RECONYX SC10 Solar Charger Instruction Manual

RECONYX SC10 Solar Charger Instruction Manual

Introduction

1. Connect the SC10 internal battery.
   The Battery in the SC10 is shipped with the red wire disconnected from the positive terminal on the battery. It must be connected prior to use.
   Loosen the Thumb Screw on the back of the unit and rotate the Solar Panel forward from the base to reveal the battery.
   Remove the protective plastic cap from the positive terminal on the battery and plug the red wire onto the terminal.
   Close the unit and tighten the thumb screw.

2. Connect the SC10 to the camera by plugging the shielded power cable into the external power jack on the bottom of your cellular camera.

3. Test that the SC10 is providing power to your camera by turning the camera on without the internal AA batteries installed.

4. We recommend installing a set of Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries inside the camera as a backup power source in case the power from the SC10 Solar Unit gets interrupted.

SC10 Solar Charger Overview

The SC10 Solar Charger is a great complement to your Recony Cellular camera.
The SC10 is a complete power supply system that includes a 10-Watt solar panel with a 108 Watt Hour (9 Amp Hour) Sealed Lead Acid battery. The Lead Acid battery was chosen because it is a tried and true battery chemistry that will run in the hottest summers and coldest winters that most of us will ever experience.
With the SC10, you can power your cellular camera indefinitely with power from the sun. We highly recommend that you place the SC10 in an open area that gets at least a few hours of direct sunlight per day. If placed in this manner, the SC10 should provide sufficient power to run your cellular camera indefinitely.
If you place the SC10 in full sunlight, at mid-latitude locations, it should provide enough power to take and send 500 to1000 pictures per day through the cellular modem.
If you cannot get enough sunlight, or you are needing to send a very large number of photos, you can “daisy chain” multiple SC10’s together to increase the power available to your camera.

Mounting the SC10

Integrated T-Post (Star Post) Mount

The SC10 is designed to sit atop almost any “T-post” style metal fencepost (also works with “Y” and “Star” posts) and can be rotated 360 degrees.

Rotate the unit so that it is facing the direction where it will get the most hours of sunlight during the day.
Then lower it onto the post until the post is fully inserted in the slot. Gravity will hold the unit on to the post.

Using the Camera T-Post mount with the SC10

A great way to deploy your SC10 Solar unit and Hyper Fire 2 Cellular camera is to mount both to the same T-Post.
This allows you to put the camera exactly where you want it and more than likely get sun on the correct face of the Solar unit at the same time.

The T-Post Camera Mount is sold separately and can be purchased at www.reconyx.com.

Note: We do not recommend setting the SC10 on the ground.
There are two primary reasons for this:

1. snow, 2) foliage. You don’t want the unit covered by snow or hidden by vegetation. You want the face of the SC10 to get as much sunlight as possible.

Mounting with Screws

The SC10 can also be mounted on a post, wall, or tree using a couple of screws or lag bolts; one to hang the unit on, and one to keep it from rotating.

Mounting Bracket (Sold Separately)

The SC10 Mounting Bracket allows you to mount the bracket to a post, pole, wall or tree, then simply slip the SC10 onto the bracket and secure it to the bracket with the bolts supplied with the bracket.

Connecting the System

Connecting to Camera

The SC10 includes a 12-foot power cable that is wound around the keeper cleats on the back side of the unit.
This provides you with enough cable to hopefully mount the SC10 where it can get the most sunlight (up to 12 feet from the camera).
There is a hold down under these cleats to clip the cable into to hold excess wire on the cleats if your camera is closer than 12 feet.
Note the Input Jack on the right side as you look at the back of the unit.
This is the input for daisy chaining more than one solar unit together.
There are two basic reasons you might daisy chain: 1) you need to take and send a lot of pictures, and one unit won’t keep up, 2) you are under canopy and you are not getting enough sunlight to recharge the SC10 internal battery to keep up with even a moderate level of activity. To daisy chain the SC10s, just plug the output from one into the input of the other, and then plug the output from that one, into the camera.
You can add as many units as you need to in this fashion.

