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I currently have the motorguide W75 wireless trolling motor. I am looking to upgrade to universal sonar and a spot lock feature. I have gotten used to the noise of operation but was wondering if the MK's are quieter or louder than the motorguide. My rig is a 1860 G3 so I'm not sure if I want to reduce thrust but do want to stay with 24volt system.
Welcome any opinions.
Thanks,
Brian
Brian, I have fished with both recently and I couldn't tell a difference in the amount of noise that each made. I am a MK fan but my father-in-law has the new motorguide wireless and will admit that it is just as nice. The universal sonar works flawlessly on the motorguide and the spot lock seems to do what it is supposed to do without the dreaded "circle troll/freak-out" maneuver. If I were looking for a new setup I would figure out what sort of shaft and thrust I needed and then go for the best deal $$. Unless you are running Hummingbird and want the IPilot feature then your electronics/trolling system shouldn't matter.
I just went from a MK Terrova 80 I-pilot on my 1860 to a MK I-pilot 101 for the new Excel. I never noticed noise from the Terrova as an issue and I found a lot of the issues folks have with spot lock is of their own making by running up to a spot, push spot lock while the boat was still moving and then complain when it made the necessary corrections.. The 80 on my 1860 would let me troll in the roughest conditions I dared being in, would pull the boat at 4mph, and battery life was good. Never had any issues with the MK.
I will say the transducer inside the head on the Terrova is not as good as the transducer that comes with the HB units and it's strictly for 2D sonar. That's why I run one of rnvinc's "da'ducer apparatus" brackets.
da 'ducer apparatus - Podunk (po dungk) A small isolated town, region, or place that is regarded as unimportant. . . .
Don't know if it matters to you but the minn Kota has a display on remote and motor guide doesn't. My buddy has the motor guide xi5 and it is nice.
I've got a MK with I pilot link to my 898 HD SI and 788 HD DI. I have the 788 on my trolling motor and do not use the 2D sonar. I really like the ability to use any of the three to set routes and go to way points. My son will use the MK hand held and I use the foot control when we are spider rigging. We both have the ability to control the MK when the fishing gets fast. I don't have an issue with the noise the way we fish.
I have the MG xi5 and love it.. we long line troll a lot and it does well for that..the spot lock works better on the MG in my opinion from the MK..I cannot tell a big difference in the noise ,but a couple friend has the MK and says that the MG has less noise turning. I do like that the remote on the MK has the screen to tell you which mode you are u and what speed your on...I run Lowrance electronics so everything was plug and play with the MG now they will work with either with different wiring adapters..hope this helps
Thanks for all the replies guys. I will be doing some hard thinking about this during duck season.