Help me replace my malfunctioning bow graph

I've been running a small Garmin 551dv on the bow for a while but it's not working anymore. Screen goes black on me off and on. It's not a power issue, the connection has been tested and it's good. It's an internal problem with the machine.

So I'm tossing it in the trash and going to be upgrading. Now, i like having a small footprint up front, but I'm not against a larger screen and a four-bolt mount. I probably don't want anything larger than 12" though because my feet have a mind of their own and I'm liable to kick it over if it's TV sized.

No larger than 12"
Must have sidescan/downvu
Easy to see in full sun
Can handle 100 degree heat (The garmin does not)
Saves settings, waypoints, markers easily.
TM Mount available or included
I plan to add an Ulterra next spring so integration would be nice


I know every brand has a flagship, but real world experience from some of you guys that run a TM Mount is priceless. I do like the look of that new Mega from Humminbird, though I wonder if it's overkill...

Don't try to run side-scan from a TM mounted transducer. It doesn't work very well for some technical reasons I won't go into here, but trust me on that, LOL.

I'm a Lowrance guy, so can't speak to the other brands. Any current HDS model will do what you need (9 inch and up), stand-alone, no other modules needed. There's a combo 2D & down-scan transducer with temp. available that fits Minn Kota 36V motors nicely. There's an excellent protective bracket available from Transducer Saver. No other transducer or box is needed for this setup, but you won't have side-scan. (Side-scan is best observed while at trolling speed at the console.)

The Minn Kota nosecone transducers work with an adapter cable. It's a nice backup plan in case the combo transducer gets trashed while fishing. Mine is set up for plan B with a simple cable swap.

With Lowrance, I recommend the external antenna and heading sensor - specifically for the heading sensor. This stops the map view from rotating if you sit still on a spot. It will allow the map to stay oriented with reference to the bow of your boat. This is very desirable to see where waypoints are so you can cast toward them accurately. If you add this feature, you'll need to set up a NMEA network to connect it (not hard, not very much $)

So an HDS12 g3 would fit the bill. Would that model still need the external antenna and heading sensor?

You are going to run the Ulterra so why not just go with a Humminbird Helix 12? You can get the gen 1 helix 12 which has chirp sonar or you can step it up to the newer version that will have chirp for SI. Then you'll be set up to run your Ulterra with the link version right off your FF. Can't use the link with anything but Humminbird if you are so inclined to get it with link.

I have a helix 12 and there is no problem seeing it in full sun, the Chirp sonar works great and it will come with everything that you need right in the box other than maybe swapping the transom transducer with humminbird for the trolling motor transducer if you so choose.

HUMMINBIRD HELIX 10 SI/GPS COMBO
409990-1
$959.00

HUMMINBIRD HELIX 12 CHIRP SI/GPS COMBO
410030-1
$1419.00 (limited quantity)

I'm a believer that bigger is better when it comes to graphs...but that 10" sounds like a good buy from David...should be more than big enough.