Well, I haven’t got on the water as much as I would have liked but I have run the Autopilot all year and ran the battery way down a number times and have yet to have it do the 360 degree turn. It went from happening once a minute to not happening after days of use, so I am 99.9% confident the new compass control board and compass fixed the problem.
I asked this same question a few weeks ago and here are the answers:
In summary, I contacted Minn Kota and their cheif tech rep explained they had a bug in the software on the main board. My unit was 2 years old and had problems since the beginning. He sent me a new board and compass and I installed it myself in about 5 minutes and so far so good. Only 2 trips out so far but for now it is OK as towards the end it was happening every 2-3 minutes.
The way to tell if you have a new board is one of the two following ways:
1) On the new boards, there is a bit of latency when you push left or right on the foot pedal. This is to make micro-adjustments to your heading. If you head rotates at full speed immediately, you have the older style and probably need the new board and compass.
2) Also as someone else mentioned, the autopilot correction is much smoother and isn’t so clunky or jerky as in the past. So if you can’t physically hear a the corrections, you probably have a new one. They were supposedly fixed last fall. My guess is you need a new board and compass.
My local technician did the POD adjustments and eventually it would be a problem again. If you have the same issues, call Minn Kota and say you want a new board and compass. They know what you are referring to.
I PM’d the contact information to you. Good luck. I hope to get it soon and have soft water to test it on. Good Fishing.
Thanks for all your posts and comments.
I talked to the main tech rep at Minn Kota and he affirmed, their autopilot models (at least the ones from 2001-2003) had issues in the software on the main control board that caused these 360 spinning issues I was facing. They fixed it last fall and now supposedly the autopilots function correctly and correct smoother than before instead of so jerky.
He is sending me a new board and compass and it sounds like this is the problem. So, if any of you are experiencing the same issue, call Minn Kota and they will send you a new board assembly.
One interesting note that he mentioned could account for some other posts I have seen some posts that say the latency of the foot pad is very bad. He informed me that if the foot pad is pressed to move the head, for about the first second, the foot pad will make a different sound and that is to do very small incremental course corrections and then, you will hear the sound change and the head will turn more quickly. This could be what some people are complaining about the footpads being very non-responsive.
Thanks for all your help.
Derek, this can throw things off. The OziExplorer software does a really good job of converting these types of differences but you are right can still cause things to be off. My maps are all based off Map Datum WGS 84. Most GPS will have this set by default, but if it isn’t should be changed to accomodate. Since Ozi takes care of most of these differences in transfer of waypoints, when users don’t use the automatic transfer and hand-enter waypoints this is when the greatest risk occurs. I have been working with Rainman and am sending him a new CD and we should be able to get his situation figured out. Thanks for the help and advice. Good fishing.
Rainman2,
I am quite surprised by this especially with the Ottertail map. I use the Ottertail map myself and have found this map to be especially accurate. Many of the areas I fish in the NE areas of the lake are within a few feet of accuracy or are right on.
I even have a few guides on Ottertail who have used my map and have given me very positive feedback about the accuracy of the map.
I just want to verify you are speaking about Kirsch’s Outdoor Products or Kirsch’s Mapping Service Maps and not some other companies product.
If you are talking about my Ottertail map and are not satisfied, I always have a 100% money back guarantee. You are the first person to date that I have heard from that has not been happy with this map.
One other thing to try is to verify your GPS is set to Map Datum WGS 84 and it is set to Degrees, Min. If these were set incorrectly on the GPS, it could throw the spots off.
I haven’t changed the calibration of Ottertail for some time but if you are intertested, I can send you another copy if for some reason your copy is defective.
Just as an example, I have attached a picture that shows 2 trolling passes on 2 humps on Ottertail. These are not mock ups but actual track files from my GPS of when I was on Ottertail. Notice how the the trolling passes show up exactly on the humps. Not only was it right on, but the waypoint that I had marked on the top of this hump was right on. I did not include the waypoint on the picture as it would cover up the detail.
I merely drove out to the edge of the structure and started fishing around these two humps. The line connecting the two humps is simply the way I drove in between them so don’t be alarmed that it didn’t follow the structure.
My calibration is only as good as the base DNR maps. Some of them are quite good and some are not as accurate. I can assure you that I take every effort in getting these maps as accurate as possible.
Thanks for the post, Bill. One of the great things about this system as Bill mentions is that you tell me what lakes you want. I don’t include and make a client pay for lakes you will never use.
At this time, the maps themselves do not upload to the GPS but the tracks and waypoints a fisherman marks on the maps do transfer to virtually any GPS all the way from the oldest Garmin models all the way up to the newest Lowrance models. Included are Magellan and Eagle GPS units as well. In addition the lake maps can be printed in a variety of ways to help a fisherman have an on-the-water reference. Enjoy the lakes Bill.
