Well I told everybody some time ago I was going to do this project and I'm finally getting around to posting some pics. Since the Wildviews burn through batteries like water, I decided to try for a more cost effective solution. First thing I did was head to Radio Shack to pick up a 2 pack of the male DC connectors (size M, part# 274-1569). I already had some single pair small gauge wire so I was all set and made the solder connection to the connector, then used some rubber shrink tubing to seal up the end and give it a nice look. I also crimped on some spade connectors to fit onto the battery terminals. Next step was to get the battery which I purchased from Interstate. Battery of choice was a 12V (7.2 amp hr) lead acid rechargeable. Final step was to find a box to house it all in. I wound up buying a cheapo Plano tackle box from K-Mart for six bucks and yanked out the shelf inside and painted the outside with duck boat camo paint using a few leaves from the backyard for some 3D effect. I drilled a hole in the back and put in a cord grip for the cable. Finally, I cut several pieces of 1" thick high density foam to fit into the case with a rectangle cut out of each that was the size of the battery. That allowed for a perfect nook for the battery to be housed in both for insulatory purposes and so it wouldn't slide around inside when carrying it. I had it out for 2 weeks in temps that ranged from about low 30's to mid 40's and it was still running strong. In fact, when I brought it home and put it on the trickle charger, it didn't take long AT ALL to come up to full charge so it'll be interesting to see how long it will last. All indications are at this point that it'll be a very respectable amount of time. Anyway, here's the result:








Regards,
JJ

hey, that looks cool. I'm going to do a similar case. One thing though, don't try to bring that sucker on an airplane. it looks like a bomb.

Would this work for a WildView 1 (.3 MP)?

The cam uses 4 "C" batteries. If so, how do you wire it to the camera? The WildView 1 does not have an external battery port.

Thanks,

Brian

_________________
Take your wife hunting, she'll bring in the deer!

I haven't done it but you'd have to drill a hole to get the wires into the battery compartment area and then solder to the existing battery contacts in some fashion. I'm not sure how they're wired so I couldn't give any specifics. I'd imagine you'd also use a 6v rechargeable in that case. For some reason, in the newer Wildviews (2/3) they upped the voltage to 12v for the external jack even though they use the same 4 "C" batteries for internal use which is 6v.

I'm finally getting a chance to test the battery life of said unit. I put it out for the duration on 7/19 which is the better part of two weeks now. After one week, the battery was at theoretical full charge. I'll check it again at the two week mark (another couple days) and at continuing one week intervals until the cam is powered down altogether. HOPEFULLY it'll be a few weeks or more before my next post. And with any luck, I'll be able to include a pic or two.

Iowabowtech

At two weeks, battery was still at full charge. I was having a lack of pics though for such a highly populated area and overlooking a mineral lick. It's been bone dry but now we're getting some rain so I added some more supplement and hopefully the pic count will rise to get a good indication of battery life with a decent amount of flash events. The pics were about 50/50 night to day shots. Current pic count at two weeks is only 35. I fear the slower trigger is a factor in the lower numbers. Next update will be another two weeks. I'm going to stay out of there for awhile and with no appreciable battery drain at this time, I feel confident it's going to be running when I get there.

Well, after several weeks in the field the battery has finally drained to the point that the cam is inoperable. I also dressed up my lick right after the last post which really boosted my pic count to much higher numbers. The voltage on the battery was 5 VDC and it was tired. Looks like this setup is good for somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 weeks and several hundred pics. I lost count but am estimating about 400 pictures of which about 50% were using the flash. All in all, this is a very acceptable time frame and I doubt I'll go ahead with trying a solar charger although if I get bored someday, I might give it another thought. Time to get it charged up and back in the field. Hope this was of some value to somebody out there.

jjiowa

What was the total cost of this project???

A 12 volt SLA battery is considered completely discharged at 10.8 volts. Allowing the battery to discharge to 5 volts will greatly reduce the life of the battery.

Rachunter,
It's been awhile but the cost of the setup was approx:

Tackle box - $7
Pair of connectors - $3
Wire - Already had it
Foam - Already had it
Cord grip - $2
Battery - $22

So total cost was around $35 but I get an hefty employee discount on batteries so a similar battery would cost more. According to the Interstate website, it lists at $33. That's why I use them till they can't run anymore. The cost of gas exceeds the eventual cost of a new battery as far as I'm concerned. Plus I like to stay out of an area as long as possible.

Does anyone know how to make this mod to a plain old cheap wildview? It's a decent cam for a feeder or something like that, it just eats batteries too fast. Thanks for any help

I might have to Try this, with the Wild View scouting cam, I borrowed. Have to return to Owner, His gripe is the Battery only lasting about 100 photo's then dead.

Not sure on the Pixel rating. No external Jacks for it. Just it does take 4 C batteries. eats them fast. Would be nice to Mod this one for a external power source.

Thoughts?. Or just Leave it as a Decoy cam?.

_________________
Never Give up the High Ground!
" I40, SG550 & Moultrie 3.1 "
" Team Trail Cam "
- "UVA UVAM VIVENDO VARIA FIT! "

Add 6V SLA power to this unit shouldn't be too tough. Just find a spot in the bottom of the cam where you can drill a hole for a pair of wires to enter. Then solder the to the battery connectors at each end Pos to pos and neg to neg as it relates to the battery pack contacts that you make.(in your picture POS would be upper left and NEG would be upper Right) Now you can pickup 6V SLA's from a number of sources but this is one I buy from all the time. You can get 1 or 2 or even 3 of these and wire them in parallel. . pos to pos and neg to neg to make for a full 6V battery pack. Then continue that wiring to the camera as stated above. House the batts in any kind of waterproof or resistent container. . Doesn't have to be expensive but something that will keep rainwater out from the top. There are cheap Rubbermain products at your local Lowe's or Menard's that will work just fine.

http://www.batterymart.com/p-6v-4_5ah-sealed-lead-acid-battery.html

There are all sizes of batteries and you can make your own choices from that site. Just solder on some spade connectors to your wires and you should be in business. I have use this method plenty on all kinds of cameras so this should get this one going for you.

Papabob THANK YOU!!..

I will speak with buddy, and see if he wants to Mod's this unit & boast the power.

Quesiton: 4 Cells's.. = 6 Volts. So, I just need to make sure not to exceed that when using two 6 volts? in series.

Hate smoke Or POOF's.

_________________
Never Give up the High Ground!
" I40, SG550 & Moultrie 3.1 "
" Team Trail Cam "
- "UVA UVAM VIVENDO VARIA FIT! "

The unit uses 4 C's in SERIES(pos to neg to pos to neg etc. ) which adds the voltage of each cell but keeps the mAh's the same. So, that would be 6V's required but the mAh's can be larger by using the bigger cells.

This can be 4 - D's or 2 sets of 4 - D's wired in PARALLEL(pos to pos and neg to neg). Whenever you are adding an aux. power supply you must maintain the same voltage. Create a 6v pkg. or buy a 6v pkg and wire pos to pos and neg to neg. The aux. power supply can have any number of 6v pkgs. all wired in PARALLEL.

I have a CellularEye unit from Pix that I setup in S. Illinois in early Oct. and wire a box like the one above using 4 12V 8Ah batteries all wired in parallel and connected to the CellularEye with a thru the wall plug that ultimately connects to the internal battery pos to pos and neg to neg(PARALLEL). This unit sends me pics via email for 6 weeks without a hitch back here in Michigan. It is almost like hunting from my computer desk . . . Just love it.

Good luck.