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wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon #12585796 01/19/18 04:47 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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I have a Humminbird 9 si with the high def transducer on the back of the pontoon. I have a Minn Kota trolling motor in the front of the boat. was thinking of using the transducer in the head of the trolling motor. I heard that Lowrance had better Down Imaging. What do you suggest? I know the transducer don't do DI but if I am going to but one might as well have the capabilities. I saw pictures of friends fish finders using DI and you see the eyes, awesome.


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12585814 01/19/18 04:57 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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if anyone has a used unit I can buy works too. I live in the DFW area.


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12585837 01/19/18 05:11 PM
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You can get a Humminbird mega di unit. It has 2d and mega di along with GPS . Depending on which Humminbird 9 you are referring to you can network them together

Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12586073 01/19/18 07:40 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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when i got mine they have not came out with the mega yet. i wish i knew about the mega before i bought mine.


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12587457 01/20/18 08:13 PM
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Bobby Milam Offline
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Sounds like you are planning to use the us2 sonar built into the trolling motor. I was told that it would not work with the DI unit because it was a different frequency. You might want to investigate that and either install a transducer on the trolling motor or just stick with a 2d unit.

Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12587686 01/21/18 12:13 AM
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Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12587767 01/21/18 01:38 AM
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Keep in mind that in order to get a picture perfect image for SI or DI the boat must be moving. When mounting an external transducer to the trolling motor and lets say you are parked atop a brush pile and the boat is no longer moving beside just floating all your image will produce is a blob. You have to understand what you are looking at to know it is in fact the structure.
The US2 built in transducer only achieves 2D sonar images.


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Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12588565 01/21/18 08:08 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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well my friend has lowrance hook 9 and his di is superior to my humminbird 9 si. not a competition just want better images of the fish under the boat.i have a pontoon with dual hdmi transducers on the back of the pontoon because the motor was in the way. with the transducers on the back of the boat the images i see are not really where i am fishing. was thinking to use the us2 on the minn kota but if i do that the di wont work. right now i have a lowrance fish easy 320c on the transducer(cheesy) but i see a little. thinking of getting an lowrance hook2 7x with split shot transducer. there are just too many options out there. i have been pretty successful catching fish just want to be all i can be on a reasonable budget.


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12588566 01/21/18 08:10 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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is the hook 2 7x compariable to the humminbird 7 mega imaging ?


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12588672 01/21/18 08:59 PM
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The Humminbird you currently have uses blended di. What that means is it uses the left and right si imaging elements to produce the di some also call composite di, its a computer generated di. It is still useful but not near as good as a unit with a dedicated di element in the tranaducer. Humminbird has dedicated down imaging units and the mega units have the all in one transducer which has dedicated si/di/2d elements with in the transducer. A down imaging unit or one of the mega units will have better Di than what your unit currently has

Last edited by 44 Diesel; 01/21/18 09:02 PM.
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: 44 Diesel] #12588685 01/21/18 09:07 PM
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Madatu Offline OP
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but is it better than the lowrance hook2 models ? i bought two of the high def transducers to correct the motor issue. okok i know a boat is a bottom less pit of money but come on.

Last edited by Madatu; 01/21/18 09:21 PM.

Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12588712 01/21/18 09:22 PM
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You are gonna get different opinions on that, probaly something you have to decide for yourself. You can go BBC forum and see screen shots of both brands. Try goin to the big stores and look at the units on display in simulator mode

Last edited by 44 Diesel; 01/21/18 09:23 PM.
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12589216 01/22/18 01:06 AM
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There are many variables involved in choosing which you feel is best. For instance, you got a Helix 9 instead of getting the Helix 10 or 12 which have more pixels and better quality picture. Then there's the new Mega units which make units like your 9 pale in comparison. You say your friend gets great pictures. What unit is he using? If you don't get one with the same or similar specs then you would not be seeing what he sees, quality wise.

Then there is the settings on each unit. If you do not have the knowledge on how to set yours up for optimal viewing quality, it will never show what another 9 might show on the screen. I have used humminbird si from the 898 up to the 1st gen Helix 12. As I got newer and better equipment the picture has looked better but having an electronics guide who truly knows what he is doing, set up the unit and show you how to read what you are seeing, you may never be happy with your unit regardless of the brand. My HB si units were lacking on the DI views IMO because of the blended DI. I recently put a HB DI unit on the bow and now I have good DI views. I have not had the opportunity to see what the mega DI looks like in person.

Like most things, you get better quality with higher priced units so since you are on a budget in the purchase, expect that you aren't going to get the best views possible but look for one that you can live with. I would suggest that you buy whatever unit you want but then pay the couple hundred that it will cost you and go see someone like Slade out at Fork and have him tune them for you and teach you. It is money well spent.

Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Bobby Milam] #12589607 01/22/18 03:39 AM
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Madatu Offline OP
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well my buddys was a lowrance hook 9 plain and mine was humminbird helix 9 si with hd transducer


Mike Warren
Re: wanting to add another fish finder on my pontoon [Re: Madatu] #12589752 01/22/18 07:05 AM
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That Helix does blend the DI from the SI signal like 44 Diesel was talking about and the DI image isn't anything to brag about. On a DI unit, it will be a DI signal that it works from and the quality is much better. Is it better than a Hook 9? I couldn't tell you. I've never dealt with any of the lowrance units. The HD transducer has more crystals and gives a better SI quality than the non HD but in my experience did nothing to help the DI quality.

I'd go to bass pro or somewhere that they are on display and look for yourself if you are considering HB otherwise you know what the hook is capable of, go with it. Just be sure that you look at a DI unit not a SI unit.

Last edited by Bobby Milam; 01/22/18 07:06 AM.
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