Spypoint Users?

[Ridger]

Hi folks

Looking at getting into the cellular cams and recall some posts a out the Spypoint cameras.

Anyone have any decent feedback or reviews?

Was looking at the Micro line in particular due to cost and low operating cost plans.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

[Normous]

I have two of the Spypoint Miro's in use on and off during bear and deer without issue. For the cost and plans available they are a good value.

[elkaholic]

From what I've read and understand from freinds ,who use them.
It greatly depends on your cell carrier reception, in that area and in the woods.

[Ridger]

That's a great point... probably worth while testing reception with a cell phone prior to purchasing.

The area I would like to use then is thick bush, and would be littered with ticks in the spring. Having something remote without stinking it up walking in to pull cards is what I'm looking for.

Do you find the free plans are useful? Or do you often go over the monthly minimums?

[janesy]

I have three myself, and manage another 6 or 7 for some of my customers.
The thing with spypoint is that you need to keep the batteries up and stay current on the updates. Having good signal is key, but even a weak signal will transmit, it just takes longer. Spypoint piggie backs off any carrier so it doesn't necessarily have to be the one you have your cell with, in fact they are not connected in any way.

Essentially spypoint transmits to its own servers, and you are paying to access their cloud to retrieve a copy of your photos direct to your device. Your pics are always stored in HD on the units SD card

They are not perfect, and do require a bit of maintenance. But they have certainly provided an onsite to activity we would normally miss. If nothing else they sure are entertaining to watch.

[janesy]

That's a great point... probably worth while testing reception with a cell phone prior to purchasing.

The area I would like to use then is thick bush, and would be littered with ticks in the spring. Having something remote without stinking it up walking in to pull cards is what I'm looking for.

Do you find the free plans are useful? Or do you often go over the monthly minimums?

Testing with your phone only works if you have your phone set to bounce on different networks. But it's a good indicator non the less. As you don't know what network the spypoint is operating on at any given time.

They offer an extension cable to get the antenna way up in the trees. But we have also had good luck with simply swapping on a bigger antenna and boosting signal. Also note, it cost battery life for the unit to search for signal constantly.

For deer on a trail the free plan is fine. For deer on a feeder or Bears on a barrel you will want the unlimited plan, and set your transition and follow up shot lower. As you can receive hundreds of shots.

[wheelsquad]

We have 3 in the family. 2 of the 3 work flawlessly. The 3rd just recently started taking foggy pictures, I think it may have got moisture in, which we'll try to dry out.

[janesy]

We have 3 in the family. 2 of the 3 work flawlessly. The 3rd just recently started taking foggy pictures, I think it may have got moisture in, which we'll try to dry out.

Ya thats the down side, they are still plagued by the same old issues every other camera has when left outside.

[Ridger]

I always use the Energizer lithiums in my cams and find they are great in any weather conditions.

I blew through a set recently by accidently adjusting the trigger in a Browning camera, which still provided approx 10,000 photos before they were fully drained. If that helps as a guide anyway.

Any other cell cams with good reviews? The free plan is what attracts me to Spypoint, but if I'm going to blow through batteries then I'll be in the bush anyway to maintain power and might as well pull cards at the same time.

[Boo]

I had 3 until a bear ate one I also use 2 of their modules to turn a regular game cam into a cell cam. The pictures are not high quality but you can order them in HD. I would only go monthly if you are going to watch an area 12 months of the year, otherwise Sept to end of Dec is all I need except on place that I have. I used Energizer Lithiums but I find that I often get a batter that goes open circuit which means removing the battery and finding the offending battery to be replaced. I now use alkaline batteries on all but one and done with Lithiums. That one uses an alarm back up battery hooked up to a small solar panel. That one runs all year. Another one runs all year but uses alkaline and get replaced twice a year.
If I get another it will be another Spy Point Link Micro LTE, its the best bang for your buck. Don't be afraid of the Cell-LInk, it works well!

[amythntr]

.....not meaning to hijack the thread since it is specifically asking about SP.....I just looked up reviews of both the SP and the Cuddeback system that we went with and found the reviews to be about the same.....

