Covert solar panel + enloops

[CastAndBlast]

It’s not that difficult. If you actually need it to be portable just buy some of those cheap tree stand hooks to screw it into the tree and hang it.




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I actually tie mine to the tree with paracord. Mobility is not the issue. I just try to angle it up toward the sun. I was afraid that with it just hanging vertical, I would get as much charge.

Other panels I have used can be mounted to a tree arm and the tree arm strapped to a tree. This allowed me to angle the panel and direction I wanted.

With coverts panel, unless there is a limb I can lay it on, it is difficult to get it “pointed” toward the sun.

If any of that makes sense, ha.

[Fishndude]

are you able to run yours in real-time?

Yes sir

[Mike D]

I actually tie mine to the tree with paracord. Mobility is not the issue. I just try to angle it up toward the sun. I was afraid that with it just hanging vertical, I would get as much charge.

Other panels I have used can be mounted to a tree arm and the tree arm strapped to a tree. This allowed me to angle the panel and direction I wanted.

With coverts panel, unless there is a limb I can lay it on, it is difficult to get it “pointed” toward the sun.

If any of that makes sense, ha.

You are way overthinking it. Mine hangs vertical and has been running for 4 years and only gone dead twice. And that was extended periods of being covered in ice.


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[CastAndBlast]

You are way overthinking it. Mine hangs vertical and has been running for 4 years and only gone dead twice. And that was extended periods of being covered in ice.


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That is what I’m hearing. Guess I have been missing the boat. I’ll give it a try this season.

[DowneyDigs]

Got mine activated and sending pics yesterday. Noticed a few discrepancies. Called Covert this morning and girl was no help. Hope I dont regret this decision. I have had zero problems with my Spartan.



1. During activation camera came up as Code Black 12.1. Is this normal?



2. Camera shows up as Code Black 12.1 on app and website. Normal?



3. Camera is set to trigger on PIR ONLY. Time Lapse is OFF. I uploaded the settings to the website/app. App and website show PIR as the trigger mode. But both show Time Lapse is ON with 4 minute Time Lapse Interval. I turn Time Lapse OFF and save on app/website, but Settings default back to ON after I log out. Is this normal?



4. There is no PIR Trigger Delay shown on the app. Is this normal?



5. Battery charge indicator shows 50% on camera.

App shows 100%

Website shows 60%

Is this normal?

I’ve had my first and only Covert camera, a Code Black LTE, deployed for roughly 2 months. I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but maybe I can help.

First, I have found that Covert tech support is hit-and-miss. You can scroll back through this thread for some of my posts where I have shared some of my experiences. It’s a small family owned and operated business, and I get the impression that everyone in the office is family and they all work “tech support” regardless of their knowledge level.

Second, in my opinion it sounds like they released the LTE models to market too early. They have admitted that the firmware/software has bugs and is still in development. For example, the new cams are advertised to support 64GB SD cards, but they can actually only support 32GB. Next, I have never been able to change my settings remotely from the website or app. I can adjust settings in the app, but I have to physically go to the camera and manually “Download Settings”. Next, the battery percentage does not update on the app, so I have no way of knowing for sure about my battery life. Their response to these issues was for me to download firmware updates as often as possible because they hope to get everything fixed soon.

As for your first two questions about the model displaying as “Code Black 12.1”, mine says the same thing. I have never questioned Covert about it, but I wonder if they are still running 12.1 firmware on these new cameras. Maybe the cameras have all of the hardware improvements, but are still running old firmware due to the new firmware still being in development.

As for your third question about PIR and Time Lapse triggers. Assuming that I understand your question, this sounds like the issue that I have where I can not update my settings remotely.

About the PIR delay, I’ve never noticed it, because the app is useless to me for settings, but there is not PIR delay in my settings either.

Finally, the battery percentage issue, I suspect is again the same known issue where battery percentage is not updated on the app.

I wouldn’t say that the issues we are experiencing are “normal”, but I think Covert is aware of them all and is actively working to resolve them. To-date they have not provided a timeline of when they expect everything to be resolved.


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[BolilloLoco]

I’ve had my first and only Covert camera, a Code Black LTE, deployed for roughly 2 months. I don’t have a lot of experience with them, but maybe I can help.

First, I have found that Covert tech support is hit-and-miss. You can scroll back through this thread for some of my posts where I have shared some of my experiences. It’s a small family owned and operated business, and I get the impression that everyone in the office is family and they all work “tech support” regardless of their knowledge level.

Second, in my opinion it sounds like they released the LTE models to market too early. They have admitted that the firmware/software has bugs and is still in development. For example, the new cams are advertised to support 64GB SD cards, but they can actually only support 32GB. Next, I have never been able to change my settings remotely from the website or app. I can adjust settings in the app, but I have to physically go to the camera and manually “Download Settings”. Next, the battery percentage does not update on the app, so I have no way of knowing for sure about my battery life. Their response to these issues was for me to download firmware updates as often as possible because they hope to get everything fixed soon.

As for your first two questions about the model displaying as “Code Black 12.1”, mine says the same thing. I have never questioned Covert about it, but I wonder if they are still running 12.1 firmware on these new cameras. Maybe the cameras have all of the hardware improvements, but are still running old firmware due to the new firmware still being in development.

As for your third question about PIR and Time Lapse triggers. Assuming that I understand your question, this sounds like the issue that I have where I can not update my settings remotely.

About the PIR delay, I’ve never noticed it, because the app is useless to me for settings, but there is not PIR delay in my settings either.

Finally, the battery percentage issue, I suspect is again the same known issue where battery percentage is not updated on the app.

I wouldn’t say that the issues we are experiencing are “normal”, but I think Covert is aware of them all and is actively working to resolve them. To-date they have not provided a timeline of when they expect everything to be resolved.


