Spartan AT&T 4G Review
Model # GC-A4Gb | Spartan 4G Owner's Manual
The Spartan 4G AT&T is a 2019 cellular trail camera. This camera scores well in picture quality, battery life, and case design, but struggles with usability. -TCP Staff
Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:
78/100
Spartan 4G/LTE Cellular Trail Camera Review
Pros
- Good picture quality
- Solid case design
- Almost 4 months of battery life
- Improved trigger and recovery times
Cons
- Can only send pictures to a single phone number or email address
- Setup process can be difficult
- Can no longer receive texts from the camera
The Spartan 4G/LTE AT&T uses a 4G/LTE Quectel EC25-A module that allows this camera to operate on AT&T 4G/LTE towers. It is backwards compatible and should work on 3G towers while they are still active.
Photo resolution: 8 mpxl
Video resolution: 1024x576
Flash Type: No Glow IR
SD Card: Up to 32GB
Picture quality is really good. Daytime pictures have good color and clarity. Night pictures have noticeable blur on moving objects but have impressive flash range for a no glow game trail camera.
This camera only sends videos if you sign up for the Spartan premium service. Video quality is pretty good but not top of the line.
Picture & Video Resting Power (on): 0.49 mW (power save on)
Picture Daytime/Nighttime Power Consumption: 45.6 Ws | 43.7 Ws
If this camera took 15-day pictures and 15-night pictures every 24 hours, it would last 3.9 months on a set of lithium batteries. This is pretty good battery life for a cell camera.
Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 0.54 s. / 44.6 s.
Detection Range & Angle: 70 ft. | 44.6° (42.3° F.O.V)
The trigger and recovery times are very respectable for a cell camera. This is more than capable of capturing a fast moving animal.
The detection range is 70 feet, which is good. The detection zone is large enough to cover a big area, allowing you to monitor open areas whether you are using the camera for security or wildlife.
Dimensions: 6" x 5" x 3.25" w/o antenna
Battery Type: 12 AA Batteries
External Battery Jack: 6-Volt
Spartan Gocam Red Glow AT&T Reviews Setup Process:
Method #1: Go to www.spartancamera.com. Create an account and log in. Go to Shop > Buy AT&T Service. Follow the steps to activate your data service.
Please note: All current Spartan cameras that we have now come with this sim card and must be set up this way. The bad news is the plans cost more now, the good news is the HCO premium service is included and won't be a separate charge.
Method #2: Older models require using the buy a session website. If you received a sim card labeled "Buyasession" or if you purchased the camera prior to November of 2018, follow the next few steps.
Activate the service at www.att.com/buyasession. From here, you create an account and select your desired monthly plan. Here are the options for U.S. customers:
- 250 MB of data for 24 hours - $5.00
- 250 MB of data for 30 days - $14.99
- 2 GB of data for 3 months - $25.00 (in our opinion this is the best value)
- 3 GB of data for 30 days - $30.00
- 5 GB of data for 30 days - $50.00
There is no contract with these plans, you can start and stop at any time all with the click of a button. At times, the buy a session website gives us fits and doesn't work. Also, AT&T has complete control over the plans and can (and has in the past) change plans abruptly and without warning. We have recently seen the plans fluctuate in price on some accounts (and not others?) and can ask for up to $50 for a data plan (which is ridiculous).
As with any AT&T cellular camera, the Spartan GoCam game trail camera needs good AT&T 4G cellular reception. We recommend taking an AT&T phone to the area you will set the camera, taking a photo with your phone and texting it to someone. If the picture goes through quickly, the camera should work in that area. One or two bars of reception will not be good enough for this camera.
We are available for consultation to our customers. Due to cellular setup taking quite a bit of time via a phone call, we do charge $30 to walk you through setup if you do not purchase from us. If you did purchase from us, we will spend any amount of time walking you through it free of charge.
GoWireless Premium
Benefits include:
- Enables two-way communication from user to camera (remotely)
- Option of increasing thumbnail image to 1280 x 960 (which is up from 640x480). This makes objects/people easier to identify
- Up to 10 scheduled events. I.e. Tell the camera to send a status report or take a photo.
- Change or add email address' that the camera sends to. Send to more than one address
- Check the battery status, signal level, temperature, SD card space, and number of photos taken
Case Design
The camera's case design is solid and works well. The latch is big and beefy and manipulates easily even in cold weather. The functionality of the screen, viewer, and settings operate quickly and intuitively. This is one of the stronger aspects of this camera.
Durability
Up to this point, durability has been average so far on the AT&T 4G units. If a problem arises, we will update this review immediately.
The Spartan 4G AT&T is a 2019 cellular trail camera. This camera scores well in picture quality, battery life, and case design, but struggles with usability.
Enjoy our reviews? Please consider purchasing your next trail camera from us.
FAQ's: Spartan 4G AT&T
Q: How do I view the pictures?
A: There are a number of ways to do this. First, pictures/videos are stored on the SD card you place in the camera. After that, the pictures can be set to be emailed/texted to only one phone number or email. If you pay for Spartan's Premium Service, the pictures are sent to an app on your phone.
Q: Will this trail camera trigger on small animals (birds, rodents, etc.)?
A: Trail cameras detect a combination of heat and movement, so, yes, small mammals will trigger the camera. However, if you are going after smaller warm-blooded mammals, we recommend getting the camera closer to your target. For best performance, place the camera in an area that would enable picture detection from 3 - 20 ft.
Q: Can animals see the infrared flash on this camera?
A: This is somewhat controversial. Humans can't see the flash as the nanometer spectrum is above what the human eye can detect (that is where the 940 comes from in the Dark Ops name). It's also much harder for an animal to see, but that could depend on the species of animal as different species see in different light spectrums.
Q: Where can I purchase this camera?
A: From us! We hope to woo you with our incredible charm, two-year warranty, 90-day returns, free continental U.S. shipping, and technical expertise.
Seriously, though, we know you have plenty of options of where to spend your hard-earned money. The internet can be the wild, wild, west of too-good-to-be-true deals. If you choose to do business with us, we will go out of our way to make sure you are happy with the camera you select and the service we provide you.
We are passionate about testing and reviewing trail cameras, but most importantly, we are passionate about treating our customers the right way. We do things differently from what you have come to expect from other internet retailers and we hope you give us the opportunity to prove that to you.
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