electronics setup

[alltelracer]

On 8/22/2018 at 1:45 PM, rps said:

I have the Ulterra. I like it but have two comments.

You cannot run a cord to the end of the Ulterra and that means you must use the universal sonar built into the motor or come up with a Rube Goldberg sonar solution. The universal sonar supports only regular sonar and not down scan.

If you lose electric power, you cannot raise the motor. That has become an issue for me twice - once when the fob battery died, and once when the splice to the plug burned up.

The Ultrex deploy system avoids these issues, has an Ipilot fob, and is supposed to have a better spot lock.

If I were buying now, I would go with the Ultrex.

Something to think about.

RPS, When your fob battery died, you do know that you can deploy and stow with the foot control?

[rps]

32 minutes ago, alltelracer said:

RPS, When your fob battery died, you do know that you can deploy and stow with the foot control?

The manual told me that, but I did not have the foot control connected.

[vernon]

On 8/25/2018 at 11:07 AM, bobby b. said:

I've had the Ulterra for above 6 months now.  Love it because I'm sooo old that I need/want the automatic stow and deploy.  If the cord warps around the motor on spot lock too many times, it just automatically turns itself back around.  I have the Iplot LINK and since I have the troller and both Helix units connected together, I rarely use the handheld remote.  Motor turning response is plenty  fast for me but not as fast as the old push pull cable units.   I have had occasion to use the automatic feature of running the bank at a predetermined speed and depth - pretty slick for spawn fishing - you can save the track and run it again anytime - Don't think the Ultrex can do that.

Two possible negatives

1) I use the 2D sonar puck in the troller but since I have all three units tied together I can see the side and down image from the console unit if I want to but rarely do that.  Some guys do install a down/side imaging puck on the motor and run the cable up the side.

2) If you loss power while the unit is deployed, the unit loses its memory and doesn't know where it's at.  There is a manual stow procedure (a laminated card is provided with the unit), Once it is stowed, reboot and back in business - NOTE TO SELF - DON'T HIT THE POWER BUTTON WHEN THE UNIT IS DEPLOYED.

My guess that the Pros will never use the Ulterra because of these two negatives and because they are more complicated which can lead to failure which a Pro cannot tolerate when money is on the line.

 

 

 

The Ultrex will do that using the remote FOB.  I don't recall exactly how many routes it will store or how far each one can be but it will definitely retrace a route however many times you want.  

I've never saved more than one at a time and have never tried going back and running an old route over again at a later date but it's supposed to do it.  

I'd have done that but I figure I might end up catching way more fish that way and convince myself that I'm better than I really am and have to turn pro or something and don't want to spend the extra money on jerseys and stuff.........😉

However, to follow contour lines corresponding to the boat's electronics it has to be linked to a Humminbird unit.

And, of course, I have Lowrance so that's another way to catch fewer fish and remain in my comfort zone!

[skeeter]

On ‎8‎/‎22‎/‎2018 at 4:38 PM, Dutch said:

I am looking at the Ulterra at Marine Repair Center in Springfield.  Brad suggested that I would be in my best interest to put a quick connect/disconnect mount on it.

In my search to have 2d/side/down on the trolling motor I ran across Precision Sonar's transducer cable holder.  They have a video of it on their web site.

I've had Precision Sonar's "Cable Guard" brackets for a year and a half and they do enable mounting and using your sidefinder/sidescan's transducer.   Mounted on an Ulterra, which I don't like at all and wish I had bought the Ultrex, they do keep the cable managed but have to be turned to the up-side of the trolling motor shaft to clear the deck and mounting bracket when the motor is retracted.  That makes the transducer cable more exposed to snagging on any brush or stick-ups when the motor is deployed so you gotta' be aware of that.

Why in the world Johnson Outdoors, which owns both MinnKota and Humminbird, would manufacture a trolling motor like the Ulterra and not provide a slot for the more advanced transducer than what they build into the Ulterra's head is a real good question.  

[bobby b.]

4 hours ago, skeeter said:

Why in the world Johnson Outdoors, which owns both MinnKota and Humminbird, would manufacture a trolling motor like the Ulterra and not provide a slot for the more advanced transducer than what they build into the Ulterra's head is a real good question.  

I love the Ulterra but I have to agree.  The Ulterra does everything that  I could imagine a trolling motor could do EXCEPT support the advanced transducers.  Also it would be to their advantage to support down and side imaging somehow with the Ulterra because it would result in the consumer buying a more expensive sonar unit for the bow.  Because I wanted/needed the self deploy unit there was no reason to buy anything more than the 2D unit but if the capability was there I would have bought  a much more expensive sonar.

[bobby b.]

4 hours ago, skeeter said:

Why in the world Johnson Outdoors, which owns both MinnKota and Humminbird, would manufacture a trolling motor like the Ulterra and not provide a slot for the more advanced transducer than what they build into the Ulterra's head is a real good question.  

I love the Ulterra but I have to agree.  The Ulterra does everything that  I could imagine a trolling motor could do EXCEPT support the advanced transducers.  Also it would be to their advantage to support down and side imaging somehow with the Ulterra because it would result in the consumer buying a more expensive sonar unit for the bow.  Because I wanted/needed the self deploy unit there was no reason to buy anything more than the 2D unit but if the capability was there I would have bought  a much more expensive sonar.