RONIN INFRARED CAMERA FAQs

The camera contains multiple features to help prevent theft: It has a camouflage front face to make it harder to see. Two strap slots molded into the case are designed for use with straps that have a locking metal cable running through them. The camera has a built in lock and there is a backup padlock eyehole. Finally, the built in GPS receiver can be set to “lock” the camera to a specific location. If the camera is moved from this location, it will automatically disable all functions until it receives a password. This will effectively brick the camera if it is stolen by someone without the password!

The standard specs for the camera are as followed: Desktop or wall mounted monitor system with built-in color touchscreen display. Integrated 915Mhz Radio, WiFi, and 100Mbps Ethernet connection. HDMI port for connecting to external monitor. Powered from wall adapter or any 12V battery source (such as a car adapter) Can connect to nine Ronin Cameras each up to ~9 miles away. Manages the cameras and the Android/iOS app. Allows multiple users to access the cameras, send free text or email alerts when motion, low battery, or lost link is detected, and to live view any camera. Image and Video management system stores all received images and allows easy viewing.

Yes, but without a Sentinel you cannot receive free email or text alerts when it captures an image and you cannot live view or modify the camera settings unless you are physically at the camera. The cameras will still function normally and capture all images to their SD cards which can then be easily processed on your computer. You can also setup Ronin Cameras so that they listen for a Sentinel connection at the top of each hour. When a Sentinel comes into range at that time, it can link to the camera and download all the pictures automatically! This is very handy for remote placement where you plan to periodically come by with a battery powered Sentinel and eliminates the need to disturb the site to get your images.

The maximum range a camera can be away from a Sentinel is ~9 miles in most situations. This heavily depends on the type of antenna you are using, the height the signal is traveling from the ground, and any obstacles impeding the signal. In addition, you can daisy chain cameras together to longer ranges. Check out ANTENNAS EXPLAINED before you buy a camera to see an in-depth explanation.

There are lots of very cheap trail cameras in the marketplace. The Ronin Camera is different because: The Ronin has two cameras instead of one and the second camera is a thermal imaging system made by FLIR which is, unfortunately, expensive. Thermal imaging cameras alone typically cost from $600 to as much as $20,000 depending on their features. But we believe that having thermal imaging with our “Color Tracker” technology is such a game changer in terms of detection distance and to highlight animals and people that it is well worth the added cost for many users. The Ronin uses radio and free email and texting alerts instead of cellular with a monthly fee. High speed and long range radio can also be expensive which makes almost every other trail camera use a cell modem instead. But using cellular means you have to (a) be in an area with cell coverage and (b) pay a monthly fee either for every image sent or for a fixed number of images. That makes these cameras more expensive in the long term and gives the designers no incentive to eliminate false trips. The Ronin Camera overcomes both problems by using Radio and you will NEVER be charged by us to receive an alert on your phone with an attached picture or to access past pictures. There is nothing we think is more unfair than selling a product to someone where after they bought it they still have to pay a monthly fee just to get all the features to work! The Ronin has a complete rechargeable battery system built in. Most other cameras either require you to use expensive and wasteful non-rechargeable batteries or to add on an external battery charger if you want to use solar charging. The Ronin Camera has these features all built in to every unit with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) which means you can just plug in any solar panel you want at any time without any fuss and get the most out of it. The Ronin is both easy to use and completely controllable. Cheap trail cameras usually give you little control over their operation. The Ronin Camera can be live viewed and completely setup using the free Ronin Camera app available for your Android or iOS device and integrates seamlessly with the Ronin Sentinel. When used as a security camera for far distant locations on your property there is simply nothing else on the market that gives you this level of security, control, and peace of mind. It is designed to last. Many trail cameras barely last a season but you won’t have that problem with the Ronin Camera. We used the highest quality parts from the batteries to the case to the electronics to ensure the camera will last for years. We back that up with a warranty and the best customer service in the industry. Ready for a different trail camera experience? Try the Ronin Camera system!

The standard specs for the camera are as followed: Dual Camera System – 5MP 1080p Video Camera and FLIR Thermal Imaging Camera. Can record images or videos with programmable resolution and frame rate. Detection distance: Passive IR Sensor 80’ to 100’ away or FLIR up to 200’ distance. Adjustable sensitivity, debounce, and FLIR zone of detection. Supports up to 2 TB SD Cards. Fast trigger time of 0.1 sec in Large Solar/Wall Power modes, 0.5 sec in Small Solar/Batt+FLIR mode, or ~3 sec in Batt Only mode. Built in solar charger with MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking) Technology WiFi, USB, and 915MHz Radio for connectivity. Radio link up to 9 miles in most situations depending on terrain an antenna. Additional range possible by daisy chaining cameras together. Integrated GPS receiver with camera security tracking options. Invisible nighttime infrared flash for high quality nighttime pictures without giving camera position away. Wide Temperature range operation -20C to + 85C. 110 degree field of view Locking case and security strap points.

