Cuddeback CuddeLink User manual

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Operang Manual
Version1.0.0
AnonlinemanualisavailableatCuddeLink.com.We
recommendyoudownloadandreadthatmanualinstead
ofthisone.Itismoredetailedandmorecurrentthan
thismanual.
2

FCC Noce
ThisdevicecomplieswithPart15oftheFCCRules.
Operaonissubjecttothefollowingtwocondions:(1)
thisdevicemaynotcauseharmfulinterference,and(2)
thisdevicemustacceptanyinterferencereceived,
includinginterferencethatmaycauseundesired
operaon.
changesormodificaonsnotexpresslyapprovedbythe
partyresponsibleforcompliancecouldvoidtheuser’s
authoritytooperatetheequipment.
PleasenocethatiftheFCCidenficaonnumberis
notvisiblewhenthemoduleisinstalledinsideanother
device,thentheoutsideofthedeviceintowhichthe
moduleisinstalledmustalsodisplayalabelreferringto
theenclosedmodule.Thisexteriorlabelcanuse
wordingsuchasthefollowing:“ContainsFCCID:2AJYQ
‐17R1‐0915M‐02”anysimilarwordingthatexpresses
thesamemeaningmaybeused.
ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCCradiaonexposure
limitssetforthforanuncontrolledenvironment.This
equipmentshouldbeinstalledandoperatedwitha
minimumdistanceof20cmbetweentheradiator&
yourbody.Thistransmiermustnotbeco‐locatedor
operanginconjunconwithanyotherantennaor
transmier.
ThemoduleislimitedtoOEMinstallaonONLY.
TheOEMintegratorisresponsibleforensuringthatthe
end‐userhasnomanualinstrucontoremoveorinstall
module.

3

Themoduleislimitedtoinstallaoninmobile
applicaon;
Aseparateapprovalisrequiredforallotheroperang
configuraons,includingportableconfiguraonswith
respecttoPart2.1093anddifferenceantenna
configuraons.
Thereisrequirementthatthegranteeprovideguidance
tothehostmanufacturerforcompliancewithPart15B
requirements.
IC Noce
ThisdevicecomplieswithIndustryCanadalicense‐
exemptRSSstandard(s).Operaonissubjecttothe
followingtwocondions:(1)thisdevicemaynot
causeinterference,and(2)thisdevicemustaccept
anyinterference,includinginterferencethatmay
causeundesiredoperaonofthedevice.
LeprésentappareilestconformeauxCNR
d'IndustrieCanadaapplicablesauxappareils
radioexemptsdeicence.L'exploitaonest
autoriséeauxdeuxcondionssuivantes:(1)
l'appareilnedoitpasproduirederouillage,et(2)
l'ulisateurdel'appareildoitacceptertout
rouillageradioélectriquesubi,mêmesile
brouillageestsuscepbled'encompromerele
fonconnement.
PleasenocethatiftheICidenficaonnumberis
notvisiblewhenthemoduleisinstalledinside
anotherdevice,thentheoutsideofthedeviceinto
whichthemoduleisinstalledmustalsodisplaya
labelreferringtotheenclosedmodule.This
4

exteriorlabelcanusewordingsuchasthe
following:“ContainsIC:22791‐17R10915M02”any
similarwordingthatexpressesthesamemeaning
maybeused.
L’équeed’homologaond’unmodule
d’Innovaon,SciencesetDéveloppement
économiqueCanadadevraêtreposéesurle
produithôteàunendroitbienenvue,entout
temps.Enl’absenced’équee,leproduithôte
doitporteruneéqueesurlaquellefigurele
numérod’homologaondumoduled’Innovaon,
SciencesetDéveloppementéconomiqueCanada,
précédédumot«conent»,oud’uneformulaon
similaireallantdanslemêmesensetquivacomme
suit:ConentIC:22791‐17R10915M02estle
numérod’homologaondumodule
ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCC/ICRSS‐102
radiaonexposurelimitssetforthforan
uncontrolledenvironment.Thiseqipmentshould
beinstalledandoperatedwithminimumdistance
20cmbetweentheradiator&yourbody.
cematérielestconformeauxlimitesdedose
d'exposionauxrayonnements,fac/icrss‐102
énoncéedansunautreenvironnement.cee
eqipmentdevraitêtreinstalléetexploitéavec
distanceminimalede20entreleradiateuretvotre
corps.

