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I posted this link a while back. Today makes the 2nd trip where I put the MG Tour Pro through it’s paces after following the additional steps outlined in the article above. Prior to that I had only followed the steps in the MG Tour Pro Owners Manual. For reference, this TM was purchased new in 11/21, and came directly from the Mag factory through a board sponsor.
My impressions overall:
The Tour Pro is big, but not that much bigger than other current TMs I’ve seen recently. It lays flat when stowed, and doesn’t present a much bigger profile than the Digital Tour 82 it replaced. I like the way it looks on my Sabre FTD. Sharp looking motor and mount.
If it’s heavy I can’t tell. MG really hit the mark on the lift assist. The force it takes to deploy it is minimal. Pul the handle, pull up slightly, and it breaks over and drops. Almost no effort to deploy or stow. You do have to use the pedal to align the foot for stowing, but that’s a minor annoyance.
The factory default for pedal tension seems OK for now. That could change.
The added feel of the electric motor is more of a “less smooth” feel than anything. It’s not annoying or rough, it’s just different.
As for noise. This new Tour Pro is quieter than my old Digital Tour which says a lot. It was never noisy. A very quiet motor under power, and a quiet electric motor in Anchor Mode.
In Anchor Mode it performed flawlessly on both trips (after all steps were completed). The first trip was on a fairly windless day. I setup on a creek mouth and put the TM in Anchor Mode using the remote. The boat remained steady within 4-5:feet of where I set it for 30+ minutes. Speed setting 4.
Today the wind was blowing 10-15mph with gusts to 20. I set up off a point facing into the wind, set the speed to 6-7, then set Anchor Mode. The TM kept the boat in place about 30 yards from the spot I was fishing for around 30 minutes. With the wind blowing I could barely hear it running as it made adjustments and kept the boat in place.
Call me impressed. So far, this TM has performed flawlessly in all respects.
These are just my initial impressions. We’ll see how it does long term. So far, I really like it.
Anchor Mode will change the way I fish in a big way. No more worrying about staying on the pedal to fish a windy point, or stop to re-tie a bait, or land a fish without drifting. Why didn’t I get this before?
As for the steps followed,
I went through the GPS Compass Calibration M<Hold>111 step 5 times. Deploy TM > Align directional arrow with bow > Use OB to slowly idle in 2+ circles until the TM emits a beep to verify a GPS signal. I repeated these steps 3 times. The TM was stowed, and power was turned at the switch after each time. After power was restored, the TM was deployed, and the GPS Compass Calibration was repeated. The Tour Pro successfully completed satellite acquisition on all 3 attempts. Once I was assured I had a GPS signal, the additional steps were completed.
M<Hold>284 code is for GPS Steering
M<Hold>285 code is for GPS Foot Travel.
These are additional steps to those outlined under MG Tour Series FAQs on the MG website.
https://www.motorguide.com/us/en/own...ries-faqs.html
I hope this has provided some useful information for those of you that had GPS issues, or just want make sure your TM is calibrated correctly.