HCO Spartan Red Glow - Verizon Review

Trailcampro Comprehensive Score:

In Progress

This is a discontinued trail camera. Shop new HCO Cameras Here.

HCO Spartan Verizon Red Glow Review

- This red glow cellular trail camera offers incredible value. This cell camera has plans starting at $15 a month. Setup is easy and pictures are good. It does use a lot of battery, though. - TCP Staff

Model # GC-VZWi (Verizon) or GC-VCTi | Cellular Setup Instructions


Pros
  • Low resting power
  • Cellular setup is relatively easy
  • Good picture quality
  • Solid case design

Cons

  • Average battery life
  • Slow trigger speed

Trailcampro Analysis

The HCO Spartan GoCam is a red glow infrared cellular 3G trail camera. Red glow infrared simply means the camera emits a red glow when it takes a picture at night. For this reason, we would classify the Spartan as a wildlife camera and not a security camera. The Spartan GoCam works on AT&T or Verizon towers (you will need to specify the carrier the camera will use when ordering), but can send emails/texts to any phone no matter what carrier the phone uses.

One of the biggest challenges for cellular cameras the last several years has been the availability and hassle of getting the correct sim card. The Spartan GoCam has simplified the process and erased the need to go to a local AT&T or Verizon store and haggle over which sim card to get. The cellular setup for this camera can be done with your home computer, in just minutes. There is no contract and you can start/stop service at any time. We will talk more about cellular setup a little later, for now, let's see what else the camera has to offer.

Picture Quality:

Photo resolution: 8, 5 or 3 mpxl | Video Resolution: No video in cell mode | Flash Type: Red Glow Infrared

The sample pictures you will see in this review are directly from the camera via email. Any picture that is emailed is a compressed file, so the resolution and size are smaller. The full-size image will be saved on the sd card.

Daytime pictures are very solid. Good color and clarity are on display. We did not receive any blurry daytime photos. If you sign up for the premium service, the picture resolution can be set to 1280 x 960. This makes a huge difference in picture quality.

[powr-image-slider label="2906165"]

If you sign up for the premium service, the picture resolution can be set to 1280 x 960. This makes a huge difference in picture quality.

Battery Life:

Verizon Data: Resting Power (on): 1.02 mW | Daytime Power Consumption: 50.21 Ws | Nighttime Power Consumption: 52.24 Ws

The camera operates on 12 AA batteries. We only recommend lithium batteries for this camera, as they deliver a high and consistent voltage that alkaline and rechargeable batteries simply can't maintain.

If this camera took 15-day pictures and 15-night pictures every 24 hours, it would last 3.3 months on a set of lithium batteries.

Detection Circuit:

Picture Trigger & Recovery Speed: 1.20 / 62.6 s. | Video Trigger & Recovery Speed: No video in cell mode | Detection Range: 100 ft.

The trigger speed on the Spartan GoCam is 1.2 seconds, which by today's standards is below average. The camera takes approximately 62 seconds to recover after each picture taken. This is very typical for a cellular trail camera.

The detection range is 100 ft. and wide. This camera can detect a rather large area and makes it useful in a variety of situations.

Quality of Design:

Dimensions: 6" x 5" x 3.25" w/o antenna | Battery Type: 12 AA Batteries | External Battery Jack: 6 Volt

Ease of use is our favorite category for this camera. Cellular setup has given us nightmares lately with some of the cellular trail cameras. The GoCam can be setup from your home computer, in just a few minutes.

HCO Spartan Gocam Red Glow Verizon Reviews Setup Process:

Activate the service at http://www.hcooutdoors.com/products/service/vzwservice.html.

  • 50MB/Month - 1,000 photos/month - $14.99 a month
  • 250MB/Month - 5,0000 photos/month (640 x 480 thumbnail size) - $19.99 a month - 3 month plan $56.99 - 6 month plan $107.99
  • 1GB/Month - 20,000 photos/month (640 x 480 thumbnail size) - $24.99 a month - 3 month plan $71.99 - 6 month plan $137.99
  • 6GB/Year - 120,0000 photos/year (640 x 480 thumbnail size) - $249.99 a year
  • Add a device to an existing Verizon account for $5.00 a month. There may be a $35.00 activation fee involved with this option. If you purchased the plans through HCO model you can still add it to an existing Verizon account, by calling HCO prior to setting the device up with Verizon, so they can activate the MEID number.