5

R E AD T H I S M A N U A L
ThedifficultywithexplainingCuddeLinkconceptsisitis
easiertouseCuddeLinkthenitistoexplain.We
recommendyoureadthismanualtwice.Aerwhichyou
willfindsetupanddeploymentveryeasy.
Online Videos
Wealsorecommendyouwatchourtutorialvideosat
CuddeLink.com
Email Support
Duetotheadvancednatureofthistechnologywedonot
offerphonesupport.Allsupportmustbeviaemail.Visit
CuddeLink.comtoemailusandyourquesonswillbe
answeredbytheengineersandtechnicianswhodesigned
CuddeLink.
SD Card
EveryCuddeLinkcameramusthaveanSDcardinstalled.
Anysizecardfrom2GBto32GBcanbeused.We
recommendyouusenamebrandqualitySDcards.
Baeries
CuddeLinkrequiresmorepowerthanaconvenonaltrail
camera.DONOTUSECHEAPorUSEDBATTERIES.Only
usename‐brand,from‐the‐store‐newbaeries.
6

What CuddeLink Does
Huntersknowtheimportanceandbenefitsofusing
mulpletrailcameras.Butcheckingthesecamerascan
beameconsumingtaskthattakesawayfromhunng
meandpollutestheareawithhumanscent.
Cuddeback’spatentpendingCuddeLinkeliminates
checkingmulplecamerasandulizes1cameraasan
imagedepositoryforupto15remoteCuddeLink
cameras.
CuddeLinkisawirelessnetworkofcamerasthattransmit
theirimagesto1camera.Thedepositorycamerais
calledtheHOMEcamera,andthetransmingcameras
arecalledREMOTEcameras.
Thecamerascanbedeployedinanyarrangementwith
theonlyrequirementbeingthateachcameramustbein
radiocontactwithanothercameraandhavealinkback
toHome.Transmissionrangeishighlyterraindependent,
butinaforestarangeofover1/3mileiscommon,
allowingforanend‐to‐endlinkofover4miles.Inopen
terrainwehavetestedcamera‐to‐cameratransmissionto
over1mile.
TypicalRange
OneCuddeLinkequippedcameramustbetheHOMEcamera.
HOMEisthecamerathatcollectsimagesfromtheREMOTE
cameras.

7

TERMS
CuddeLinkisCuddeback’strademarknamefor
Cuddeback’snetworkenabledtrailcameras.
CLisanabbreviaonforCuddeLink.
NetworkreferstoacolleconofCuddeLinkcamerasthat
areinradiocontactwitheachother.
Homereferstothecameraordevicethatcollectsall
images.
Remotereferstocamerasthattransmitimagestothe
HOME.
Repeaterreferstoadevicethatactsasarelaystaonon
aCuddeLinknetwork.TheREPEATERdoesnottake
pictures,itonlytransmitsimagesfromonenodetothe
nextnode.
Nodeisageneralnameforanyhome,remoteand
repeateronthenetwork.
Chainis2ormorecamerasthatarelinkedtogethervia
theCuddeLinknetwork.
Link is1conneconfrom1cameratothenextcamera.
High Resoluon Imageisthefullsizeimagerecordedby
thecamera.Theseimagesarealwayssavedonthe
camera’sSDcard.
Thumbnail Imageisacompressedimagethatismuch
smallerthantheoriginalimagetakenbythecamera.
ThesearetheimagestransferredtoHome.Thefull
resoluonimageisavailableontheRemotecameraso
youdohaveaccesstoitifneeded.
8

