Trail Camera DIY solar panel project

[lotsofshots]

So I know Moultrie now sells a Power Panel with a solar panel and battery built-in. They go for anywhere between $50 - $70. I put mine together for about $35 or so. Plus, why buy when you can build, right?

Here goes...


My camera, the Cabela's/Moultrie 5.0 Outfitter Camera



Here are the supplies needed...(12 v solar panel from Harbor Freight, Size 'Q' plug and extension cable for trail camera from Radio Shack, 12 v rechargable battery from Academy, heat shrink tubing, soldering iron and electrical connectors)










It is critical, of course, to maintain polarity throughout. For the record, the inside of the plug is positive...






Building extension cables from charger to battery and battery to camera plug...








A picture of the entire set-up...




Close-up of the connections at the battery...




The female spade needs to be opened-up a bit...




More to come...installation in the field...

[RaiderCoach]

Thanks for the pointers.

[ttu1997]

great pics this helps a ton, well I am off to the store now!

[Ron]

Pretty cool set up!

[Phi Phi Hunter]

I don't know how much Amps the Moultrie pull, but the Stealth cams suck the life out of the battery I have used. I found the 7.5 AH wouldn't recharge fast enough, I found a store that hase 12V 12AH called Batteries Plus. I haven't tried one yet, but plan to.

[lotsofshots]

Thanks guys. These little projects are a lot of fun. FYI, there was a 20% off coupon in this past Sunday's newspaper.

BTW...click here for Part II of this project.

[jamrice]

Excellent!!!

[dustoffer]

Tip--make one side one color (red = positive) and the other side blue or black. Sure keeps it easy to not switch polarity if the marker marks rub off (or if you are color blind).

[lotsofshots]

Good call dustoffer. I only had red heat shrink tubing, but I suppose 2 different colors of tape would do the job too.

BTW, this set-up has been in the field for almost 2 years now. That Cabelas Moultrie kicked the bucket, but the charger and battery combo is still ticking! I replaced the rubbermaid container (partII of the thread) with a metal box, but all of the components are the same. WELL worth the small initial investment.

[tpcollins]

Does the solar panel have a diode to keep voltage from coming back from the battery?

[Bilbo]

I have an old Stealth cam that uses 8 D cells, but is a good camera. If I did the same thing, what would happen if you used a 6 volt instead of a 12? Neat project, thanks!

[DJames]

Solid work

[OldRiverRat]

i ran out and grabbed the parts from Radio shack at lunch but I checked the Harbor freight site and the solar panels are on sale for $19.99 right now. For $24.99 you can get a wildgame innovations 12v panel at academy but you want have to splice in the connections (they are already there) and it comes with ss conduit over the wire which is pretty nice, and it has a built in diode and a mounting bracket. maybe worth the extra $ to go with it over the harbor freight. http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/st...+panel&Ntk=All

[lotsofshots]

Does the solar panel have a diode to keep voltage from coming back from the battery?
I don't think so. Maybe? Not sure. How's that for clueless? Hahaha Sorry man!

I have an old Stealth cam that uses 8 D cells, but is a good camera. If I did the same thing, what would happen if you used a 6 volt instead of a 12? Neat project, thanks
This solar set-up is now attached to a Stealthcam Rogue and is working great. You'll need 12 volts...each D cell is 1.5 volts, so 8x1.5=12. If that came across smarmy, I didn't mean it to!

Solid work
Thanks!

OldRiverRat-
Sounds like a good option. This is a thread from almost 2 years ago. I think I paid $10 or $15 for the charger. HF has definitely gone up on their prices!

Good luck guys!

[jsmall317]

Man I wish HF had 6v solar panels. I have one right down the street from me but they dont ): I would like to get one for my feeder.