spot lock

When setting my spot lock on my minn kota I pilot it drifts erratically between left boundary and right boundary. This is very frustrating and curious if they all do the same or perhaps mine is faulty?

They all will move 5-10 feet from what I have seen none hold you exactly in one spot without moving.

Mine will move 20'-30' side to side from center, I hate it and have found that I can keep it in position better than it will. Now if I'm retrying a lure then it's fine wandering around like it does.

Yes it is normal. The lighter the wind the more movement they seem to have.

What I have found is that when moving, if I hit spot lock the unit seems to have a wider frame of reference. IF I am almost stationary when I hit it, it will often hold me to the location with much less movement.

I agree. I tried to stop the boat first.

I've tried both ways and mine still sucks, I think I got a dud. Mine will wait forever to kick on and by then it has to hit turbo mode to catch up.

It also helps to point the nose into the wind before you hit spot lock and will work like a champ.
Best invention since the depth finder. I have had 2 and if you do that you get very little drift. The key is to get the boat as stopped as possible or it will go back to where you pushed spot lock.
Johnny

You might have a problem. I noticed that mine always used a slow speed to adjust, increasing only when it had to but almost never went into a very high speed unless it was in 15-20 mph wind. Do you have the just ipilot or the link? If you have the link, you might try a software update.

To the original poster, another option that works sometimes is to lock it in on the heading and then dial in a prop speed that will hold your spot. Sometimes that worked better for me depending on the conditions. For the most part, I just learned to work with it. I had to sell mine when I bought a larger boat. I really miss it a lot. I knew I relied on spotlock but truly didn't realize until now, how much. Can't wait until I can afford another one.

This^^^^^

They will get a mind of their own when there is a very light wind swirling around from different directions. I get aggravated at mine sometimes, but I would miss not having it.

Bobby, I have the original small remote model without the link system. When I first bought it, it held pretty good; but now it is plumb ridiculous. There's days that I want to rip it off and throw in the lake. I've thought about the Xi5; but I don't want to spend more money.

Wow, I'm glad everyone posted about this, I have been thinking of upgrading just for the spot lock but haven't wanted to spend that kind of money....this settled it, I'll keep what I have!

Thanks for the feedback y'all. I do believe that I have been moving when I set it each time so I will work on stopping the boat first! As mentioned it is not as noticeable in rougher water just light to no wind. I was hoping this would help me when sitting on a brush pile trying to pull some crappie but it isn't as tight of a lock as I had hoped for. I still have the bouy for that.

Bronco you are missing out...as frustrating as the spot lock is for me I do believe if given the choice to throw the ipilot or graph over the side of the boat I would throw my graph over.

Thanks ohmsboy, if I was upgrading from a standard trolling motor I would probably do it but I have the MK autopilot with the wireless copilot that works well, just doesn't have spot lock. Currently waiting on a new coil cord from MK as a squirrel chewed mine up Its been 2 months and they haven't come up with the correct cord so if it isn't fixed soon I doubt I will buy another MK product just due to their service....

My experience is the same as grout-scout. I also have the smaller remote. One thing you can do if the TM is off-tracking, is press the 'go to' spot lock button before it drifts too far.

Bronco,
I sold mine and regret not having one every day that I get on the water. The spotlock isn't perfect but man dies it make fishing enjoyable. That will be my first major upgrade to the new boat.

I sold my MK and bought the Xi5. It will hold you on top of a brush pile in 15 MPH winds with no problem. I would highly recommend it to anyone that is considering buying a TM for the spot lock/anchor feature. I used it on Memorial Day to shoot docks and even with all of the boat traffic, it still held me exactly where I started for almost 2 hours while I sat on the edge of the boat with my feet in the water. Set it and forget it!