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School me on freshwater electronics

Pilchard

Pilchard

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Jan 5, 2018
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Dreaming of Tarpon
I am particularly interested in the connection between the trolling motor and the bottom machine.

Coming from saltwater, my bottom machine was used for marking structure, tarpon, bait etc. But the water was clear. So when I was on the electric, I was looking at the water, not the screen. In fact, the machine was at the helm only.

There was no transducer on the trolling motor. So, a few questions:
- Is there a "navigate to" function between the trolling motor and the GPS? Meaning can I pick a waypoint on my GPS and tell the trolling motor to "navigate to"?
- Can I connect the bottom machine to two transducers and toggle between which one the machine is using? For instance, can I sit at the helm and watch the graph but be driving with the trolling motor remote and using that transducer rather than the one on the transom? Or to use the trolling motor transducer does it require two graphs?

Thanks!
 
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Not sure I understand what you are referring to as "bottom machine".
To answer what I think you are asking: yes you can "navigate to" with your TM if you are running "link" models and saying that you can also link multiple graphs with a network switch.
I run Humminbird graphs console and 2 at the bow along with an Ultrex TM and had a 360 imaging unit and everything was linked via a 5 port ethernet switch.
 
you can get a transducer switch for lowrance or humminbirds. its basically a switch box with transducer cable leads coming out.

garmin is a little more tricky with their mid range units but on some gpsmap units they have multiple xducer inputs on the mfd that you can connect different types of xducers and then select which one you want to use from the mfd. they do not offer a transducer switch that im aware of.
 
Keep in mind if you want to link your trolling motor and graphs (mapping) you have to have Lowrance graphs and trolling motor, Garmin graphs and trolling motor, or Humminbird graphs and Minn Kota trolling motors. The Garmin and Lowrance trolling motors are so expensive that Humminbird/MinnKota might be a better option. I'm running three 9" Garmins but can't make myself spend $3100 for a Garmin trolling motor. I probably didn't answer any of your questions, but food for thought. 😁
 
Spurhunter said:
Keep in mind if you want to link your trolling motor and graphs (mapping) you have to have Lowrance graphs and trolling motor, Garmin graphs and trolling motor, or Humminbird graphs and Minn Kota trolling motors. The Garmin and Lowrance trolling motors are so expensive that Humminbird/MinnKota might be a better option. I'm running three 9" Garmins but can't make myself spend $3100 for a Garmin trolling motor. I probably didn't answer any of your questions, but food for thought. 😁
Click to expand...

lowrance used to be compatible with motorguide xi models too but i dont much about them.

ive been doing some siphering on the garmin force tm pricing debacle and comparing it to minn kota. unless ive miscalculated a terrova 24v i pilot link 80 lb is about 1900-2000 and because the only compatible unit is a mega model at around 1500 bucks for a 9" unit thats around 3500 bucks. ifin one could find a deal on the 9" garmin 93sv around 600 bucks and the force is 3100 bucks then that would be around 3700 bucks. the i pilot link ulterra is around 2600 bucks for a 36v 112 lb thrust and add in the 1500 buck helix 9" mega that comes to 4100 bucks. since the force is either 24 or 36 volt, for that price, you could add a second discounted 93sv and it would come out the same.

my conclusion, they all pretty much are going to make us pay through the nose for these premium features with their compatibility requirements.

get them while you can though because of the computer chip shortage i can see price hikes and out of stock issues coming. and we thought ammo prices are ridiculous. lol folks need to get back to work and quit buying those playstations.
 
WTM said:
lowrance used to be compatible with motorguide xi models too but i dont much about them.

ive been doing some siphering on the garmin force tm pricing debacle and comparing it to minn kota. unless ive miscalculated a terrova 24v i pilot link 80 lb is about 1900-2000 and because the only compatible unit is a mega model at around 1500 bucks for a 9" unit thats around 3500 bucks. ifin one could find a deal on the 9" garmin 93sv around 600 bucks and the force is 3100 bucks then that would be around 3700 bucks. the i pilot link ulterra is around 2600 bucks for a 36v 112 lb thrust and add in the 1500 buck helix 9" mega that comes to 4100 bucks. since the force is either 24 or 36 volt, for that price, you could add a second discounted 93sv and it would come out the same.

my conclusion, they all pretty much are going to make us pay through the nose for these premium features with their compatibility requirements.

get them while you can though because of the computer chip shortage i can see price hikes and out of stock issues coming. and we thought ammo prices are ridiculous. lol folks need to get back to work and quit buying those playstations.
Click to expand...
As always, great info! I bought all 3 of my 93sv units during the $599 sale so I did save some money on that end.
 
Whatever you decide on, make SURE the unit is Networkable and Linkable. I have a Humminbird Helix 7 SI G2 and it wont network with the trolling motor. Need the G2N. Didn't know that when I bought it so there are a few features that I cant use.

Spend some time watching videos on the trolling motor you prefer. The I-pilot Minnkotas have some awesome navigation features built into the trolling motor/remote controls.
 

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