Minn Kota "Most Accurate Electronic GPS Anchor Ever"

Racine, WI Minn Kota® is excited to unveil significant enhancements to the ground-breaking Spot-Lock electronic anchor, a key feature of the new i-Pilot®, and i-Pilot® Link™ systems. Advancements in hardware, software, and communications allow anglers to remain actively locked onto their spot with the push of a button, bringing unrivaled precision to 21st-century boat control.

“Minn Kota has consistently maintained a culture of innovation and continuous improvements to our products with the angler always in mind. After the launch of i-Pilot, which brought the revolutionary benefits of Spot-Lock to anglers, we did not stop,” said Brad Henry, Minn Kota Brand Manager. “Through this commitment, we’ve reinvented Spot-Lock to make it the most accurate electronic GPS anchor ever.”

Anglers will immediately notice that the reinvented Spot-Lock electronic GPS anchor holds the boat in position with unmatched precision and consistency.

“One of my favorite features of both the i-Pilot and i-Pilot Link systems is the Spot-Lock feature, being able to use the trolling motor as an electric anchor,” said Jeremy Smith of Lindner’s Angling Edge TV and Lindner Media Productions. “When bass fishing, even in a stout wind, it’s easy just to Spot-Lock to land fish, change baits, or even take a photo or two. The updated Spot-Lock feature will make boat positioning easier and more precise than ever.”

The enhanced Minn Kota Spot-Lock feature comes standard in both i-Pilot and i-Pilot Link systems, factory-installed on a wide variety of new Bluetooth-enabled bow-mount trolling motors including Ultrex, Ulterra, Terrova and PowerDrive, as well as Riptide Ulterra, Riptide Terrova and Riptide PowerDrive. Products available to ship in late fall, 2016.

ICAST On the Water
Tuesday, July 12, 9am -1 pm

ICAST 2016, BOOTH 745

Heard that before…….. didn’t live up.

Can our old I-Pilots be updated to the new version OR are we stuck buying the new version and can this be purchased as an add on ?

No you cannot upgrade all new technology for more accurate anchor and tracking is blue tooth based.

Fool me once….

I would put my XI5 spot lock up against the Minn Kota anyday!!!!

Im guessing its a cleat to tye the anchor rope to. Tell us they are going to up grade all the existing motor and then we’re talking. Tell me i need to spend another $1400 to get something that should of worked on the 1st motor screw you.

I will buy it if its compatible with my HB 998 … otherwise if I have to buy the motor AND a new GPS upgrade it just gets ridiculous. Anyone know?

I’m fairly pizzed to learn my ipilot cannot be upgraded. I’ve been a very pleased, faithful, MK customer for many years but this REALLY rubs me wrong. I’ve owned how many and dealt collegial with issues and this is what I get?

Sorry but my next trolling motor will NOT be black w yellow emboldened M I N N K O T A on the side.

Rant over…

So our old MK motors that don’t work are scrap? Fish structure maybe? Thanks Johnson outdoors.
Like to find the CEO

It sucks to buy a product and not have it perform as expected. But remember, Minnkota is the leader in bringing this technology to us. Will there be a swing and a miss once in a while? Sure there will be. 10 years ago if somebody mentioned all the technology available on todays trolling motors we would have laughed them out of the room. If this technology is so easy why are there only 2 companies doing them?
Rip them all you want or go back to anchors and ropes, lead weights and line and gas trolling motors.

Not too long ago there was a thread with people , myself included , complaining about the spotlock feature not performing , and wondering lf there were any fixes in the works. It appears like there was , and people still aren’t happy . I’m definitely interested in learning more about this .

I’d be 100% happy if there was a software upgrade that would make my iPilot link spot lock as accurate as my first generation I pilot was before I “upgraded”.

There are features in this new improved that May get me move that direction.

reddog wrote:

I’d be 100% happy if there was a software upgrade that would make my iPilot link spot lock as accurate as my first generation I pilot was before I “upgraded”.

There are features in this new improved that May get me move that direction.

Don’t think there will be … in the case of Motorguide they have added compasses, and now Minnkota is adding Bluetooth to help accuracy. These are not easy software upgrades to previous generation of MK motors unfortunately.

How does bluetooth improve accuracy??? Doesn’t it only transfer information between devices? It certainly isn’t in direct communication with the GPS satellites.

Definition of Bluetooth: Bluetooth is a wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength UHF radio waves in the ISM band from 2.4 to 2.485 GHz[4]) from fixed and mobile devices, and building personal area networks (PANs). Invented by telecom vendor Ericsson in 1994,[5] it was originally conceived as a wireless alternative to RS-232 data cables. It can connect several devices, overcoming problems of synchronization.

My guess is that the Bluetooth allows your cell phone to control your trolling motor much like your remote does today. And that the Bluetooth replaces the Ethernet cable to your new “Helix Plus” locator.

Another guess is, if the Bluetooth improves accuracy it is because it is communicating with the new “Helix Plus” locator and combining GPS locations from multiple sources.

Computers and technology is great but expensive. This could just be a nice dream.

I remember when this technology first came out a few years ago and everyone who first got on the train said it was the greatest thing ever and the spot lock holds you without issues. Now this year is the first time hearing all the complaints about spot lock. And it’s not like I have my head buried in the sand, I spend a fair amount of time scanning different forums.

