hummingbird sideimaging

[senkoskipper]

So does anyone have one of these units? How does it work compared to your traditional sonar unit? From what i have seen on the commercial, im already sold. I want one so bad. Al Linder said it best "Imagine 100 feet of water around you just sucked out"

[Central Bassman]

I dont think anyone around here uses this unit... I posted a question about it a few mouths ago and didnt get much feedback. I would like to see one in the water before i got one also.

[Valv]

Quote:

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Al Linder said it best "Imagine 100 feet of water around you just sucked out"

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Yeah, but how does your boat stay afloat then ???

Just kidding, of course. I was awaiting somebody with an opinion about this too. They seem very good but I am not going to spend a fortune on something I cannot confirm the quality.

Sales pitch are all same, they describe an awesome unit, of course.

[Central Bassman]

Yea im the say way im not going to spend any money on it when NO ONE is talking about it. I love the Lowrance units so... its going to be hard for me to pull the trigger on this unit with the $$$$ Price tag it has.

[Valv]

CB we know you can make it, come on, a Bass man can do this plus more, go ahead get it, we'll wait for your report....

Besides, somebody has got to "break the ice" here....

[katoguy]

I am employed by Johnson Outdoors, so I may be a little prejudiced. (Humminbird is a sister company.)

I have seen one in use on a test ride. I am pricing one out now (with my company discount). Although I can't swing the 900 series, I am shooting for a 797 (to go with my 787). Sweet units, but small screen compared to the 900s. Check out some other forum boards to see what people are saying... (google bass fishing home page and check out electronics page) Hot on the tournament trails.

My boat will have more $ in electronics than the boat is worth!

[DTro]

I'm pretty sure that "Wiskers" has or had one of them and if I remember right he loved it.

[MattWtech]

i wish i knew more about it too, i know its based off of infra red, does it run off of sonar too? for the depth finder? thats all i know, that and it costs a heck of alot of junior bacon cheese burgers...

[Scott K]

I have seen the ads for this in magazines and on tv, but never priced one, how much are these things? The look like the next thing to ask the wife for!

[Superduty]

I'm interested also. Sounds like the transducers are a pain to mount on a lot of fiberglass boats. A lot of guys are mounting a standard 2d 'ducer in the boat "shoot thru hull" style for high speed operation with the si 'ducer on the outside for slowspeed sideimaging. I guess humminbird sells a switch to change between the two. Apparently to do it right you need to buy the extra transducer and the switch on top of the $2000 unit! I would assume the standard transducer package works when mounted on the transom and the boat isn't hitting real high speeds.

[iffwalleyes]

Wiskers does have one find him and you will get the info you want.

[senkoskipper]

All i have to say is after seeing the commercial and seeing how it displays i think everything else is garbage. Why would you even have to think twice about getting this. Hmm looking straight down or get to see if the stretch of docks are even worth fishing so you can laugh at the guy that doesnt have one of these because you know he's just wasting his time!! Im getting one for christmas!!!

[katoguy]

I placed the order yesterday for a 797c2 with SI. On backorder for a couple weeks.

One con is having to hang a transducer off the back of the boat instead of using my glassed in ducer. Most people hang the ducer in the center of the transom because it needs to see out to both sides. Hanging on one side may cause the outboard lower unit to interfere???

[SWMuskeye]

I'd be interested to see one of these babies in action. I have seen screen shots in NAF or In Fish that look barely believable on clarity though. Like being able to see every branch on a sunken tree? I doubt it.

You've got to give humminbird credit though, they have come a long ways since their LCD displays with Goldfish shaped fish icons and almost worse resolution that bottom-line systems...

[Central Bassman]

LOL Valv... I just might have to do it!!!! Ill see what kind of deal i can work with some of my hook ups. and will report back to you!! hahahab

[katoguy]

Superduty, from what I am reading the reason for 2 transducers is because the SI transducer cannot be mounted thru hull some people are mounting the SI transducer high to make sure it is protected (because it is an expensive and large). When mounting it high, in high speed use it is out of the water (boat on plane on pad). This is when they use the switch to use the thru hull transducer for high speed operation (2-D only).

Much more info and pics at groups.yahoo.com/group/sideimaging/

I rec'd my 797C2 SI unit and will be mounting the transducer this week. With some help from mother nature we may be on the water next weekend???

