Minn Kota I Pilot update

[KHedquist]

http://www.minnkotamotors.com/

I see Minn Kota updated there website with the I Pilot, heard that they will ship mid December, just in time to put in that Christmas stocking:laugh:

[Catch'nRelease]

http://www.minnkotamotors.com/

I see Minn Kota updated there website with the I Pilot, heard that they will ship mid December, just in time to put in that Christmas stocking:laugh:

It's now available for ordering on Cabela's website, although they show it's a backorder with shipping expected in 3-4 weeks.

[AllenW]

http://www.minnkotamotors.com/

I see Minn Kota updated there website with the I Pilot, heard that they will ship mid December, just in time to put in that Christmas stocking:laugh:


So...Kirt, should I be expecting a little something in my stocking this year???? :grin::grin:

Al

[snookmaster59]

I have a terrova and have been anxiously awaiting the I-pilot...but they have missed their Nov deadline so I probably will not see one for Christmas from Santa. There seems to be very few people who have seen these...and the reports back from other forums are mixed. One guy said that the Spot-lock mode kept him in a 20' x 20' box! I hope this doesnt come back to haunt us all like the Genesis model! Some forums are now suggesting a Jan/Feb launch.

I live in the Gainesville (Florida) area and a friend (guide) of mine recently bought a Rhodan Marine Systems GPS Guided Trolling motor (gpsanchor.com) and seems to be extremely impressed with it. I have not been with him, but he says he can precisely anchor the boat with it and fish a dock/structure from 10 feet away without spooking fish. He says you forget its there....maybe 2 feet of drift in choppy water/high winds. This sounds amazing! Hopefully I can "book" a trip with him soon. They also claim 12 memory locations and 1000's of miles of recording space on their website.

The price seems high ($2500)....but if it is a better product then I may be a convert. Has anyone seen/heard more about these new systems? He has had zero issues with his and I am fed up with crappy foreign marine products. Apprently these are made in Sarasota Florida and have been under development since the early 90's???? Does this replace the power-pole? Essentially an infinite length power-pole?? I need a toy like one of these systems.I hate pullin anchor.

[weedsnager]

mine came in the mail 2 days ago........ebuyersworld.com.....$344

[weedsnager]

to get the extra $5 off....Just type in GLB into the coupon section of your checkout, and it will take 5 dollars off any order over 50 dollars

[walleyejim1216]

Thanks weed snager! I ordered mine today and they shipped it today! forgot about the 5bucks off deal! But it seems about 50.00 bucks cheaper than most wil be! they told me they had 5 of the terrova ones i bought 1 so they might still have 4. Good luck I hope they work like they say they will!

[RichZ]

Mine came today. I'll be out on the river fishing stripers with it this weekend.

[weedsnager]

let us know how it works out, i won't be able to use mine for a few months!!!

[walleyejim1216]

Just answered the door to get my new i-pilot! Can't wait to try it out!

[Catch'nRelease]

Just answered the door to get my new i-pilot! Can't wait to try it out!

They must have had a big shipment all at once, because I just received mine today also. Sure hope they have all of the bugs worked out and I won't regret not waiting...Without an SD slot I doubt they'll be upgradeable with a software update like the newer GPS/finder units!

[walleyejim1216]

Installed mine today as well took less than 5 min. got to use it a little bit and seemed to work great but not a true test yet! I'd say there will be alot of auto pilots for sale in the very near future!

[RichZ]

If we don't get some temps above the teens the next couple days, I may not get out on the river to try this thing out this weekend.

Initial reaction... I'm very annoyed that they destroyed the existing copilot functionality. The remote unit is the size of a shoe for crying out loud (a kids shoe, but you get the idea). Why they didn't just make it be compatible with the copilot remote for the features that that supports, is beyond me. 90% of the time, that's all I want. I could still use the shoe for the other 10%, when I need the more advanced features.

[Shamrock]

I agree with you RichZ! I would buy one today if they worked with my Copilot. I striper fish a lot and have two I pilot controllers for my Terrova , with three in the boat one uses the foot control and the other two use the I pilot remotes. The feature I would anticipate using the most is the anchor feature.

[AllenW]

They must have had a big shipment all at once, because I just received mine today also. Sure hope they have all of the bugs worked out and I won't regret not waiting...Without an SD slot I doubt they'll be upgradeable with a software update like the newer GPS/finder units!

Are you saying there's no way to upgrade this unit other than bringing it to a dealer?

Al

[Catch'nRelease]

Are you saying there's no way to upgrade this unit other than bringing it to a dealer?

Al

I'm not sure, but I'm wondering how you would apply any kind of a software upgrade yourself unless it accepts some kind of memory chip or USB key.

[MikeF]

I'm not sure, but I'm wondering how you would apply any kind of a software upgrade yourself unless it accepts some kind of memory chip or USB key.


What "if" the unit could be linked to a graph/gps and any waypoints or tracks could be utilized.;)

[Shamrock]

If the I pilot will only hold you in a 20’X20’ box, how strait does it hold a track? As strait as the co pilot?

[luvwalleyes]

My wife gave me my i pilot last Sunday for my birthday. Installed it and had it out for about 2 hours yesterday. It tracks and holds it speeds very well. The anchor feature is nice, but don't throw away your anchor! I tried it on one of my crappie spots and the wind was changing speeds quite a bit. It was at least a 20 x 20 box. It was still pretty cool watching it do it's thing. At first I thought it was going to wind the cord around itself, but it must have a limit. When it just about completes a complete circle, it unwinds itself. The anchor feature will work well enough to keep you in the area. All the other features were very easy to use and worked great. I was also concerned about giving up my copilot remotes. I have them mounted on my spinning rods and use my thumb for control. I used the short lanyard on the i Pilot controller and clipped it to my belt. It tracks great and holds the speed, so you do not have to use it as much as the copilot controller. It will be an easy transition. I might buy an extra remote to throw up in the dash, so my fishing partners can grab that one if I get busy.

I am very satisfied with my new toy.

[PackerBacker]

Doorbell just rang. Santa sent me one too.:grin: I guess I made the good boy list this year.