[csb]

Is anyone running that CuddeLink system. If so hows it running and how is the reception? They claim in the woods its good for 1/4---1/2 a mile?

[snakelk]

I'm curious about this as well, however it seems like Cuddeback is shooting itself in the foot by discouraging unbiased reviews. How they can stay in business with a model like that is beyond me.

[Anthony]

A peer to peer network is what BuckEyeCam has had for all these years. Our first BuckEyecam system was a cool peer to peer like cuddeback. so no its not a new concept.

At Shot show I asked them for info on how far I could get my cameras from the cell base station. The guy told me "miles". I asked how so...

He says each camera can talk say 1/4 mile to the next camera (In a wide open desert - injected by me) and that several cameras would allow you to get this distance away from the base station.

So I said ok, suppose i have 1 cell base and 5 cameras out in a line some distance away. I then asked what happens if the batteries on camera #2 (next to base station) go dead.

I got a mouth opened look of "oh s**t". I politely recommended to the sales guy that this was a poor strategy to promote as it was subject to the Christmas light bulb issue. I said that a star topology was likely the way to recommend their set up to buyers.

He quickly moved on to another "customer" leaving me standing there.

[snakelk]

Thanks for the insight Anthony. I doubt this would work in the area I'd like to be able to retrieve cell images since it's not flat and open, but rather wooded and hilly (elevation difference of 2000 -2500 feet from ridges to creek bottoms).

I'm still not impressed with Cuddeback based on what I've heard from you and others!

[Anthony]

The issues we discovered with the BuckEyecam peer to peer were mainly created from the density of trees and the hilly terrain. the network is a line of sight and specs on this technology is always based on a flat desert environment, very theoretical.

In reality it never works quite like the ideal. I too thought I wanted this technology but now I am happy with the KISS principle. A turnkey, cellular, non-peer to peer design, enhances wireless success and greatly simplifies set up and problems over all.

[csb]

I don't care how you Candy Coat it, when the word gets out on the Trail Cam Forums as to how the set-up works , thats it. I just wonder how many guys jumped in and did like a 7 cam set-up? You'd have some $$$$$$ invested!!!

[Anthony]

and ... as the cost of data goes down and down over time and cellular gets faster and faster, a buyer should prefer that each camera be cellular connected giving it abundant bandwidth, simpler set up, while avoiding those peer-to-peer issues.

5G technology is already on the radar.

Ridgetec is preparing to test a 5G cellular module this fall, although there isn't much you can do with it right now as far as 5G goes, the good news is that the manufacturer we use for cellular module is making the 5G units also support 2g, 3g, and 4g LTE. In the USA we will want 4G LTE fallback, as 5G towers go up.

I have no clue as to when 5G would be an advantage to camera buyers. I suspect a few years from now. LTE is going to be the focus for a while I believe especially in rural areas. 5G will likely gain a foothold in cities to begin with.

Although a trail camera probably doesn't need the ultra high sustained speeds that 5G can offer, I see a main benefit of increased speeds translate into better battery life. The faster the camera can get on the internet, upload a photo/video then go back to sleep, the better the battery life will be.

[FredG]

There is a 2 year running thread (about 100 pages long) at Habit Talk Forum on the Cuddelink system with lots of good info (some straight from the horse's mouth, or butt, depending upon your view of Mark Cuddeback), praising, bitching, crying, etc, etc. If you have 4 or 5 days to read it top to bottom you might come away with a basic understanding of the system. http://habitat-talk.com/index.php?threa ... link.7859/
I've been using the system for a year or so and like it, as many others do, but there are also plenty of folks who are not so favorably inclined.