The Ronin Sentinel is a radio transceiver base station for Ronin Cameras. It connects to cameras using a 915Mhz radio for live viewing and to receive photos and information from cameras up to 9 miles distant. You can connect nine different cameras to one Sentinel. If the Sentinel is in an area where it can be connected to the internet, either by WiFi or Ethernet, it can email or text you the photos it receives from the cameras for free! An app can also connect to the Sentinel allowing you to live view and change configuration of radio linked cameras right from your phone.

Yes! You can connect the camera by WiFi to your network and then use the Ronin Sentinel to manage the alerts, live view, and programming the cameras. WiFi can also be used anytime you are physically close to the camera to link it from your phone and do setup, live viewing, or other tasks. The phone app works on Android and iOS devices.

The Ronin Camera is a high-tech, battery powered, trail or property dual security camera. It has both a regular HD Video camera and a FLIR Thermal Imaging camera to give you much more detailed, accurate, and longer range detection of people, animals, and vehicles. Instead of cellular, it uses a radio to transmit pictures up to 9 miles to a base station called the Ronin Sentinel.

Yes! Although some components in the cameras come from overseas, the product has been completely designed and assembly entirely in the USA by a family owned and operated company.

The battery life of the camera depends a lot on the application. We have 4 different power modes the camera can run on that will increase/decrease the lifespan of the camera. Batt Only is not as powerful and turns off some of the features of the camera but can last over 8 months with no solar panel. Check out BATTERY MODES EXPLAINED to learn more.

Yes! If the Ronin Sentinel is connected to the camera you can live view it at any time. If you are connected to the same WiFi network as the Ronin Sentinel you can even live view the camera directly from your phone, tablet, or desktop computer (Android, Windows, Mac, or iOS).

OVERVIEW: All systems are kept active including FLIR, Video, Radio (if enabled), and WiFi (if enabled). FLIR or Passive IR can be used to detect motion with a 0.1sec trigger time. Motion alerts are sent immediately by the Ronin Sentinel using text or email and users can live view from the camera at any time. Camera status is updated every minute and unit will last indefinitely while connected to wall power. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: All systems are kept active including FLIR, Video, Radio (if enabled), and WiFi (if enabled). FLIR or Passive IR can be used to detect motion. System power draw is 145mA (no Radio or WiFi), 158mA (Radio On), or 195mA (WiFi On) and unit will last indefinitely while plugged into the wall. ​ When motion detected on Passive-IR or FLIR sensor: Capture time is up to 0.111 seconds to first image with a power draw of ~165mA (not including IR LED FLASH, WiFi, or Radio). Subsequent images can be captured at a 9Hz rate (0.111 sec between image). If the Radio is enabled and setup to send alerts: Every minute status is sent out. Motion ALERTS are sent out whenever motion is detected. If WiFi is enabled in Client mode (connects to existing network) and WiFi alerts are enabled: Every minute status is sent. Motion ALERTS are sent out whenever motion is detected. If WiFi is enabled in Server mode (other devices connect to Camera), system can accept a new connection at any time. Image/Video Downloading, Camera Setup, and Live View is available at any time from any channel. If the Wall Power fails: If “debounce” time was set to exactly the same amount of time as it took to capture an image in this mode (0.1 seconds), and the system was continuously activated, camera would take about 1.8 million pictures (with no flash) over 2.2 days before battery is exhausted. If both IR FLASH are enabled (96 LED’s) power draw surges to 900mA while flash is ON. This changes the duration to: Assuming a 0.2second IR FLASH before image capture (to allow the camera to adjust) and that 33% of the pictures use the flash (the night time), this would reduce the number of images to 580,000 over 21 hours. Power Mode 3 (Wall Power) is only exited when all of the following conditions are met: Once of the other power modes (0-Battery Only, 1-Small Solar, or 2-Large Solar) is set as the main system mode. The LED’s are no longer active. No USB Cable is connected. The camera is not in a specified WiFi active time. No external link has been made for Downloading, Programming, or Live View. All of the above conditions have been true for at least 60 continuous seconds.

