My Solix 12 is 3.5 yrs old and hooked up to one crank battery. I usually fish 5 to 8 hrs trips. No problema with the ampage. For me, you can't go wrong with Helix or Mega.

So what I hear ya'll saying about Solix. It needs a designated battery and a good one. Lithium style. I need settings, have had Glaucoma for 7 plus years , under control however fine detail is not possible.

The scan and zoom option on Helix and Solix are the bomb.

I've been running two solix 12's off my cranking battery which is group31 AGM. Running 10 ga wire direct to the cranking battery will solve a lot of power issues. A designated fuse panel for just graphs can also work well

Learning to fish, I have both units on my boat and I have no interference problems at all.

gborg, I have a pretty unique perspective on sonar equipment in that I have provided, literally, hundreds of anglers with on-the-water sonar training sessions. As a result, I have seen the pros and cons of most every make and model of sonar unit out there. I do not have any "strings attached" in the form of sponsorships, etc. with any of the sonar manufacturers, so, I feel I can give you an unbiased opinion.

My opinion is that when it comes to side-imaging, the best in the industry right now is found on Humminbird equipment. I rely on four Garmin units for LiveScope, an additional Garmin unit for mapping, 2D, and down-imaging, and on a Lowrance Carbon on my bow for 2D there. But, when it comes to side-imaging, I feel Humminbird has the best of the best.


No matter whose equipment you go with, get as large of a screen as you can afford. I personally run the Humminbird Solix 15 for side-imaging. If I had to make a choice, due to budget constraints, I would give up the convenience of a touch screen unit (Solix) for the extra screen size of a push-button unit (Helix).


I went out yesterday and captured the first three of the following images specifically for you so you could see the usefulness of the "zoom" magnifying feature. These images all come off a Humminbird Solix 15 SI+ G3. Despite being "Mega"-equipped, most of my deep-water work (including these screen shots) is all done with 455 mHz with CHIRP turned on.



CAPTION: Note the small, loose collection of fish on bottom in the upper left corner of the screen. This was with range set to 140 feet and in a depth of 31 feet, hence, the fish were approximately 75 to 110 feet out to the port side.



CAPTION: This shot shows those same fish, only magnified. This is accomplished by placing the cursor on "center of mass" of the target, then pressing the "+" button on the keypad ONE time.



CAPTION: This shot shows those same fish, now magnified even more. This is accomplished by placing the cursor on "center of mass" of the target, then pressing the "+" button on the keypad TWO times. That "+" button can be pressed up to four times for even greater levels of magnification.



CAPTION: This shot shows a school of white bass directly below the boat while I was on Spot-Lock. Note that even though down-imaging is a thin-beam technology, my client's MAL Lure can be seen rising and falling with fish chasing it both on the rise and on the fall. Of course, 2D sonar, with its broad, cone-shaped coverage would be a much better choice for this application.




CAPTION: This show shows a school of white bass in the upper left of the screen. Note how they appear as bright, long streaks, then transition to individually discernable "rice grains". This transition occurred the instant I put the boat in gear after sitting atop the fish on Spot-Lock. When I was sitting still, the fish appeared as long streaks; when I began moving the boat, the imagery cleared up and began to show individual fish. Both DI and SI give the best imagery when you move the boat slow and straight, thus feeding a steady stream of raw data into your unit for processing.



CAPTION: This final shot shows exactly what I am typically searching for in the summer months -- nicely congregated fish holding on bottom.


I hope this helps, friend.

--Bob Maindelle

Absolutely awesome and incredible . Thanks and kudos for the time to express your expertise to me and to all. Gonna pull the trigger on similar unit this week !