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Published 28 Jun 2023

Ltl Acorn 5310wa


Overview

Camera data
ModelLtl-5310a
ManufacturerZhuhai Ltl Acorn Electronic Co.,Ltd
Board IDs
TypeTrailCam
Memory cardSD
Date2014

The Ltl Acorn 5310wa, is a Trail-cam/Scouting camera/Game camera/Surveillance camera with night vision capability.

Ltl Acorn 5310wa camera
Ltl Acorn 5310wa

Designed for monitoring wildlife or security/surveillance it is reasonably weatherproof, and can run for up to 6 months without changing batteries. The case is coloured either camouflage green or black.

Hardware description

The Ltl Acorn 5310a has a 5 Megapixel camera (interpolated to 12Mp 2)), and two passive infrared sensors. One sensor (the 'prep' sensor) is lit by two lenses angled at 50º to either side. It is basically a Ltl-5210a with more infra-red LEDs for night illumination.

Described as a 12MP camera in advertising, yet it is also described as only having a 5MP sensor. The extra inserted pixels in the 4000 x 3000 images are interpolated (ie average of adjacent pixels) - ie literally a waste of space on your SD card just for marketing hype and actually a degradation of picture quality.

The original version has no microphone, but later revisions incorporate a mono microphone under a small hole to the right of the PIR sensors.

FeatureSpecifications
Firmware versionV1.0.026TA
LensF = 2.8; FOV = 100°; Auto infrared cutout
Image sensor5 Megapixel (2592 x 1944) colour CMOS
ISO sensitivity
Image size5 Mp (2592 x 1944), 12Mp (4000 x 3000)
Video size1280 x 720 at 20fps, 640 x 480 at 30 fps, 320 x 240 at 30 fps
Infrared flash range20 m
LCD screen48 x 35.69 mm; 480 x 234 pixel; 16.7 M colour
Memory SD cardUp to 16 GB, preferably HC 10 speed
PIR sensitivityOff/High/Normal/Low
PIR sensing distance20 m(below 25°C)
Prep PIR sensing angleLeft and right light beams form an angle of 100°; Each lens covers 10°
Main PIR sensing angle35°
Operation modeDay/Night
Trigger delay0.6 sec (when using the 2 GB SD card)
reTrigger interval0 sec to 60 min
Still photos1 to 3
Video length1 to 60 sec
Photo plus videoTakes still photo then video
Sound plus videono
Time lapse capture1 sec to 24 hours
Time lapse plus photono
Time stamp photosID, moon phase, temperature (ºF, ºC), date and time
Time stamp videosDate and time
Password4-digit PIN
Device ID setting4 alphanumeric characters
Power supply4 x AA (8 x AA with backpack). Or external 6V DC
Stand by current400 µA
Stand by time3 months (6 months with backpack)
Power savingAuto power off after 2 minutes of keypad inactivity
Power consumption150 mA (+500 mA when infrared LEDs fire)
FeatureSpecifications
Firmware versionV161027_53W
Image sensor5 Megapixel (2592 x 1944) colour CMOS
Image size5 Mp (2592 x 1944), 12Mp (4000 x 3000)
Video size1920 x 1080 at 15fps, 1280 x 720 at 20fps, 640 x 480 at 30 fps, 320 x 240 at 30 fps
Sound plus videomono

Components

Operation

Opening the cover at the bottom reveals the battery compartment, external power socket, video out socket (NTSC), USB socket, SD card, and OFF/ON/TEST switch.

Test” mode allows the changing of parameters, check of the sensor field of detection, and review of images stored.

For normal operation it is switched to the middle position : ”On”. It flashes red twelve times to confirm operation and to give you time to leave before the camera is armed and ready to take photographs.

The prep sensor wakes up the camera so that it is ready to trigger when movement is detected on the main sensor. This delay between the “prep” sensor being triggered, and the main sensor being ready is about 0.8 seconds. The idea being that the camera can stay in low power standby mode (400µA) for long periods and go to full power only when something to photograph is imminent.

It can be set to take a burst of photos or a video (or both) every time the PIR sensors detect motion.

In time-lapse mode it can take a burst of photos and/or a video at regular intervals, and it also takes PIR triggered images too if they occur (timing doesn't appear to be that precise, as when set for a 10 second interval, the delay between images varied from 8 to 9 seconds). You can set the PIR sensitivity to ”Off” if you don't want the additional movement triggered images.

There are also two start/stop timers so that the camera can be made to be only active during specified periods.

Normal operation

Setup mode starts up after a 2 second delay when the OFF/ON/TEST switch is switched from ”Off” to ”Test”. The Acorn colour logo displays and the camera live preview screen comes up. Overlaid on the live image are icons and text showing camera/video/camera+, 5M/12M, battery level, SD card number of files and total capacity. If there are no key-presses for 3 minutes, the camera powers off.

"TEST" mode menu

Blue menu background, firmware V1.0.026TA:

Setup
ModeCamera/Video/Cam+Video
Format
Photo Size5MP/12MP
Video Size720P/640×480/320×240
Set Clock
Picture No.01 Photo/02 Photos/03 Photos
Video LengthAVI 1 Sec thru AVI 60 Sec
Interval0 Sec thru 60 Min
Sense LevelOff/Normal/High/Low
Time StampOn/Off
Timer1On/Off
Timer2On/Off
Password SetOn/Off
Serial NOOn/Off
Time LapseOn/Off
Side PIROn/Off
Default Set

In this version of the firmware, if there is no SD card present the Acorn logo and sound appears, then the screen goes blank with no live screen or menu.



Green menu background, firmware V161027_53W:

Setup
ModeCamera/Video/Cam+Video
Format
Photo Size5MP/12MP
Video Size720P/640×480/320×240
Set Clock
Picture No.01 Photo/02 Photos/03 Photos
Video LengthAVI 1 Sec thru AVI 60 Sec
Interval0 Sec thru 60 Min
Sense LevelOff/Normal/High/Low
Time StampOn/Off
Timer1On/Off
Timer2On/Off
Password SetOn/Off
Serial NOOn/Off
Time LapseOn/Off
Side PIROn/Off
RecycleOn/Off
TV modeNTSC/PAL
VersionV161027_53W
Default Set

In this revision of the firmware, if there is no SD card present a live screen appears with “No SD Card!” overlaid, menus are available.


Examples

5310wa top end
5310wa front5310wa side5310wa back5310wa side
5310wa bottom end





5310wa bottom end open

5310wa battery compartment


Tear down

The backplate is held on by 6 screws, and after releasing the PCB ribbon cable to the keypad, opens out to reveal the colour LCD and SD card socket:

5310wa disassembled

5310wa disassembled

The Off/On/Test switch (seen in the bottom right corner of the above photo) is a weak point in these cameras. When the contacts corrode it becomes unreliable, and results in a variety of symptoms. Most commonly it is evidenced by the camera being unable to be switched into ”Test” mode.

Off/On/Test switch

The screws, securing the backplate, screw into mounts through silicon washers to minimise moisture ingress :

5310wa screw hole and washer5310wa screw hole5310wa silicon washer

The rear panel LCD is connected via a 40 pin flex cable, and mounted in a plastic carrier.

LCD frontLCD back
LCD connector

References and Additional Resources

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1) PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
2) many adverts seem to fudge whether it has a 12MP sensor