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if i set a course towards a given spot using cruise control and advanced autopilot with a 10 mph crosswind, should i expect good results? this is a 55 lb pd v2 on a 16 ft aluminum jonboat. fully charged batteries.
i actually had issues with this situation yesterday. losing the course completely, surging three tenths above and dropping three tenths below the target speed of .5 mph. even straight into the wind the performance was not good. i am very concerned.
thanks.
It has a hard time correcting without overcorrecting. At least mine does. With that much wind, I run it manually with the remote. The tm does not adjust not fast enough to overcome the wind gusts, especially crosswind. IMO Terrova 80lb. US2 Ipilot Still, I really like mine, good unit, quiet. If your gonna be disappointed if it don't keep you on a track or a spot no matter what, then prepare to be disappointed.
I agree with talltimber. I had higher expectations as well especially with the spotlock feature. IMO it just doesnt work as well as people say. I have a 17' Aluminum flat bottom and with the spotlock engaged the boat will go 20-25' from the spot before it corrects. I could stay on it better with a foot control I think.
Yeah, had a friend's brother with me the other day. He was not impressed with my fancy ipilot's spot lock or cruise features. Granted, we were in heavy winds, but that was one guy that walked away thinking he was smart not spending his money on this.
Information learned, felt worthy to pass. He is more of a spider rigging, pushin kind of guy ( slow ), felt it wouldn't benefit him. I'm more of a pullin kind of guy, and in those situations, it seems to work fine.
Last summer, I hoped it would work sittin on brush piles at night, but it moves too much. It's best to go ahead and anchor.
Pulling jigs or cranks, you can't beat the i-pilot! I slow troll spider-rigging and like it for that just as well. I fished yesterday in some very strong gusty winds. Used the spot lock and the advanced co-pilot. Spot lock did pretty well actually and advanced co-pilot kept me on course but had difficulty making any progress, it was like running in place. Ended up turning it off and just driving the boat into the wind. My only complaint, my hand held is starting to wear on the control panel and will likely need to be replaced after this season.
It ain't perfect, but it's the best thing going. I mostly spider rig, and I really like the cruise control and the finer speed increments. Gusty winds do give it fits, but you just have to adapt to the conditions.
I think this is the key phrase. " you ... have to adapt".Quote:
Originally Posted by rockmike
I been wanting to add i-pilot as well after reading post like this i had to ask myself if this would benefit my style of fishing (long lining) and i decided it would, i had to realize it wont work well in all situations and go with it.
Well as of yesterday (Saturday) I added the i-pilot to my v2 pd and haven't had a chance to use it yet so the only issues I'm seeing are going learning the remote , i know that will come in time
I think i made a good choice
I went from a hand control tm on the bow to this unit. I don't know if my foot control even works, I use the remote. I like the spot lock feature, it just doesn't do what I thought/hoped it would. I use it a lot to hold in wind while I set up poles, drift sock, go to the back for something, retying, whatever. Basically to temporarily anchor during chores. Like rockmike said, the speed control increments are outstanding, very fine adjustments. In light breeze or no wind, the advanced autopilot is very good too. I've noticed a couple of times, in heavier cross wind, it seems like it will lose bearing. The heading will shift downwind a little bit and it will work toward the new bearing. I was fishing in a hollow too though, so I might have lost signal briefly. I don't know for sure, it doesn't do it very often.
Even being somewhat disappointed in spot-lock, I'd buy it again. Great unit so far.
I've found that autopilot ( not advanced autopilot ) works better in heavier winds. Just hold the autopilot button on the remote for 3 or 4 seconds until the icon changes.
Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty happy with this thing. Makes long lining and pulling cranks a far easier task than my old trolling motor.
One weird thing, I just changed out my battery a few weeks ago. Now whenever I activate the remote, the speed setting is set to 10. Anyone else see this?
well, i bet i read 100 threads, and reviews on retail websites, about the i-pilot, and this is the first one i have seen with this info. i guess it is human nature not to want to talk bad about our new high dollar toys that we stick our necks out for. still, on a calmer day, it appears to be the real deal, but in the wind, which is why i bought it, the i-pilot seems to not be advanced enough. the tecnology is available to do what it should (as in the ag industry) but must be too expensive for trolling motors. my guess is it needs a better gps receiver.
