Do you think if I wired three truck-batteries in parallel...

[AJMD429]

...that I could keep MY STUPID 'TRAIL-CAM' POWERED UP FOR SOMETHING APPROACHING 24-48 HOURS...???

We have a pile of deer-carcasses and tons of local coyotes, but every time I put out the trail-cam for the night, even with six brand-new C-cells, by the next day it is 'dead'. I've not had any better luck with different brands, so I presume it is just unrealistic to expect 'dry-cell' batteries to function when the temperature is near-zero.

I'm seriously tempted to make myself a 'power-pack' using a few truck batteries; this is ridiculous.

[Bridger]

Random thought, but what about those batteries that are used with fire sprinkler systems. Nowhere near as big as a truck battery, but probably has more umph than regular batteries?

[FWiedner]

You're a smart guy, Doc.

Aren't you a little suspicious that there's something wrong with that trail cam to be drainin' batteries
that fast?

[Nate Kiowa Jones]

...that I could keep MY STUPID 'TRAIL-CAM' POWERED UP FOR SOMETHING APPROACHING 24-48 HOURS...???

We have a pile of deer-carcasses and tons of local coyotes, but every time I put out the trail-cam for the night, even with six brand-new C-cells, by the next day it is 'dead'. I've not had any better luck with different brands, so I presume it is just unrealistic to expect 'dry-cell' batteries to function when the temperature is near-zero.

I'm seriously tempted to make myself a 'power-pack' using a few truck batteries; this is ridiculous.

Does it have a 12 VDC input?

The trail cam i use eats "C" batteries too. But it has a 12v input. So, I bought a cheap lawn mower Battery from Wal Mart ($20), A cheap soft side 6 pac cooler ($5) to put it in and this solar charger from Harbor Freight.

1.5 Watt Solar Battery Charger

[vancelw]

Fire sprinklers don't use batteries unless you mean the alarm system. Those are usually 12v but vary in mAH.
Doc, if you're using 6 C-cells in series that should be 9 volts. Check to make sure your camera can take 12v before hooking up to it without a step-down transformer (which will reduce efficiency). A low-end car battery might be more economical than using several of the smaller gel-acid batteries. If you do decide to try those, Lowe's and Home Depot are often the most economical places to buy them. Look in the garage door, electric fence, and lighting aisles.

[Blaine]

It's the trail cam.....Trust me.

[Bridger]

Fire sprinklers don't use batteries unless you mean the alarm system. Those are usually 12v but vary in mAH.
Doc, if you're using 6 C-cells in series that should be 9 volts. Check to make sure your camera can take 12v before hooking up to it without a step-down transformer (which will reduce efficiency). A low-end car battery might be more economical than using several of the smaller gel-acid batteries. If you do decide to try those, Lowe's and Home Depot are often the most economical places to buy them. Look in the garage door, electric fence, and lighting aisles.

Yup. Poor terminology. Sorry bout that.

[El Chivo]

you might try All Electronics (they are on the web I believe) for this type of supplies. I think their small lead acid batteries would work. I use one every night for my bike light and recharge it every day. It lasts about a year like that. They are available in 6 volt and 12 volt. I also bought the small unit that reduces 12 volt to just about any other common voltage. I used one for my thirsty Kodak digital camera and it lasted quite a long time. Currently I have the 12 volt version in the car powering my tail lights that shorted out. 1001 uses.

[madman4570]

Its you game cam.

Your a Doctor for Ch#is# sake come on go get yourself a decent cam.

OK, I can leave min out months and they work.
Here is what you need, I have two.

They are stealth, they have the LCD to view at site, they have SOUND, they don't leak and last!
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/9 ... amera.html

All kidding aside Doc, I have had extremely good luck with Moultrie.
My 3 year old Moultrie MFH-DGS-C50BLX if you can still get one, amazing too.

Another option on the cheap
If you can live with day time shots only you can get on sale the Primos DPS Plot cams.
They work from dawn to dusk and the battery typically for me lasts about 10-14 days.
Then come back and you can watch whole days events in 3 mins.

They work good for viewing large area and the pics can be viewed with field movement and zoom.

Sportsman's Guide has them on sale sometimes for $39

I set mine to Pic every 15sec but can go as low as every 5 seconds.
These cams are tiny, camo, and for watching your home during daylight hours you can see anything within eyesight.
No trigger required. say you have contractors working on your home etc. Every time they pass gas you will see the pants move.

Even though my burg system monitors home and area those DPS units are extremely cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=er-b3w127Ts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jvPKtjyfR4


Here is how big it looks. You can put a piece of camo duct tape over the red flash indicator on the upper right and nothing will glow.
Also stick a piece of camo duct tape down the black middle stripe.
Stick it somewhere and no one will even know!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9th7VAVcbI

[Old Ironsights]

If the Camera is IR, then there are 2 probable causes:

1: The Photosensor is blocked causing the IR emitter to run 24/7.
2: The flip-flop between the Photosensor & the IR emitter is stuck in the "on" (usually "high" or + voltage) position.

The first one you can fix with a tissue or re-positioning of the photosensor.

The second is a terminal failure requiring a mainboard re-work.

[Pete44ru]

.

Don't forget to camo the truck batteries to match the trail cam.........



.

[LeverDud]

Lithium AA batteries and a trail cam that boasts of good battery life:

http://www.energizer.com/batteries/perf ... es/aa.aspx

http://browningtrailcameras.com/our-pro ... ps-series/

The higher end Moultrie units are nice as well (that's what I use). No lithium C cells that I know of, so you're going to need to do something like the above for low temps if you want to keep it simple.

[AJMD429]

Thanks for all the advice.

I actually think it isn't the camera, as I've tried several with similar results. May be the extreme cold, or all three cameras (all were mid price ones).

Yeah I know about it only being 9v for 6 C-cells. Maybe I could run a little heater in series to keep the trail can warm and happy . Wasn't entirely serious about the truck battery thing, but I could rig up a voltage regulating chip for the job; shouldn't need a heatsink to keep it cool...!

[madman4570]

Thanks for all the advice.

I actually think it isn't the camera, as I've tried several with similar results. May be the extreme cold, or all three cameras (all were mid price ones).

Yeah I know about it only being 9v for 6 C-cells. Maybe I could run a little heater in series to keep the trail can warm and happy . Wasn't entirely serious about the truck battery thing, but I could rig up a voltage regulating chip for the job; shouldn't need a heatsink to keep it cool...!

http://www.amazon.com/Primos-Steroid-Tr ... B004WIU380

http://www.amazon.com/Primos-Blackout-C ... +35+camera