First Impression of Force Pro......

[fishin couillon]

This is a first Garmin troller for me so no experience with the original. It also replaced an Ultrex that i had bought in 2018. First thoughts when i unboxed it, "holy shit" this is a tank.....bigger/wider than the Ultrex.....installation, was easy, it took me a while but only cause i was taking my time and have to work during the week days plus weekends were rainy, so no rush to get it done. After full mount, i tested deploying/stowing and considering how heavy it was, it was pretty easy to lift. Finally got a chance for 1hr to put it in the water......did all the setup at home and only had to calibrate it.....got that done.

Thoughts: motor is quite when running, head turning, a lot quitter than my Ultrex but can still hear it turning, nice to be able to see my sonar screen without any interference full speed had my Phoenix at 3.5 mph, have the Foresight attached and was still fairly easy to stow and deploy compared to Ultrex.

Spot Lock: worked pretty good in the heavy wind i was in, minimum head turning, when turning, not real quick.....

Reverse: pretty sweet, nice feature, saw it working while on spot lock also.

Heading north: realized that you cant set the speed and turn pedal to adjust the heading as it will kick out but no problem, got that remote to do that....

Pedal: its ok, do not like that i cant tighten the tension on it, its maxed out (set from factory) and i find that its still to "loose".....yes, i'll have to get used to it but still to loose for my liking. Ended up hard wiring the pedal instead of batteries.....

Still reading issues on FB with the original so hopefully those have been resolved and i dont regret my purchase by having problems.....so for now, that was just a little use....i'm off for Good Friday, so planning on getting on the water for the day to fish and give it a workout if weather holds up. I'll post more once it get more use on it.

[86 inches]

Nice! Hope you will enjoy it. I agree. The tensioner is pretty weak. I wish they would offer a heavy duty pedal option.. all metal with a better tensioner.

The real test for spotlock and head spinning will be on a calm day but I suspect this pro version will be pretty slick.

Here's a tip that might be helpful. Diasble the heading hold and spotlock buttons on the pedal. I wear my remote on its lanyard around my waist right next to my front pocket so I can slip it in there if I want. I work the heading hold and spotlock with that.

Also, think about installing a troll tamer. The mount is pretty solid but I think the tamer really adds some security on rough water and on the road.

[Hotlz]

If you want more tension on the foot pedal, take the adjustment screw out and drop a single BB in and put the screw back in. Worked well for me.

[fishin couillon]

If you want more tension on the foot pedal, take the adjustment screw out and drop a single BB in and put the screw back in. Worked well for me.

Talking about a BB from a BB gun?? If that the case, i'll try that this weekend......Thanks for that advice!!!!!

[LWINCHESTER2]

At first I didn't like the tension, wanting it to be stronger. I was accustomed to the tension from cable steer. Now that I have adjusted to it, I like it. In fact, I have loosened it some to make the left/right fine pointing to fish by LiveScope more delicate.

[fishin couillon]

Leonard, i am used to the Ultrex which has more tension....when testing it the other weekend, i like to have thrown my self out of boat when i stepped on pedal and it quickly turned to the side and started going......i'm gonna try that BB trick.....i was surprised that the tension didn't have any more adjustment.....but the jury is still out....

[LWINCHESTER2]

Sure. We all have our preferences. The fine tuning L/R can also be done with the remote. It's 2 degrees each click.

[fishin couillon]

Enlighten me on this fine tuning with the remote...also what is "turbo"? Saw it on remote but dont remember where it was at..still learning the remote...

[PMantle]

. Ended up hard wiring the pedal instead of batteries.....

.

Do you have your scope transducer on the shaft? If so, how do you like the control you have over it? That was a deal breaker for me on the original.

[fishin couillon]

Do you have your scope transducer on the shaft? If so, how do you like the control you have over it? That was a deal breaker for me on the original.

I do not. I bought a Foresight motorized pole and have been using that so nothing on the shaft anymore.

[86 inches]

Enlighten me on this fine tuning with the remote...also what is "turbo"? Saw it on remote but dont remember where it was at..still learning the remote...

You can use the left and right directional arrows to turn your TM in 1 degree increments when in manual or heading hold modes.

Turbo is basically a jump to max power that you can engage when you are using your garmin MFD to run a course or heading.

[fishin couillon]

So the fine tuning is not a setting that stays in place, its only being used when on a course or heading? Same for turbo?

[86 inches]

Using the directional arrows, 'left' and 'right', can turn the motor in the desired direction 1 degree at a time. Here is a video that shows that. Each beep you hear is a single press of the left or right directional arrow on the remote. You can do this with or without the propeller engaged. Once pressed, the motor turns and stays turned. If, for instance, you were to have your FFS transducer shaft mounted, you could 'fine tune' its direction using the remote. Or, if you had the heading hold engaged and the prop turning, you could change the course by a degree at a time with these directional buttons on the remote. Of course, you can hold down a directional button and it will continuously turn as far as you want.

https://youtube.com/shorts/kMc016AJD...Rh_xecvaebp5ta

[fishin couillon]

Ok, got it....

[LWINCHESTER2]

Using the directional arrows, 'left' and 'right', can turn the motor in the desired direction 1 degree at a time.

Please double check this. Last time I checked it took 45 clicks to go from straight ahead to 90 degrees to side. That's why I say each click 2 degrees.

[86 inches]

Please double check this. Last time I checked it took 45 clicks to go from straight ahead to 90 degrees to side. That's why I say each click 2 degrees.

you're probably right. I thought I saw 1 in the manual but I could easily be wrong

[86 inches]

To quote the manual:

"Press to navigate the menu (Navigating the Menu,
page 4).
When in the menu, press 'right' to select a menu item, and
press 'left' to go back.
When in anchor lock, press to jog the anchor lock position
forward, backward, left, or right in 1.5 m (5 ft.) increments.
When in heading hold or manual control, press 'left' and 'right' for
single-degree step turns, or hold for steering in five-degree
increments.
Press 'up' and 'down' for incremental speed changes, or hold for
continuous speed changes"

Despite that, I would defer to your expertise. Your findings are probably accurate.

[LWINCHESTER2]

You and the manual are correct when operating in Heading Hold. The left/right changes are 1 degree increments. When the motor is not engaged the pointing left/right changes by 2 degrees. For the foot pedal I'm really not sure what the current state is. At one time, the left/right movement was less pointing forward compared the amount of movement when pointed backwards.

[Hotlz]

Talking about a BB from a BB gun?? If that the case, i'll try that this weekend......Thanks for that advice!!!!!

Yes, BB's for a BB gun.

[fishin couillon]

10-4....