Hummingbird Helix Questions

AvidAngler

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*** Before I start and probably make some of you laugh, I am not an electronic guru and have several questions so bare with me.

I am looking to replace my main unit as it is nearly 8 years old stock, and not working properly. It stops reading depth when I am traveling with the main motor and in water less than 6 feet it just cuts out. I plan on replacing it and moving it to the front of the boat.

I am considering a Hummingbird Helix 7 SI. I am not sure if this is entirely what I need though. I fish the river mostly in the spring and hang around lakes through summer and fall. I chose hummingbird because eventually I would live to purchase the i-pilot link to travel along shorelines and cast cranks (one of my favorite lake fishing techniques).

That being said, on to my next question. I would also like to get a Lakemaster or Navionics chip but I know very little information about them and which ones are compatible etc.

Looking for any helpful information, suggestions, and open to answer any questions if I may have missed anything, Thanks!
 


SDMF

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Far be it from me to stop a guy from buying new stuff, but, what's the bottom of your current transducer look like? If it's all scuffed up you might get by with a new 'ducer. I know I scuffed a few on Devils Lake trees and have had to replace the 'duper while the head unit remained unfazed.
 

AvidAngler

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The bottom of the transducer doesn't look to be too scratched up, driving a fiberglass I tend to steer far away from anything in the water haha. I am pretty set on upgrading anyways, with the older head units it makes it a pain to read the sonar with polarized sunglasses on.
 

DirtyMike

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I'm not sure you can link with the 7. But you can with the 9. The lakemaster chip is pretty good and I wouldn't shy away from it. You want sonar+gps and DI is up to you. I don't use it often.
 

wfginsptr

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I just bought a new boat and had originally ordered the Helix 7 but found out that it will not work with the I-pilot Link, you have to have at least the Helix 9 for it to work. I did upgrade
 


zoops

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Pretty much a Ford vs. Chevy debate. Walleye Central's electronics forum has hundreds of threads on this, worth checking out.
 

DirtyMike

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Being as he only asked about the Helix, I think he's pretty set on what hes getting. That is if the price of going from a 7 to a 9 is too much, he'll be back on the search.
 

gone_fishing

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*** Before I start and probably make some of you laugh, I am not an electronic guru and have several questions so bare with me.

I am looking to replace my main unit as it is nearly 8 years old stock, and not working properly. It stops reading depth when I am traveling with the main motor and in water less than 6 feet it just cuts out. I plan on replacing it and moving it to the front of the boat.

I am considering a Hummingbird Helix 7 SI. I am not sure if this is entirely what I need though. I fish the river mostly in the spring and hang around lakes through summer and fall. I chose hummingbird because eventually I would live to purchase the i-pilot link to travel along shorelines and cast cranks (one of my favorite lake fishing techniques).

That being said, on to my next question. I would also like to get a Lakemaster or Navionics chip but I know very little information about them and which ones are compatible etc.

Looking for any helpful information, suggestions, and open to answer any questions if I may have missed anything, Thanks!

As others have mentioned, the Helix 7 (along with the 5) are not iPilot Link compatible. You need networking (ethernet) capability to run the link system and that feature is on the Helix 9 and up units.

If you do go with a iPilot Link capable Humminbird unit and want to utilize the follow contour feature you need a newer LakerMaster card. Humminbird owns LakeMaster now and they have specific Link cards: http://www.humminbird.com/Products/HCDAK5/ These cards have a little iPilot Link logo on them. Older Humminbird/LakeMaster cards will work with the unit but won't have the follow contour capability.

In my opinion, I would spend the additional $300 and go with the Helix 9 SI over the Helix 7 SI. If you can't swing the additional $300 I would go with the standard Helix 9 (no side-imaging). I would rather have the iPilot features (and AutoChart Live) over side imaging.
 

AvidAngler

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Thank you everyone for your responses. At this point it seems like I will be grabbing the Helix 9 SI and a new lakemaster card for this summer!
 


BGH

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Make sure you get a good ram mount. The helix 9's are heavy, and need a good support to them.
 

dean nelson

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Have the 7 but wish I would have bumped to the 9. For me it's not the ipilot but the auto chart live feature I wish I had. Would be nice to be able to see the map I'm making as I'm making it. Plus would like to hook it up with a 360 for ice fishing.