OVERVIEW: All systems are kept active including FLIR, Video, Radio (if enabled), and WiFi (if enabled). FLIR or Passive IR can be used to detect motion with a 0.1sec trigger time. Motion alerts are sent immediately by the Ronin Sentinel using text or email and users can live view from the camera at any time. Camera status is updated every 15 minutes and unit will last indefinitely while solar panel is connected. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: All systems are kept active including FLIR, Video, Radio (if enabled), and WiFi (if enabled). FLIR or Passive IR can be used to detect motion. Attached 50W solar panel is averaged out to provide 690mA of power throughout the day (assumes 4 hours of full charge output). System power draw is 113mA (no Radio or WiFi), 128mA (Radio On), or 155mA (WiFi On) and unit will last indefinitely while solar panel is connected. ​ When motion detected on Passive-IR or FLIR sensor: Capture time is up to 0.111 seconds to first image with a power draw of ~165mA (not including IR LED FLASH, WiFi, or Radio). Subsequent images can be captured at a 9Hz rate (0.111 sec between image). If the Radio is enabled and setup to send alerts: Every 15 minutes a status is sent out. If a link is made by Radio, Camera switches to full power mode during the link, and then will return to Power Mode 2 when link is broken. Motion ALERTS are sent out whenever motion is detected. If WiFi is enabled in Client mode (connects to existing network) and WiFi alerts are enabled: Every 15 minutes Status is sent. If external programming connection is made (for live view or download images), Camera switches to full power during the link and returns to Power Mode 2 when link is broken. Motion ALERTS are sent out whenever motion is detected. If the Solar Panel stops providing power: If “debounce” time was set to exactly the same amount of time as it took to capture an image in this mode (0.1 seconds), and the system was continuously activated, camera would take about 2 million pictures (with no flash) over 2.3 days before battery is exhausted. If both IR FLASH are enabled (96 LED’s) power draw surges to 900mA while flash is ON. This changes the duration to: Assuming a 0.2second IR FLASH before image capture (to allow the camera to adjust) and that 33% of the pictures use the flash (the night time), this would reduce the number of images to 614,000 over 22 hours. Power Mode 2 (Large Solar) is stopped and Camera switches to Full Power if any of the following: The “Wakeup!” button is pressed. USB Cable is plugged in. The WiFi is configured with a specific “Wakeup” time and that time occurs. A Radio or WiFi external link is made (usually Live View or a request to download image)

OVERVIEW: Video Camera and WiFi are shutdown while the FLIR and Radio are kept running. Either the Passive IR or FLIR can to be used to detect motion with a 0.5sec trigger time. Motion alerts are sent immediately by the Ronin Sentinel using text or email and users can live view from the camera at any time. Camera status is updated every 30 minutes and unit will last indefinitely as long as solar panel is connect. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: Video Camera and WiFi are shutdown. FLIR and Radio are kept running and system allows the Passive IR or FLIR to be used to detect motion. Attached 20W solar panel is averaged out to provide 280mA of power throughout the day (assumes 4 hours of full charge output). System power draw is 55.6mA (Radio On) or 41.1mA (Radio Off) and unit will last indefinitely while solar panel is connected. ​ When motion detected on Passive-IR or FLIR sensor: Video is powered on and images are captured. Capture time is 0.524 seconds to first image with a power draw of ~165mA (not including IR LED FLASH). Subsequent images can be captured at a 9Hz rate (0.111 sec between image). If the Radio is enabled and setup to send alerts: Every 30 minutes a status is sent out. If a link is made by Radio, Camera switches to full power mode during the link, and then will return to Power Mode 1 when link is broken. Motion ALERTS are sent out whenever motion is detected. If the WiFi is enabled in Client mode (connects to existing network) and WiFi alerts are enabled: Every 30 minutes WiFi is powered on and establishes a link to the network. When link is made: Status is sent. WiFi is kept on for 30 seconds to wait for any external link to be made. Any motion ALERT that occurs during the 30 seconds will be sent. If external programming connection is made (for live view or download images), Camera switches to full power during the link and returns to Power Mode 1 when link is broken. Power draw increases to 142mA while the WiFi is on (if Radio is Off). If the Solar Panel stops providing power: If “debounce” time was set to exactly the same amount of time as it took to capture an image in this mode (0.5 seconds), and the system was continuously activated, camera would take about 800,000 pictures (with no flash) over 9.7 days before battery is exhausted. If both IR FLASH are enabled (96 LED’s) power draw surges to 900mA while flash is ON. This changes the duration to: Assuming a 0.2second IR FLASH before image capture (to allow the camera to adjust) and that 33% of the pictures use the flash (the night time), this would reduce the number of images to 600,000 over 6 days. Power Mode 1 (Small Solar) is stopped and Camera switches to Full Power if any of the following: The “Wakeup!” button is pressed. USB Cable is plugged in. The WiFi is configured with a specific “Wakeup” time and that time occurs. A Radio or WiFi external link is made (usually Live View or a request to download image)

