Minn Kota Heading Sensor

Who uses the Min Kota Heading Sensor? I’m told the only thing its needed for is the Jog feature of Spot Lock. Regular Spot Lock works without it. Seems to me – why bother to install it.

Thoughts?

That is correct, that it’s only needed for the jog feature and regular spot lock works without it. So why bother to install it? To utilize the jog feature. It’s a nice feature.

The jog is the best part.

Definitely worth your time to install it. It does draw a little power all the time so make sure to put it on a switch.

Well, speaking of that Jog feature – when in Spot Lock, why not simply just move 5′ and reapply it? The old fashion way; KISS. Doesn’t seem to me that I should drill holes in my Gelcoat to add another obstruction on my deck or console, which essentially give an added feature that you already had in the first place..

The jog is way better than going through the reset, especially when dealing with wind and current.

al numan wrote:

Well, speaking of that Jog feature – when in Spot Lock, why not simply just move 5′ and reapply it? The old fashion way; KISS. Doesn’t seem to me that I should drill holes in my Gelcoat to add another obstruction on my deck or console, which essentially give an added feature that you already had in the first place..

My thoughts to. Haven’t tried the jog feature enough to see if I like it or not.

The jog feature(among others) is one of the reasons why I updated trolling motors recently. I wanted to ability to precisely move left or right 5′ at a time to thoroughly cover structure instead of guessing how far and which direction I’d actually moved in addition to having to take time to re-position the boat.

Jog is really nice in current….by the time you turn off spot lock and slide over you move downstream quite a bit.

Jog makes precise moves so it’s pretty handy.

Don’t install it on your boat if you don’t think you will use it. That seems pretty easy. I personally use the jog feature all the time.

al numan wrote:

Well, speaking of that Jog feature – when in Spot Lock, why not simply just move 5′ and reapply it? The old fashion way; KISS. Doesn’t seem to me that I should drill holes in my Gelcoat to add another obstruction on my deck or console, which essentially give an added feature that you already had in the first place..

Motorguide XI5 is built in and you don’t need the extra sensor. Jog feature is great! I’ve always been a MinnKota guy but went with MG on my new boat for the bow and really like it. Still have the good ole trusty Vantage on the back though, can’t beat that motor.

I hear you guys and see you really like that Jog thing but I’m still having a hard time understand drilling holes in your boat for something that can possibly be tripped over, that you need to run another wire for and if not switched will draw current when it’s sitting on your trailer in your driveway. Apparently MG agrees. What’s so difficult about disabling Spot Lock, moving 5 ft and reenabling it again? I guess I need to be on a boat that has it to appreciate that feature. But for me my new Terrova is going on the bow and the Heading Sensor is staying in the box.

Jog on……

????

Al,I have a brand new terrova waiting for me to install it on my boat,it has the heading sensor as well and I will install it.
from what I understand of the installation instructions it can be mounted about anywhere as long as you go through the set up procedures that come with it.
what I am getting at is it can be mounted where you wont trip over it.

as far as drilling holes in the boat?? for me thats part of owning a boat but if you really destest that idea use a good double sided waterproof tape or industrial velcro that will allow you to remove it later and not leave any exposed holes.

wiring it to a switch is no big deal,you can either give it its own switch or wire it directly with a fuse to your battery disconnect if you have one installed now.

I plan on using mine seeing as how its another tool that makes fishing a bit easier,I would rather tap the jog button than turn spot lock off,move to where I want to and turn spot lock back on.
in the end,do what works best for you,best fishes and tight lines.

al numan wrote:

having a hard time understand drilling holes in your boat for something

What’s so difficult about disabling Spot Lock, moving 5 ft and reenabling it again?

If you have a glass boat, lay a piece of masking tape down before drilling to keep the hole edge clean!

Have you ran a Terrova with iPilot before? If not, I would do that before getting too triggered over thoughts of an additional hole in yer boat. The system needs to reset completely with a new lock; even the newest kota version takes some time to stabilize. Way more cumbersome than using the drill. And, 5′ is not consistently attainable in a reliable manner the way you imagine.

Using the jog feature while dragging jigs, especially at night, can be amazing.

I have the non Bluetooth spot lock and it works fine, and resetting is easy. That being said, I was able to run my buddy’s Bluetooth with jog on the river this spring, and it is freakin awesome! Nobody is forcing you to install it, we’re just saying your missing out on a great piece of tech that adds precision boat control.

Iowaboy1 wrote:

Al,I have a brand new terrova waiting for me to install it on my boat,it has the heading sensor as well and I will install it.
from what I understand of the installation instructions it can be mounted about anywhere as long as you go through the set up procedures that come with it.
what I am getting at is it can be mounted where you wont trip over it.

as far as drilling holes in the boat?? for me thats part of owning a boat but if you really destest that idea use a good double sided waterproof tape or industrial velcro that will allow you to remove it later and not leave any exposed holes.

wiring it to a switch is no big deal,you can either give it its own switch or wire it directly with a fuse to your battery disconnect if you have one installed now.

I plan on using mine seeing as how its another tool that makes fishing a bit easier,I would rather tap the jog button than turn spot lock off,move to where I want to and turn spot lock back on.
in the end,do what works best for you,best fishes and tight lines.

That’s correct, Iowaboy. I believe that you can even mount it inside a storage compartment if you want, and I think maybe even upside down. It just has to be on a flat surface and away from ferrous metals. Its not like a GPS puck that needs to have a clear view of the sky to get reception.

When I got my Terrova in 2017 I emailed Minnkota to ask about the power draw and it draws a very very small amount of power when it’s asleep when the motor isn’t deployed. I don’t have it on a switch of any kind and the battery has never been drained, even after sitting for a couple of weeks without use.

Install it. Your gelcoat will forgive you, and your future self will thank you.

The jog feature is awesome. I use it all the time moving up and down the underwater river channel in the flowages.

I’d install it on my seat if I had to. Well worth the trouble. Best feature.

Install it – 13
Don’t install it – 0

If you’re that worried about it. Velcro tape it.