Last night i shouted into the void that is twitter to ask if anyone has attempted to get broken camera traps/trail cams fixed. I have a growing pile of cameras that are no longer working and rather than throw them out i want to attempt to repair them.
Stephanie suggested I raise this issue here so here i am!
Is there anyone out there with knowledge to help the likes of me develop to skills to diagnose the problem and then fix trail cams?
I think there would be a demand as resources for the likes of me are finite and I think we should be as sustainable as possible in the work we do. I really dont like the idea of chucking cameras and components in landfill.
28 November 2019 12:23pm
This is going to be fun! We could see if, once we've taken our diagnostic abilities to their limits (so I am already there with: "have you tried turning it on and off again"), we could get an engineer to help us troubleshoot with diagnostic tools like a digital multimeter etc.?
29 November 2019 5:11pm
Hi Andy,
I am with Dave and thanks so much for the offer. I am thinking that we could potentially isolate a few 'hard' problem cameras (i.e. beyond our ability to diagnose problems) and have an engineer walk us through some more advanced testing, using a multimeter etc., and perhaps over a video call or something? We could put together some short clips of various methods/tests and maybe even come up with some common, but more advanced faults. Could then consider other things like a 'how to desolder and solder on a new component' video etc. (which I can probably help with)...anyway, these sorts of ideas, overseen by an engineering maestro, could be really useful...
Cheers,
Rob
29 November 2019 6:26pm
This was exactly what I was thinking, Rob. We've started uploading all our virtual meeup talks onto youtube (here) - I'm all for quick and dirty (and done) with great content over slick, highly produced videos, so if we could go for video calls for demos + questions and record, that'll be a good starting point.
Now, I think I said i'd start a spreadsheet..
Steph
29 November 2019 6:39pm
Ok - I shall cross post mercilessly into a few of the interest groups.
Rob Appleby