03-09-2013, 06:05 AM
quote:
Originally posted by Hunt Stoddard
Awesome story, terracore. One day I'll have to share mine, but it's not quite as dramatic. Especially interesting how you had to put your life in overdrive and got here 13 years early. That has always been my theory: that if we are pressed to do something, it's amazing how fast things can change. The solar game camera thing is also clever. How reliable are they? So it's basically a solar panel connected to a digital camera connected to a cell phone?
This is the product that we bought: http://oldboysoutdoors.com/
Ours was an earlier (inferior) model but the basic concept is the same. As far as reliability goes, it worked every day that it needed to. We did stop getting pictures for a few weeks and just when we gave up hope we started getting the pix again. Later on when I reviewed the images on the camera the pics were all there so I am left to wonder if it was an AT&T issue.
Our camera used an AT&T "Go Phone" SIM card so there was no monthly bill. We pre-paid the text messages at $4.99 a month so it was affordable to operate. The solar panel (a $49.99 accessory item) contains a fancy rechargable battery so it actually powered the unit day and night. And the camera had it's own batteries should the sunlight be insufficient- though the onboard batteries always reported full charge (the pictures it sends also reports the battery level).
Forgot to mention- they have a dealer in Hilo. Or at least they did.