Minn Kota and Lowrance

Hi everyone, last year I ordered my new lund with a Minn Kota and the Lowrance Hds 7. Both have worked great but one thing that I would love to add is the ipilot head for the Kota. I did a little research and what i was finding was that Minn kota and Humminbird are partner companies or owned by the same company so the features that ipilot offers are only fully operational with hummingbird units. I am hoping someone else has come across this issue and has a fix that doesnt involve spending $500 for another unit along with the money for the ipilot unit. And if my only option is to add a humminbird unit, what is my cheapest option for a bowmount that will allow me to use the features like spot lock.

you can get i pilot and keep your Lowrance. the i pilot link hooks into the hummingbird.

the i pilot link with the right mapping will be able to follow contour lines of the lake bottom.

I have a Lowrance with just the i pilot. I fish the Mississippi river and have found out that the mapping is not accurate because of the changing river conditions.

I pilot and I pilot link are 2 different things.

I pilot is she more basic system and does not connect to any locator/GPS unit.
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/i-Pilot/

I pilot link is more complex and connects to humminbird units and lakemasters chips. Specific chip versions required. Johnson outdoors owns minnkota, humminbird, and lakemaster.
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/i-pilot-link/

Not sure what model minnkota you have as that factors in also.

Hope that helps.

I have the Powedrive V2. So, I used those links and is the main difference that the i pilot link is for people that have humingbirds and the the plain i pilot is for people that dont? I guess if someone can just tell me whether or not buying the plain i pilot head to go on my Minnkota would allow me use things like spot lock and the trolling function While only having a Lowrance dash mount..

Im also seeing that the ‘link’ part is so that you can have your trolling motor follow contour lines, correct? and that the regular i pilot doesnt allow you to follow contour lines, but it does allow you to record a path with the internal gps on the I pilot head?

sorry about the wordy questions, just want to make sure that I fully understand what will and what wont work for me, Thanks

I-pilot Link is only for those that have a Humminbird sonar. The “Link” version allows the user to control the trolling motor from the Humminbird sonar. It also has a few other advanced features, like “follow the contour”.

I-Pilot is the stand alone version. It does not connect to any sonar. Meaning, you can use it while owning a lowrance sonar. It has Spot Lock, record a track, auto pilot, etc.

Unless you plan on buying a Humminbird sonar, the Ipilot Link would be a waste of your money.

thanks gixxer that is a big help, I get by without the added features, but a few days in the wind was all it took for me to want it. something as simple as spot lock would be very nice to have. I am assuming you have I pilot? do you still have the ability to use the foot controls? and how accurate have you found the gps to be?

I can’t speak from experience because I have a terrova with I pilot link and networked hbirds. But unless you are going to get a hbird, I would agree link would be worthless.

So I think this is your option for a power drive v2:
http://www.minnkotamotors.com/Products/i-PILOT-ACCESSORY—POWERDRIVE-V2/

Take note of the pull down menu with feature explanations.

I have the terrova with link and I still have the use of a foot pedal but never use it. I believe you loose the use of a foot pedal with the power drive v2 conversion though. Not 100% sure.
Hard to say on accuracy as I’m not sure what you are referring to. In 1.5′ waves or less I am able to hold with in about 15′ of a spot lock and as wind and waves go up from there distances get larger and at a certain point it won’t achieve what you want it to.

From minnkota faq:

Can I use a foot pedal with my i-Pilot or i-Pilot Link equipped motor?

Ulterra, Terrova and Riptide ST motors: When these models are equipped with either i-Pilot or i-Pilot Link you can still use your corded foot pedal to control the motor.

PowerDrive V2 and Riptide SP motors: When these models are equipped with either i-Pilot or i-Pilot Link you cannot use your foot pedal to control the motor.

May be worth getting the I-pilot link and adding a hummingbird graph down the road. I have a terrova I-pilot and lowrance electronics. The spot lock is awesome but I really wish I had the link and hummingbird electronics just for that feature. live and learn

TripleA wrote:

May be worth getting the I-pilot link and adding a hummingbird graph down the road. I have a terrova I-pilot and lowrance electronics. The spot lock is awesome but I really wish I had the link and hummingbird electronics just for that feature. live and learn

You could also sell you Minnkota and switch to Motor Guide. I do believe those will do similar task as an I-pilot/link. The advantage is that LOW and Motor Guide are compatible with each other.

FDR

I had I-Pilot with older Lowrance Electronics for a few years. Switching to the I-pilot significantly changed the way I fished after I added it due to all the neat boat control features (spot lock, cruise control, remote control vs. foo pedal, etc). If you don’t want to swap over to ‘birds I can still recommend getting the I-pilot unconditionally.

I now have the I-Pilot Link and the change there was less substantial than going from my old electric steer ‘kota motor to the I-pilot with the base I-pilot features. The Link’s effectiveness is largely a matter of the quality of the mapping on the chip and many of the lakes I fish are smaller and are not mapped at HD so it is not as good on those lakes as on the HD lakes.

ipilot- spot lock, track recording, way point saving
ipilot link – all that and connects to bird for storing more tracks and way points and gives you contour following.

power drive v2 – lose your footpedal
terrova – keep footpedal

thanks for the info everyone, I am going to get the i pilot for my powerdrive v2. has anyone found that they miss having the foot pedal?

One of the little used features of having
the Minnkota I-Pilot Link and Humminbird combination

You can control the boat from the Humminbird.
I use spot lock and waypoints saved on the Bird.
You can then just move the curser on the screen
and select to tell the boat to move to a different spot
on the lake from the console.
If that spot is less productive
you can just reselect the previous spot and
head back over there.

It’s like having a remote control boat
only bigger.

Brett Erickson wrote:

thanks for the info everyone, I am going to get the i pilot for my powerdrive v2. has anyone found that they miss having the foot pedal?

If you send much time up front casting, I would think you will miss the foot pedal a lot. Having to grab a remote to operate the motor may be a pain. Just something to consider.

I’ve used the Powerdrive v2 ipilot on my buddy’s boat on spring pike trips to Manitoba and I really miss the foot pedal. Casting shorelines, you have to take one hand off the rod, grab the remote, find the right button to adjust your course. By that time your bait has dropped to the bottom and snagged. That being said, the auto pilot and cruise control features help a lot.

hnd wrote:

ipilot- spot lock, track recording, way point saving
ipilot link – all that and connects to bird for storing more tracks and way points and gives you contour following.

power drive v2 – lose your footpedal
terrova – keep footpedal

I use the I pilot every single time I’m on the water! I have the Terrova, and to fish two lines on the Mississippi. The foot controller is a must, set the speed and just steer with your foot while holding two rods.

Great questions and great answers. & Ron, your post above is also what I wanted to hear. I also run a PD V2 w/ US2. Footpedal. Year ago I had a 55# PD w/auto pilot and enjoyed that. But still had the foot pedal.
Any others of you have experiences like Ron’s?? I have two HBirds on my boat, but don’t have the $$’s for the i-pilot Link…. just the way it is…, so that why I also am interested the i-pilot…..

I talked to a guy at cabelas working the marine area and he had a great suggestion that for some reason I hadnt thought of. He suggested that you just drop the trolling motor and start the route tracking while using the outboard to make a route ( slow enough not to do anything to the Minnkota of course) that way you can make a track faster and than not mess with controls much while fishing