you loose manual control when converting to the ipilot on my unit.
so you have to use your hands to control position manually on the keyfob.
so not good for the way i fish.
its great if you want to repeat a path, i can see that working awesome.
great to hang on a spot in some heavy waves.
remember gps will only give you about a 3m radius on average so the anchor feature should have you wander around a bit. should work reasonably well though. wouldnt want to go anchorless while i went in for lunch but could be done. keep that fiberglass boat up off the rocks.
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i just watched the installation video on the kota site. looks like the turning motor is disconnected from the footpedal control. all one would need to do to hack my unit is to include my own dpdt switch on the top of the cover and presto, manual control when you need and auto when you dont.
i am going to have to look into this...
Last edited by pelada trochu; 01-11-2012 at 08:57 PM.
I thought about the ipilot, but opted for the co pilot instead, it has a smaller fob and the basic left, right ,<> power, I just hang it around my neck, figured with the pilot that it was to big, and to many features to play with rather then fishing, lol. It looks like a great piece of equipment, there both great cause I have a tiller, so you can shut down the main motor and control the electric from the back,
i usually put the foot control between my feet and roll on speed and then steer with my heels. I can move and stop, turn all without looking down or taking my hands off the reel.
I can also stop the boat or move off the weed bed while i have a fish on.
course i could always just take a buddy, but good fishing buddies are hard to find these days.
besides at double the price for the gps system thats a cost detriment.
Last edited by pelada trochu; 01-12-2012 at 05:30 PM.
The new ipilots come with 6 saving positions instead of the 3 that the first edition has. The new remote is also labelled better and doesn't crack at the seams of the buttons like the original one does.
i pilot is the bomb for sure but I don't get the updated model...what am I missing?
For me, I hated the ergonomics of the original. It seems to matter to me a lot, with this and other things, so I'm more than willing to pay the $175 or so for the new one. The buttons are more tactile (easier to push, I think), the lettering is easier to read because of the white on black, and the screen is bigger. And there's the extra saving positions like Nate mentioned but 3 was plenty for me, to be honest. I'll definitely wait to try it though before I part with my money.
i-Pilot fans
Linear Mode
