Cellular game/security cameras

[RoseHawke]

Anyone have any experience with these? I have a Blink camera in my run, but the run is over 100' from the house and router and connectivity is iffy in that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. It's very bad about "freezing" for instance and losing its live feed. The new coop is going to be even worse as it's at the other end of the run so an additional 20'.

I only recently discovered the existence of cellular type game cams while looking for a solution to this problem and I'm very intrigued. I know there will be a monthly fee involved but what doesn't have one these days?

Being cellular, distance of any sort should not be an issue (unless there's no cell signal of course) which is very attractive.

 

[nanobooboo]

Check out the TactaCam Reveal trail cams series with wi-fi. We have 4 of them, and get notifications whenever photos are taken. You can also set them up to take short videos. If you don't have electricity, I'd consider these cameras. Downside is the power options: 16 Lithium AA batteries (expensive), rechargeable battery packs (so far, so good) and then solar chargers which have lithium batteries inside. If you can use the solar panels, you'll still need to install either the batteries or the rechargeable battery packs in case the solar doesn't get enough sunlight. My hunter friends love the Brownings as well. Check out YouTube videos if that's of interest to your situation.

 

[Sefirothe]

My modem/router is at the front of my house and the chicken coop is in back. I have a WiFi extender plugged into the farthest back outlet in the house to extend the WiFi further out.

Maybe cheaper to look into something like that?

 

[Anon112]

My modem/router is at the front of my house and the chicken coop is in back. I have a WiFi extender plugged into the farthest back outlet in the house to extend the WiFi further out.

Maybe cheaper to look into something like that?

This is what I was going to suggest. My router is actually at the back wall of my house on the same side as my chicken run. I always joke that my chickens get a better wifi signal than I do in my bedroom.

Plugging in a wi-fi extender at the closest possible point to the run is a good idea.

 

[RoseHawke]

I'd rather spend however much it takes on a certainty than any amount on something that might work. I've looked at the options and unfortunately it doesn't look like anything is going to reach 120-130 feet through multiple walls and buildings plus an HC covered pen.

The Blink camera in the run is supposed to have an extended range. It does not, at least not for me.

 

[Anon112]

Is your camera plugged in at your run or are you using batteries?

If you're wireless, you might experiment with moving the camera closer to the house to see at what point it has a consistent signal. If it turns out that you just need 30 more feet of range, then the extender might do the job if you place it strategically.

 

[mowin]

I'll second tacktacam. I've got 10. Few are the original models and they still work. CS is top notch also if needed.
Stay away from stealth cam. Good cams, but if you need CS, good luck. 10 months of calls, emails, and I finally tossed the thing in the trash.