Moultrie cellcam ?s

[HatchieLuvr]

Ok I'm old and hate change, but yesterday I broke down and bought 4 of the Moultrie XV-6000 cell cam thingys! :D Got them home, put batteries in 3 of them, they all came on properly and lights did as the books said. Gotta get more batteries to fill the 4th one. I've used cams since even back before the days of digital cams (talk about patience, had to send off the film to get processed!) But this is my first foray into cell cams. Couple ???s if the court don't mind?

Noticed the "Use Moultrie or Energizer Alkaline or Lithium Batteries. Lithium batteries perform better in cold temperatures. Never use rechargable batteries, off-brand batteries or batteries labeled "long lasting". For the last decade + I've bought the 60pk of AA Rayovac "Long Lasting" batteries at Home Depot and they've worked perfectly in every camera I've had. In fact I'd say they were flawless. Is this "warning" in the new Moultrie's just a deal they have with Energizer (who I'd assume also makes their Moultrie brand of batteries?) or is there something these cellcams do to batteries that is a no-no with regular "long lasting" alkalines???

And on the subject of batteries, assuming these Rayovac's are ok, is there any guestimate as to how long a set (12) should last in these cams? The previous cams I used typically went a full season on a set, sometimes longer. If they last a month in these cell cams I'll be tickled!


I have 3 specific spots I'm going to put a cellcam and the 4th will serve as "rover" along with a couple of other standard cams. So I think I'm going to go ahead and get the "Pro-Unlimited Pics Pkg" from Moultrie. I got online and registered the cams for the extra 1 more year of warranty they offered via online registration. But I didn't yet format the cams or order the pics pkg with Moultrie. Do I need all 4 powered up, disc installed & ready to go before I call and setup a pic account with Moultrie?

Thanks for the newb help. I'm a little intimidated by electronics at first but I'm a fast learner. (Got 3 kids in college so they usually help "dear ol dad" with things electronic) Going to be NICE not having to slog through the Hatchie bottom swamp everytime I want to check my pics! :party:

 

[JCDEERMAN]

Batteries and cameras can have weird relationships. I have never had much luck with the cheap rayovacs. Some of my cameras use nothing but lithiums. I know one member here that has had three of his cuddeback cameras blow up and melt from using the good AA duracells from costco/sams. I would just put what they recommend.

If I could afford energizer lithiums in all my cams, I would. Just bought a 48 pack off amazon - best deal I could find at $1.22 a battery. Most sets last atleast a year in a camera

 

[HatchieLuvr]

OK you talked me into it! :D I just ran to my local HD and bought 12 packs of the Energizer Ultimate Lithium ($15ea, not nearly as bad as I assumed they were.) and now all 4 cams have them in them. If those batts will properly power the cams for an entire season, then I'll consider them worth the cost. I put discs in them, formatted them and now all the lights "indicate a go". I'm going to "TRY" and get on Moultrie's site and purchase the Pro Pkg. If I can get that, install the app on my phone (I'll have my kids do that, I abhor downloading anymore apps on my phone but it's a necessary evil I suppose.)

Thanks for the help, like I said, I'm just leery of my taking on "new tech" but once I use it a time or two and get used to it then it usually becomes old hat for me. 30 years ago I only wanted the old "red flasher" depthfinders on my fishn boats. Today my troller is remote controlled, linked into my side imaging units, even self deploys and I wouldn't go without all that crapola these days. Who says ya cant teach and old dog new tricks? :P

 

[JCDEERMAN]

:super:

Good luck with them!

 

[Antler Daddy]

I would think that you will want this ap on your phone.

 

[HatchieLuvr]

WOW do they need help in website design and customer service philosophy at Moultrie! Unless you are under 40yrs old and/or work with NASA, Microsoft or IBM I doubt you would have much chance of getting an account opened and having your cams registered on their site! There is no direct number to call a live, breathing person. You might can get a "live chat", I finally got a fellow named Brandon via live chat. Let me interrupt here and ask, if you are going to put someone on a computer to "live chat" isn't just as expensive and less consumer friendly than if you had just had that person take a phone call for the same reasons? Anyway, Brandon helped me with several steps UNTIL it became time to get an account, pay and actually begin the process of me becoming "a paying customer". Their website messed up and Brandon had someone call me ASAP!

Joe answered the phone, answered my ???s, got me hooked up, got my cams registered to my account, took my money for the 12mth unlimited/4cam choice and now life is rosey. I like Joe, Joe admitted they have a "new system" and that said system is still getting the bugs worked out. I HATE "new systems" that piss customers off and interfere & even discourage customers that want to spend $$$. I've never allowed that in my businesses and don't appreciate the same at places I spend money with. BUT I realize that is "the way of the world" now days. PRADCO owns Moultrie so I'm sure they are like anyother huge mega-conglomerate and the bean counters and top brass are so far removed from cash wielding customers that they have NO idea what kinds of BS their policies make their customers AND employees have to deal with!

Suffice to say, if you buy a few cams, want to get them under one account and want to pay it all at once and pretty much make it "plug & play" then you likely WONT be able to do it via their own site! Just prepare to test your patience and pray that you can get "Joe" on the line to help you on the path...

 

[JBell]

They just started this "pro package" and the rest of their plans a month ago. I can tell you as a guy who has ran moultri for 2-3 years, what they are saving you now is well worth the headache. Used to be $20/cam with them. Enjoy them. They are a really good cam and the lithium's are worth the price in cell cams. It a lot better checking cams from the couch

 

[HatchieLuvr]

They just started this "pro package" and the rest of their plans a month ago. I can tell you as a guy who has ran moultri for 2-3 years, what they are saving you now is well worth the headache. Used to be $20/cam with them. Enjoy them. They are a really good cam and the lithium's are worth the price in cell cams. It a lot better checking cams from the couch

Glad to hear you like them JB! :tu:

But CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? So this afternoon I went out and put two of my new cellcams out, checked them and they even sent pics of my pickup as I drove by them a few minutes later to verify they were working. :tu: Got home, had a group of jakes and gobblers walk by one came. :tu: Then a big gobbler strolled right past the other cam. :tu: Then at about 8pm I got a "black & white" pic as the sun was going down. Nothing apparent triggered it but could've been anything from a bird, large bug, "on the fly" critter etc... no problem I thought. I was getting excited about frequently checking my cams this "first night with them" until bedtime tonight... then pulled them up at 9:02 and a disclaimer/warning popped up, "Scheduled Maintenance: Activations and plan changes will be unavailable Saturday August 8th from 9-11 CST. No further action is required from you during this time." :livid:

WOW my luck with this outfit so far! :bash: :roll: