Ultrex is junk.......

[Bradrodfish]

10 feet is good ?

Ten foot is good accuracy. GPS units were 30'.

[TroyBoy30]

10 foot for ultrex spot lock is not good. you should be closer to 2-3 ft

[GOFISH$]

I have had Minn Kota Fortex and Maxxum trolling motors for years and they were great so I though the Ultrex would be up to their past standards. Be very careful in your thoughts to put one on your boat. I had a shop install one on my boat and all of the set up was complete going in circles, pairing the head with unit and position adjustment. Went on a three day fishing trip what a piece of junk. Set spot lock with boat stopped motor will spin around and go 10' backwards then try and find it's way back to spot but will not make it back to marker buoy. May get close but then will move sideways 12' to 15'. If you plan to use in trees don't or you will damage boat . I called Minn Kota always had great service in the past. This time the lady I got was in no way knowledgeable about this product. She read her computer cheat list to me and recommended to reset boat size I explained I had already been on plus one and two also zero and minus one and two. She said she could not help and recommended to take to repair center. There is one seventy miles away and they want motor off boat and could be two months before you get motor back. I asked her If I could take back to Minn Kota for repair She said their shop is full of them and could be a month before they could look at it. I have two friend who purchased them and found out this morning both had been returned and replaced and they waited with no boat till the new ones came. I asked her what else I could do she said nothing, she was rude and uninformed. I asked for her name and she hung up the phone. I wish I had not sold my fortrex and talons from my boat. My boat is a 2015 Ranger 119C with 225 Yamaha sho engine. I have owned several Ranger bass boats this is a great boat and was a great package until I put this piece of junk of a trolling motor on it.

Steve, dont let the MK fan boys discourage you. I do not for one minute dispute your issues with MK. I'm on my 2nd fortrex in 3 years and it is still the nosiest bracket I've ever had with the change of "direction crunching" sound that most make regardless of what anyone says. Google it! MK, their service centers, and most owners, deny a problem exist. My experience is that when someone owns something they seldom can be objective about it. I call this post purchase anxiety. The truth is that MK has lots of issues and so does motor guide. Trolling motors continue to be the weak link of the huge amount of money we spend on our bass rigs. Their are plenty enough issues with the new ultrex to make one wait until it improves, which if like fortrex, may not happen!

[TMG]

10 foot for ultrex spot lock is not good. you should be closer to 2-3 ft

+1
I usually stay out of these threads because you can't comment without being a motor guide fan or bashing MK.
I'm actually a mk fan but have a xi5.
I would spot lock in 30mph winds 3 feet from a rock pile and take a nap.

[fishnfireman]

+1
I usually stay out of these threads because you can't comment without being a motor guide fan or bashing MK.
I'm actually a mk fan but have a xi5.
I would spot lock in 30mph winds 3 feet from a rock pile and take a nap.

You honestly expect someone to believe that???
I have some ocean front property in New Mexico I will sell you..

[TMG]

You honestly expect someone to believe that???
I have some ocean front property in New Mexico I will sell you..

Your kidding right ?

[fishnfireman]

NO .


If you believe I have ocean front property --- then I believe you can hold within "3 feet" in THIRTY mph winds.

[bdog7198]

You will go thru a lot of battery power but yes it MK and MG will hold....

only time mine failed to hold GPS signal is when I was under a bridge.

[TMG]

NO .


If you believe I have ocean front property --- then I believe you can hold within "3 feet" in THIRTY mph winds.

100% and so should your ultrex.

[Pearlizer]

+1 what TMG says...I have set the Spot Lock in winds, as described above, and fished off the back for extended periods of time w/o issue.
Personally, I love the damn thing.

-Rich

[TroyBoy30]

i believe it. shouldn't be a problem. how long it will do it depends on your battery

[fishnfireman]

100% and so should your ultrex.

