1st time user/Scoutguard

sixgunluv · **Joined:** Thu May 14, 2009 12:41 am **Posts:** 14

Hey all,
I recently lost 2 Bushnell 9204's that I had wired to an external 6v 12ah. Seems like a moisture issue...I didn't keep the little moisture absorbing packet that the cam came with..probably all my fault... :shock:

Anywho... the good news is I now have an excuse to upgrade and just ordered a SG550. I was wondering what kind of battery life can I expect with 8AA's and an external 6v 12ah plugged in. It will be setup over trails and hot spots...not big food plots that produce large volumes of pictures. I was getting 6-8 weeks with the 9204's.

Anthony · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:56 am

You should get at least that but I am surprised you went for the 550 rather than the 560.

Bluesman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 7:06 am

I can understand going with the 550 over the 560.The 550 has been field tested for two years and the 560 is still having problems. :mrgreen:

However when the bugs are worked out of the 560 it will outshine the 550 I think.David

slay · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:36 am

No lie, my SG550's set on 2 pics every 10 seconds average about 6-7 months on a set of AA batteries.
I generally only get 30-40 pics a week as I only place them on trails, so the battery drain is pretty small.
If the winters didnt get so cold here, I am sure they would last a few months longer.

I dunno about video mode. It depends on the length of the video, the number of triggers, and whether they are taken at night.

sixgunluv · **Joined:** Thu May 14, 2009 12:41 am **Posts:** 14

Anthony wrote:

You should get at least that but I am surprised you went for the 550 rather than the 560.

Actually I don't know much about either....like I said 1st time user. It was a tough decision over the Cuddeback Capture as I really like detailed pics which from what I read I'm more likely to get from an incandescent flash. I was however very tired of short battery life. So maybe i'll get a flash camera later.

sixgunluv · **Joined:** Thu May 14, 2009 12:41 am **Posts:** 14

slay wrote:

No lie, my SG550's set on 2 pics every 10 seconds average about 6-7 months on a set of AA batteries.
I generally only get 30-40 pics a week as I only place them on trails, so the battery drain is pretty small.
If the winters didnt get so cold here, I am sure they would last a few months longer.

I dunno about video mode. It depends on the length of the video, the number of triggers, and whether they are taken at night.

6-7 months :shock:

That's what i'm talking about. Is that with a 6v external or just the 8AA's? You can use both together right?

slay · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:13 pm

AA energizers. I dont use an external battery.
In reality, I only had one cam die after leaving it out till the end of January.
I pulled the other 3 in in December and just chucked the batteries away.
I figured I could spare new batteries when I started using them in the spring.
Like I said, I dont use a feeder , only trails and crossings, so I dont get hundreds of pics of the same animal.
I use my Reconyx's for that...LOL

I am also using them in video mode this year, so I am sure something will happen eventually. I am using Rayovacs now. Much cheaper and so far no problems with the IR flash diminishing. 3 months and lots of 20 second videos (averaging 40 vids a week) mostly at night. That says a lot about the SG550's performance I think.

I'm also testing one cam with Lithiums. I hope to have it out for over a year or more.
You shouldnt be dissapointed.

Good luck!

slay · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:18 pm

P.S.
I dunno if you can use an external battery and AA's at the same time.
Someone else will have to help you with that one.
Honestly, I dont see the advantage in an external on the SG550 myself, unless you wanna go all video. Too much luggage to carry around...lol

Beware racoons. They sure can fill up an SD card quick on video mode.

Bluesman · **Posted:** Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:52 pm

I have been averaging 100 videos(10second) a day with one of my Scoutguard 550's.Just got into the video part this year.I am sure they will suck a lot more juice than the pics did.Last year I was averaging 8 to 11 months with a set of 8X Lithium batteries.3 pics with a minute delay.Even with rechargeables I get a couple months to a set.
Just had one of my 550's start draining a set of batteries to 40 videos.Well the first set of lithiums I got 0 videos and it was dead when I checked it.So I tried it with a set of rechargeables.I was going to return it to be fixed(2 years old) but decided to try a 6 volt external with it set back to 3 pics a minute and see what happens.Then I will decide if I am gonna get it repaired or just keep it for parts.
I am almost sure that I read somewhere on here NOT to run an External with the AA's. I could be wrong and I ain't gonna take a chance of frying one. :mrgreen:

David

sixgunluv · **Joined:** Thu May 14, 2009 12:41 am **Posts:** 14

Bluesman wrote:

I am almost sure that I read somewhere on here NOT to run an External with the AA's. I could be wrong and I ain't gonna take a chance of frying one. :mrgreen:

David

Hmm, I got this from the manual..

2.2 Connecting External Power
Alternatively you can connect an external 6 V DC power source to the camera if no batteries are
aavailable. It is recommended to use a power source with a current capability bigger than 1000 mA.
However, under sufficient daylight, the camera can work under much less current (> 400 mA). Please
use the power cable (supplied with the camera) to connect the external DC power. If external power
and batteries are both connected, the camera will be powered by the external power. The low-battery
indicator (blue LED) will light up when the power is low. This is the time to change the batteries.

Bluesman · **Posted:** Thu Aug 26, 2010 7:25 am

Yes I read that too.But it could be a misprint like the line above it that said be sure to use the cable supplied with the camera.There was none supplied. :mrgreen:

And it may have been another brand of camera that was decided not to use both.I would never chance it.Nothing hurts more than frying a cam.David

sixgunluv · **Joined:** Thu May 14, 2009 12:41 am **Posts:** 14

Bluesman wrote:

Nothing hurts more than frying a cam.David

Yeah I guess your right, I need to get another cheap cam to power with my externals..

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