Bill,
Great questions. My service is much different than any other you will see. I don’t furnish GPS coordinates. I give you the ability to use the map on your computer and pick any spot you wish to fish and then upload those coordinates automatically to your computer. Also, tracks either pre-fishing you mark on the map or post fishing can be uploaded and downloaded to see where you have been catching fish or where you wish to fish.
I provide the CD-ROM with the GPS software interface and the calibrated maps.
What makes my system unique is I don’t tell you what lakes you must have. You can virtually choose any lake in MN. I can calibrate over 4000 of them currently. The maps themselves don’t upload but the waypoints and tracks do. It is very similar to LakeMaster but just available on 20 x more lakes and interfaces with many more GPS units. Because of this and the powerful software I use, I can work with just about any GPS in existance today.
My typical price is $20 for one custom map, $45 for 3 or $100 for 10. However, I will PM you a special price as I am cutting In-Depth members a special rate currently.
In-depth Angling and I are just finishing working out the final details to have my custom calibrated maps on the site. Thanks for the question.
You will be seeing much more about my maps in the near future. My maps fill the gap no one else has covered since my maps will work with virtually any GPS, for virtually any lake, and you can buy 1 or as many as you need.
Here is another link to some comments by Scott Steil on In-Depth about how my maps saved his life.
I recently GPS calibrated 11 lakes for a couple of gentlemen in the Mazaska area so they could automatically pick fishing spots and upload and download them to their GPS.
The lakes were Mazaska, Shields, Tetonka, Cedar, Clear, Frances, French, Jefferson, Roberds, Washington, and Zumbro.
If any of you are interested in these lakes or any others let me know.
If you want to read about my products see the post at this link where Derek and Scott talk about my maps:
I couldn’t resist telling this story. I took my wife ice fishing for the first time about 5 years back. She hadn’t ever caught a crappie. I took her to a lake that is known for its big crappies. Over the years I had released numbers of 14 and 15 inch crappie. Being the gentleman I am 
, I let her catch the first fish. My mouth dropped to the floor when I saw this 16 1/4″ 3lb crappie come through the hole. My wife asked why I was so excited. She didn’t realize how big this fish was until we caught numbers of 11″ crappies after that. Needless to say, I put it on the wall for my wife and she likes to brag about all the crappies I have caught and that I haven’t beat her yet.
James,
It all depends on what you are looking for. I am sure I will get into lots of debate over this comment, but here it goes. I love Lowrance’s graphs. However, I am not as fond of their hand-held GPS units. The reason I say hand-held is that personally I want to get as much use out of my GPS as possible. I use mine for hunting, fishing, traveling. etc. If a person is a tournament angler and/or fishes on some of the really large bodies of water, then some of the Lowrance GPS units make a lot of sense as a person can buy some of the uploadable map products. But these companies typically focus on the largest lakes only. So, if you are like me and fish a lot of water, but most tend to be under 10,000 acres, I will stick with a hand-held.
As far as types of hand-helds, I have had nothing but success with the Magellan product line. Some talk about their support not being stellar, but nothing has ever gone wrong with the Magellans I have owned so it hasn’t been an issue for me. The sportrak pro is really dependable and gets lots of good reviews. I believe lots of people like the Garmin Map 76 unit as well as an alternative at a similar price point. If you want to use this for lots of things, this is my recommendation. If you want a GPS that mounts on your boat and you never plan to take it off then the Lowrance units you mention are probably the ticket. Just my thoughts and opinion. Lots of people willl say that the hand-helds are not the way to go but I don’t have the money to own 3+ GPS units, so I will stick with a hand-held for now.
If you are looking for recommendations on the Lowrance units, hopefully someone who has owned a few different ones can comment on their recommendation.
Jim,
I sell GPS calibrated lake maps which will allow you to pick fishing spots and upload them right to your gps automatically. I am working out the final details with in-depth so I should have info on my products on their site soon. Anyway, I have an Ottertail CD with the 10 top lakes in the area including Rush, Ottertail, and the Pines. Also, if this CD doesn’t meet your needs I can create a custom CD with one lake or any combination of lakes you are interested in. Send me a PM if interested and we can work out the details.
I have been hunting coyotes in ND for about 20 years. I started because they can cause devastation to many farm animals including livestock, poultry, and even cats and dogs. I have read articles that say more than 25% of a coyotes diet is domestic pets but I am sure this varies depending on the part of the country.
Now, on to my comments. Many people let them lay for a lot of reasons. One of the main reasons is mange. Fox and Coyotes are very susceptible to Sarcoptic Mange. This is traditionally caused by an overabundance of the species and is a way Mother-Nature takes care of the situation when numbers get out of whack. Estimates are that ND has lost over 90% of the fox population in the Eastern part of the state to mange over the last few years. I wouldn’t touch a coyote or fox with mange. In fact you are suppose to burn them if you find them dead or kill one but people hate to go through the trouble when mange is evident.
