02-24-2016, 06:39 PM
Kent, I have a 859 on my bow and an 899 on my dash networked with iPilot through their proprietary 5 port ethernet hub. To be honest I have had a lot of trouble with it. Supposedly with this setup you can use the transducer on the trolling motor or the SI transducer with either unit. I have had problems with the 899 going out to lunch and reading 1 ft depth when I try to get both units using the SI transducer. I have to reset everything to factory defaults before it will start working again. They also did a software upgrade that broke everything - messed up a whole trip for me. I have only had it for about half a season so I am still getting familiar with everything - could be operator error. I also have the map chip (if you get the map chip make sure you get the latest version). There is a 'follow the contour' feature with the iPilot link that is honestly about useless. You will note on their propaganda videos that they are always doing their demos on a river where there is a constant head current. If you try using the feature on a lake with any sort of cross wind the boat oscillates wildly back and forth 20 feet to either side of the contour - useless and extremely frustrating. Works great way point to way point and the follow the contour works if there is no wind. I kind of wish I had done the 360 view rather than the side image. It's way easier to read - the side imaging takes a bit to wrap your head around what you are seeing - it's not entirely intuitive. I find myself mostly using the normal view split with a map view. I really really like the gps and mapping.
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