Which is the prefered type? Pros & cons.
I am about to purchase a 797C Si & need to decide which one would be best for me. The unit will be going on the center console of a Sun Tracker pontoon. Also what would be the prefeered mount to use? Will have a 535 on the front for now but would like to be able to view from one of the front seats.
Any ideas would be appreciated.

Use a ram mount and go with the external antenna. If the antenna goes bad you can replace i on the external antennas if it goes bad on ainternal you have o send it off. A external antenna cost less to replace than a service fee at manufacture.

I thought the Humminbird SI units (797, 997 and the 1197) only come in External.

If not I would still recommend the externals GPS.

Most likely will not see the console unit very well from the front of the boat (I tried it way back when with a RAM mount, it was useless for me).

I don't like the ram mounts, they tend to fall down when it's ruff and you bounce on the waves.

That's been my experince,

Thanks for the help. I have been doing my homework & it makes sence that the external would be best.I also learned that you can plug a buddies handheld gps unit in & use his coordinates.
You input makes me feel better about my decision.

Thanks again!

I haven't personally had a built in GPS on my electronics. But, I remember people posting that they had difficulty in receiving a signal on them, if they were slightly at an angle.