Where to find the form

On your dashboard, click ➕ Add Trail Camera. Each time you use the form, it adds one trail camera. When you click ✏️ (Edit) next to a trail camera in your list later, you get the same form with a few extra sections.

If you also look after trail cameras for other people, you may see two buttons at the top: 📷 My Trail Camera and 👥 Other Person's Trail Camera. The second version asks for the owner's name and email instead of price and accessories. Notifications for that trail camera go straight to the owner's email.

The minimum you need to fill in

  • 📋 Trail Camera model: always required.
  • Device ID *: always required.
  • IMEI: required only for models with a SIM card (4G models).
  • Location *: required only when you add the trail camera as ✅ In field (active).

Everything else is optional. Still, the dashboard keeps a 🪪 Missing data reminder until you add a serial number, plus IMEI on SIM models, MAC on Wi-Fi models and GPS once the trail camera is deployed. These details serve as evidence for the police and help you recover a stolen trail camera.

Basic info

📋 Trail Camera model. Start typing a model name or brand. The list has over 100 models from nearly 40 brands, including Browning, Bushnell, Reconyx, Spypoint, Stealth Cam and Wachman. Picking a model does four things:

  • It reveals the fields that apply to that model.
  • It shows a short tip about the model.
  • It limits the power types to the ones the model supports.
  • It pre-ticks the model's usual accessories.

Missing your model? Add it under Settings → 📋 Custom Models. You can't change the model later.

Device ID *. This is your own short name for the trail camera, such as CAM-001. It's saved in capitals. Spaces become dashes, and any character other than letters, digits, ., _ and - is dropped. The limit is 64 characters. The ID must be unique within your account. If it's already taken, you'll see Trail camera with ID … already exists! Choose a different ID. and the form won't save. You can't change the Device ID later.

Serial Number, IMEI, MAC address. These fields appear after you pick a model:

  • IMEI appears only for SIM models, where it's required. It must be 14–17 digits.
  • MAC address appears only for Wi-Fi models and is optional. If you fill it in, use the format AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF. You can usually find it in the companion app or the device menu.

The serial number and MAC lock once saved (Filled in once — can no longer be changed), so nobody can relabel the trail camera afterwards.

⚡ Power type, 🔋 Battery model, 🔢 Number of cells.

  • Power type offers only what your model supports: 🔋 Lithium batteries, ☀️ Solar panel, ☀️🔋 Solar + Lithium, ☀️🪫 Solar + Lead-acid or 🔌 External power. The three solar options unlock the solar settings described below.
  • Battery model is optional. It defaults to — Unspecified (profile default) —.
  • Number of cells takes 0–64. Once you pick a battery and enter a count, you see a total-capacity preview (cells × mAh).

Location and direction

These fields appear only when the status is ✅ In field (active):

  • Location *: a name you'll recognise, such as Velka Fatra.
  • GPS Latitude / GPS Longitude: type the coordinates, click the map or drag the pin, or press 📍 Use my location while you're standing next to the trail camera with your phone.
  • 📷 Azimuth (°): the compass direction the lens points (0–359°). It draws the coverage wedge on the Zones map. The solar estimate uses it too, because the panel sits on the trail camera housing and faces the same way.
  • 📐 FOV (°): how wide the trail camera sees (10–180°). Leave it empty to use your model's default.

GPS powers snow cover detection, the solar estimate and theft proximity alerts. As soon as you enter coordinates, the form checks whether a trail camera in your account that was marked stolen lies within your alert radius. If one does, a ⚠️ Theft alert with the distance appears. You can set the radius under Settings → 🔒 Security → Alert Radius (km): Disabled, or 0.5–10 km. The default is 1 km.

Status and dates

The add form offers 🏠 AT HOME (the default) and ✅ In field (active). If the trail camera is still in your garage, leave it at home. Location, GPS, Azimuth, FOV, Deploy Date and Planned stay stay hidden until you switch.

  • Purchase Date: always available.
  • Deploy Date (with an optional time): the day you put the trail camera out.
  • 📅 Planned stay in field (days): 0 means no limit. Once a deploy date is set:
    • The dashboard shows days in the field against your plan on a progress bar.
    • Overdue trail cameras get a ⚠️ +N days mark.
    • Trail cameras with 7 or fewer days left are listed under 📅 Monitoring Ending.

Price and accessories

💰 Price/Value (€) is the base price. Below it you can tick 🔋 Batteries, 💾 SD Card and 📶 SIM Card (SIM models only), each with a price. On the edit form, 💰 Total: adds up the base price and every ticked item that has a price, including boxes, locks and trackers.

