Hummingbird side-scan- HELIX SI anyone???

[thill]

Has anyone bought/seen the new Hummingbird HELIX series 5 SI? This has a wide-screen format, but is a little "shorter" than the 7".

I've been wanting a side-scan unit, but the $$$ has been out of my range. This one retails for $499 at BPS, which I can afford, if I grit my teeth and take the hit.

I want the side scan because I'm near Lake Anna, which is a pretty huge lake, and I have no idea where any of the structure is. I imagine I can troll a channel or back creek, find and mark the structure on GPS, and then go back and fish it.

Is this a reasonable expectation? Does it really work this way in real life???

Thanks in advance!

-Tony

[rnvinc]

Has anyone bought/seen the new Hummingbird HELIX series 5 SI? This has a wide-screen format, but is a little "shorter" than the 7".

I've been wanting a side-scan unit, but the $$$ has been out of my range. This one retails for $499 at BPS, which I can afford, if I grit my teeth and take the hit.

I want the side scan because I'm near Lake Anna, which is a pretty huge lake, and I have no idea where any of the structure is. I imagine I can troll a channel or back creek, find and mark the structure on GPS, and then go back and fish it.

Is this a reasonable expectation? Does it really work this way in real life???

Thanks in advance!

-Tony

Yes it really works this way in real life ...

Come on over to the Electronics forum and pic our brains ...
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishi...d-photography/

Rickie

[thill]

Cool. Now here is a big question... What do you think of the 5" widescreen? Of course, bigger is better, but is this one reasonably useable?
Thanks.

-Tony

[Greenwing]

For the price I think it's usable. You can view 1 side at a time if needed, scan at a closer range, and be sure to turn the readouts off on full screen SI. Small screen SI is better than no SI.

[Denzil Schuerenberg]

like you i had to spend more than i should got the helix only had it on water 2 times but does what it say it will bigger would be better
would be hard to beat for the money. fish a little hard to see in si structure shows real good

[Locator79]

I love mine, SI works great. Plenty of detail for the money.

[thill]

This is sounding pretty good so far. I want to find an online manual to learn about the zoom functions.

It has a single cable input... Isn't that so it can network with another unit, or is that input only? The idea of saving waypoints on the SI and then using the bow mounted unit to fish it sounds perfect for the large areas it need to cover. So any definitive info on that would be great.

Thanks for the input and help so far!

-Tony

[AGR751]

Bought one a few weeks ago. Still trying to figure out the settings so I can see stuff better. About half the stuff I mark is actually something worth seeing when I go back over with 2d and down imaging split screen. Just takes time! Great product and glad I bought it.

[Rprince80]

This is sounding pretty good so far. I want to find an online manual to learn about the zoom functions.

It has a single cable input... Isn't that so it can network with another unit, or is that input only? The idea of saving waypoints on the SI and then using the bow mounted unit to fish it sounds perfect for the large areas it need to cover. So any definitive info on that would be great.

Thanks for the input and help so far!

-Tony

No networking capabilities with the Helix units

Here is a link to Humminbird product manuals HUMMINBIRD: OPERATION/PRODUCT MANUALS

[thill]

Great link- THANKS!

hey, it looks like the SI does have a single network cable output... NMEA 0183.

The following NMEA sentences are output:
DPT - Depth
HDG - True Heading, Pitch & Roll
HDM - Magnetic Heading
MTW - Water Temperature
GLL - Lat/Lon Position
GGA - GPS Fix Data
RMC - Recommended Minimum Specific GNSS DataVTG - Course Over Ground and Ground Speed
ZDA - Time and Date

HhWhen navigating, the following NMEA sentences are also output:
APB - Autopilot Sentence B
BWR - Bearing and Distance to Waypoint
RMB - Recommended Minimum Navigation Info

i hope this is correct!

-Tony