Finally took the SI plunge!

After deep thought and extensive research, I finally took the plunge and bought a Helix 9 SI. I have been using A Lowrance HDS 5 Gen 1 for years. I am a little nervous about the switch from Lowrance to Humminbird, but several people I know and trust have assured me this is a good move.

I have heard the saying "buy the biggest screen you can afford" many times. For me it is more like "buy the biggest screen my wife will let me". I am almost worried it might be too big for my little Lowe FM165.

Well get it hooked up and let us know the results. I bet you are going to love it. Congratulations

Congrats! You will be amazed when you start seeing fish in areas where you would not have thought they would be.

Awesome man!!! That'll work!!!

It will change your Life, I know it did mine. Side imaging on a big screen shows you everything that is there. I mounted my transducer on my trolling motor. Just turn the trolling motor on 50% and troll in a straight line. Reduce the SI to 60' on each side and go from there.

The amount of detail & education of what the structure & cover "really" look like is amazing.

Just cruise the lake slowly & there will be things pop up you have never seen before. Simple ledges with fish stacked up on them, there today gone tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I have mine!

I am planning on transom mounting mine. I don't do much trolling.

I think you'll be happy and I don't think it's to big.
I'm running a 999 on my Kayak and there are times I think about BIGGER!

You might consider upgrading your transducer to the HDSI before you open the transducer packaging.

SI is a game changer. I have been able to eliminate a lot of areas I would have tried and moved on to better. I'm upset with my Onix, the temp wouldn't work today and it worked good last week.

Congrats and enjoy
See ya on the water

Very cool, congrats! Definitely want to hear a report on the Helix. I think you'll like the Humminbird. I'd like to see a comparison of the 1198 vs Helix 12 vs ION/ONIX 12.

I'm going to put a SI on my kayak

I think Wayne P. Has had them all...lol.

The Onix 12 is about two grand more...so you are not going to be hearing that comparison from me.

Very nice!

There is no ONIX 12. There is the Helix 12. There is the ONIX 8 and ONIX 10.

The ONIX 10 has a higher resolution display than the 1100 series by about 5,000 pixels per square inch.
The Helix 10 and ONIX 10 have about the same screen resolution.
The Helix 12 has a higher screen resolution than the ONIX 10 and Helix 10 by about 3,000 pixels per square inch.

I ran the bow 360 with one of my 1198's in 2014 and then got the ONIX 10 SI NT to run it last year since it has the higher screen resolution. The Helix 12 would be even better and display larger images.

Nice. I wish I could uograde from the 5 to a 9.

Think what they mean is ION 12, not onix 12

Best thing you could possibly do !

Someone gave me the advice, "Pick the biggest one you can afford, and then go one bigger !".
It was painful, but I did it. I've been kidded more than once at the ramp that "your fish finder
probably cost more than your boat !". Not quite, but you don't see many HDS10 Gen2 with
Structure Scan rigs on a 16 foot tiller Jon boat.

I love it. All I can say is I wish it was a 12 !!

I bought an HDS 12 because they don't make a HDS 14.

I had to get the TINY Helix 7 cuz I'm poor........

Lowrance has me excited about their announcing of the elite 7 ti. Touch screen and addition of SI to the elite 7. The price seems reasonable if cabelas is correct...releases in April.

Ive got my eyes and ears open..Ready to go with si....always been a lowrance man, but I like what everyone is saying about the helix., so I'm gonna keep studying.

I have heard some negative reports on the touch screens, maybe they have resolved these issues.

Touchscreens and catfishing do not seem like they go together.

Sorry for the typo, meant ONIX 10 and ION 12.

Thanks for the sharing the differences. Better resolution AND a bigger screen, Helix 12 is looking pretty good!

I have one and it's not bad...the good out weighs the bad.

I wish I had gotten the touch at this point. I already know how much quicker it would be naming waypoints and such.

I just mailed in my compact transducer... Hopefully the HDSI transducer will come quickly.

It will only seem like it's taking forever

Congrats on the new Helix!

danny

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to buy a Helix. What's up with the compact transducer and the HDSI transducer?

It comes with the compact transducer. If you call Humminbird you can get the high depth transducer for $85 + exchange.

fishanhunt, I'm sure BrianTx01 meant to say high definition not depth. (spellcheck issue) The HDSI ducer has longer crystals
for better definition.

I got this from Wayne P. I am not sure what his affiliation with Humminbird is but he seems to know everything there is about Humminbird products. He posts on just about everything fishing forum in the nation.

This is from the compact transducer:


This is from the high definition transducer:

Concentrate in the bottom not the trees/brush. The HDSI is much brighter. I might also mention that Michael Littlejohn (Salsa) told me I needed to get the HDSI and he is a friend and a top guide.

Thanks for the explanation. Looks like a pretty big difference in picture quality.

Do you call Hummingbird to exchange?

Yes

Touch screens are great...if you keep the blood and guts off of them lol.

BrianTx01, Have you tried out your new Helix 9 yet?

Not yet. I got the transducers exchanged and I am working on the install.

I was thinking about exchanging also. Will humminbird still exchange transducers if I already opened the package that the transducer was in? I haven't done anything with the transducer yet.

I hear they will not, however you should call them and verify just to make sure.

YOU WONT REGRET IT I HELP OFF FOR A LONG TIME I AM ONE O OF THOESE POPLE WHO DONT BUY STUFF I WONT WUSE AND I WAS UP IN THE AIR TILL I CAM ACROSS A SI 898CI SI AND I LOVE IT MY CATCH HAS INCREASES DERMADICLY I STIL COULD US SOMEHELP FINE TUNING IT IF ANONE ONE ONES SONE ONE I AM FREE ANY DAY OF THE WEEK AND CAN OFFER SOME PAYPEN

IF YOU COULD RIGHT ONW OF YOUR INFRMITAVE MESSAGES ABOUT HTHEM I HAVE THOUGTH ABUT THE HELUX BUT HAVE BEEN ON THE FEENCE DO TO THE LAT OF OPTIONNS AND THY DOTN DAME ATH 11999 ANY MRE

How long did it take to get the HD transducer back from humminbird.

About 7 days.

The problem I been dealing with is I the spot I really need to mount it has two holes from the Lowrance transducer. The easiest solution is to put some silicone on the screws and out them back in...but then I cannot mount the hummingbird transducer at that location. I have thought about different ways to solve this issue. I had a spare strip of aluminum of similar thickness and I drilled 3 holes and tried a couple different ways to seal off these holes without the screw. It seems like LocTite Marine Epoxy works the best. I also tried JB Weld and plain 3M Silicone. One one of my past boats I had the holes welded closed. The problem is that it didn't end up with a smooth result.I am sure I could have ground or filed them down but I chose to use a mounting board and then I used a dremel tool to grind some clearance for the weld marks on the other side. I think this time I am just going to use the marine epoxy.

I would like to avoid using a mounting board...Since I do not have a jack plate the further I push the transducers the further I will need to trim up the motor to avoid blocking the left side imaging.

I have even thought about hiring one if these guys that installs them but I just wonder how many aluminum boats they have done.

I put my first one on a mounting block because of several holes needed covered, so the block was already on there when I put Si on.

I'd just put screws in silicone in holes and move over 1/4" or so. I havnt got my HD ducer yet but the mounting block for regular one isn't solid on back and could cover one screw.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en...tAdhesiveGuide/

You might check out this 3m marine sealant and adhesive chart. They have some good products, theRe might be a solution to your problem.

I use the previous holes in my tracker to screw down down a mounting board and used some 3m 5200 on the back, been solid for 2 years now