Hi all

The heading sensor is a wonderful piece of equipment. With a Bluetooth based motor (spot lock models) it allows the ability to jog 5’ with a button push while you are locked in a spot. It gives heading info to the motor for advanced course navigation. And if you’re networked to a fish finder it will show you which way the boat it pointing relative to a contour map or waypoint. That last one is super useful when you graph a waypoint and come back to it later with mega live.

What I don’t love is the light. It has a bright blue led light on top that flashes once every three seconds when connected. Not a problem normally but if you night fish it is really bright- like enough to screw up your night vision. As any enterprising diy person with strong preferences might do, I put black electrical tape over it last summer to kill the glare. DON’T DO THAT!

Turns out, the light is also a button. I had one on my kayak for four years and one on the boat for another. Never knew that. So when I put the tape over it, that pushed down the button. And that’s how you turn it off- press and hold. That’s also how you turn it back on. But for the past 6 months I thought I had a broken heading sensor.

Here’s your sign…

Way to take one for the team.

I night fish a lot and have never once even noticed that light lol

You are talking about the white puck that you mount in your boat, right?

My sensor puck flashes red. We must have different generations.

@Peninsular - yes, the white minn kota puck about the size of a hockey puck. It's bright as anything at night. The LEDs on the trolling motor switch are the same. I put black tape over them too. When I'm out at night, I want zero artificial light and any little light it noticable. My apple watch is in night mode which swaps the display to dark red font over black background. My phone is burried away. I leave my nav lights off assuming it is safe (and it is on all the lakes I night fish).

@Jig Man - yes, the older ones are red. I'd prefer red.

3 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

@Peninsular - yes, the white minn kota puck about the size of a hockey puck. It's bright as anything at night. The LEDs on the trolling motor switch are the same. I put black tape over them too. When I'm out at night, I want zero artificial light and any little light it noticable. My apple watch is in night mode which swaps the display to dark red font over black background. My phone is burried away. I leave my nav lights off assuming it is safe (and it is on all the lakes I night fish).

@Jig Man - yes, the older ones are red. I'd prefer red.

I guess I have just never noticed the light then, when I night fish in my Lund, my Helix units are still on so I can see mapping, despite being dimmed all the way, so my guess is, they drown out the light from the puck, I do hear what you are saying about the red/green lights. I guess night vision isn't as important for the manner in which I night fish in my Lund.

I also have a drift boat that I float rivers with at night, for those purposes, I want absolutely zero light, night vision is pretty important for rowing a swift and tight river in the complete dark lol It's pretty amazing how well you can see in the darkness of night once your eyes adjust though, can be downright bright on moonlit nights, forcing you to fish the shade under overhanging branches and whatnot, just like you would in the daytime.

@Peninsular - yeah, if you have a helix on that will be way brighter than the puck light. I have turned my FF off entirely at night. I used to run them on night mode, brightness 1, but that was still too much. It draws bugs and glares my vision.

Mine is at back of the boat, near the fuel filler and transom. I have noticed the blue light...but never bothered me @ night.

Appreciate the heads up @casts_by_fly

Run a black sharpie over the light that should dim it down.

Yeah, that’s the plan. A couple passes and it should be all but blackened, but still reversible later.

I've night fished and that blue light didn't affect my vision at all... Mine is located in front of me also...

Just a heads up about that button-

It is my understanding that the heading sensor is never truly off if it has power. That button is the pairing button. You need a switch or to disconnect it from the battery if you truly want it to be off. I installed mine with a switch and never bothered to test the power draw but it is supposedly insignificant, it calls for a 1 amp fuse so it cant be much.

According to my instructions it only has 3 light patterns.

1. 3 seconds solid when first getting power, then no light if no Bluetooth connection.

2. 2 flashes per second while attempting to establish a Bluetooth connection.

3. 1 flash every 3 seconds if connected to Bluetooth.

This is how mine works anyway, I think its from 2018-2019.

leadhead- You are correct on all counts. There is a power draw, but minn kota says 1.6 mA in sleep mode so basically nothing to even consider unless you're leaving it for a year. Over 4 months you'd use 5 AH.