Ltl Acorn 6210MG Cellular Upgrade Performance and Availability

Ltl Acorn 6210MGX 940nm
Please note that the X suffix is used
by me to denote a camera with an
external antenna.
It is not an official Acorn mark.

I am sorry I have taken so long to report on the 6210MG with the upgraded SMS Remote Control but I have done a lot of testing over the last month or so and although the camera is now stable when connecting, the SMS remote control function still doesn't appear to work reliably in all circumstances (see below).

Network Connection Stability
Tests with twelve cameras show that the camera now connects to the network reliably and in all my tests I have found the connection stable with no instances of repeat/continuous triggering.

SMS Remote Control

In 10 attempts the camera returned 2 images and I have not been able to change any menu settings remotely even though the camera received the text message. 

Others have reported to me that the function has worked more reliably for them and bearing in mind that all my testing is carried out on a two to three bar signal in a marginal coverage area where a signal is only possible using an 11dBi Yagi Antenna, I suspect my circumstances may have something to do with my poor results.

I will continue testing the SMS Remote Control Function and report again at a later date. I would be pleased to receive test reports from other users.

Transmission delay when using an Interval setting between

Ltl Acorn 6210MGX Cellular Camera Function Tests

Fig 1:   Cellular camera test rig measuring the power output
from the GPRS module, the current drawn by the camera and
timing of the triggering and transmission event.

I have recently been assembling a test setup ( see figure 1 ) in preparation for testing the updated Acorn 6210MGX and then doing comparison tests with the ScoutGuard SG550M-8M and SG880MK-8M models.

I received the 6210 last Tuesday and have been working with it all week. This camera is the updated unit using the SIM900 GPRS module which has previously had connection and self triggering issues.

So far this test camera has had no problems other than not having functioning SMS remote control; and today I received word from Acorn that they have got the remote control working and cameras are now  available with this function.

I will be testing the remote control function as soon as possible but meanwhile I will continue putting this camera through the grinder to see if I can

Ltl Acorn 6210MG Cellular Camera update and tests

Ltl Acorn 6210MGX hooked up to a
Cornet ED85EX
for measuring power output and monitoring
network connection attempts.

I expected to be writing this post in mid June but as always things are taking a lot longer than I would have hoped.

A month ago when I last wrote about Acorn's progress to correct network connection problems and repeat triggering, I made the decision to wait until Acorn had got the SMS remote control working before asking for a test camera.

I am beginning to regret that decision because I still have no news about the SMS and have given up on it for the time being. I have now asked for the test camera and hope that I will receive a fully up to date camera (without working SMS remote control) sometime this month.

Meanwhile I am creating a setup to make it easier to carry out tests on trail cameras (cellular and noncellular) generally. Functions that will be possible to test using this rig will include battery power consumption, trigger reaction times, RF power output, network connections, transmission sequences and frequency stability.

At the moment I am validating each part of the setup and when I