Thread: SI or bigger screen

7 inch is one step above worthless on SI. Ditto the experience.

Originally Posted by quadlee

the side imaging on a 5 inch screen is not going be worth a nickel. honestly If it was me I would keep saving until I could afford a bigger screen with side imaging

I have a Helix 5 SI, he is right. Save until you can get a bigger screen. Wish I had !!

I have 7" lowrance gen 2 touch with si, di, and 2d. side imaging is so small it wastes my time.

I have a 1199 up front and 999 at the console. Save more money go big you will not regret it

Sounds like a few guys are trying to compensate for other deficiencies...

I struggle with a similar question. My thoughts. DI depends on the depth of water you are fishing. If you are fishing in water deeper than 10' it starts to make sense. Remember the cone size in relationship to the depth of water. In shallow water that cone (field of view) won't be worth much and screen size won't matter. There won't be much to see. In shallow water, side imaging has the advantage.

The trouble with side imaging on the bow is the transducer cable. Wait one, you can buy a trolling motor with a transducer built in. Great, however this transducer is only designed for down imaging. Great if that is what you have up front. However if you want side imaging up front then you need to mount a transducer on the trolling motor. IF you have a cable run motor, you will be fine. If you have a drive-by-wire you can spin that head unit around all day long and will snap your transducer wire.

So, what to get, down imaging or side imaging on the bow? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. You mentioned river fishing. I gather that means relatively shallow water, under 10'. Do you have a cable drive trolling motor or one with a built in transducer? Cable driven go SI. Built in go DI. Drive-by-wire, go DI (built in).

Not done yet.
Another factor to consider is connectivity of the head units, bow and helm. Will the unit you are looking at be able to connect with other sonar units in your boat? Will it have the ability to map the water your fishing (AutoChart Pro or similar)? Or does you helm mounted sonar unit have the ability to map the water?
These options open up other possibilities, and yes more money. Which sounds like you have a budget you want to stick to. Good for you, stay within your budget.

I have a head unit that will map the water at the helm. I am trying to decide on the bow unit. I want the new Helix 9, undecided if I want SI or DI only. I have a cable driven trolling motor and SI would work great. However, eventually I want a drive-by-wire trolling motor with IPilot Link so I can set a contour course and let the motor do the work while I concentrate on fishing. That means DI. Until I decide, I am using an old Humminbird Piranha Max 220 unit on the bow. My trolling motor does not have the built in transducer so I had to mount one to the trolling motor.

Two questions you need to answer.
Cable or drive-by-wire trolling motor for the type of fishing I do?
How deep is the water?

As for head unit size, sounds like a few guys need to get glasses or a new prescription. I see everything just fine on the bow 4" screen. I do have the 899 mounted at the helm and that works equally as well. I spin it around and watch the SI from the bow of the boat. Remember I have a 16' tiller and am reading a screen that is 8-10' away from my bow seat.

Originally Posted by Hanr3

Sounds like a few guys are trying to compensate for other deficiencies...

I struggle with a similar question. My thoughts. DI depends on the depth of water you are fishing. If you are fishing in water deeper than 10' it starts to make sense. Remember the cone size in relationship to the depth of water. In shallow water that cone (field of view) won't be worth much and screen size won't matter. There won't be much to see. In shallow water, side imaging has the advantage.

The trouble with side imaging on the bow is the transducer cable. Wait one, you can buy a trolling motor with a transducer built in. Great, however this transducer is only designed for down imaging. Great if that is what you have up front. However if you want side imaging up front then you need to mount a transducer on the trolling motor. IF you have a cable run motor, you will be fine. If you have a drive-by-wire you can spin that head unit around all day long and will snap your transducer wire.

So, what to get, down imaging or side imaging on the bow? Both have their advantages and disadvantages. You mentioned river fishing. I gather that means relatively shallow water, under 10'. Do you have a cable drive trolling motor or one with a built in transducer? Cable driven go SI. Built in go DI. Drive-by-wire, go DI (built in).

Not done yet.
Another factor to consider is connectivity of the head units, bow and helm. Will the unit you are looking at be able to connect with other sonar units in your boat? Will it have the ability to map the water your fishing (AutoChart Pro or similar)? Or does you helm mounted sonar unit have the ability to map the water?
These options open up other possibilities, and yes more money. Which sounds like you have a budget you want to stick to. Good for you, stay within your budget.

I have a head unit that will map the water at the helm. I am trying to decide on the bow unit. I want the new Helix 9, undecided if I want SI or DI only. I have a cable driven trolling motor and SI would work great. However, eventually I want a drive-by-wire trolling motor with IPilot Link so I can set a contour course and let the motor do the work while I concentrate on fishing. That means DI. Until I decide, I am using an old Humminbird Piranha Max 220 unit on the bow. My trolling motor does not have the built in transducer so I had to mount one to the trolling motor.

Two questions you need to answer.
Cable or drive-by-wire trolling motor for the type of fishing I do?
How deep is the water?

As for head unit size, sounds like a few guys need to get glasses or a new prescription. I see everything just fine on the bow 4" screen. I do have the 899 mounted at the helm and that works equally as well. I spin it around and watch the SI from the bow of the boat. Remember I have a 16' tiller and am reading a screen that is 8-10' away from my bow seat.

I have very little experience with other units, but having played with my Helix 5 SI a bit. I can say, it doesn't favor "weathered" eyes at all. Haha. I can see it just fine on my console sitting on the bow with a simple DI up front. It definitely serves its purpose great for me.

thanks for all the replies and info. This will be the first finder put on the boat. I just bought the boat so i need "something" to at least get me through this year. BTW it is a 17 ft Bass Tracker with 70 hp motor, trolling motor is cable driven. Think i am going to go with a 7 in DI for now and save up for something bigger for next year.

hi.
I've got the helix 7si ....its ok - but man oh man I would love a 9 or 10 inch screen