Set up HOME camera
Setthenormalcameraparametersasexplainedinthe
camera’smanual.Date,me,cameradelays,etc.
SetCL MODEtoHOMEbypressingUPasneeded.
AerCL MODE issettoHOME,pressMOREtoconnue.
PressUPorDOWNtoselect
Home
Thisguideassumesyouknowhowtonavigatethe
camera’suserinterface.Allthesengsexplainedinthis
seconareintheCL MENUitem.ToaccesstheCL
MENUpressMODEunlCOMMANDSisselected,then
pressMOREunlCL MENUappears,thenpressUP.
PressMODEthenpress
MORE
Geng Started with CuddeLink
AllCuddeLinkcamerasmust haveanSDcardinstalled.
TheHOMEcamerasavestheimagesitrecords&images
fromtheRemotescamerasontheSDcard.We
recommenda4or8GBcard.A4GBcardwillhold10sof
thousandsofCuddeLinkimages.
TheREMOTEcamerassaveshighresoluonimagesonthe
SDcardandsavesathumbnailimageinaTX_QUEUE
wheretheyarequeuedfortransmissiontoHOME.A2GB
cardorbiggershouldbeused.

9

SetCL LOCto001.ThisisaLocaonIDnumberusedto
idenfyeachcamera.WerecommendHOMEalwaysbe
setto001.
SkipoverCL INFObypressingMORE
PressUPtosetCLLOCto001
SetCL CHANtoanynumber.Youcanleavethisat1but
werecommendyouchangethis.Pickanychannel,but
rememberwhatyouselectedasallcamerasmustbeset
tothesamechannel.
SetCLCHANtoanynumber
Thatisallyouneedtodo.TheHOMEcameraisnow
setupproperly.DeployandARMtheHomecamera
(PressMODEunlARMisselected).
Note—theHomecameramust bearmedfortheCuddeLinknetwork
tofuncon.
10

Set up the REMOTE camera
Setthenormalcameraparametersasexplainedinthe
camera’smanual.Date,me,cameradelays,etc.
SetCL MODEtoREMOTEthenpressMORE.
PressUPorDOWNto
selectHome
SetCL LOCto002.IMPORTANT–allcamerasshould
haveauniqueCLLOC(locaon)number.We
recommendyousetHometo1andsetremotesas2,3,4
andsoon.
PressUPtosetCLLOCto
002
SetCL CHANtothesamechannelyousetontheHOME
camera.IMPORTANT–allcamerasmustbesettothe
samechannel.
SetCLCHANtosame
channelasHOME
LeaveCL DELAYandCL COUNTinthedefaultsengsof
CLDELAY5andCLCOUNT250.
Leavethesesetto
defaults

11

PressMOREtoviewRF LEVELandobservethedisplay.At
first‐‐‐‐willbedisplayedtoindicatenosignal.Aera
minuteor2anumberwillappearthatrepresentsthe
signalstrength.IfthestrengthisdisplayedyoucanARM
anddeploythecamera.
Ifasignalisnotdisplayedwithinafewminutesyoumay
betoofarfromtheHOMEcamera,orHOMEmaynotbe
ARMed.
IMPORTANT –CuddeLinktransmissiondistancevarieswithterrain
anddistanceandcanbefrom2/10ofamiletooveramile.Typical
rangeinaforestis1/4mile.YoumustuseRFLEVELtoverifyyou
haveasignalbeforeyoudeployaremotecamera.
AerasignalisreceivedyoumustARMthecamera
beforedeployingaddionalremotecameras.(Press
MODEunlARMisselected).
Dashesindicateno
signalisreceived
SignalwillbedisplayedasGOODorPOOR.
Connue todeployallyourRemotecamerasinasimilar
manner.WhendeployingaRemoteitisgoodpracceto
enableCLLEVELwhilenexttoaHomeorRemotecamera
thathasbeensuccessfullydeployedandarmed.Whena
CLLEVELappearsonthecamerabeginmovingtothe
newlocaon.Thismethodmakesiteasytomonitorthe
conneconstatusasyoumoveabout.
12

