Only if you sign up for their emails, correct?

Humminbird Emails are for current software updates sent directly to your email account. This helps with staying on top of the latest versions rather than finding out from someone that a new version has been released 6 months ago.

does switching out for the HD transducer make that much difference compared to the transducer that comes with the 899.

I told you to ask Wayne P and apparently you have not. He is the foremost knowledgeable man of Humminbirds on this forum. He will tell you everything you could ever want to know and he will tell you stuff that you couldn't careless to know. No offense to anyone else here when I say he's the best, I hear Slade (posted above) is good too; but I don't know him.

Wayne P.

Bought a Hummingbird last November...sent in for warranty repairs ...kept powering off and finally would not power back on. 60 days after warranty repairs its doing it again...going to contact Hummingbird warranty service and request they fix it again under warranty since its the same problem. 1year warranty expired on the 7th of this month. If I can get it running again I'll eBay it for whatever I can get. Never gonna own a Hummingbird again.

Garmin for sure. I have ran a lowrance and HB and went to Garmin and love it

From a former Lowrance user, I can tell you the Helix is the way to go. You can not get into side imaging for any cheaper price. I pulled my Elite 7 Chirps for the Helix 7 unit and have not looked back. To get into side imaging with Lowrance you will spend twice as much and get just as good results. The HDS 7 unit runs around 700 dollars, plus the LSS unit for side scan. With the new Helix, its all in one and can be had on Amazon or Newegg for around 650. I cannot say enough good things about those Helix units.

If budget is very tight, wait until garmin releases the striker 7sv. $499 on their website

Called Hummingbird customer support about my sonar...lady was nice but insisted that I rewire my sonar connection from battery to console to test for bad connections. Not being cocky or difficult but I'm a retired Systems Engineer and have worked many years with digital electronics of all types...already checked the wiring...thouroughly...its not wiring. Anyway after an uncomfortable conversation about what I need to do before sending it to HB they've agreed to accept it and check it out. Was told if its the same issue as before they may have to charge me for repairs. Convoluted logic at best..."Well you sent it in for repairs because it wouldn't power up so if you send it in again and it won't power up it must be YOU not the sonar and we will bill you???" By that logic if an airplane has to make an emergency landing due to faulty wing design and the factory replaces the wings on the plane but on the next flight the wing breaks off and the plane crashes...ITS THE PASSENGERS FAULT! Insane...we'll se how this goes. Hoping HB steps up...I've been using HB since the 4x6 was introduced back in the day. Not feeling the love

Is your unit power cord connected directly to the battery with at least 14 gauge wire???????

Any one know what the price is going to be for the HDS7 Touch? I think my wife threw my circular away before I even got to read it and I can't seem to find anything that has anything other than todays deals online.

Thanks for the response. Please explain why a direct connection to the starting battery is relevant. Seems like a switched connection would be a better solution. Not arguing...just asking.

Im a lowrance guy.. I've got an HDS 5 up front, HDS 8 on the console, LSS2, and motorguide Xi5. Everything is linked to the units, ethernet and NMEA. I love the features and flexibility of my lowrance units. Some people say they are more difficult to use, but I dont feel that way. I am able to dial in clear images, and manipulate the boat from any unit. When my HDS 5 died out of warranty, I got a nice sweet deal on a replacement from lowrance support in under 30 days (including time it took me to ship).

It comes down to preference in the end. The units are pretty much able to do the same things, both have points where they excel. I switched from hum to lowrance 3 years ago, and wont go back

Your boat has POS cheap wiring and cannot support the unit due to resistance in the wiring itself plus being shared by all the other stuff and the connections involved with the main power switch.

To turn the unit off use the unit power button. Those units are computers, treat them as such.

The PROPER power connection is to extend the power cord directly to the battery with soldered and water proofed splices and use a spade type fuse with waterproof holder at the battery (3A).

For a bow installation a larger conductor is better (12 or 10) to make up for the resistance of the wire due to length.

An alternative is to install a dedicated electronics fuse panel using 10 gauge wire at the console, then connect the unit power cord to the dedicated fuse panel. Do the same at the bow for sofisticated electronics.
Fuse each load with appropriate size and fuse the circuit at the battery with 10A-20A fuse or circuit breaker.

The unit power cord itself is sufficient if connected directly to the battery, but extra length needs a larger diameter wire.

After all that, if your unit turn off when you start the outboard, get a larger battery that can support the electronics and start the engine.