Can someone help clarify settings with DI on Helix 9?

I've been wanting to get used to DI on my Helix 9 SI, but I'm not sure what I'm looking at...

I played with the DI a bit today, as my 2D was marking good fish arches here and there. So I went split screen with DI, hoping to see specks, hot spots etc as fish. What I noticed was a whole lotta nothing much.

I could see some specks that I'd consider crappie, white bass or other smaller fish, but for the most part the good arches I would see on 2d showed virtually nothing in DI.

I have not made use of DI much at all, mainly because the whole screen just looks dark due to silty, soft bottoms and deep water. It starts to look useful if I crank the contrast/sharpness waaay up. I did change to a green color pallet which seems to help a bit.

If I see arches in 2D (83/200hz) but nothing really in DI does that just mean its too far off to the side- or that its really not a fish in the first place? I did play with the narrow/wide DI settings and believe it was on medium most of the time today.

I have the 400hz transducer on my helix- but run it in 800hz mode. I am looking into the better transducer, but I utilize SI/DI so little currently its not a priority.


Does anyone have pictures of 2d /DI splits on a non-mega helix that might give me some baselines of what to expect?

I have a Gen. 1 Helix 10 SI and in my opinion, the DI is not very useful at all, as it is using the blended beams of the SI and software interpolation to develop the DI view. The 2d and the SI work great and are very useful, the DI views, hardly worth having.
When I view the images that members post here of their true DI returns, I'm amazed at how good they are compared to what I've seen.
I don't hover over spots continuously, like brushpiles or rock ledges, so the DI really is not applicable to my fishing methods. Like you, I have played with it quite a bit but never was satisfied with what I saw.

Thanks for the input,

I'm not hovering either really. Just trying to gain more confidence in what im seeing.

I'm a little suprised that the DI might be "subpar" on my unit- if thats truly the case. If its a SI unit, why would DI not be "good". What model would have useful DI?

I'm not the best one to offer advice on this, but the DI has a different transducer style and probably circuitry to match to get the proper return while on the SI models in the 1st generation Helix, the DI is a compromise using the SI beams from the left and right and where they overlap under the boat. It is not a true DI return but a computer generated compromise.
There really is a difference between them. The 2nd generation Mega units are much better from what I've read.
A 1st generation Helix 9 DI will give a true DI view, while the 1st generation Helix 9 SI gets you the computer blended DI view.

I should add that when I was playing with it, I had to put the sensitivity right to the top in the DI views to get ANY returns and like you, when I saw good returns on the 2d, the blended DI at high sensitivity often showed nothing that was easily recognizable.

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Originally Posted by binfordw

I'm a little suprised that the DI might be "subpar" on my unit- if thats truly the case. If its a SI unit, why would DI not be "good". What model would have useful DI?

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A little history ...

*HB released SI in 2005 ...
*Lowrance released SideScan and DownScan in ~Dec 2009 ...
*HB released Blended DI in a software update for SI units in ~Mar 2010 (to counter Lowrance DownScan)
*HB released dedicated DI units in ~Sept 2010 (SI units continue blended DI in SI units) ...

It is my guess that HB already has dedicated DI units in R&D and decided not to add dedicated DI in SI units because of the impending release of dedicated DI units just 6 months away ...

ONIX was the 1st HB unit released with SI and dedicated DI in the same xducer ... And now add to that list the MEGA SI units and SOLIX ...

And the dedicated DI units are still a staple in the HB lineup in core series ...

Rickie

Now to explain the "DI Width" settings and how they pertain to the HB SI units that do not have a dedicated DI piezo ...

As seen below there is no "downward pointing" DI piezo in the HB SI xducer ...

Attachment 294674

Therefore (as 6pound mentioned) the DI image view in the HB SI units is a computed generated screen view using the SI data and rendered to "look like" a DI image ...

In the DI Width settings (under the Sonar tab) ... ::

*DI Width "Narrow" is a compilation of only echo data that is common in the left and right SI beams (basically the overlap of the 2 SI beams under the boat) ...

*DI Width "Wide" is a compilation of all echo data in both the left and right SI beams (basically everything the SI beams are showing but blending together in the DI view) ...

*DI Width "Medium" is somewhere in between ...

Rickie

I have gotten some really great DI images from blended TD’s.
If you would like to see some let me know.
I do think your going to have to adjust the contrast a lot higher, than pre Helix days.



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Redge

I have gotten some really great DI images from blended TD’s.
If you would like to see some let me know.
I do think your going to have to adjust the contrast a lot higher, than pre Helix days.



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I’m not the OP, but I’d like to see them, and if and you don’t mind sharing the settings you’re running to get them. I’m in the same boat as him.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by DHC

I’m not the OP, but I’d like to see them, and if and you don’t mind sharing the settings you’re running to get them. I’m in the same boat as him.

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:hesaid Would really like to see pics with setting info, and Rickie's info really helpful on the what the "width" selection is giving us, now I know for me the "Narrow" beam right under the boat is probably what I need to keep it on.