What I think personally is that the motor turns too slow. When on spot lock, the motor turns and faces the spot as it should. Once it gets over the spot, momentum carries it past, and the response of the motor is not fast enough to compensate until it's drifted past. On the next reposition, it has come from farther away and has more momentum than the last time, so the over shoot is worse. Wind makes it worse. Now, I'm talking about a total over shoot from one side to the other (facing upwind, distance of extreme left to right) is approximately ten feet total, which would make up the five foot radius circle. I'd say that it's probably doing what it can do. Just what I've seen with my limited use, your mileage may vary.
Stymie, the only time mine has been on 10 on startup was the first time I had started it after I had hit the full speed button. I don't remember what I done to reset it, but I think I had reduced the speed and shut it off. Then, the next time I started it, it was back to my predetermined speed.
I believe once the Ipilot is in the sweet zone, he (Ipilot prcoessor) turns the direction and troll off. I believe this because once in the sweet spot, he is happy cause he found home. It is when he passes threw the sweet spot, he has to catch up. Catch up is what the reality is about. This would be the way I would have written the program anyway. I could be wrong. I've been wrong lots of times.
what the ........ ! mix me one. i'll be over in a minute.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
It does have issues with wind, but I'd buy another one in a heartbeat. Probably a combination of what Canepole says, and the ability of the electric motor to compensate. Maybe you might drift off 15 to 25 feet in the wind, but how far would you drift off with a foot control if you concentrating on tying a jig on?
I can't tie a knot in 25 feet, most times I drift 100 feet or so off spot. Now, when I break jig off, I immediately hit the spot lock. Keeps me close to spot. Very much worth the money. Best on the market at present.Quote:
Originally Posted by Shellback
Take battery out and let it reset. Might help.
Given the way the GPS works @ slow speeds on HB fish finder units I can't imagine their ipilot knowing where its sweets zone is.... until it long gone.
must be operator.i fish in the wind all the time and love it.Quote:
Originally Posted by lethal
x2Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
we're talking about a trolling motor, not that funny smelling smoke coming out of your boat.Quote:
Originally Posted by catchnofish
What I have learned from my couple of times of using the i-Pilot, I am not extremely experienced with it by no means:
The Advanced AutoPilot works well when there is little wind to deal with. It basically lines out points to hit in the path to a location. If the wind blows you to the left or right of the next "point" it is going to turn and try to make it to that "point" before turning to go to the next "point". This can lead to a a extreme zig-zag pattern on windy days.
The normal Autopilot works better for me on the windy days especially when fishing open water.
The spot lock is good in swift currents or steady winds. The winds we get around here are normally straight winds with gusts out of different directions. It will keep the trolling motor real close to the same spot in these situations but the boat may be spinning in circles. Eventhough the trolliing motor is in the same spot, the rod tips may be a long way from where you want them.
The "speed control" worked pretty well for me, even in the windy conditions.
All in all, I would purchase again. It is just handy to have the controller hanging from your neck and at your finger tips all the time.
I just got mine and have only used it about 4 times and so far I like it can anyone tell me how long the batt lasts is it like the auto pilot and run the batts down pretty quick.
If you're talking about the remote battery, it last a good while. Mine lasted a year, probably would have lasted longer but I was getting some weird flashing "F" indications and thought changing the battery might fix it. The "F" went away, but now it wants to run at 10 every time I deploy the TM. I'm gonna pop out the battery and take Tom's advice on resetting it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jameslin
i have the terrova 80# thrust and was going to get the ipilot next crappie season. i have had the thoughts go through my mind that you people are expressing. what is advanced autopilot? also if you are on a projected trolling course, set up, and its windy, you would have to set the speed that would keep you on course despite the wind , is that correct? then if its completly calm , and you want to set your spot, would u use the autopilot to do that instead of anchor, or would the noise from the trolling motor stir up the fish?
Advanced autopilot will take you to a specific bearing regardless of the current and wind. Point the motor to a specific point and press the button, and it will get you there at what ever speed you want. If you want a specific speed to that bearing, use the cruise control at the same time. To set your spot, use the spot lock. The autopilot is bearing specific only.
in theory only. on a 16 foot flatbottom jon boat, in even a light wind, it will not. in no wind, it does a good job.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tracker123
Mine will get me to my bearing, but it will zig zag getting there in a cross wind. Spot lock will try to keep me in my spot but even with a half ounce sinker, the lines will be horizontal as it races back to the spot.
Catches me off guard sometimes. I grab for the pole holder and hang on.........haQuote:
Originally Posted by Stymie