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Just tried out my new terrova with Ipilot today. My question is the spot lock did NOT seem to keep me within the 5' as they claim. Does anyone else have this problem? The wind was about 10-13mph but I still thought it would keep me close. Thanks for any help. Tim
Tim
I read a post somewhere on here about how to test that. What he did was deploy his TM while it was sitting on the trailer. He set the spot lock and had his wife pull forward in the truck and watched the TM. According to him the TM did not react until she got about 15 ft away. Then she backed up and it went about 15 ft past the original postion before it tried to correct. Sounds pretty ingenious to me. He concluded that 15 ft was about the best you could expect and seems to bear our the comments others have made about how close it would hold you.
In any event, soon as I get past Christmas and taxes I am getting one.
SeaRay
i am with SeaRay. saving the money . heck 15 ft. just use 16 ft. poles :D.
Thanks guys. 15' seems about right. Next time out im going to put out a marker bouy and then hit the spot lock and see what it does.
i gotta say that i think mine does a bit better than 15', 5' probably not but 15 is a bit to far off, though i know it has to do with gps signal strenght too. it will not keep you on a dime but it is still a neat feature but i rarely use mine. what gives me trouble is that if you hit anybutton it disengages the spotlock, and sometimes with mutliple rods going down at one time my big feet hit a button on the foot control and disegages it.
I use spotlock mainly for re-tieing and peeing. Great tool!
And The GREAT TOOL Is ?????????? lolQuote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
I think gps signals are only good down to 10-15' accuracy anyways, it may help to have the TM power turned up because I know if you don't have the power turned up enough, the TM cannot keep you on the spot in a decent wind (first hand experience on this).
I like that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
I noticed that. I disconnected the foot control and put under the seat.Quote:
Originally Posted by gobbler
Here's a copy and paste from my post others mentioned. This was done with a 55# Powerdrive motor.
Just messed around in the driveway today. With the boat on the trailer, I deployed the Powerdrive motor with the I-Pilot. Turned on the spot lock feature, and within moments, without moving the trailer, the steering function moved the motor about 45 degrees. The propeller did not start. Moved the truck about 18 feet forward before the motor turned 180 degrees and the propeller started running. Then moved the truck straight back about 14 feet and the propeller stopped and the steering turned back towards the original position. So with just a straight path and reversing direction, there was about an 18 foot movement of the boat from moving off the original spot and then back to it. It's my opinion that with the built in error function with the Govt GPS signal, it's probably about as good as you can expect. I don't believe it is possible to have the spot lock feature keep you positioned over a brushpile, verticle jigging and not get hung. It's great for the Canepole pee hold function and great for casting to a brushpile, but you aren't going to be able to suspend a bait in a brushpile and not expect to get hung when the boat starts drifting off. Gene and I welcome anybody else to do the simple experiment of deploying your motor and setting the spot lock, then moving you truck about, measuring what distance is required for the steering or prop function to start.
Although MK's statement is somewhat deceptive and misleading, it doesn't actually claim that S-L will keep you within 5' of a fixed marker. Here's what they post online: "If the boat drifts more than five feet from the Spot-Lock location, i-Pilot will activate the trolling motor to keep the angler on the designated spot."Quote:
Originally Posted by timbo 66
Forgive me if this sounds Clintonesque, but "the designated spot" is not a single spot, but rather a set of Lat/Lon coordinates determined by a GPS receiver. We all know that GPS receivers have a margin of error--even military grade GPS. As Gobbler points out, a weak signal will increase the error. In reality, "the designated spot" becomes a cluster of spots. How tight is the group? When my handheld GPSmap 76 reports the coordinates of its current location it includes a "give or take" +/- number of feet. Sitting on the bow of my boat parked in the driveway, the best it will do (locked onto 11 satellites) is +/- 15'--roughly one boat length in all directions. Apparently MK believes that iPilot can do much better than 15', but even a cruise missile won't be accurate enough to hit a BP dead center, time after time.
Beginning with a "designated spot" that is really a 30' diameter cluster of spots, move out another 5' before your motor starts up. (The combined diameter is now 40'.) If wind, current, or both are pushing you at any speed, you'll be quite a bit farther away before the motor overcomes the outward drift and starts moving you back toward the "designated spot." (Total diameter may now be 60' or larger!) As the iP's GPS controls your return to the "designated spot," it's getting new satellite data and may now think the spot is somewhere else within the original 30' circle!
So what's the bottom line on all of this? GPS is an extremely useful technology for fishermen--but it has limitations. The value of Spot Lock varies from one fishing style to another, from place to place, and from day to day. If you spend a lot of time jigging BPs, Spot Lock won't be extremely useful.
My fishing style is different. I drift 8 corks back & forth over and around structure, and often (but not always) find Spot Lock to be very useful. When there's a light breeze, Spot Lock keeps my baits drifting in a zone--forward, back, and to the sides. This puts baits in the faces of fish throughout the zone. Here's an example.
http://i267.photobucket.com/albums/i.../Citations.gif
This image came from my GPSmap 76 after an extended session in and around 3 large stumps. I made a few minor position adjustments manually and relocked, but most of the time iP was running the boat while Doodlum & I drifted corks and landed numerous fish, including 2 over 15" and one over 16".
I have not tested but from what I can tell I stay within 10 ft most of the time. The biggest test to holding position is a brisk variable wind.
Right. When the wind's above 10 mph, I usually give up on Spot Lock.
What I have found is that the ipilot is GREAT while in the river. I nose it upstream and it holds really well. I would say 5 ft is not a stretch in that application cause the motor never really turns off.
have read several times that its best to point the bow of the boat into the wind and the SL does a better job, but that's not always possible imo.
Peeing !!! rotflrotflrotfl Thats a good one...I like that.....and reckon it would work great for that !!Quote:
Originally Posted by Cane Pole
however close it hold you to your spot is a matter of what kind of boat, big heavy boats probably do not move as fast and as far away as my little tin boat, sometimes I wonder if I eaven have a trolling motor on the boat, but I still like the terrova real well, and what cane pole said is a bonus feature....
Cruise control!Thumbs UpQuote:
Originally Posted by HARLEYBOY
In a small Carolina Skiff I had...on a windy day spot lock would loose the signal because that boat got blown around so bad. I'll have to check spot lock with the deep V I have now though.
I agree with Cane Pole retieing and peeing.
X2 Even with my heavy Ranger Fisherman spot lock will not hold the boat good enough for tightling in windy and gusting condition but I still like it when you are busy tieing, peeing, eating lunch, landing fish, etc.Quote:
Originally Posted by beagle man
But how does it work the other 90% of the time when the wind is not gusty? With winds up to 10 mph, SpotLock keeps me on them & I can do some damage.Quote:
Originally Posted by Crappie Gobbler
I think it's another "tool" in my arsenal, using it along with the compass I can creep along a bank and cast to every little spot and know I've covered the area well. Also great when getting a hook up trolling walleyes so the other poles out don't hang up or get tangled in the main motor (same as the peeing use). Also loved it last fall during vertical jiggin for eyes around and under bridges as in get on your spot, jig, turn it off and let the wind move you for 5 seconds and turn it back on and repeat. You cover a lot of area thoroughly and again, find out quickly where the fish are hangin at. Will not hold you perfect over a specific spot though. Still an amazing addition to my boat IMO and well worth the $$$'s (and I don't part ways with those $$$'s easily).