New Humminbird Helix sizes coming

[John Mickish]

Probably the worst kept secret in fishing is the new Humminbird Helix's coming out. A 9", 11" and 12" are coming before Christmas. The Core units are being discontinued so if you are a fan of the 500, 600, 800, 900 or 1100 series there are some real heavy discounts out there right now.

The three larger Helix units will networkable and the 12" will be a CHIRP model.

Does anyone own a Helix 5 or 7?  What are your thoughts on it?

[nofishfisherman]

I picked up the Helix 5 portable to use in my canoe and on BWCA trips this summer.  It has to be the nicest portable sonar out there.

I've only had a chance to use it a handful of times but I have really liked it so far.  Its shows me everything I need to see and it has helped put me on fish on lakes I had no experience with.  

I opted for the sonar only model so skipped the mapping/GPS features.  I use Navionics on my phone that works great so it wasn't worth the higher priced unit plus having to buy the chip so that I could get everything in one device.  I also thought the 5 may be a touch small to display both the map and sonar at the same time.  However the new larger units will be great for that purpose.   

[knoppers]

I got the helix 5 with GPS for my pontoon this year, and love this unit, it works great. cannot beat the features this has for the price.

[hayseed]

I have the Helix 5 si-gps and love it, but a couple of things you should be made aware of. This early fall I had some issues with screen fogging. Emails to support said this is normal for this unit. The fogging goes away after about an hour, but pretty well useless for the hour. Their Response: 

Hello Sir,

Condensation - Although your Humminbird unit is waterproof, the air within the unit contains moisture due to natural humidity. Due to this, some fogging is normal on cooler days. The Spring and the Fall are the most typical times of year that we hear about this.  This situation is caused by heat generated from the sun warming the air in the depth sounder. The moist air is then trapped between the display and the lense in the front housing.  This situation can be avoided or reduced by storing in a protected and safe area at outside temperatures. The situation should clear after about one hour of use. If not, the unit can be sent in for service.  However please understand that we cannot stop a unit from having condensation under the above conditions.

If you have a glass bonded color display (in our 800 Series and higher products) condensation  cannot form as there is no void between the display and the lens. 

Another thing to take into consideration if you go with the si unit is the screen size for side imaging is a bit small. It works for finding structure, but not real well for fish. Knowing what I know now, I think I would have been better served waiting for the Helix 7. My 2. 

[John Mickish]

The announcement of the new units came out a week ago. There will be a 9", 10" and 12" coming. The 9s and 10s should be in the store by the end of November. The 12s sometime after the first of the year.

I've got a new boat coming in this month, looks like I'm going to have lots of good choices to pick from when I start to purchase my electronics. There are lots of good options on the market now and it seems like each manufacturer has a class leading feature which makes the decision harder than it has in the past.

[lazermule]

Just bought a Helix 7 for my new boat that I pick up April 8th.  I was torn whether to return to the Humminbird brand as I had a lot of issues with my 788c over the years.  I had sent it in 3-4x as it went completely dead and wouldn't boot up.  Each time I was charged $160 and the last time given a new unit.  Now that I'll be selling my old boat, I went to boot it up to check it out and guess what???  It has issues again.  It goes to a black screen with green characters looks like a test screen but wont boot any further.  I contacted customer service and was given the "Sorry, it's too old speech and we no longer stand behind the product".  The reasoning is that they no longer have parts, but I just think this unit need a reflash of software as it's still lighting up.  Had I had that conversation with their customer service prior to last week, I may have chose a different brand.  

 

LM

[John Mickish]

Humminbird doesn't have a "sorry it's to old" phrase. They repair units that are 15 years old, with up front pricing so you know what you are getting into before you make the call. There are brands out there that once it is 2 models old, it is a Legacy unit and no longer serviced , but Humminbird isn't that brand.