So I’ve gotta ask…what changed???

I really hope this new system will work as good as they say it does. However for something in that price range I will give them a couple years to work the bugs out before I think about picking up an Ultrex.

Mike W wrote:

Im guessing its a cleat to tye the anchor rope to. Tell us they are going to up grade all the existing motor and then we’re talking. Tell me i need to spend another $1400 to get something that should of worked on the 1st motor screw you.

Pricing I saw was $2200 to $2800. Yikes!!!

djshannon wrote:

My guess is that the Bluetooth allows your cell phone to control your trolling motor much like your remote does today. And that the Bluetooth replaces the Ethernet cable to your new “Helix Plus” locator.

Another guess is, if the Bluetooth improves accuracy it is because it is communicating with the new “Helix Plus” locator and combining GPS locations from multiple sources.

Computers and technology is great but expensive. This could just be a nice dream.

That’s what I was alluding too. The Bluetooth, more than likely, doesn’t make the trolling motor any more accurate as a stand alone unit, as is the way many of us use it. The reality is, it probably is no better than it was, just utilizing another source to do the work.

Well I will never buy a trolling motor if one of the connections is your cell phone to get accuracy. Let the finger pointing begin if that was the happen.

There is a separate receiver you have to mount to your boat similar to a GPS puck. It communicates via a bluetooth connection to the motor. Just saw it on a video this morning.

woody-1961 wrote:

I would put my XI5 spot lock up against the Minn Kota anyday!!!!

x2

I’m guessing bluetooth is now the tech that the Hummingbird on the dash uses to talk to the chip in the trolling motor. Looking at the vids and pictures and it shows highlighted boxes on the console as well as the trolling motor. It might use software algorithm that compares the GPS in the head unit to that of the trolling motor and it knows where you are pointing as well as an averaging of the two to hold you on a spot better.

MG has dual GPS and an electronic compass, so I’m sure MK had to take a different path.

This is just speculation on my part, but makes sense.

lol people are hilarious. wanting to be able to upgrade old ipilots. are you serious? do you “upgrade” your tv? upgrade your lx27? upgrade your iphone 4s to get the features of the 6? no you buy new ones. how do you expect this to be any different!?? the old ipilot works as advertised for me and i have no issue with it.

the xi5 is pretty tight so as long as its as good, i’ll be happy when i upgrade.

hnd wrote:

lol people are hilarious. wanting to be able to upgrade old ipilots. are you serious? do you “upgrade” your tv? upgrade your lx27? upgrade your iphone 4s to get the features of the 6? no you buy new ones. how do you expect this to be any different!?? the old ipilot works as advertised for me and i have no issue with it.

the xi5 is pretty tight so as long as its as good, i’ll be happy when i upgrade.

Some guys upgrade their wives that are upwards of 50 years old…

and seriously, when the ipilot first came out everyone made it seem like it was a have to have product and that it was amazing….its what got me to buy one. motorguides depth follow crap was garbage and EVERYONE had ipilots with narry a complaint but a few here or there. Now the Xi5 comes out (which is an awesome unit) and everyone is like, MK SUCKS THE IPILOT IS GARBAGE….goodness gracious.

we all knew this was coming we all knew they’d tighten (i didn’t say fix because nothing was broken) the anchor mode. i can’t believe people think they are entitled to it somehow.

hnd wrote:

and seriously, when the ipilot first came out everyone made it seem like it was a have to have product and that it was amazing….its what got me to buy one. motorguides depth follow crap was garbage and EVERYONE had ipilots with narry a complaint but a few here or there. Now the Xi5 comes out (which is an awesome unit) and everyone is like, MK SUCKS THE IPILOT IS GARBAGE….goodness gracious.

we all knew this was coming we all knew they’d tighten (i didn’t say fix because nothing was broken) the anchor mode. i can’t believe people think they are entitled to it somehow.

mg coming out with xi5 isn’t the reason people were complaining about ipilots performance. Something changed with the latest generation of ipilot , making it constantly overcorrect , not very accurate , basically not worth using. I have a first generation ipilot and it works great , love it. Yea , for the money they charge for these ,I do feel entitled a product that works as advertised! Get over yourself

Get over myself? Im not the one complaining. My 3 yr old 2nd gen ipilot on a 7 yr old terrova works fine. I understand some have issues but that to me is a warranty issue.

No your not complaining , your the one judging people who have legitimate complaints about a product they paid alot of money for. I too have an older version ipilot that works great . My brother has a one year old version that’s a pos. As I stated earlier , something obviously changed.

Mike Martine wrote:

No your not complaining , your the one judging people who have legitimate complaints about a product they paid alot of money for. I too have an older version ipilot that works great . My brother has a one year old version that’s a pos. As I stated earlier , something obviously changed.

I agree. I had a first generation Terrova i-pilot and was great. Would keep the boat within about 8 feet perfectly. Upgraded to the link and spotlock won’t keep you within 25 feet. Over corrects faster than it should. I contacted MK. Basicly said I wasn’t running it right. No warranty and no way to fix. Bad part is 3 friends saw how my first generation worked so they bought one and now I personally know of 2nd gen models that are POS.