# Question For The Hunters Out There...



## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

A friend of mine has a Scoutguard 550 trailcam, and is trying to figure out a way to read the SD memory card it uses directly into his PC. The way it works now, the only way to view the images is to either take the camera off its mount and bring it back to his laptop in camp (which he does not want to do), or take his laptop out in the bush to the camera (which he REALLY does not want to do!).

His hope is to be able to just pull the SD card out and bring it back to camp. When he inserts the card in his PC though, it asks him to format the card. A sure sign that whatever language the camera (and card) uses, it is not recognized by the PC. My friend says that there are separate viewers available for doing this, but his brand of trailcam does not offer one, and we have been unable to determine if the language/format/operating system is generic to all brands or not. The hope is that somewhere out there, there is a utility that will allow his PC to access the SD card.

Finding nothing but dead ends elsewhere, we are turning to the collective wisdom and experience of the Outbackers community to see if we can figure this thing out. It never ceases to amaze me the depth of the knowledge base that resides within these four (virtual) walls, and am hoping this will be yet another example of what this great resource has to offer.

So... any ideas?

Thanks in advance, and...

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Has your buddy ever been able to get the camera's SD card to sync with a PC?

What happens if he takes a SD card...formats it on a PC...then installs into the camera?

Once we solve the format issues, we can talk about ways of getting the data off the camera without disturbing the setup (think wireless SD cards!!). Oh...how far away will he be from the camera?


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Oregon_Camper said:


> _*Has your buddy ever been able to get the camera's SD card to sync with a PC?*_
> 
> No, that's the problem.
> 
> ...


Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

The scoutguard FAQ on their site says that the camera may be picky about certain brands of SD cards.
I would try another card first.

Also, the camera itself is capable of formatting the card when connected to a PC with the USB cable.
You might try formatting the card in the camera and then see if the PC will read it.

Lastly, I have seen some card readers in PC's that just did not like a certain SD card for some unknown reason.
Try the card in another PC and see how it acts.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

If he has an iPod, he could use this device to sync the files vs. carrying a laptop to/from the location.

http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/as628.html


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Or simply buy another SD card. Here is a 16GB SDHC (yes..GB) for only $40. Not sure how much space he needs, but perhaps if he had two of these, he could simply swap them out as we checked on the camera (daily?)

http://www.amazon.com/Transcend-TS16GSDHC6...7579&sr=8-5


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## webeopelas (Mar 11, 2006)

Gentlemen, please re-read the original post, the problem is not getting the camera to use the card, but to get the PC to read the card when removed from the camera.

From the manual I found online:

There are two ways to playback or edit picture or video:
• Computer
*You can take the SD card out of the camera and use a card reader to view or edit the
picture and video.* Or, you can connect the camera directly to your computer in which
case the camera works as a card reader.
• TV or Picture Viewer (such as a digital picture frame)
You can also connect the camera to a TV or other picture viewer to view or
edit the picture or video. Note that the stand-alone operations of playback and
deleting can only be done in the TEST mode. The following instructions demonstrate
how to use TV or other picture viewer to view picture or video.

So you should be able to pull it out and read it elsewhere. Has he tried a different computer? His card reader may be bad.

The only other option would be to try another SD card. I am assuming he has sucessfully pulled pics off of the unit by connecting the unit to the PC right? The unit could be less discriminating than the PC, but if the card if functioning correctly in the unit, then I lean heavily toward his card reader/computer being the problem.


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## PDX_Doug (Nov 16, 2004)

Thanks for all the input on this one guys.
It certainly sounds like either a bad card or reader. I will have my friend try different pieces and see what happens.

Happy Trails,
Doug


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## Nathan (Jan 2, 2007)

Oregon_Camper said:


> If he has an iPod, he could use this device to sync the files vs. carrying a laptop to/from the location.
> 
> http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/as628.html


If he doesn't have an Ipod, there's this solution too:
Wolverine MVP 60GB

I have an early version without the fancy viewer and it works great. They still support a 5 year old device with software updates which is impressive in itself!


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

webeopelas said:


> Gentlemen, please re-read the original post, the problem is not getting the camera to use the card, but to get the PC to read the card when removed from the camera.


I for one read this as Doug was asking for a two fold problem

_The way it works now, the only way to view the images is to either take the camera off its mount and bring it back to his laptop in camp (which he does not want to do), or take his laptop out in the bush to the camera (which he REALLY does not want to do!).
_
From that message, I was under the impression his buddy was looking for another to store the data (once the format issue was solved).


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## N7OQ (Jun 10, 2006)

The card readers in Laptops don't always read a larger card but will handle a smaller on. My sons Laptop will read his 2gb card fine but when he tries to read his 8gb sc card in his Laptop it does not recognize that format and want to format it. But if I put it in my Laptop it will read it. If we use a USB reader we have it always reads it.


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