A lot of the issues were from the first two generations. The third has a great rep. I just got mine installed and it has worked flawlessly. Its great to adjust trim from anywhere in the boat and since i launch my boat alone, I can launch, deploy, select spot lock, park the truck, then guide it to the dock to get in. It�s great!

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE LINK FEATURE WITH THE ULTREX / ULTRERA AND HUMMINGBIRD GRAPHS . 300$ PRICE DIFFERENCE . IS IT A NECESSITY ? THANKS GENTLEMEN

I'd get the longest one you can fit on your boat. Sure is nice in the windy days if the TM can stay in the water. If, with the long shaft, the head of the TM hands over the side of the gunnel, try re-positioning it where it goes more towards the middle of the boat. The trade-off here is that you might not be able to open your rod locker when the TM is stowed, so that's up to you. If I fished a bunch in the wind (usually the case when fishing deep it seems), I would accept the trade-off for the longer shaft.

I'd prolly do it for $300. It was $500+ when I bought mine and didn't think it was worth it, so I passed.

To answer your question, like just about everything else on a boat, it's not a necessity. Is having a bunch of rods a "necessity"?

Go look at each feature it offers and then make a decision. You�ll get �follow the contour�, ability to use ff to control tm, can send it to a waypoint saved on your Ff, I guess those are the biggest things that it gives you. I have had it and rarely used features and now I don�t have it and kind of wish I had it. If you are tight on cash you can live without it. If you have some extra then you might like some of the things like following a contour