View Full Version : pinpoint...gps
talked to ron at pinpoint today he said they will not be ready for upgrades to gps untill november..
do you really believe that it will come out by november. i was told in may of '99 it would be here by spring 2000. i,m ready to go back to my autopilot as my pinpoint has not come close to living up to my expectations. am i the only pinpoint owner who feels this way?
Grampa_Joe
05-31-2000, 10:40 AM
They just got bought out by Motorguide there guy. Give them a little leeway. I'm sure there are some issues with how things are done now.
Did you know they tested their motors for years before putting them on the market? Sure, they had some problems initially as to be expected with any new technology. I'm glad they are working out all the bugs before releasing to the public.
I for one look forward every year to see what new innovation Pinpoint thinks up.
If you really have a Pinpoint, I'm surprised you would even consider that other motor you mentioned.
I have heard a few retailers speaking out of turn saying Pinpoint said GPS will be out on such and such a date, but I've never heard anyone from Pinpoint say a date until now.
Joe
Grampa_Joe,
I'm sorry if I sounded a little hard, but after just returning from a vacation in northern Michigan I am not very pleased with the performance of my Pinpoint.(YES I REALLY DO HAVE ONE. A 3700 SERIES I BOUGHT LAST YEAR.) The concept of the motor is great, but the reality of it is that it has not lived up to my expectations. If there is not a very sharp drop off, it constantly gets lost and starts to go in circles. This can be very frustrating when you are trolling four lines and they get all tangled.
The pinpoint senses depth to the tenth aof a foot. I have found that if you track over a boulder, the motor will get confused and circle the boulder. That is if it is at the right depth and fills enough of the cone angle to confuse the motor.
The pinpoint works great at depth track when on steep breaks but your right, it doesn't work well on flats or nearly flat contours with boulders or dense weeds. The manual mode is very easy to operate in these conditions once you give it a try.
A few months ago I posted similiar complaints about my pinpoint. I still miss my autopilot, However my pinpoint has taught me more about the last lake I fished in one weekend than I have learned in the previous 3 years with my old autopilot. I weighed 8 fish in that tourney and credit pinpoint for keeping me in 12.3 feet(not 11,5 or 12.7). All the fish came in 12.3 feet. Several boats fishing with autopilots in the same area got blanked or only 1 or 2 fish and they were trolling straight lines. They were getting irritated that we were wavering so. Most didn't understand why I kept turning so much. I guess they didn't know that I was always on the contour. I finished 14th out of 84 boats. Not bad for my first tourney with the pinpoint. Also my 5th tourney overall.
There are still applications for autopilot capabilities and I'll be first in line when pinpoint gets GPS!
Iowa Eye
06-02-2000, 04:50 AM
Does anyone know if pinpoint is planning on adding a straight line auto pilot feature? I think that would be the best off all worlds.
steves
06-02-2000, 02:16 PM
The answer should be yes..Once they add GPS they would then have the ability to track in a specific direction..Fore example, if your tracking 270 degrees it should be able to hold that heading using the GPS cordinates..
Thank you JW for your reply. I do agree with you on most of your points. If I am tournement fishing I would want to have my PinPoint with me, however when I am just out fishing with my family, I think at this time I would rather have my autopilot with me. I guess sometimes I like to be a lazy fisherman, and my PinPoint does not allow me that luxury. Thats why I am so anxious for them to have the straightline technology.
Also does anyone know how they plan on incorporating the GPS into our units. Will we have to purchase a PinPoint GPS? Or will it be able to interface with my current Garmin GPS? Any input into this would be greatly appreciated.
Grampa_Joe
06-06-2000, 10:34 AM
Your ASC (automatic speed control) is set on 3 from the factory. If you don't want it to track so tightly to things (IE: around a boulder) set it a little lower so it doesn't try to hold that depth so tightly. This is a must if you're pulling boards so it doesn't turn too much and tangle your lines.
If you are in strong winds, turn the ASC up a notch or two so it compensates quicker to keep you on your depth.
If there is one thing on your boat you need to read the owners manual on, it's your Pinpoint. When you learn what it can and can't do, you wouldn't think of being without it. When I got my first motor 5 years ago, I hated it until I figured it out. Like JW said, I fished spots I fished on my whole life and never truly knew what it really looked like.
Joe Carlson
Try the depth track in an area that has a definate breakline. You will find that it will hold course and you can actually be more lazy than with the autopilot. The pinpoint will stay in the depth it is set at. I have nearly fallen asleep. You can face backwards with confidence that the boat will never run aground. It still can run in to other boats so don't try sleeping in congested areas.
As I have said in a prewvious post, my PinPoint does fairly well on a sharp drop off. Unfortunately around here we seem to have a lot more action earlier in the year fishing up on the flats where my depth track is pretty much useless. Even on the sharper drop offs I was having trouble once the wind picked up. I will try to change my ASC settings as Grampa Joe had suggested.
Doc_wi
06-08-2000, 10:04 AM
I agree on the effectivnesss of the unit whole heartedly. Having just received my new boat just prior to my spring trip to LBDN, I opted not to take the time to rig the Pinpoint and use the Motorguide that came standard with my Triton for the 3 days. What a mistake. We caught fewer fish due to less time on the desired depths. This company has been fantastic in every detail of customer service in every regard. To me it's the sonar units too. GPS or not right now, these are the best sonar units out there due to their ability to network and the way that they can display information. Split transducers, flashchart, review etc etc. It's nice to know that when anything new comes out for these units that I will be able to get them up-dated on mine for a lot less then buying a new one.
GO PINPOINT!