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Solar Security Camera - What are your thoughts? Soliom S90 Review

Another thing to consider is where that video came from. Hobotech is one of the bigger full time RV shills out there. He will sell his soul for free stuff. Like The Depreys, RV with Tito and most of them. Every review is "This is the greatest thing EVER!!" and then you read that they got something for free to post a positive review. There are a precious few who do NOT play that payola game.

I used to write a tech column for a small newspaper where I live. That paper had a big enough circulation that software and hardware manufacturers got wind of it and started sending me stuff with an included message similar to "We are happy to provide this to you at no charge for you to review. We think you will like our product." If it was hardware I installed it used it for a week. Software I installed and immediately started beating it up so I had a review in 2 days. In EVERY case, and I mean EVERY case, when I was done, I sent it back. That eliminated ANY doubt as to the ethics with which I wrote reviews. There was one particular case where I was sent a very early version of a Nighthawk router. I liked that router to the point that when I sent the test unit back I went out and bought one. Anybody posting reviews has to be absolutely pure in this area so the reviews can never be suspected to be tainted by the possibility that the review was positive in exchange for product. That is just basic journalistic ethics. But people like the few I mentioned above do NOT have that ethical and moral compass and they have NEVER given a bad review to anything. I actually had SMC come back to me and ask me how they could improve the thing I gave a bad review to. (I think it was some wireless USB dongle or something that dropped connection a lot.) And just to be honest since this is now on the record, most of my reviews were neutral, where I said "This item is a middle of the pack item, no better or worse than many of their competitors." Often software was just returned with no review because if, for example, CAD software was sent to someone like me with no interest, no desire and no skill to use it, how could I give it a fair review? I can't say "This stuff sucks" based on MY not being able to figure out how to use it. CAD software can take many months to master. But the key to this reply is not to speak about me as much as to tell you to be aware and skeptical of reviews you see from people who accept payola. That particular guy is widely known for this.
I just stumbled upon his channel yesterday. I don't follow him or any of the ones you mentioned. Not my speed/type. He DIDN'T give a good review though. Will Prowse seems to be one of the few that give impartial reviews.
 
I just stumbled upon his channel yesterday. I don't follow him or any of the ones you mentioned. Not my speed/type. He DIDN'T give a good review though. Will Prowse seems to be one of the few that give impartial reviews.

Will is honest and that's why we trust him. There's one guy who I watched as I was buying my little trailer that was honest in his older reviews but has now become a shill so I stopped watching. It's also important to stay mindful that people will sell what THEY have because it works for them. Like the guy here who I have set to ignore because every post contains a plug for Victron. It's like "I'm happy for you that you like your Victron stuff. But shut up already and stop being a salesman." The guy I stopped viewing has taken to plugging Jackery because he was gifted 2 of them in exchange for his review. What taints the review is that his Jackery is the ONLY portable power solution he knows about, and good reviews include compare and contrast with similar products. It's like the loud guy at the bar who bashes Ford but has never owned one. "I had a buddy who had a Ford and it BLEW UP!" Well, that is called "anecdotal evidence". Unless YOU have tested a For vs a Chevy vs a Ram, your opinion is tainted and has no value.

WILL, however, HAS tested all of them. And his reviews are objective 99.9% of the time. He did one where he said "don't buy this thing" based on the power switch breaking. You simply can't say that the power switch is going to break on every unit produced because that ONE did. Test 500 of them.

The RV full time people with no jobs that live by begging viewers for donations will never have my respect. That is just a different kind of welfare. One guy who I will not mention was busted by the public after he lied about his RV needing a transmission. He had a Gofundme for that and raised 5 times what a transmission would cost. And he never had a transmission problem. He raised 20 grand based on that lie. And MOST of those RV nomad types with youtube channels as their only source of income are exactly the same kind of deceitful liars as that guy. And they get those payola offers from vendors and eat them up like Cap'n Crunch. The original, not the Boo Berry.
 
Nope, looks like the company pulled them down. The entire setup, wiring and all. I got a TON of solar stuff from the place.
If you can ship them for under $10, I'll take them. I'll put them on my things to hack for fun list to see if I can bypass the cellular requirement.

EDIT: Just remembered I have a bunch of 2.4 Ghz cameras that I need to revive from the dead, first. They totally worked last time I used them, probably 15-20 years ago. So, let's see if someone else wants your cameras first.

What I like about your cameras is they have to be weather proof.
 
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Another thing to consider is where that video came from. Hobotech is one of the bigger full time RV shills out there. He will sell his soul for free stuff. Like The Depreys, RV with Tito and most of them. Every review is "This is the greatest thing EVER!!" and then you read that they got something for free to post a positive review. There are a precious few who do NOT play that payola game.

I used to write a tech column for a small newspaper where I live. That paper had a big enough circulation that software and hardware manufacturers got wind of it and started sending me stuff with an included message similar to "We are happy to provide this to you at no charge for you to review. We think you will like our product." If it was hardware I installed it used it for a week. Software I installed and immediately started beating it up so I had a review in 2 days. In EVERY case, and I mean EVERY case, when I was done, I sent it back. That eliminated ANY doubt as to the ethics with which I wrote reviews. There was one particular case where I was sent a very early version of a Nighthawk router. I liked that router to the point that when I sent the test unit back I went out and bought one. Anybody posting reviews has to be absolutely pure in this area so the reviews can never be suspected to be tainted by the possibility that the review was positive in exchange for product. That is just basic journalistic ethics. But people like the few I mentioned above do NOT have that ethical and moral compass and they have NEVER given a bad review to anything. I actually had SMC come back to me and ask me how they could improve the thing I gave a bad review to. (I think it was some wireless USB dongle or something that dropped connection a lot.) And just to be honest since this is now on the record, most of my reviews were neutral, where I said "This item is a middle of the pack item, no better or worse than many of their competitors." Often software was just returned with no review because if, for example, CAD software was sent to someone like me with no interest, no desire and no skill to use it, how could I give it a fair review? I can't say "This stuff sucks" based on MY not being able to figure out how to use it. CAD software can take many months to master. But the key to this reply is not to speak about me as much as to tell you to be aware and skeptical of reviews you see from people who accept payola. That particular guy is widely known for this.
To be fair, Hobotech has given bad reviews. He has stated on multiple instances he would not recommend products.

He and other content creators are barraged with products to sell on a daily basis. Folks like him have an audience who want reviews of the various products out there related to the traveling lifestyle. Doing videos such as those has given them an opportunity to satisfy their audience and make a living at the same time.
That is a win-win.
I also really like Will Prowse too. He has an appeal of honest innocence which is very nice to see. I'm glad he can continue to afford to create his content from the sale of his books and I continue to look forward to his offerings of knowledge.

I understand the concept of different strokes for different folks. I am one of those consumers who likes the whole spectrum & variety of content creators - from purely technical/educational to dramatic & entertaining.
 
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