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  1. #1
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    About that Ghost trolling motor...

    I have an Xi5 and sans the absolutely horrible foot control it's served it's purpose well since 2014. To negate the less than stellar foot control I use heading lock and bump steer as I'm going down the bank. It is extremely effective and efficient for me.

    I went out with a friend on his boat yesterday with a Ghost trolling motor. It absolutely would not navigate - period. The goofy part was I could use the HDS carbon, select a way point and the tell it to navigate to waypoint. I set it up to anchor after arriving at destination. Configured arrival mode range to 1'. It confirmed engaging auto pilot, laid down the track on the screen and then... nothing. Once it got sorta close to the way point but not really close being about 50'. I confirmed all the user interfaces relative to auto pilot were selected. Eventually I'd just have to cancel navigation to clear the nav track off of the screen. I checked the device list and saw the Gost Trolling Motor and the bow carbon was identified as the "Pilot control". According to Lowrance that's all I should see. Can't see the heading sensor.

    I checked the current software version on the Ghost and on the Carbons. Not remembering what the current versions were I called Lowrance while on the water. Once connected, took about 25 mins hold time, I found out that both the Ghost and the Carbons needed updates installed. The "tech" thought maybe the heading sensor was suffering from efi/rfi interference. But... anchor lock worked flawlessly. Friend is going to install updates and we'll see what happens next time on the water.

    I was considering going Ghost but an "issue" cropped up while on the water as well and is an absolute deal breaker for me. As noted I use 'Heading Lock' on my Xi5 and utilize 'bump steer' as I'm going down the bank. If the shoreline has a bump out or a bump in I just tap the foot control to adjust my heading as needed. Lowrance has 'Course Lock' - whatever that means. But what you can not do is utilize the bump steer method. If the foot pedal is touched it kicks it out of course lock rendering it pretty much useless. In the end a Ghost owner is married to the foot pedal while going down the bank fishing.

    Other than the noted issues the Ghost preformed well. Steering was responsive and intuitive. Didn't take much getting used to. But I am so over having to be continually on the pedal while fishing it would be hard for me to chunk down the investment required to put a Ghost on my boat. Maybe the updates will heal the inability to navigate. The tech I spoke with did not mention anything about heading lock or some other means to adjust heading while going down the bank. So, I'm assuming that feature does not exist with the Ghost trolling motor.

  2. Member
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    #2
    Yup,
    The updates should make a difference, bu I didn't see mention of a Point-1 on the boat? And where is his TMC-1 located? Make sure there is nothing magnetic near either the TMC-1 or Point-1. Your "bump" method is the same as "jog" in Lowrance terms, and you can easily do this with a touch to the screen or on the remote. The TMC-1 is used specifically for the jog feature.

    Course lock lets the Ghost follow a programmed route on your screen. You can set one up in seconds, and then tell the Ghost to follow the course. I use this all the time to fish shorelines where I want, or to circle a hump, or follow a ledge. Then I can fish from anywhere on the boat without touching the motor or pedal. And I can control the motor from any MFD on my boat.

    Incidentally, most problems with using navigation with the Ghost occurs from not having the NMEA network properly built, or not turning on all 3 Autopilot features in the advanced settings (sounds like you check the features).

    Go out with someone who has their Ghost installed and setup correctly, and updated, and see what you think.
    ciao,
    Marc

  3. Moderator
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    #3
    Sounds more like user error than the trolling motor. If installed correctly and used accordingly there wouldn't be any issues. But if one trolling motor does what you want then why change.

  4. Member
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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Marcantonio View Post
    Yup,
    The updates should make a difference, bu I didn't see mention of a Point-1 on the boat? And where is his TMC-1 located? Make sure there is nothing magnetic near either the TMC-1 or Point-1. Your "bump" method is the same as "jog" in Lowrance terms, and you can easily do this with a touch to the screen or on the remote. The TMC-1 is used specifically for the jog feature.

    Course lock lets the Ghost follow a programmed route on your screen. You can set one up in seconds, and then tell the Ghost to follow the course. I use this all the time to fish shorelines where I want, or to circle a hump, or follow a ledge. Then I can fish from anywhere on the boat without touching the motor or pedal. And I can control the motor from any MFD on my boat.

    Incidentally, most problems with using navigation with the Ghost occurs from not having the NMEA network properly built, or not turning on all 3 Autopilot features in the advanced settings (sounds like you check the features).

