Minnkota Announces Ipilot Link

[Glenn]

MinnKota has integrated their iPilot trolling motors, which use GPS navigation to automatically guide your trolling motor, with select HumminBird depthfinders. Now you can control your trolling motor through your fishfinder in addition to the supplied remote control.

For example you can use the Spot-Lock feature, which holds the boat in one spot using GPS. In fact, Spot-Lock locations will now appear on your HumminBird unit, and you can store up to 2500 locations (as opposed to the current 6 in your remote.)

Trolling paths up to 2 miles in length can be recorded, stored, and retraced later. This is the same functionality as today, but you can now do it through your Humminbird unit as well. Plus you can record up to 50 tracks now.

A new feature is called GoTo - you can select stored data (Spot-Lock location, waypoint, or trolling paths), and the trolling motor will automatically take you there. Plus you can control the speed you travel as well.

Another new feature is called "Follow The Contour" (available only with Lake Master maps) - you can select a contour depth on your map via your Humminbird, and the trolling motor will automatically follow it in any direction you wish. Not only that, you have the option to follow a contour several feet away from it, so you can cast or troll to the exact depth you want. This is also useful if you want to follow the shoreline but maintain a set distance away from it.

Note that the remote and Humminbird unit are now connected, so many of the features can been accessed through your remote as well. This means you don't need to run to your Humminbird whenever you want to change a setting. You can also see depth and water temp on your remote too.

MinnKota hasn't said when this will be available yet, but I'll let you know as I know more.

Glenn

[scrutch]

Awesome. Finally. I wrote to Minn Kota a year and a half ago and asked them if they were coming out with this type of a link. They wrote back and said "not currently, but these are some good ideas". I suspect that they were already working on this stuff and they didn't want to let the cat out of the bag yet. It is such an obvious marriage of this technology. This will be awesome.

[Fishing Rhino]

Now, if only they will come up with a way to link it to the navigation system in my truck, it will make my long drives to the road trips much easier.

[redboat]

Cool - I've had my 'bird for a year and a half and my I-Pilot Minnkota for a couple months. Both are awesome - can't wait to get them hooked together!

[jeb2]

That sounds cool. But I wish they'd marry the co-pilot and I-Pilot system. Most of the time, at least on bigger lakes, most bass fishermen are not fishing one spot or the same course over and over. Most of the time, you're running it with the hand held remote. And on the I-Pilot, that means you can only have one hand on your rod. Not a very good way to actually catch fish. So it'd be cool to see them make the little rod mounted co-pilot remotes work with the entire system. It just can't be that tough to do.

[scrutch]

That sounds cool. But I wish they'd marry the co-pilot and I-Pilot system. Most of the time, at least on bigger lakes, most bass fishermen are not fishing one spot or the same course over and over. Most of the time, you're running it with the hand held remote. And on the I-Pilot, that means you can only have one hand on your rod. Not a very good way to actually catch fish. So it'd be cool to see them make the little rod mounted co-pilot remotes work with the entire system. It just can't be that tough to do.

They do work together. Set your course with the remote and make small adjustments with the foot pedal.

[jeb2]

They do work together. Set your course with the remote and make small adjustments with the foot pedal.

Sorry, but no, they don't work together. Copilot does not work with Ipilot. It's one or the other, which is kind of dumb, IMO.

[scrutch]

Sorry, but no, they don't work together. Copilot does not work with Ipilot. It's one or the other, which is kind of dumb, IMO.

Sorry I was thinking of the autopilot feature. I have the Terrova with ipilot and autopilot and they work together. Too many darn pilots.

[Sam]

Blows my mind.

Thanks for sharing.

Can't wait to see the unit when it is released.

Please keep on updating us on the newest and best out there.

Sincerely appreciate it.

[bigbassfan]

It only makes sense. Good to hear!

[Jammit Flash Peterson]

I am getting ready to install an ipilot link,how close can I mount the heading sensor to my sonar unit?

[Further North]

On 2/12/2018 at 3:44 AM, Jammit Flash Peterson said:

I am getting ready to install an ipilot link,how close can I mount the heading sensor to my sonar unit?

I don't believe there are any restrictions.

[slonezp]

On 2/12/2018 at 3:44 AM, Jammit Flash Peterson said:

I am getting ready to install an ipilot link,how close can I mount the heading sensor to my sonar unit?

 

4 minutes ago, Further North said:

I don't believe there are any restrictions.

As close as you can without any obstructions. you don't want anything to block the signal. 

[Further North]

If you do the math, there's actually some benefit to mounting it close to the transducer to get rid of the error between the location of the unit itself and the transducer...or you can use the offset function in the unit to account for it.

 

Do I think it makes any significant difference?  Probably not....but math is math...I got my heading sensor with my Humminbird 360°, and it is mounted on the back deck, up against the transom, centered on the 360°.

 

The sensor for the new Link is a different animal, and where it is relative to the transducer probaly isn't important.