CL INFO.Itisgoodpraccetoverify thatallyourcameras
connecttoHome.Aerdeployingyourremotesyou
shouldreturntotheHomecameraanduseCL INFO.
AcvatetheCLMENUaspreviouslyexplained,thenpress
MOREunlCLINFO.ThefirstCLINFOdisplaywillshow
CLINFOandthenumberofcamerasonthenetwork.
FromthemainCLINFOdisplaypressUPandthestatusof
thefirstcamerawillbedisplayed.ConnuetopressUP
todisplaythestatusofeachcamera.
Note‐dependinguponhowmanycamerasyoudeployeditmaytake
severalhoursfortheCLINFOtoupdate.IfallRemotesarenotshown
youshouldwaitafewhoursandcheckagain.Ifacamerafailsto
displayseetheTroubleshoongseconofthismanual.
These2displayswill
toggle
1st Screen 2nd Screen Explanaon
01/HOME001OK1stnodeisHOMEwithCL
LOC001.BaeryisOK.
02/CAM005OK2ndnodeisaremote
camerawithCLLOC005,
baeryOK.
03/CAM003LO3rdnodeisaremote
camerawithCLLOC003,
baeryLO.
Note—CLINFOisalsoavailableintheARMEDINFOmenu
whichisaccessedbypressingMORE,UP,orDOWNwhenthe
cameraisarmed.Seecamera’soperangmanualfordetails.

13

Checking the HOME camera
CheckingtheCuddeLinkHOMEcameraissimilarto
checkingaconvenonaltrailcamera.
 PressUPtoputthecameraintoArmed‐Infomode.
DONOTturnoffthecamera!
 IfyouconnuetopressUPstatusoftheHome
camerawillbedisplayed.
 RemovetheSDcardanduseyournormalimage
viewingmethod.
OntheSDcardisfoldernamed\\DCIM\400CUDDY.
WithinthisfolderareimagesfromtheCuddeLinkremote
cameras.IfyouusedauniqueCLLOCtheneachremote
camera’simageswillbeinadifferentfolderwithinthe
400CUDDYfolder.
TheimagestakenwiththeHOMEcameraareinthe
\\DCIM\100CUDDYfolder.
Above‐ContentsofHomeSDcard.ImagesfromRemote
camerasareintheLOC__###folders.
14

SETTING RANGE DESCRIPTION
CL MODE
OFF,HOME,
REMOTE,
REPEATER
OnecameramustbesettoHOME.Allother
camerasmustbeREMOTEorREPEATER.
CL LOC 000thru999
ThisassignsaLOCATIONIDtoeachcamera.
Assigneachcameraauniqueidenficaon
number.
CL CHAN 1thru16Everycameraonthenetworkmustbesetto
thesamechannel.
CL INFO Notapplicable
Displaysstatusinformaonforeachremote
camerathatisconnected.PressUPor
DOWNtocyclethruthecameras.
CL MENU Overview
TheCLMENUitemswilldifferdependinguponifa
cameraisconfiguredasaHOME,REPEATERorREMOTE.
Repeater Menu Items
Home Menu Items
SETTING RANGE DESCRIPTION
CL MODE
OFF,HOME,
REMOTE,
REPEATER
OnecameramustbesettoHOME.Allother
camerasmustbeREMOTEorREPEATER.
CL LOC 000thru999
ThisassignsaLOCATIONIDtoeachcamera.
Assigneachcameraauniqueidenficaon
number.
CL CHAN 1thru16Everycameraonthenetworkmustbesetto
thesamechannel.
CL LEVEL SignalstrengthUsethistoverifythecameraisonthe

