Permanent Trail Cam Power

[IkemanTX]

I blew out my ankle this year just before my season started and haven’t been able to swap batteries or pull cards on any cameras.

Most cameras will be dead (or memory cards full) by now, as i run video mode on everything and the batteries have been running since may.

Losing a hunting season sucks, but what is really eating me up is losing an entire year worth of intel from not being able to do my early season battery/card swap…. So since i’ve been stuck at home for weeks I decided to work on fixing the problem.

I found a video on YouTube last year from “The Handy Hunter” where he put together a small diy solar battery. The battery he uses for that build is no longer available, so my son and i soldered one up ourselves out of 3,000mah rechargeable AA batteries.


Then, we assembled the solar panel / battery according to his video (soldering and shrink tubing instead of wire nuts).


Most of my brownings will accept EXTREMELY large SD card sizes, so with these panels / batteries supplying permanent power i should be able to get videos for a full year without fail when paired with a 256 gig card. (Assuming the camera isn’t on a high traffic spot like a feeder) in picture mode with a memory card that big, this thing could probably run continuously for a couple of years before filling the card.

The 12v regulators i picked up are running a little lower than 12v, but the camera still runs just fine off of it. But, i wish i had tested that part before soldering and assembling.



I only run 2 cameras on private land, though, and this setup is definitely not something i want to have on public land. Theres too much money and time invested in it, and i think you would be able to spot it from a mile away regardless of how good a sponge paint job is. So, i plan to do some 12v lithium battery packs that i can charge at home and just hang behind the camera.

For those, i am planning on using 4 lifepo4 32650 cells in series, shrink wrapped with a 12v plug and balance leads protruding from the pack. I would only have about $15 invested in each pack aside from buying a compatible charger, and it would be smaller than the camera in size. The cells i have found are 6,000mah, so that would be about double the life of a full set of lithiums. So, including the set of batteries in the camera, that would be 3 sets of battery worth of life at each camera.

I’ll try to update here when i get the battery only packs built.


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[Gunnyart]

That ought'a work. Looks good.
...time to make some banana bread

[Pedernal]

Good looking build. I would not worry as to whether the total voltage is over 12 volts… if you load the camera with lithium ion energizers and check the total output of the battery pack it would be higher than 13 volts. Rated at 1.5 volts but really putting put 1.7 x 8 batteries in series produces closer to or approximately 13.6 volts.

[IkemanTX]

Good looking build. I would not worry as to whether the total voltage is over 12 volts… if you load the camera with lithium ion energizers and check the total output of the battery pack it would be higher than 13 volts. Rated at 1.5 volts but really putting put 1.7 x 8 batteries in series produces closer to or approximately 13.6 volts.

The regulator is more so that the solar panel doesn’t fry the camera when in full sun. I know some of the cheaper solar panels can run way over on voltage in full sun days.


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[Pedernal]

The regulator is more so that the solar panel doesn’t fry the camera when in full sun. I know some of the cheaper solar panels can run way over on voltage in full sun days.


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My bad I miss read your original post as stating the voltage was over 12 volts and not under. And yes I concur the regulator should both keep voltages to levels that won’t harm the cam as well as cut of charging to the batteries once they are at full charge.

[Aggies96]

Just curious why a conventional rechargeable 12V battery with a solar panel wouldn't work? I've packaged that up in a small plastic ammo case and attached to my camera post off the ground with good success in the past. I just use rechargeable AA batteries in them now since I'm able to check cameras every 2-3 weeks. I definitely like the size of your arrangement better.

[IkemanTX]

Permanent Trail Cam Power

Just curious why a conventional rechargeable 12V battery with a solar panel wouldn't work? I've packaged that up in a small plastic ammo case and attached to my camera post off the ground with good success in the past. I just use rechargeable AA batteries in them now since I'm able to check cameras every 2-3 weeks. I definitely like the size of your arrangement better.

The size, mostly. This area has some seasonal flooding, so i wanted the battery mounted up where the camera is as opposed to on the ground.

Also, i was hoping to get the package small enough to work on public land as well. I don’t think this fits that bill yet, but I still may try a round 2 if i can find a smaller solar panel to do it with.

Also, i was looking for a soldering project to do with my sone to give us some practice for future projects.

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[IkemanTX]

Permanent Trail Cam Power

Okay… i cant decide if i am going to do a public land sized version of this instead of just the battery packs. I found a really small 1.5 watt 12 volt solar panel that would work.


I modeled up a box that i could get my brother to 3D print to house everything if i go the solar route on the smaller pack. Total size would be 4” X 5” X 2.5”. I would need to add a couple holes for wiring to enter/exit, but i would wait until i had a better idea of how it would all lay out. With full sun, it should charge the battery (from dead) in 26 hours. The panel itself is rated pretty well for lower light performance as well too. Considering that a full set of batteries would last a few months minimum, i think i could reasonably get 26 hours worth of sunlight a month on the panel… might be worth my time, and could be a good project to occupy my mind.

Edit: i could reduce the thickness some on that box by running 1/8 inch walls instead of 1/4 inch (which is overkill) and running the batteries diagonally in the pack instead of side by side. I might could get it down to 2” thickness.




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[IkemanTX]

Permanent Trail Cam Power

So, i have iterated a little further along on the Gen 2 solar battery path…

I resized the box after i modeled up a 10 cell AA pack for size reference and settled on a specific solar panel. I modeled 2 holes for some waterproof 5.5mm socket connectors. One of them is labeled “Test”, and it will be connected directly to the battery circuit. The other is labeled 12V and it will be the power out to the camera that is viltage regulated to 12V. The letters are embossed out from the side of the box, so even after i sponge paint everything, they will be visible. I also decided that a simple lag screw would be a good mounting method for something this small, so i put a hole opposite the battery for a 1/4” stainless lag bolt and reinforced it with some added thickness. I have reduced the size and shape of the added thickness since this screenshot to save on print time and filament. I looked up the dimensions on the head and recessed a cavity for it so when i epoxy the bolt in, the head acts as part of the box as a whole… that way, you just screw the box itself to install onto the tree.

Total size of the box and panel will be 5” X 4” X 1.6”






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[jb5001]

Very nice work. Where are you getting the 12v connecters to plug into the camera?

[IkemanTX]

Very nice work. Where are you getting the 12v connecters to plug into the camera?

Amazon has a bunch to choose from.
In the original project, i cut one end off and soldered it onto the 12V regulator. On the “Gen 2” version, there will be a female socket soldered into that spot, so i will use a male/male cord for that purpose.


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[jimmyneutrontx]

following

[IkemanTX]

I woke up early this morning and checked the webcam my brother has on his printer…. I see my box!!




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[IkemanTX]

A little bit of warping in the print, but the box looks to still be useable. My brother thinks he didnt get the best bed adhesion. The garage that his printer is in isn’t heated, and they had a pretty hard temp drop last night about the time the print was started. I don’t think he will be doing another print of it until after the holidays, because he is moving in a few weeks. But, this should still definitely work for prototyping. He ran the layers larger than normal to shorten the print time on this one, (9 hours as opposed to 12.5) and that might have caused the warping.
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[IkemanTX]

Try number 2. It sure is nice that my brother has a live stream camera on his printer so i can watch.


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