Has nothing to do with the brand or if I like it -- matter of fact I love the ones I have owned.
It has to do with there limits of capability.. In THRTY mph winds on open water your shaft will be coming out of the water.
Not sure how far it is to New Hampshire -- if you willing to prove this I will pay good money to see it.

[TMG]

Come on down. The guy below me posts he does the same thing.
Not every body of water turns into the ocean.

[Syncros]

I'm not sure where you are in Iowa but if you are on the western side I'd be happy to meet you at an Omaha lake and you can see how mine works. I have a Ranger 519 with a 225 pro XS and a 80/45 Ultrex so boat size/design wouldn't factor into anything. I fish Icaria, Viking once or twice a week and could meet you there or Anitia, Praire Rose, etc., and you can see how my Ultrex works vs yours. I'd prefer to do it on a weekday since I'm a retired guy and like to avoid weekend crowds and a day with some wind but if you only have weekends free we could figure something out.

I think spot lock is pretty amazing but I've never put a buoy out to check accuracy. I have also had my Ultrex since last fall and used it 3-5 times a week since January so I've got a few days experience with it. I fished yesterday in a sustained 10-12 mph wind and spot lock didn't wander much, if at all. If it had I would have been into the weed line I was fishing. The wind never died and never gusted and it never changed direction but I never felt the boat move and it never looked like I got closer to the weed line.

I did my also did my own install and would be happy to run you through the calibration but calibration has nothing to do with spot lock accuracy.

As others have said, the more momentum you have when you hit spot lock the more "crazy" it's going to go to get you back to your spot and the longer it's going to to take to get locked down. The lighter the wind the more it's going to wander. You can also check your gps signal on the remote to see if the problems you are having are due to a weak or bad signal.

[SoonerFan]

It held me on a point in 20 mph wind a couple of weeks ago. I was chunking a C-rig and the waves were so high it was hard to keep my footing.

However, this past weekend I was on a similar point throwing crankbaits with not near as much wind it would lose it spot lock whenever it would sit down to change colors. I remembered another occasion when I noticed it was losing it's spot lock. I couldn't figure out why one time in gale force winds it was holding just fine and other times when it was just the usual Okla wind it was not. It then occurred to me that I had the I-link remote around my neck. I took it off and all of a sudden the spot lock started holding just fine. Evidently, I was hitting a button to turn off the spot lock when I was sitting changing baits. So that was a simple fix.

[fishnfireman]

I would spot lock in 30mph winds 3 feet from a rock pile and take a nap.

I have learned after 40 years of fishing that some fishermen have judgment problems.
Especially when it comes to boat speed and wind speed....
Size and number of fish caught....
Wave height....
And distance from a certain point...

[TMG]

I have learned after 40 years of fishing that some fishermen have judgment problems.
Especially when it comes to boat speed and wind speed....
Size and number of fish caught....
Wave height....
And distance from a certain point...

You clearly don't have a clue what your talking about.

[alabamaphoenix]

hmmm...sounds like a disgruntled Motorguide fan....Have an Ultrex and it has been worth every single penny paid.

Read the OP again. He has had Minn Kota Fortex and Maxxum trolling motors for years. It amazes me how people want to bash another brand, even when it is not even being discussed.

[Capw]

Sounds like user error. Read your manual and set the boat offset. MK doesn't send you to repair centers on these motors. They have you send them in after they send you a replacement. BTW, I love my Ultrex. Spotlock is incredible when sitting within a 3 foot circle in 20 mph winds. You are in the minority.

[cehlert]

I call bull. This ultrex has been the best thing I've ever put on a boat. I thought power poles were great. I thought talons were great. I thought the solix units were great. The ultrex has been the best thing I've ever used. I can sit for hours on a spot with my Sons and just focus on helping them fish and never ever look at the trolling motor. Yep, if you are moving forward and hit spot lock it's going to surge to get you back to the right area, next time let the boat stop or drift backwards just a second and then hit it. My talons are like brand new yet because the ultrex is doing all the work.