15

Remote Menu Items
SETTING RANGE DESCRIPTION
CL MODE
OFF,HOME,
REMOTE,
REPEATER
OnecameramustbesettoHOME.All
othercamerasmustbeREMOTEor
REPEATER.
CL LOC 000thru999
ThisassignsaLOCATIONIDtoeachcamera.
Assigneachcameraauniqueidenficaon
number.
CL CHAN 1thru16Everycameraonthenetworkmustbeset
tothesamechannel.
CL DELAY 5secondsto1
hour
Controlshowoenimagesarequeuedto
send.
CL COUNT ALL,25,50,100,
250
Setsthemaximumnumberofimagesthat
willbequeuedtosend.Deletestheoldest
imagestomakeroomforthenewest.
CL LEVEL Signalstrength
‐‐to99
Usethistoverifythecameraisonthe
networkandhowstrongthesignalis.
CL CLEAR NotApplicablePressUPandallimagesqueuedtotransmit
willbeerased.
Cauon! Make absolutely sure of the following:
1. All your cameras* are set to the same CL CHAN
2. Each camera has a unique CL LOC number
3. You have a CL LEVEL when you deploy a remote or
repeater.
*CamerasalsoreferstoRepeatersandHomePlus
16

CL MODE setsthecamera’sCuddeLinkmode.Choices
areOFF,HOME,REMOTE,REPEATER.PressUPor
DOWNtoselect,thenpressMOREtoconnue
programmingaddionalCuddeLinksengs.
OFF –usethisifyoudonotwantthiscameratobepart
ofaCuddeLinknetwork.TheCuddeLinkradiowillbe
disabled.
HOME –SetHomeonthecamerathatcollectsimages.
Only1cameracanbesettoHOME.
REMOTE –SetRemoteonthecamerasthattakepictures
andtransmitthepicturestotheHOMEcamera.
REPEATER –usethiswhenyouneedarepeaterto
transmitimages,butyoudonotwantthecamerato
recordimages.RefertoREPEATERseconlaerinthis
manual. 

CL LOC (LOCATION)assignsauniquenumbertoeach
cameraonthenetwork.Westronglyrecommendeach
camerahasauniquenumber.RefertoseconCAMERA
NAMINGforourrecommendaonsonhowtousethis
seng.

CL CHAN(CHANNEL)setstheradiofrequencythe
camerasusetotransmitimages.Allcamerasonyour
networkmustbesettothesamechannel.CuddeLink
has16availablechannelsnumbered1thru16.Youcan
chooseanynumberyoulike,butdonotchoosea
channelnumberusedbyanothernetworkinthe
immediatearea.

17

Neighbors. IfanadjacentlandownerisusingCuddeLink
youmustbeondifferentchannels.Todetermineifa
neighborisusingCuddeLinkturnoffyourHomecamera
andusetheRFLEVELonaRemotecameratolistenfor
radiotraffic.Ifanumericalsignalisdisplayedyoumust
selectadifferentchannel.With16channelsavailable
youshouldbeabletofindaclearchannel.
More than 16 cameras.AsingleCuddeLinknetworkis
limitedto16cameras.Ifyourequiremorethan16
camerasyoucandeployaddionalnetworks.Each
networkmustbeassignedauniqueCLCHANNEL.
CL LEVEL (Remote only).CLLEVELisasignalstrength
meter.Therangeis10(poor)to99(best).Alevel
above20issufficientforreliableimagetransmission.
Wehavesuccessfullydeployednetworkswithsignal
levelaslowas10,however,forbestperformancetryto
keepthelevelsat20andabove.
 Adisplayof‐‐‐‐indicatesnosignalisreceived.
 Itmaytakeupto2minutesfortheCLLEVELto
detectasignal.Ifasignalisnotreceivedwithina
fewminutesyoumustmoveclosertothenearest
acvecamera.
 ItisgoodpraccetoenableCLLEVELwhilenexttoa
deployedcameraandthenmoveawayfromthat
camerawiththeCLLEVELdisplayed.Thisallowsyou
tomonitorthelevelasyoumovefurtherfromthe
deployedcamera.
 CLLEVELwillvaryandyoumayseethelevel
fluctuateasyouareobservingandfromdaytoday.
18

 Ifasignalcannotbereceivedyouwillneedtomove
closertoaconnectedcamera.Ifyouneverreceivea
signalverifytheHOMEcameraisARMedandtheCL
CHANissettothesamenumberonallcameras.

