Ipilot follow the contour??

[Browneye]

So now I'm using a 25 year old terrova thats been rebuilt once but still works. I have always wanted to be able to do the follow the contour feature. Contemplating getting a new terrova with the link and hopefully improved spot lock. I'm running an 859 with a lakemaster chip that is probably 10 to 12 years old and 7" with sidescan that I have a zero lines card in and have done some mapping. For those that have the follow contour feature how well does it work for you? I know on some lakes my lakemaster chip only has contours marked maybe every 3 to 5'. Does that mean it will only follow a line that is on the chip or will it follow a depth between the lines? I know its nothing as detailed as a navionics chip i have which i think shows every 1" depth line. Wondering if I would also need to get a newer lakemaster chip for better function? I read that it might work better on the maps I scanned on autochart. I have never been in a boat when its used but had a friend tell me in its early days a few times the troller would "get confused" about where to find the depth it was on sometimes and spin around in circles. Does that still happen on newer models too? Thanks in advance for any input on this.

 

[Rowdie]

I'm pretty sure you'll have to have a bird as Lowrance is married to Motorguide and Lowrance and Hummingbird are compatible for those features

 

[Sluggo]

I had an older Terrova and now have a newer one. I cannot speak to the contour following feature but I noticed a difference between how autopilot works. With the old one, if Autopilot was on and I wanted to change the direction slightly, i would just tap left or right on the foot pedal and it would now travel to a new spot. With the new one, this tapping seems to make no difference. It gives me the middle finger and continues on to the original spot. I like the way the old one worked better or maybe I was just used to it. Spot lock is much better on the new one, however.

 

[Bauer]

For those that have the follow contour feature how well does it work for you? I know on some lakes my lakemaster chip only has contours marked maybe every 3 to 5'. Does that mean it will only follow a line that is on the chip or will it follow a depth between the lines? I know its nothing as detailed as a navionics chip i have which i think shows every 1" depth line. Wondering if I would also need to get a newer lakemaster chip for better function? I read that it might work better on the maps I scanned on autochart.

I can tell you that the follow the contour feature works very very well, it is however, only as good as the contour lines are drawn. It comes with an offset feature, where if you are finding that a particular line is close, but not where you want to be, you can offset left or right X number of feet from that line and move the boat in or out from that line. It will not have anything to do with depth, only the information provided by that contour line is what will relate to.

If a contour line ends, or is broken in nature, then yes, the TM will become confused and may start some sort of sporadic search trying to regain its course. Also, if the wrong direction is selected, or you are already trolled past your starting point on the contour line, the boat will again react erratically trying to go where you told it to go. Otherwise you should not have any issues following that line until it ends. It is an amazing tool if you have kids and need to constantly be fussing with them, as you can take your mind off the boat and help them and not pile it up on shore or end up way off course.

Newer lakemaster chips such as the VX chip, may contain new mapping data for the lake, but also will not be compatible with the older legacy devices like the 859.

If using Autochart live, you will need to have very good maps of your trolling path created in order to fully achieve accuracy, but to answer your question, yes, that raw current data will be better than some old LM map.

If you are looking to go to a new TM, you may want to strongly consider the new Quest series as they now also provide for a controlled drift mode that I'm told is quite awesome. However, I am not sure if it also needs to be paired with an Xplore unit, or would work with the helix's etc.