Solar chargers for the PRO 3 system - are they worth the hassle

[BernHeare]

Seen quite a few posts about troubles with the solar charger.

Are they worth the hassle? Presently just changing out charged batteries; however, one, the furthest from the base and in a 'sunny' spot seems to drain more quickly (distance from and 'obstacles'). Thinking about using a solar charger there. Also, what about 'northern tier' as it is now going into winter hours.

[StephenB · Accepted solution]

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@BernHeare wrote:

Seen quite a few posts about troubles with the solar charger.

Are they worth the hassle? Presently just changing out charged batteries; however, one, the furthest from the base and in a 'sunny' spot seems to drain more quickly (distance from and 'obstacles'). Thinking about using a solar charger there. Also, what about 'northern tier' as it is now going into winter hours.

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How well it works depends of course on how much sun you get.  Also, in winter the camera won't charge if it is too cold (even if the sun is shining).

I live in New England, and have one panel.  It's tree-mounted, and it is shaded during the summer.  It does extend the time between charges, but I still need to recharge the camera from time to time.  So for me it's useful, but doesn't eliminate recharging.

[dcfox1]

I have one and is is a full sun spot most of the day and it generally keeps up but I don't have excessive recordings. But during several cloudy days in a row it obviously it will not charge and the battery drops. As StephenB  said it does extend the time between charges but it is not a replacement for AC power. Some of the recent complaints is confusion on the new color format for the charging icon which was a bad idea. 

[BernHeare]

Thank you for your response.

Any other thoughts would always be welcome