Thank you for the offer but I ended up buying a Lowrance instead. It was a tough decision but I think in the end it ended up boiling down to the fact so many guys complain about seeing the Hbirds in the direct sunlight. I hope I made the right choice .

Really? I have a 798 on a pedestal mount with the face pointing up so I can see it while running the trolling motor and have never had that problem. Good luck with your purchase. I hope it works out for you.

That's just what I read over on bbc. Alot of guys were also complaining about how much interferance they were having with the us2 on the trolling motor. But I know Lowrance has it's share of problems with their new update. Crapshoot I suppose.

What model Lowrance did you get?

Did your Lowrance come with the 4.0 "upgrade"? I'll be interested to know how it performs on 2d. I'm going to stick with the 3.0 version for now. I think you will be satisfied you made the right choice when you have the opportunity to check out DownScan on the water.

You can get trolling motor interference with the HDS units. My Riptide was causing all sorts of problems with my HDS-7/LSS-1, transmitted by onboard charger wiring.

As for being able to see screen in direct sunlight,does polarized glasses have an adverse effect???

champ, yes it does. All displays used by all marine electronics have a slanted polarization (don't know why--doesn't make sense).
Lowrance and Humminbird displays have a top right to lower left polarization orientation and Garmin has a top left to lower right orientation.
Polarized sunglasss (other than the $1.99 Walmart specials) have a horizontal orientation. When you look at a Lowrance or Humminbird display with your head level, you have reduced the light transmission from the display by about 50%. If you tilt you head to the right, the display will completly black out or just about do it. If you tilt your head to the left, the display will appear brighter. Just the opposite when viewing a Garmin display.
The most common mount position for electronics at the console is to the right of the windshield. Unless you can do the "walk-like-an-Egyptian" thingy with your neck, you will normally tilt your head to the right some when you look at the display. That will make the display appear darker.
Test it yourself to see the effect, You don't have to be outside to test it. I have done it several times at a BPS electronics display counter to show others what they couldn't believe I was telling them.

Went with the 7 bundle, really wanted the 8 but chaaachingggg$$$$. Maybe in a few months.
Yes it came with the 4.0 and the clutter wasn't too bad on the 2d but let me say my old graph was a X85 (10 years old) so this has soooo much better resolution and the colored palette. I have read many complaints about the 4.0 but I can live with what I have, I'll just update it when they figure out the situation but for the record I had already set it up the way Jason had suggested on bassboatcentral.
As far as does polarized glasses affect the screen? YES absolutely! I almost took my glasses off to see the detail better but it was just too dang bright. If you are considering one of the new graphs I'd suggest going to bbc and reading in detail all the threads on the Hbird & Lowrance. The Hbird did have the bigger screen but it is alot wider (overall unit width) than the Lowrance and I liked the overall size of the Lowrance better.
I tried the unit out today for the first time and the downscan is sooo freaking awesome! Si is tough on the eyes to look at all day and I could only get it to go out 60 ft, I thought it would have more si distance. I could see the detail best in the red color. Didn't help me catch anymore fish but I can see how it might help during offshore times. Only complaint I might have is I wish I had put the LSS1 on the trolling motor instead of the jackplate. Very cool item!
I almost forgot, I'm running it through the US2 tm ducer and had zero interferance (thank god). I had my fingers crossed after spending what I consider alot of money!

Seems like Jason suggested that, with 4.0, you have to change Fishing Mode from Shallow Water to Fresh Water to extend SI past 60 ft. You should be able to control the brightness level of the screen by tapping the Power button.

Thanks bud, I was wondering if that was the problem on the si distance. Looking at the owners manual last night their pics were showing the si shooting 150ft but it never really said what all changed with the shallow water setting. I'll try it next trip.