CL INFO (Home only) displaysthestatusofnodesonthe
CuddeLinknetwork.Thiswaspreviouslydiscussedinthe
Geng Startedsecon.


CL INFO file.Adetailedstatusreportisavailableonthe
Homecamera’sSDcard.ClickthefileCuddelink.htmlin
theDCIM\400CUDDYfolder.Yourcomputer’sweb
browserwilldisplayareportthatshowsdetailedstatusof
allcamerasonthenetwork.
Lookforred&yellow!symbolsonthechart.Thosearewarningsfor
signalstrength,baeryorSDcardpotenalissues.Calculang…
indicatesthatthesignallevelisnotknownyet.Links indicateshow
manyothercamerastheimagesroutetogetHome.

19

Camera Naming: using CL LOC & CAM ID
Keepingtrackofthephysicallocaonandimagesfrom
15remotecamerasisnoteasy.CuddeLinkhas2features
tosimplifycamera/imagemanagement.
CL LOC.Youprobablydonotwantimagesfrom15
camerassavedinonefolderonyourSDcard.TheHome
camerasavestheimagesfromeachcamerainunique
foldersbasedupontheremotecamera’sCLLOCseng.
Werecommendyouassigneachremotecameraa
uniqueCLLOCnumberwhichwilldeterminewhere
imagesaresavedontheHOMEcamera’sSDcard.For
example:
DCIM/400CUDDY/LOC__001 thisisthefolderwhere
imagesfromcameraCLLOC001aresaved.
DCIM/400CUDDY/LOC__002 thisisthefolderwhere
imagesfromcameraCLLOC002aresaved.
DCIM/400CUDDY/LOC__003thisisthefolderwhere
imagesfromcameraCLLOC003aresaved.
(VisitCuddeLink.comLearnseconforusingCLLOCto
idenfyremotecameraswhenyoumovethem).
CAM ID.With15remotecamerasitcanbedifficultto
determinewhereanimagewastaken.Werecommend
youuseCAMIDtodefinethelocaonofthecameraas
thiswillmakeiteasyforyoutodeterminewherethe
imagesweretaken.Eachmeyoumovethecamerayou
shouldassignanewCAMIDthatdefinesthenew
locaon.Someexamplesofnamesthatwehaveused
arePONDFIELD,VISIONTRAIL,HILLTOP.TheCAMIDis
20

printedontheimageandmakesiteasytodetermine
whereanimagewastaken.
Seethecamera’soperangmanualforinstruconson
howtosetCAMID.
Understanding Transmission Range
TheCLLEVELcommandisasignalstrengthmeteryouuse
toverifyradiorecepon.Therangeis‐‐‐‐to99with
descripvewordstosimplifythemeaning.Asignalof
GOODissufficienttoassureimagetransmission.Itisok
tohaveasignalofPOOR,butwerecommendyoutryto
notusePOORunlessattheendofachain.
WerecommendusingamapbasedGPSoronlineaerial
photostohelpdeploycameras.Amapwillallowyouto
checkdistancebetweencamerasandobserveactual
arrangementofcameras.
Note–GoogleMyMapsisanexcellenttooltomanage
cameralocaon.MyMapsusesaerialphotosandallows
youtoplacepinswherecamerasarelocatedandmeasure
thedistancebetweencameras.Useyourwebbrowser
andsearchforGoogle My Mapsformoreinformaon.