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Thanks for explaining. I will call them again in a few weeks, to see if they have any updates.

[Plain Lucky]

Thanks for explaining. I will call them again in a few weeks, to see if they have any updates.

I've run lots of their cameras and had an excellent experience overall. One tip I would recommend is to go to their website and use their "chat" support (the annoying pop up on the bottom right) rather than trying to call. They respond within a few minutes and you can do this while catching up on TBH at the same time. I haven't called them in a couple of years but have probably done a dozen "chats" in that same time.

I don't have any of the LTE cameras yet so I can't speak from experience regarding any of the issues they seem to be having. But I would agree to install the firmware updates fairly frequently over the next few weeks as they work out any bugs.

I notice that your pic above shows your camera to be set on video? I don't believe videos can be sent to the app at this point so that may be an issue. Also, for whatever reason, I did notice on my 2017 Verizon cameras that when I first put them out into the field and left them, they automatically reverted to video mode once I switched the camera from "setup" to "on." But once I went into the app and changed it back to photo mode and saved my changes, all was good.

I've run several Spartans (but no 2018 models) and been pleased with them. I prefer Covert over Spartan due to the Coverts being able to run 24/7/365 with just the covert solar panel and 12 good rechargeable batteries.

[BolilloLoco]

I've run lots of their cameras and had an excellent experience overall. One tip I would recommend is to go to their website and use their "chat" support (the annoying pop up on the bottom right) rather than trying to call. They respond within a few minutes and you can do this while catching up on TBH at the same time. I haven't called them in a couple of years but have probably done a dozen "chats" in that same time.

I don't have any of the LTE cameras yet so I can't speak from experience regarding any of the issues they seem to be having. But I would agree to install the firmware updates fairly frequently over the next few weeks as they work out any bugs.

I notice that your pic above shows your camera to be set on video? I don't believe videos can be sent to the app at this point so that may be an issue. Also, for whatever reason, I did notice on my 2017 Verizon cameras that when I first put them out into the field and left them, they automatically reverted to video mode once I switched the camera from "setup" to "on." But once I went into the app and changed it back to photo mode and saved my changes, all was good.

I've run several Spartans (but no 2018 models) and been pleased with them. I prefer Covert over Spartan due to the Coverts being able to run 24/7/365 with just the covert solar panel and 12 good rechargeable batteries.

I will try the chat.

I updated firmware right after I activated it. But will keep doing it as they become available.

Camera is set to Picture Mode. App confirms that at top of the checklist and just shows 30 seconds as the video length. Must be default.

I am having good luck with my Spartan running an external 6v 42 ah battery and 2 watt solar panel with controller. Doesn't matter what kind of AA batteries are inside.

Thanks for the advice.

[Plain Lucky]

Got mine activated and sending pics yesterday. Noticed a few discrepancies. Called Covert this morning and girl was no help. Hope I dont regret this decision. I have had zero problems with my Spartan.

1. During activation camera came up as Code Black 12.1. Is this normal?

2. Camera shows up as Code Black 12.1 on app and website. Normal?

3. Camera is set to trigger on PIR ONLY. Time Lapse is OFF. I uploaded the settings to the website/app. App and website show PIR as the trigger mode. But both show Time Lapse is ON with 4 minute Time Lapse Interval. I turn Time Lapse OFF and save on app/website, but Settings default back to ON after I log out. Is this normal?

4. There is no PIR Trigger Delay shown on the app. Is this normal?

5. Battery charge indicator shows 50% on camera.
App shows 100%
Website shows 60%
Is this normal?

1&2 - Code Black 12.1 is a 3G 2017 model camera. If your camera is 2018 it should say Code Black LTE?

3. No, not normal. The changes should save to the camera as long as you save them in the app.

4. Speaking only from my 2017 and prior cameras, there should be a trigger delay on the app. If not, something is wrong.

5. Doesn't seem normal but I admittedly don't watch battery life very closely so long as the camera is sending pics at the usual times.

[Plain Lucky]

I will try the chat.

I updated firmware right after I activated it. But will keep doing it as they become available.

Camera is set to Picture Mode. App confirms that at top of the checklist and just shows 30 seconds as the video length. Must be default.

I am having good luck with my Spartan running an external 6v 42 ah battery and 2 watt solar panel with controller. Doesn't matter what kind of AA batteries are inside.

Thanks for the advice.

What solar panel and controller are you using on the Spartan? I've just been swapping out 6V batteries about every 6 weeks so a solar panel would be great.

[BolilloLoco]

1&2 - Code Black 12.1 is a 3G 2017 model camera. If your camera is 2018 it should say Code Black LTE?

3. No, not normal. The changes should save to the camera as long as you save them in the app.

4. Speaking only from my 2017 and prior cameras, there should be a trigger delay on the app. If not, something is wrong.

5. Doesn't seem normal but I admittedly don't watch battery life very closely so long as the camera is sending pics at the usual times.

No trigger delay on my app. My camera is ATT. So maybe the app is different?

[Smart]

Covert solar panel + enloops

No trigger delay on my app. My camera is ATT. So maybe the app is different?

Listed under trigger interval....on my ATTs....all three

You are saying you can’t change yours?

[DowneyDigs]

Listed under trigger interval....on my ATTs....all three

Same as bolloloco. AT&T 2018 Code Black LTE with no trigger delay in app and app doesn’t work for managing settings. All I can do with the app is receive pictures and request real-time photos.


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[BolilloLoco]

What solar panel and controller are you using on the Spartan? I've just been swapping out 6V batteries about every 6 weeks so a solar panel would be great.

American Hunter Model BL-EC6 Includes built in controller

[Plain Lucky]

American Hunter Model BL-EC6 Includes built in controller

OK thanks, great info. How long does your battery tend to last with this panel?