Smarttroll and Trollsmarter

rastam4n

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Hey guys

I am getting ready to accept delivery of my new boat, and I have been doing some research on products available these days. While I love my Fish Hawk, I find it is limited to one probe unless I want to buy another kit completely and run two probes at a cost of $1400... and this may not even work as there maybe cross talk from one probe to the other. So I thought about Depth Raiders... a bit crude but would solve my problem... but as I am searching around I came across this

Smarttroll
https://www.smarttroll.com/index.php?route=common/home These are much smaller probes, you can have up to 6 probes all with individual speed, temp and depth readings.... AT THE SAME TIME!. For me, this would be exactly what I always wished for. And you can attach them in line as well as on your down rigger cable. So dipsy diver's depth is no longer a guess!
Has anyone tried these?

Another thing I came across is a much less expensive option to the itroll or Trollmaster
This is a product that is based on the Arduino DIY throttle control found here https://www.instructables.com/Boat-Outboard-Motor-Controller/

Trollsmarter
But it is a canned unit and has all the bugs figured out for you, plus it comes with a remote control, and they have good install videos, all for less than either of the other options.

Has anyone tried this one?
 
I made my own electronic throttle control for my kicker trollMaster I think are like 500$ or something I made my own for like 150$ works awesome fine tune any speed I want
 
I made my own electronic throttle control for my kicker trollMaster I think are like 500$ or something I made my own for like 150$ works awesome fine tune any speed I want
Yes I did as well, but a lot of people do not have the skill or are intimidated by programming an Arduino or anything new electronically... let alone designing their own servo mounts, cables etc... the unit I linked comes with all you need for under $400
 
Hey guys

I am getting ready to accept delivery of my new boat, and I have been doing some research on products available these days. While I love my Fish Hawk, I find it is limited to one probe unless I want to buy another kit completely and run two probes at a cost of $1400... and this may not even work as there maybe cross talk from one probe to the other. So I thought about Depth Raiders... a bit crude but would solve my problem... but as I am searching around I came across this

Smarttroll
https://www.smarttroll.com/index.php?route=common/home These are much smaller probes, you can have up to 6 probes all with individual speed, temp and depth readings.... AT THE SAME TIME!. For me, this would be exactly what I always wished for. And you can attach them in line as well as on your down rigger cable. So dipsy diver's depth is no longer a guess!
Has anyone tried these?

Another thing I came across is a much less expensive option to the itroll or Trollmaster
This is a product that is based on the Arduino DIY throttle control found here https://www.instructables.com/Boat-Outboard-Motor-Controller/

Trollsmarter
But it is a canned unit and has all the bugs figured out for you, plus it comes with a remote control, and they have good install videos, all for less than either of the other options.

Has anyone tried this one?
I have a trollsmarter. It's great and support is beyond phenomenal. Stephen is great to deal with. I've called him while on the water to figure stuff out and he is happy to help. Last year I had an issue with the unit , it wouldn't turn on. We worked to troubleshoot shoot it in my garage for an hour. Couldn't find the problem so I sent it to him and replaced and upgraded everything no charge, I paid to ship to him, he covered everything else. Unit was 2 years old at that point
 
And Mark Kulak runs the smart trolls. Charters on O and has a YouTube channel. Pretty sure he posted a bunch of vids from last year
 
Hey guys

I am getting ready to accept delivery of my new boat, and I have been doing some research on products available these days. While I love my Fish Hawk, I find it is limited to one probe unless I want to buy another kit completely and run two probes at a cost of $1400... and this may not even work as there maybe cross talk from one probe to the other. So I thought about Depth Raiders... a bit crude but would solve my problem... but as I am searching around I came across this

Smarttroll
https://www.smarttroll.com/index.php?route=common/home These are much smaller probes, you can have up to 6 probes all with individual speed, temp and depth readings.... AT THE SAME TIME!. For me, this would be exactly what I always wished for. And you can attach them in line as well as on your down rigger cable. So dipsy diver's depth is no longer a guess!
Has anyone tried these?

Another thing I came across is a much less expensive option to the itroll or Trollmaster
This is a product that is based on the Arduino DIY throttle control found here https://www.instructables.com/Boat-Outboard-Motor-Controller/

Trollsmarter
But it is a canned unit and has all the bugs figured out for you, plus it comes with a remote control, and they have good install videos, all for less than either of the other options.

