Humminbird di vs si

[lawman]

Bought a new boat. Rig came with Hbird SI unit. I had a DI unit in the past and like it very much. Frankly I don't find the SI feature very useful. The

DI feature on SI units is not as sharp as on a DI unit. Can I just swap out the SI ducer with a DI ducer??? 

[smalliehunter]

Ha.  You should first try to learn and understand what your SI unit is telling you.  It's not a tool to mark fish but more to find good structure.

[hayseed]

I had a bird unit with SI and found the same issue. I mostly found the SI was useful for fall crappie schools and finding structure. Then I bought a different brand with SI and wow, new world.

But I'm afraid I cannot answer your question. I would think the manual will tell you which transducers the unit will work with. If you don't have one it should be available on the bird website. 

[dairyman]

what size screen does your new unit have----------------I have a 5 inch helix with side imaging and for me it worthless-------------------the screen is TOO small to see whats going on.  I wouldn't buy any unit that didn't have at least a 7 inch screen.  What unit is your new one??

Edited September 24, 2016 by dairyman

[John Mickish]

My opinion on this is for Side Imaging, any screen less than 7 inches is a waste, and I only say 7 as the minimum IF you have a second screen to use as the map. Using a FULL 7" and cutting your field down to less than 90 feet per side you can see what you are paying for. To many "I can't see anything" comes down to screen size.

 

It's a trade off of what you want to see vs. what you want to spend.