....we have 9 Cuddeback's in use upstate.....what we have found to date:

1. Transmission through verizon to my cell is excellent.....109 miles and no issues, part of the property slopes up to the top and they all seem to be transmitting,
2. battery life sucks.....as with the SP, the CB system chews up battery life in about 3-4 weeks and I believe they take either 6 0r 8 DD's,
3. We purchased and installed the solar panel for each set up and that solved the problem,
4. The camera's report back to my phone about 4 times a day,
5. Picture quality on the phone/computer is for me acceptable but is not great.
6. You can only choose between 5 or 20 MP on the image.
7. However, what you get on the phone, camera differs in quality from having the chip in your computer and downloading.
8. The company has some sought of an algorithm which determines what pictures are sent back. However, there is no rhyme or reason as some images contain no deer.
9. Customer Service is great. You can call them and they will help with issues and explain what is causing the issues; including need for firmware update....
10. Every morning I receive an email with all of the information from each camera in one report.
11. Each camera can be set differently and changed from a computer....

All in all I guess we are happy.... Not having to wait in anticipation for what the cards hold is invaluable, especially with the hour and 45 minute drive to get to the property....Within a week of setting up a bear attacked the link unit thinking the transmitting panels were an animal which caused the system to not work....I bought replacements and was up and running again!

One other thing. We utilize the SpyHigh mounting system which allows you to mount your cameras as high as you want (with pole extensions) and have the ability to retrieve, adjust and move the cameras at any time....

I hope what we use helps you compare with any system that you might use or are interested in....

here is a picture!



....just hit my phone.....



....another nighttime image from last night

[OhioXBowhunter]

We have 4 best one is the model with the built in solar panel I’d have to look to see which model it is I’m going to try their cell link for my other cameras but that will probably be next season now. Just check your cell coverage area to see if your covered. I’ve got one property that is in the middle of no where but still am able to get some coverage there.

[Hillcountry]

I got one for Christmas last year and just set it up last week. Took a few days to figure out what I wanted the camera to do but I think I figured it out, kinda.
I put it about a hundred yards from the house thinking it would have a better signal but now I think it can be put further away. As it sits, there is a 25% signal strength (we live in a poor cell service area) we use the house wi-fi so our cellphones work well in the house and close by. They are illegal in my state to “actively” use in the process of hunting so I need to watch that. Overall it is nice to see game instantly but I’m not “sold” on the practicality yet. Time will tell but I don’t think it’s worth paying for the service over the long term, especially as I have used non-cell cams for years and have been happy with them, and the fact that the pics are FREE!

[XB I GO]

Ours is the Micro LTE version. It was working good. We put the 12V battery pack with solar panel on it. It did not last as long as the AA batteries. Spypoint said you have to maintain more than 60% in the 12v or it may not work. Well it has the solar panel, so it should have maintained near 100%, but it didn't. We switched the setting to AA, but it showed 9% charge on those and it won't transmit anything with that low of a charge. The ranch is almost 4 hours way, so we drove there on Tuesday, put new AA's, brought the 12v home to test and charge and made sure it took and transmitted a picture of us before we left. Anyway, the status says 100% battery and 100% signal, yet we have not received a single picture since last Tuesday..... going to call Customer Service and see if they can help.

[OhioXBowhunter]

Ours is the Micro LTE version. It was working good. We put the 12V battery pack with solar panel on it. It did not last as long as the AA batteries. Spypoint said you have to maintain more than 60% in the 12v or it may not work. Well it has the solar panel, so it should have maintained near 100%, but it didn't. We switched the setting to AA, but it showed 9% charge on those and it won't transmit anything with that low of a charge. The ranch is almost 4 hours way, so we drove there on Tuesday, put new AA's, brought the 12v home to test and charge and made sure it took and transmitted a picture of us before we left. Anyway, the status says 100% battery and 100% signal, yet we have not received a single picture since last Tuesday..... going to call Customer Service and see if they can help.

Give them a call we had a similar problem with one of their cameras called CS they sent us a new camera and we returned the broken one. Great CS experience with them. Good luck