electronics question

Tikka280ai · Mar 30, 2017

I will be upgrading electronics in my boat sometime this season but in completely outta the loop on how all this new stuff works.

I plan on getting a helix 7 for the dash and a helix 5 for the bow. my trolling motor has a transducer built in that i plan on hooking to the helix 5.

If i get a helix 7 with GPS can i run the GPS signal to the helix 5 on the dash or would the helix 5 need to have a GPS receiver also.

Another area i dont understand is what are the advantages to DI and SI. I will be upgrading from a hummingbird fishfinder 568 so it is a whole new sack of cats for me

Does anybody run a vexilar in their boats. i think i would like it but am unsure.

Any and all advice is appreicated

ccarver80 · Mar 30, 2017

I think ...SI kind of includes DI with it... From the pictures I've seen it looks like the black area on either side of the boat would be the down imagine then the rest is the lake floor... hopefully someone can clarify I'm like you I have an old Humminbird 386 di.... I'd like to upgrade as well

shorthairsrus · Mar 30, 2017

istn gps built into the head of the 5" model? It most likely is built into the 7" -- i dont think you could hook them together. The 5 inch - does that have SI -- will the SI work on the transducer on the bottom of the trolling motor? I wouldnt think so. I dont know about these new trolling motors but my terrova transducer does 2d sonar only. You have to run a cord down it to run SI.

Captain Ahab · Mar 30, 2017

If your 5 has the ability to do mapping, the gps is receiver is built in.

Fisherman25 · Mar 30, 2017

Yeah you can the the 5 and 7 with or without SI, DI or whatever. The price difference on the Helix Gen 2 is almost the same and they have auto chart live down to the 5" model. Hummingbird is killing it with the Helix series. A lot of bang for buck and the technology is among the best. YouTube the side imaging and down imaging or look on humminbirds web site for details on all that.

Petras · Mar 31, 2017

I love My Helix 9. If you are wanting to be able to network your units I belive they have to be 9s or bigger. Not 100% sure but I don't think the 5s or 7s have networking capabilities. I do believe they have gps capabilities and the way the units are identified goes in steps. If it's just a helix 5 it will only have sonar, if it's a helix 5DI it will have sonar and down imaging. If it's a helix 5SI it has sonar, down imaging, and side imaging. Side imaging can be very handy, but I opted to go without for now. The autochart function is awesome especially if you fish spots that don't have a lot of detail on your map card. Being able to make a map right there on your graph while you fish is friggen awesome

Bfishn · Mar 31, 2017

I don't think you can network any of the Helix 5's, I think the new Gen2 7 can be networked though. Also in your trolling motor transducer i don't think that can be SI/DI, just normal sonar and gps. Id personally also skip the 5 and just go two 7's, I just put a 7di on my boat and wouldn't want any smaller especially when you start splitting screens. I'm thinking about getting the new gen2 7 chirp for my bow.

Norske · Mar 31, 2017

I'm so old I'm like flashers once fish are found. I use my old Vexilar ice fishing flasher once I'm on the fish. It's dash-mount LCD when trolling or searching for fish.

Fisherman25 · Mar 31, 2017

Bfishn said:
I don't think you can network any of the Helix 5's, I think the new Gen2 7 can be networked though. Also in your trolling motor transducer i don't think that can be SI/DI, just normal sonar and gps. Id personally also skip the 5 and just go two 7's, I just put a 7di on my boat and wouldn't want any smaller especially when you start splitting screens. I'm thinking about getting the new gen2 7 chirp for my bow.

You are correct, unless they've upgraded the newest trolling motor ducers to be able to, all of them I know just work with sonar. And I also agree bang for buck on size go with the 7's. Just think, a few years ago a 989 was over a grand and the Helix models have the same size screen for half the money. They've done a good job at keeping the cost of the units down.

Quite honestly, the future graphing market they're gonna have to keep their prices down. We're still running these big clunky graphs when a ducer with blue tooth could link to a tablet that costs 300 bucks and have better resolution than a fishing graph. That's the future of fish finders. Have ram mounts in several places for iPads, link them to whichever ducer you wanna use and roll.

RustyTackleBox · Mar 31, 2017

if you get 2x 7's you can network them together and only 1 needs side imaging and you can share the side imaging between the two... their technology and price on the helix is amazing... the clarity is not the best (thats how they save the money i think)... IMO the 7 and 9" are the best price point right now, g2 adds mega imaging (i honestly don't know if it's worth it)

I will still warn you, do not expect good customer service if something doesn't work right they are a PITA to deal with

electronics question

Tikka280ai

Founding Member

ccarver80

★★★★★ Legendary Member

shorthairsrus

Founding Member

Captain Ahab

Founding Member

Fisherman25

Founding Member

Petras

Founding Member

Bfishn

Founding Member

Norske

Founding Member

Fisherman25

Founding Member

RustyTackleBox

Founding Member

Similar threads

Recent Posts

Friends of NDA

Top Posters of the Month