Using Desiccant in your Camera

Long Term Deployment with Internal Backup

When you are deploying your camera for long term operation (a year or greater), we highly recommend that you use one of our desiccant options inside of your camera to absorb any moisture that can penetrate the seals over time with the heating and cooling cycles of the day.
This will ensure your camera runs at an optimal level for as many years as possible.
If you are using internal backup batteries, your desiccant option is to use our desiccant sheets.
They lay over top of the batteries and absorb moisture that may enter the camera over time.
These are available at www.reconyx.com.

Long Term Deployment without Internal Backup

If you choose to deploy without internal backup batteries, we recommend using the 14-gram indicating desiccant pouches available at www.reconyx.com.
You can put one or two of these in the cameras in place of a bank of batteries.
These pouches are indicating.
The little strip across the middle allows you to see inside the pouch. If the pellets are blue, they are dry. When they turn pink/white, they need to be recharged.

Camera Setup

Setting Battery Type on Camera

You can change Battery Type either in the settings on the Camera or through the RECONYX Connect Mobile App.
Choose SC10 Solar for your Battery Type. This will provide you with correct battery readings that are appropriate for the SC10 Solar unit.
We recommend installing a set of Energizer Ultimate Lithium batteries inside the camera as well.
They are a great battery backup to the solar unit in case the power from the SC10 is interrupted.
The camera will immediately switch over to the internal batteries your camera will continue operating.
NOTE: After connecting the SC10 to your camera and changing Battery Type, you may notice that the battery levels will not be accurate initially. This is because the camera requires time to create an average power supply reading from the SC10. This
usually takes 24 hours of run time to do so.

Copyright, Trademark & Compliance Information

Copyright November 2022
Other trademarks and registered trademarks referred to in this document:

• HyperFire2™ is a trademark of RECONYX®

Warranty

RECONYX® warrants this product to be free of manufacturer’s defects in materials and workmanship for a period of 1 year from date of original purchase. If during this period, through normal use, the product fails due to defects in materials or workmanship, RECONYX® will either repair or replace the product at our sole discretion. This warranty is void if a product failure results from “acts of God”, accident, abuse, improper use, disassembly, or unauthorized maintenance and repair.
NOTE: If you have any questions or concerns relating to the operation or functionality of your camera with the SC10 Solar Charger, please contact our Technical Service Department by email at [email protected] or by calling toll free 866-493-6064.

Warranty, FCC, CE, IC, RoHS and Safety Information

FCC, IC, CE Certification

This device complies with FCC, IC, and CE requirements. Under part 15 of the FCC Rules, the operation is subject to the following conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. This device has also been tested and found to comply with the emissions requirements of IEC 61000-6-3 and the immunity requirements of IEC 61000-6-1 and has been found to comply with the radiated interference requirements of Section 6.2 of the Industry Canada ICES-003 for Class B Information Technology Equipment (ITE).

RoHS Compliance
The European Union Directive 2011/65/EU Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) legislation restricts the use of certain substances in electrical and electronic RECONYX®, Inc.
equipment. Reconyx Inc. expends considerable effort in verifying material compliance to RoHS and certifies that the processes and materials used to manufacture assemblies are compliant.

Safety Precautions
Before using the camera, please ensure that you read and understand the following safety precautions. Always ensure that the camera is operated correctly. The safety precautions noted in this guide are intended to instruct you in the safe and correct operation of the camera and its accessories to prevent injuries or damage to yourself, other persons, and equipment.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT

RECONYX, Inc.
3828 Creekside Ln
Holmen, WI 54636
866-493-6064
www.reconyx.com

References

• See What You've Been Missing... | Reconyx
• See What You've Been Missing... | Reconyx

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