Coyotes are tough to hunt, unbelievable smart, and very adaptable. Whatever man tries, the coyote seems to flurish. I have harvested hundreds over the years, and have had coats made, hats, and sold many. I loath, admire, and love the coyote all at the same time. The only coyotes I have ever left lay are ones that had mange.
I don’t like the idea of people shooting them and just leaving them lay just as I wouldn’t like someone to shoot a duck and leave it lay either, but it happens and is unfortunate. However, if you have a few coyotes eating your young calves in the spring, I would surely try to get them and in the spring the fur isn’t any good, and you don’t want to eat them, so you would let them lay. Just some more thoughts on the subject.
Derek, you can see some basic things by the image below. The yellow areas are the waypoints that I marked on the map. The red lines are the tracks/boat path I took when fishing and you can even see where I drove out from the access. The green box is a comment I put on the map. The drop down box shows just a few features when sending data to and from your GPS.
The best way to find out information is to go to http://kirsch.netfirms.com/products.htm . However, here is a short list of the top 6 things people use my maps for:
1) Selecting fishing locations by simply clicking on any spot on the map amd uploading it to your GPS. FYI: it doesn’t overwrite the waypoints on the GPS, just adds to them.
2) Waypoint management by copying waypoints from and to the GPS and managing their attributes.
3) Ability to transfer tracks to and from the GPS. This would allow you to chart a path to a fishing spot, plan a trolling pass and upload it, or save a good trolling pathfrom your GPS to the map to see where you were trolling and save it for later use.
4) Ability to print maps in a variety of forms.
5) Measure distance on the map to a fishing spot, length of a piece of structure and much more.
6) Real-time map tracking if you wish to take your notebook computer along so you can see your actual movement on the lake.
These are just a few of the things you can do with the software and map. If any of you have any questions, feel free to PM me or check out the website and use the contact information there to get in touch with me.
Thanks again Scott and Derek for talking about these maps. Maybe we can bring these maps up as a seperate thread in the future with a title something like “GPS Lake maps for over 4000 MN lakes”
Derek,
Thanks for the endorsement. Let me know if you ever need any more.
jhinty,
You hit the nail on the head. I will use a handheld GPS as it gives you the portability and can be used for hunting and fishing. As far as all the guys who love their chips that is fine but the companies will only make the chips for the large lakes because there isn’t enough money in the small ones. Even LakeMaster only has 255 lakes which gives only a fair at best coverage of MN. Check out http://kirsch.netfirms.com
They can calibrate over 4000 lakes and you don’t have to buy 255 when you only want 3 or 10 or whatever number you want. It does what LakeMaster does only better and is compatible with just about any GPS ever made. Good fishing.
Wade,
You are quite right that my maps are quite different. The map types you mention allow a fisherman to plug in a Media Card into the GPS/Graph and see the contours and lake info on the GPS. This is a very powerful option.
My system integrates the GPS (handheld or graph) to the computer. My system isn’t restricted by type of GPS or Sonar or if it can accept memory cards. You can use the power of the software and provided calibrated map to seek out fishing spots, save trolling passes, and manage your waypoints and tracks effectively.
My system allows NMEA control as well which would allow a user with a laptop to hook up the GPS and watch their actual travel on a lake similar to the other products. To be honest, this is mostly for appeal and I don’t even do this anymore for many reason such as not wanting my laptop in the boat.
Thanks for checking out my website at http://kirsch.netfirms.com. As I mentioned before the other tools are great and are very different as you point out. For a person who wants to pick spots on a lake and not waste time trying to find them or wants a great way to store and track fishing spots and trolling passes on just about any lake in MN, I don’t know of another way to do this beside using my software. Nice chatting with you.
FYI, I checked out your website as well and it looks like you carry a good selection of items at great prices and are known for your service. I hope to be able to purchase items from you in the future.
I will PM you with some detail.
Not trying to Spam as I have started to work with In-Depth angling to try and get my business listed but I wanted to respond to a comment on some of this thread. I think both the new LakeMaster and HotSpots mapping technology that you utilize with the GPS units are great.
However, 2 big issues. #1 is that the equipment to utilize the technology is expensive and #2 these businesses will always focus on the large lakes because this process is expensive and there isn’t enough revenue to do smaller lakes.
There is a company that produces custom GPS calibrated lakes maps for you that will interface to just about every GPS model ever made. The maps load on your computer and you can select any spot on a lake and the waypoint is automatically transferred to your GPS. Also, tracks or trolling passes can be saved to and from your GPS. It works really slick. The great part is it will work with just about every GPS and about 90% of the lakes the DNR has on file so more than 4000 can be calibrated. So long story short, buy the high priced options for the few big lakes you fish if you have the equipment and use the Lake Maps I am referring to for the smaller lakes. If this is Samp, I apologize and please delete. To contact me for more information, PM me and I will be glad to answer any of your questions.
Scott, nice to see you online. Let me know if you or anyone in this area need GPS maps.
Great to see you have joined the site. Will look forward to your reports and great advice.
