Power supply questions for trail camera

[JJHACK]

I have a trail master TM500 which I used for a long time with a film camera and have no complaints. It's nearly perfect and takes awsome photos. I have since had a Olympus D380 camera modified to work with this trailmaster.

My question is can I use the 6.5 volt input with an alternate battery source to keep the camera powered for long periods. I am not sure if this if for extended downloads to a computer, or maybe only works in monitor mode?

With a strong battery I think you could leave the camera and timer running for a few weeks. I'm going to work on an enclosure to contain the whole works but before I can do this I need some ideas on the alternate power source. I am thinking I can get a gell Cell 6 volt rechargable that will last a hella long time with the camera.

Suggestions??? Thanks guys. When I get this worked out it will be one of my primary scouting tools at the water holes at my lodge in South Africa next year. I will( hope to) have lots of great photo's of Arican game at night at the water.

[Jack Crevalle]

Here's a link that contains some info on adding an external PS to your camera at the bottom of the page. It's unfortunate that the product listed is discontinued because it sounds ideal for your application.

http://www.pixcontroller.com/Products/DirectRSP.htm

Other than that, I would think that a small solar panel charging your gel cell during the day would provide almost continuous use. What, if any additional coupling devices between the battery and the panel might be necessary, I'm not sure.

This might give you some ideas:

http://www.wrightwoodcalif.com/bighorn/solarcam/[/url]