Has anyone tried this one?
One of the charter guys out of bronte runs the smarttroll systems (4 probes). He said he was very impressed with it but he didn’t think it was of the same quality as the fishhawk.

I think it would actually be more useful than a FishHawk and especially in deeper waters when the thermocline and temp breaks… we have encountered 2 thermoclines on a number of of occasions in the exact same spot (eg 70 degrees @ 25 feet breaking to 57 degree the back up to 70 degrees at 140 feet!)

The fishhawk would need to be probing all of the depth tp locate the breaks
 
The smartroll looks like a good concept to bad it links to a Android device and not any of the popular fishfinders.
 
Put an Itrol on my kicker last year. Took maybe an hour. Works perfectly and I can give my kicker a little extra throttle on the first start / warm up. 2 thumbs up
 

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Put an Itrol on my kicker last year. Took maybe an hour. Works perfectly and I can give my kicker a little extra throttle on the first start / warm up. 2 thumbs up
No remote?
 
I am getting a kicker added this spring and considering trollmaster 2 (wired, no remote). Who is selling it here except amazon? Anybody knows?
 
The smartroll looks like a good concept to bad it links to a Android device and not any of the popular fishfinders.
You could say the same for Fish hawk or any other probe based tech... Hopefully these companies start to cooperate and conform to some cross-platform API for the good of their customers instead of filling their bank accounts!
 
You could say the same for Fish hawk or any other probe based tech... Hopefully these companies start to cooperate and conform to some cross-platform API for the good of their customers instead of filling their bank accounts!
Absolutely agree, fishhawk now has a bluetooth, should be no issue linking to a modern fish finder and transmit 4 digits lol
 
Don't see the need for a remote. Plus it has lots of cable . So you could move it from stern to transom. 18 foot boat and don't often change From 2.8 mph. If I splurge on a remote it will be for the auto pilot and I probably won't.
 
Don't see the need for a remote. Plus it has lots of cable . So you could move it from stern to transom. 18 foot boat and don't often change From 2.8 mph. If I splurge on a remote it will be for the auto pilot and I probably won't.
Understood, for me, it is not practical to get to the helm each time I make speed adjustments (too many people in the way) and I do make adjustments every 10 minutes or so. But I want the main controller at the helm, so a remote is the best solution for that.
 
I had a Panther T-5 with wireless remote and have now moved over to a Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker. All I can say is I wish I had not cheaped out the first time and bought the Panther. The Garmin is so far superior to anything else i have seen or used.

 
I had a Panther T-5 with wireless remote and have now moved over to a Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker. All I can say is I wish I had not cheaped out the first time and bought the Panther. The Garmin is so far superior to anything else i have seen or used.

Interesting. I have multiple uhd garmin units on my rig but was advised against a garmin pilot by a couple of techs in the know. I have also been told their customer service is terrible. I guess it depends on your situation. Bridge yachts suggested going raymarine instead, as well as the people at radioworld. I think the shadow drive unit on the garmin pilots can cause issues with certain steering systems. I’m glad yours is working out great.
 
I had a Panther T-5 with wireless remote and have now moved over to a Garmin Reactor 40 Kicker. All I can say is I wish I had not cheaped out the first time and bought the Panther. The Garmin is so far superior to anything else i have seen or used.


For stern drive and other boats where a tie bar is not practical, the Reactor is a great choice. That being said, the thread is about Fish Hawk alternative SmartTroll and a itroll or trollmaster alternative Trollsmarter.
Autopilot and remote steering deserves its own thread as there are so many variables.
 
You are right. i should have not made that comment. The info on the SmartTroll was great. The company answered my questions about range now we are just finalizing the sale.
 
No reason you couldn't mount the controller at the stern. My kicker has throttle /shifter at helm that still works with Itroll in use. Itroll over rides throttle so can't slow kicker but you can speed up /shift. Comes in a water proof box so easily mounted beside down riggers if you want. My kicker has a tie bar so it steers from wheel/ autopilot on 90hp main. I don't think Itroll has a remote feature. It's a good throttle control but that's all.
 
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