    Go out with someone who has their Ghost installed and setup correctly, and updated, and see what you think.
    Thanks for the input Marc. The heading sensor is about two feet from the trolling motor head(it's at the back of the mount), when deployed. It's also about two feet, maybe 30" from the Carbon head unit. Buddy said he used a phone app to test for emi and where he put the heading sensor was good. When I discovered he was behind on software updates I closed up shop. The odd thing being "Heading Lock" was not even an option on the Carbon screen.

    The "JOG" feature is a function of anchor lock and while in course lock no directional arrows are visible. The next day I pulled up the operating manual for the Ghost and saw where heading lock was supposed to be an option - but it wasn't visible. Figured updates would heal that. But operators manual also said heading lock would be disabled anytime the foot pedal was engaged.

    There were strange entries visible when going to settings/network/device list. I don't recall the exact verbiage but it indicated that the go to [destination] speed was set at .47mph. I saw another strange entry relative to pilot as well but absolutely do not remember anything except that I found it odd.

    Buddy has since updated the carbons and the Ghost but to my knowledge has not taken it back out yet.

    The only "user error" I'm aware of was attempting to configure/work with out of date software on both the Carbon and the Ghost and as stated once that was discovered I quit diddlin' with it.

    The anchor lock was flawless and even in virtually a dead wind the trolling motor didn't go nutty like some will when there is no movement. Jog feature work like it was supposed to.

    Heading lock and constant on in no way function the same. Constant on can not replicate the main feature of heading lock. If, while running constant on, the motor is turned to a slight off center you'll end up making a big circle. Not so with heading lock.

    I agree... If the trolling motor doesn't operate as I want it to and I have one that does well duh.... But the foot control on the Xi5 is soooooooooooo bad I was hoping for another option. The Ghost has many good features I just wish it allowed for bump steer while in heading lock mode. I can understand why that's not a feature of course lock. Maybe that'll be one of the update upgrades sometime in the future.

    Oh... and... he does indeed have a Point One. I could see it going settings/network/device list. I could not see anything about heading sensor relative to the Ghost. The tech I spoke with at the time said that was normal. I could see the Ghost and the carbon unit designated as "pilot controller".

    I helped him install the NMEA network some months back. All devices are visible under [Device List].

    You mention the "TMC-1" should that be visible on the device list - It wasn't. Tech I was speaking with stated only Ghost and Pilot Controller are visible.
    Last edited by yupitsme; 05-30-2023 at 09:10 AM.

  5. Member
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    #5
    TMC-1 will not be visible on the device list...it is integral to the Ghost device on the device list. It is only used for the jog feature (as a compass). Heading lock is a programmable feature for the foot buttons 1, 2 and 3. It determines its heading by GPS, and the GPS is located in the head of the Ghost. I can't remember but thought heading lock could be selected on screen as well; and also seem to remember being able to jog with the remote while using heading lock without ever touching the pedal (or maybe it is only in course lock which is what I use). Of course you will figure this out when you try his boat again now that it is updated.


    When I am fishing deep ridges or flats I like to connect all the waypoints (that are sweet spots) in a route, and then tell my Ghost to run the route. This works really well for me. You might try this with your friend's boat and see if it does the job for you.

    I have no doubt that if you setup his NMEA network that it was done correctly.
    ciao,
    Marc

  6. Member
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    #6
    Thanks again Marc.... Yeah... I can use the screen to 'jog' while in heading lock as well but it's less disruptive to do it with the foot pedal. Instead of 'course' MotorGuide calls it a route.

    The Point 1, NMEA, and ethernet were installed sometime back and all functioned just fine. I was not there to see the TMC-1 install and can only assume it was done correctly. As noted anchor lock and the related jog function worked fine.

    I like your idea of setting up a 'hot spot' course/route. Might have to give it a try some time. I c'rig, a lot! so I tend to stay on one spot quite awhile before moving to the next. Maybe I can set it up to anchor, pause and if no fish are caught in 30 mins. then auto route to the next spot.

  7. Member
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by yupitsme View Post
    Thanks again Marc.... Yeah... I can use the screen to 'jog' while in heading lock as well but it's less disruptive to do it with the foot pedal. Instead of 'course' MotorGuide calls it a route.

    The Point 1, NMEA, and ethernet were installed sometime back and all functioned just fine. I was not there to see the TMC-1 install and can only assume it was done correctly. As noted anchor lock and the related jog function worked fine.

    I like your idea of setting up a 'hot spot' course/route. Might have to give it a try some time. I c'rig, a lot! so I tend to stay on one spot quite awhile before moving to the next. Maybe I can set it up to anchor, pause and if no fish are caught in 30 mins. then auto route to the next spot.
    You can easily do this... works great. I also do this while using an under water camera sitting on my driver's seat, controlling my Ghost from my console graph.
    ciao,
    Marc