Protection

📁 HTML files has two checkboxes: Basic HTML bait file (IP, GPS, fingerprint) and Bait file capturing phone number + thief photo. These only record which bait files you've put on the card, and they show as 🌐 / ☎️ icons in your list. The files themselves come from the 🪤 button (Download bait files for SD card) in the trail camera's row. Next, test your bait files without a false theft alert.

🔒 Security: 🛡️ Metal Box, 🔗 Cable Lock and 🔐 Padlock (each with a price), plus 🔑 Password and 📷 Monitored by another trail camera.

📍 GPS Trackers: 🍎 AirTag, 📍 Tile, 📱 SmartTag and 🔵 Other, each with a price.

Ticked security items and trackers show as icons in your list. If you add or remove one later, the change goes into the trail camera's history.

Recording and battery

These sections exist only on the edit page. They appear once the trail camera is saved as In field (or Test) and isn't marked stolen. If you've just switched to In field, save first and then open Edit again.

🎥 Recording Settings

  • Recording Mode: 🎥 Video or 📸 Photo.
  • Video Resolution: your model's resolutions. The default is 1080p.
  • Video Length (seconds): 5–300 in steps of 5. The default is 110.
  • ☀️ Day recordings and 🌙 Night recordings (IR): the recordings you expect per day. Defaults are 1 and 2.

All of these feed the battery estimate. More or longer recordings drain the battery faster, and night recordings cost extra because of the infrared light.

🔋 Battery Status

  • Current battery (%): the reading on the trail camera's display, for example when you deploy it, check it or swap batteries. Normally the estimate counts from the deploy date. When you change this value, it counts from that day instead. Saving without changing the value keeps the original starting point.

  • ☀️ Solar panel power (W) (solar only): 0.1–50 W, default 1.5.

  • 🌲 Terrain (solar only): how much sunlight reaches the panel. The options are:

    • Open / meadow / clearing (90 %)
    • Light woods / forest edge (40 %, the default)
    • Closed-canopy forest (10 %)
    • Dense forest (4 %)
    • Deep shade (ravine / evergreen) (2 %)

    These percentages assume trees in full leaf. When the trees are bare, the estimate lets more light through. Closed-canopy forest, for example, rises from 10 % in summer to 55 % in winter.

There's no separate panel direction field. The estimate uses 📷 Azimuth, and if that's empty, it treats the panel as lying flat. The solar fields appear only after a solar power type has been saved.

With GPS saved, an Estimate today: bar shows the predicted charge along with consumption, solar gain and weather. Solar setups also show the terrain light level for the current season and the panel direction.

What happens when you save

  1. Checks. If something is missing or invalid, the form shows an error and keeps what you typed. That covers the model, Device ID, Location (in the field), IMEI (SIM models), MAC format and a duplicate Device ID.
  2. History. The trail camera's history gets its first entry with the location, plus a deployment entry if you set a Deploy Date.
  3. Settlement check. If you entered GPS, My Trail Camera uses map data to count buildings, roads and residential zones within 500 m. If the spot looks risky, a ⚠️ Settlement proximity warning suggests extra security.
  4. Done. You're back on the dashboard with Trail Camera CAM-001 was successfully added!

Changing things later

Click ✏️ next to the trail camera. The model and Device ID are fixed, and so are the serial number and MAC once they're filled in. Everything else can be edited. The status has four options:

  • ✅ In field: deployed and recording.

  • 🧪 Test: shows as 🧪 TESTING instead of in the field. Switching to ✅ In field later starts a new deployment in the history.

  • ⚠️ Stolen: reveals Stolen Date (today if left empty) and 🚨 Reported to police. If the trail camera has GPS and the alert radius is on, you'll also see your active trail cameras nearby that you should check or secure.

  • 🏠 At home: switching from In field or Test does two things:

    • It clears the location, deploy date and time, GPS, Azimuth, FOV, recording settings, battery level, panel power and terrain.
    • It closes that deployment in the history.

    Price, accessories, protection and identifiers stay.

There's also ⚠️ AT RISK — someone already knows about this trail camera. Tick it when you find signs that the spot has been discovered: branches piled in front of the lens, camouflage pulled aside, the trail camera turned or taped over, or strange tracks by the tree. It works with any status, and the date is stamped automatically. A ⚠️ AT RISK label shows in your list, and the history records when the flag was set and when it was cleared.

If you move the GPS position, the settlement check runs again. 💾 Save Changes confirms with Trail camera updated., and Cancel leaves without saving.

A practical tip on Device IDs

You can't rename a Device ID, so choose a scheme before your first trail camera. Keep it short and stick to letters, digits and dashes, since other characters are dropped anyway. A running number like CAM-001, CAM-002 works, and so does a location code like FATRA-01. Just keep each ID unique within your account.

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