[Pherris]

I have always been a Lowrance fan but the boat I purchased was pre rigged with the HB's W/SI. The boat I purchased is Mark Fishers boat from last season. I talked with him at the sports show and he said he was very impressed with the SI. He did say it took a bit to get used to the view display being sideways but he got used to it in very short order. He said it is amazing, he found hard spots that he never knew existed on spots he has fished for years. The difference he said is catching 2-3 ponders vs. finding 4-5 pounders is the 5-6 feet that the point hard spot curves in a direction undetectable on most units. The boat only has the SI on the console but he also had a 777 mounted in dash so on that unit it is always on sonar full screen and the 997 is split to display GPS and SI. This he said allows him to verify what he is seeing on the sonar....i.e Hard bottom, grass rocks, brush piles and other structure. He said that after using the SI you will be able to find all kinds of nooks and cranny's where cray fish can hide and you can even tell the approx size of rocks and boulders. I am really excited to get it on the water and will post my opinion. The only bummer is it wont run the LM chip. Good Fishing!!

[hitthebricks]

I've been following the postings on [email protected] for the last month which has questions and answers, and a bunch of pics taken by actual owners, and the difference between the 997, 987, 797. Iwas impressed enough to buy the 997 yesterday, but now I need to find time to install it. I feel like a kid with a new toy. HTB

[Central Bassman]

was looking at them this weekend and really want to get on the water with one for a few days..

[sparcebag]

Did we see the same commerical,with Linder & another guy useing it with the display shown on TV GHEEZ I want one but I read here &2000.00 OUT A MY LEAGUE! But I was really impressed with the images you could see everything,and then when compared to sonar,I thought sonar is now outdated! WOW

[Matt Johnson]

These new side-imaging units are in a league of their own. The ability to see (and actually distinguish) structure off to side (up to 360 feet) is incredible! It's going to take a lot of guess work out of the equation, not to mention wasted time trying to find the spot-on-the-spot or a small piece of structure that you found earlier but can't seem to find the second time around.

It's application for open water fishing is going to turn some heads. We've played around with them a bit (both in the field and inside) and they are definitely sweet units. A pretty large step in sonar technology if you ask me...

[Scott K]

Now this Im sure is a real dumb question, but if you drop the ducer down an ice hole and spin it 360 would it give you a good image of what is down under the ice? or does this need to moving in a straight line? Im just trying to justify buying one, if I could use it in the ice house as well , it would be an easier sale to me.

[katoguy]

I wouldn't count on it being accurate just by spinning the transducer in circles. It needs to be moving to work and display properly. (information may overlap itself, etc...)

Optimum boat travel speed is something like 2-5 mph.

[sparcebag]

Ya know in the commerical,If I remember right at times I dont think they were moving.Just sitting comparing it to sonar,and showing how to mark spots on GPS

[Scott K]

I think someone should buy one, head north and drop it in the ice hole and see what happens, then give us a report, if good, I am sold!

[SWMuskeye]

All I can say is, this unit would be awesome to find some catfish spawning holes in the banks of rivers, hollow logs, etc. I want one now.

[katoguy]

From my owners manual:

Boat speed: Side imaging is best performed at boat speeds between 2 to 6 mph. If the boat is stationary, the same information is displayed over and over. If the boat is moving very quickly, there will be gaps between the strips of information. The best boat speed to use will depend on the side range selected. Slower speeds are good for longer ranges, while faster speeds can be used at shorter ranges.

Boat navigation: It is important to understand that when the boat turns, successive beam strips to one side will begin to overlap and the strips on the other side will fan out, providing some distortion to the image. Because of this, the best imaging performance is produced by straight line navigation and minimal side-to-side boat motion (i.e. wave induced, etc.) This applies to navigation by either the main engine or the trolling motor. Minimize turning time and avoid wave action that induces large side-to-side rocking of the boat.

For example, if there is a lot of wave activity, try to move the boat so that it is perpendicular to the waves instead of parallel with the waves in order to minimize the side-to-side rocking of the boat.

[sparcebag]

Katoguy; Have you been on the water with it?Which model do you have?My biggest Question How Much? I can google it,but thought you may have some insight.

[katoguy]

I bought the 797. Cabela's catalog is priced at $999. I got a discount because HB is a sister company.

I mounted it about 2 weeks ago. Last weekend was raining. This weekend I will try to get out with it. Cold and Easter may put a damper on my plans, however.

[Fish Head]

From what I've seen it looks like it would be a great tool, but I would sure like to see one live on a real lake. When you see the commercials and ads, they always show the same sunken boat, same sunken bridge, same underwater tree, etc.. I'm sure they're showing us the ultimate in underwater viewing, but real life might not be as good.

Have you ever notice when you see a nice Lowrance unit on "demo mode", there are tons of perfect fish archs everywhere? That isn't what it looks like in real life. I think the new sideimaging would be good, but I would love to use one for a day and see how they work on the water.

[katoguy]

Check out the sideimaging website for pics from users.