As with any cellular camera, the Spartan GoCam needs good Verizon cellular reception. We recommend taking a Verizon 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. You need a minimum of 3.

This camera is only capable of sending pictures to an email address, it does not text pictures to a phone. However, you can bypass that by entering the phone number as 5555555555@mms.att.net for AT&T phones or 5555555555@vzwpix.com and it will come as a text message.

During the HCO Spartan Gocam Verizon review, we found the setup is relatively simple, but we are available for consultation for 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
HCO has a premium service you can subscribe to for $4 per month. 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.
  • Check the battery status, signal level, temperature, SD card space, and number of photos taken
Since HCO charges for this service, we did not include these benefits in our rating of this camera. If they were to give it away for free (which we think they should do), then our ratings would reflect these added benefits.

Case design is pretty flawless in our eyes. The latch is big, sturdy and easy to operate (even with cold fingers!). There is a threaded insert on the bottom of the camera for a Slate River Mount and the back bracket is designed to fit a Python Cable as well.

This is a new camera so durability is unknown at this time. From the design and "feel" of this camera, we wouldn't expect any problems but we can't say that with any certainty.

Enjoy our reviews? Please consider purchasing your next trail camera from us.

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Additional Resources:

Trail Cameras that Send Pictures to Your Phone

Manufacturer Specifications

  • 6 Volt External Battery Jack
  • 2" internal viewing screen
  • Red Glow IR flash
  • 8 mpxl interpolated photos (saved to SD card)
  • Time lapse programming
  • Time, date, temperature, and moon phase stamped on pictures
  • SD card overwrite
  • Accepts up to 32 gig SD card
  • Requires 12 AA batteries (lithium)

trail camera warranty

Buy your next trail camera or accessory from us and we will protect your purchase with our 90-day return policy and our exclusive 2-year warranty.

Most manufacturer warranties are only one year. In our opinion, that isn't good enough. Our customers get a two-year warranty, directly from us.

Trailcampro's 2 Year Warranty

If the trail camera you purchase from us goes defective within two years of your purchase, we will quickly replace it.

We strive to make the warranty process as quick and easy as possible. Simply fill out our warranty form.

Trailcampro's 90 Day Return Policy

We believe you have the right to return any game camera that does not meet your expectations within 90 days.

Our return policy lets you field test products, at no risk to you!

  • Buyer's remorse? Return the camera to us for a full refund (minus shipping).
  • Purchased the wrong camera? We will ship you the right camera.
  • Something wrong with the camera you received? We will replace it at no cost to you.

Want to talk to a trail camera expert? Contact our friendly staff.

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    Ups Ground Shipping Times Domestic Shipping Options
    • Free UPS Economy Shipping on all orders over $99
    • Free shipping applies only to the lower 48 states and will be shipped via the most economical method.
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    • We are happy to offer expedited shipping options. Prices are shown during checkout.
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    International rates vary by country and postal code. Please click here for detailed international rates.

    Trailcampro L.L.C.

    3048 S. Clifton Ave
    Suite 108
    Springfield, MO 65807
    1-800-791-0660

    HCO Spartan Accessories

    Here are a few of the accessories we like to use in the Spartan Red Glow.


    Energizer Ultimate Lithiums | 12 Pack

    $29.95

    - There is no downside to using lithium batteries. Long battery life, extreme durability and better night pictures. You will be happy you did.


    HCO Spartan Security Case

    $31.95

    - Use this to protect your new camera from bears and thieves. It provides much-needed peace of mind when leaving your camera out in nature.


    6 Foot Python Cable Lock

    $19.95

    - Use this with the security case, or just the camera itself. The Spartan has brackets on the back specifically for this lock.



    Extra SD Cards

    Start at $5.95

    - SD cards store your pictures and videos for easy removal. We give you a free SD card with the Spartan Red Glow, but most people use a second card. If you have two cards, you can swap them out when you retrieve the pictures.

    Verified Customer Reviews

    We ensure that every customer review comes from one of our real customers and not someone who works for the competing trail camera manufacturer. These are verified customer trail camera reviews that you can trust.

    We would love your feedback if you purchased this trail camera from us. We want your honest feedback, these reviews are a vital part in helping consumers choose the right game camera.