- - - Updated - - -

Anybody know scheels policy on returning electronics for an upgrade?
 

YATYAS

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Thank you everyone for your responses. At this point it seems like I will be grabbing the Helix 9 SI and a new lakemaster card for this summer!
I think you are making the right choice. If you are interested in SI then the bigger the screen the better. You will also get use of auto chart. If you fish smaller lakes then this will be of great use because the only high def lake master maps are Sak, Oahe, and DL. All other lakes are basically what you see on the ND game and fish website and if you use the auto chart then you can build your own high def maps. If you have big plans to use follow the contour this will be significant because high def maps have 1' contours and the non high def maps have either 3' or 5' contours. This can be huge when telling your humminbird to stay at a certain depth.

If you like to fish the big lakes then I think you would like the lakemaster maps. I have done a lot of fishing on the east end of Sak and van hook with it and the only area that is not very accurate is the mouth of douglas bay. Some of the sunken islands are not on the map. DL and Oahe are pretty good. I have not found any issues yet.

Other advise I can offer you is to buy a skimmer transducer and a splitter cable. Mount your high def transducer a little high so when you are on plane it will be above the water line a bit; just enough to not get a rooster tail. You can put it as high as you want as long as it is in the water at low speeds. Ensure you place it in a spot that there are no items blocking the beams path to the opposite side of boat. The best side images are produced from 2-7 mph (or somewhere in that range).
 

dean nelson

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I think you are making the right choice. If you are interested in SI then the bigger the screen the better. You will also get use of auto chart. If you fish smaller lakes then this will be of great use because the only high def lake master maps are Sak, Oahe, and DL. All other lakes are basically what you see on the ND game and fish website and if you use the auto chart then you can build your own high def maps. If you have big plans to use follow the contour this will be significant because high def maps have 1' contours and the non high def maps have either 3' or 5' contours. This can be huge when telling your humminbird to stay at a certain depth.

If you like to fish the big lakes then I think you would like the lakemaster maps. I have done a lot of fishing on the east end of Sak and van hook with it and the only area that is not very accurate is the mouth of douglas bay. Some of the sunken islands are not on the map. DL and Oahe are pretty good. I have not found any issues yet.

Other advise I can offer you is to buy a skimmer transducer and a splitter cable. Mount your high def transducer a little high so when you are on plane it will be above the water line a bit; just enough to not get a rooster tail. You can put it as high as you want as long as it is in the water at low speeds. Ensure you place it in a spot that there are no items blocking the beams path to the opposite side of boat. The best side images are produced from 2-7 mph (or somewhere in that range).
Can say the map for fish creek is quite good and is especially handy now with the low water for navigating the creek chanel. I get my best side imaging at a lest 1 mph. It all comes down to how fast you have your refresh rate on your screen set. If I can I will be upgrading my 7 to the 9 since all the additional features and the bigger screen is a huge plus.
 


YATYAS

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Anyone who gets a SI Humminbird should purchase the Technoligical Angler DVDs. It comes with some laminated cheat sheets you can keep in your boat. This is not neccessary but it will speed up the learning process. Getting good images depend on many factors.
 

dean nelson

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Happiness is being $300 lighter in the wallet!

IMG_20160410_135004659.jpg

Here's a shot from my 7 as I was moving from the mud main lake basin dotted with large rocks up a sand and gravel point on one of the little lakes out east. You can see the dropoff on the sonar display on the left.

Screenshot_2016-03-27-21-46-08.jpg
 

Captainbrad

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I can't add much to what has already been said except for river fishing I find the SI and AutoChart Live to be the two best features to be put in any unit in a long time. The two together have really changed the way I fish.
 

Captain Ahab

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I am going to try a Helix 10 this year. I didn't really like the 1198c so I sold it. I have 360 imaging on one of my boats or I would have scrapped the H-birds all together.
 

dean nelson

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How do you like the 360? Seems like it could be quite handy for ice fishing.

- - - Updated - - -

I can't add much to what has already been said except for river fishing I find the SI and AutoChart Live to be the two best features to be put in any unit in a long time. The two together have really changed the way I fish.
Definitely want to try the auto chart on the river here. Map won't be good for long but would accurate for a day or two and may well show folds and breaks that are for the moment the holding spots.
 


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