OVERVIEW: This is the lowest power mode that turns the Radio, WiFi, FLIR and the Video camera off and uses a passive infrared (PIR) sensor to detect motion from 80 to 100 feet away. When motion is detected, the FLIR and Video cameras are turned on and the system takes one or more photos or videos. Once per hour the radio is turned on and the camera reports its status to the Ronin Sentinel base station (if present) to allow for collected images to be downloaded. The camera will typically last 8-12 months in the field or up to 35,000 images depending on how it is used. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: Everything is shut down (FLIR, Video Camera, WiFi, and Radio) resulting in the lowest power mode (~1.9mA). Will last about 8 months without any activation's. ​ When motion detected on Passive-IR sensor: FLIR and Video are powered on and images are captured. Capture time is ~2 seconds to first image with a power draw of ~130mA (not including IR LED FLASH). Subsequent images can be captured at a 9Hz rate (0.111 sec between image). If the “debounce” time was set to exactly the same amount of time as it took to capture an image in this mode (2 seconds), and the system was continuously activated, camera would take about 60,000 pictures (with no flash) over 2.8 days before battery is exhausted. If both IR FLASH are enabled (96 LED’s) power draw surges to 900mA while flash is ON. This changes the duration to: Assuming a 0.2second IR FLASH before image capture (to allow the camera to adjust) and that 33% of the pictures use the flash (the night time), this would reduce the number of images that can be captured on a full battery charge to 38,000. If the system was continuously activated, it would last about 23.3 hours. If the Radio is enabled and setup to send alerts: At the top of each hour the Radio is powered on and a system status is sent out. Radio stays on for 30 seconds waiting for an external link. If a link is made, Camera switches to full power mode during the link, and then will return to low power mode when link is broken. This allows for an external Sentinel to connect to the camera at the top of each hour for image download or live viewing. Power draw is ~12mA while waiting for a radio external link to be made. Assuming no pictures are taken and no link is made, camera would last about 5.4 months with this feature enabled. Enabling the radio in this mode reduces the battery duration from 6.7 to 6.1 months. Power Mode 0 (Battery Only) is stopped and Camera switches to Full Power if any of the following: The “Wakeup!” button is pressed. USB Cable is plugged in. The WiFi is configured with a specific “Wakeup” time and that time occurs. A radio link is made at the top of the hour. IMPORTANT: Even in Power Mode 0 a solar panel can still be connected. A 2W or 5W panel will likely keep the unit running indefinitely (depending on number of pictures and IR Flash usage).

OVERVIEW: Video, WiFi, and Radio are kept off while the FLIR is kept on (but images from it are not processed). This mode is the same as Power Mode 0 except the FLIR is kept "warmed" up to speed up the trigger time to 0.5sec and to improve the quality of the FLIR images. Battery life is 10 to 14 days depending on number of images and other factors. IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS: This mode is identical to Power Mode 0, except the FLIR is kept powered on. This reduces the battery life, but keeps the trigger time down to the 0.5sec range with a good quality FLIR image.

Some customers want to make sure their radio communications remain as secure as possible. The Ronin system has multiple levels of available security depending on customer needs: Cameras can be programmed with a unique password that prevents any unauthorized access. The radio has a settable Network ID and sub-frequency channels which must match between the Sentinel and Cameras. This feature also helps run multiple radio networks in the same area. The Sentinel and Cameras support the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) system that generates a unique 128 bit key for your network. Any camera or system that does not have the key cannot access the data stream

For distances less than 1/4 mile or 1500 feet, the system usually works very easily right out of the box. Even from inside a building or house you can typically reach the cameras with the highest speed possible and never give it another thought. ​ For distances greater than 1/4 mile, or when terrain is an issue, additional effort may be required. Placing an omni-directional antenna on the roof for the Sentinel base station is a great first step, and if necessary slowing down the speed to Medium or Low speed will greatly extend the range. This is all that is necessary for most customers. ​ For very challenging configurations with long distances and difficult terrains, customers can add higher dBi antennas to the cameras or use Yagi antennas mounted as high as possible and pointed towards the Sentinel base station. If this is still not enough, turning on daisy chaining between the cameras can exponentially increase the maximum distance to as much as 50 miles!

Ronin Trail Surveillance Cameras have the ability to switch between over 4 different IR Camera modes AFTER the photos have been taken. This allows you to analyze the photo in different thermal signatures. With this feature you can change between them 1 at a time, or view all 4 at the same time! This feature is available for both desktop and mobile devices. Ronin Trail Surveillance Cameras also have the ability to record up to 60 seconds of video at 1080p resolution.

915 Mhz radio with 3 speed modes. Sends Alerts for: Motion with image or video.​ Low Battery. Lost Link. Supports wide range of antennas to allow for greater distance.​ U.S.A, Canada, South America, and Australia certified modules. Camera range up to 9 miles in most conditions. Longer rangers possible depending on line of sight, obsticals, and antenna type, see Antennas explained, for more information. Daisy chain cameras together for even greater range!