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Big Solar Battery Pack Install Guide

1. Before using the solar battery pack with your Yellowstone.ai camera, be sure it is fully charged by plugging one end of the included USB cable into the “IN 5V” port and the other end into a USB wall charger. To check the current charge level, remove the charging cable, then press the button next to the four red LED indicator lights. Four lights indicate a full charge. Charging can take up to 24 hours.

 

2. Remove the panel from your charger and use the second cable (with the yellow tips) to connect the camera to the solar panel. Plug one end into the “OUT 12V” port of the solar panel and the other end into your camera. Make sure that all other ports are sealed. After your panel is plugged into your camera, TEST THAT YOUR PANEL IS PLUGGED IN AND CAN POWER THE CAMERA. Do this by removing batteries and turning your camera to SETUP mode. Your camera screen should light up and display full battery level. If your screen does not light up, re-insert the plug into your camera and confirm that you’re plugged into the “12V OUT” port on the panel. Then switch camera to SETUP mode. If the screen still doesn’t light up, call us at (970) 821-8525.

 

3. Your panel comes with a mount to help you achieve the best angle for solar charging. Face your panel to the south. To determine your optimal solar panel tilt, use the tables and diagrams below based on your latitude, relative to Green Bay and Dallas. (Or call us)

Green Bay

Dallas

green bay solar tilt.png
dallas solar tilt.png

If after a few weeks, you notice that your panel can’t keep up with your camera’s power consumption, you may need to re-locate the panel or update camera settings such as:

  • Cam > Cam Mode > Image

  • 4G > Web Ctrl > Daily

  • 4G > GPS > Off

  • 4G > Send Options > Send Pic Resolution > Low

 

The camera can operate with just the solar panel (no batteries) but we highly recommend installing 12 high-capacity AA batteries as backup. The camera will use the solar panel battery as the primary power source until it is exhausted. It will then switch to the AA batteries until the solar battery pack is sufficiently charged. 

 

NOTE: if the AA batteries and solar panel both become exhausted, the camera will need to be manually restarted. The solar panel will not charge the batteries in the camera, it will only charge the battery inside the solar panel. 

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Pro Tip: Mount your panel in a location with direct sunlight.

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Operating temp: 0°F to 140°F  //  Operating Humidity: 5% to 95%  //  Waterproof: IP66

Only designed to be used with Yellowstone.ai 4G LTE Trail Camera. Using with other cameras might cause a zombie apocalypse.

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