The parts that keep a camera or a tracker running: memory cards rated for continuous recording, power banks, a hardwire kit for the car, solar panels for trail cameras, a 4G aerial for a weak signal, and solar routers that carry WiFi to a camera the house cannot reach.
Check whether the camera you are buying comes with a card. A dash cam, trail camera or 4G camera overwrites its card continuously, so it needs one with a video speed rating rather than the card out of an old phone. 32GB suits a 1080p camera, 64GB is about a day of dash cam loop, and 128GB or 256GB suit 4K or a camera that keeps its own archive. A power bank runs a hidden camera or a phone away from a socket. The hardwire kit runs a dash cam or a tracker from the fuse box so it keeps working with the engine off, on 12V cars and 24V trucks.
A 4G camera showing one bar will connect, retry and drain its battery doing it. The panel aerial moves the antenna up a branch or onto a shed roof on a 5 metre lead, which is usually what fixes it. Where WiFi from the house runs out before the camera position, the solar WiFi extender carries the signal up to about 150 metres, and the solar 4G router turns one SIM into WiFi for several cameras, both running on their own panel and battery. For a trail camera that goes flat mid season, a solar panel with a battery inside takes over from the internal cells.
 Memory cards |  Power banks |  Hardwire kit |  Signal |  Solar panels | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Does | Stores the footage | Charges a camera or phone away from a socket | Powers a dash cam or tracker from the fuse box | Gets a weak 4G or WiFi signal to the camera | Keeps a trail camera charged |
| Sizes | 32GB to 256GB | 10000mAh and 20000mAh | 12V and 24V | 5m aerial lead, 150m extender, 50m router | 1500mAh and 8000mAh |
| Suits | Every camera that records to a card | Hidden cameras and phones on the move | Parking mode and permanent installs | A gully, a shed or the far corner of the block | A fence line left for a season |
| See | Memory cards | Power Bank 20000mAh | Hardwire Kit 12V and 24V | 4G panel aerial | Trail Camera Solar Panel 8000mAh |
Dash Camera Buying Guide NZFront and rear, parking mode and 24/7
Trail Camera Buying Guide NZSolar, 4G, GPS and what lasts a winter
4G Security Camera Buying Guide NZSolar, PTZ and zoom comparedMemory Cards Dash Cams Trail Cameras 4G Security Cameras WiFi Security Cameras Bodycams Car GPS Trackers
Check the largest size the listing says the camera supports before buying the biggest card on the page, and use a Class 10 or V30 rated card for anything that records video. Format the card in the camera rather than on a computer, and do it again every couple of months.
Only for parking mode or a permanent install. Plugged into the accessory socket, most cars cut power with the ignition, so a dash cam that should watch a parked car has to run from the fuse box. The kit works on 12V cars and 24V trucks, with an in line fuse and a voltage regulator.
Both carry their own panel and battery, 20000mAh on the router and 26000mAh on the extender. Face the panel north, keep it clear of branches and tilt it steeply so it still catches the low winter sun.
It is built for cameras with a long alligator or crocodile clip on the back, adjusts to about 125cm over a shirt or a jacket, and can be worn as a full chest harness or a single shoulder strap.
