Hummingbird SideScan

[davidsa]

If I put that much into electronics, I'd have to remove it every time I left my boat docked somewhere. I've seen the unit in demo mode and it looks great.

[BarkelyPup]

I own one of the 797 units with the navtronics package. I love it. I have to admit it has not caught me a fish yet but it def makes fishing out in the middle, in which I hate doing a whole lot easier. I have a deep v aluminum boat and trandsucer placement has been a pain though. To get it to work at higher speeds the transducer must be placed lower in the water which makes it spray water back in my boat. I moved the transducer and it will not work at high speed that way. I guess its just my boat though. Very good and well worth selling some of my gear in a yard sale to get.

BP

[wishniwasfishn]

Just got the go ahead from my wife to purchase the 997..... I haven't wanted something so bad in a LONG time. Time to do some research before dropping the cash, but from everything I've read everyone that has one says it is the best $ they have ever spent.

Man, how did you work that one out, my wife looked at me like i was stupid or something. See started bit%@%&g about the $650.00 Lowrance gps i just bought this winter, and know you want another one. Probaly have to sell something to get the money so she wont know it.

[artcarney_agr]

I've heard nothing but good things about the Hummingbird SideScan technology. Apparently those that buy them keep them! I keep thinking I'll find a used one on eBay or in an ad...but haven't found one yet! That's got to mean something...

[stoner]

Whats the typical set up on these units? I know the smaller unit will fit at the wheel or the bow, but what about the bigger 2 grand version? Are the TD's thru hull, trolling motor mount or both?
Stoner

[caseydrew]

Man, how did you work that one out, my wife looked at me like i was stupid or something. See started bit%@%&g about the $650.00 Lowrance gps i just bought this winter, and know you want another one. Probaly have to sell something to get the money so she wont know it.

I told her she could get a BMW or Mercedes convertible for Christmas....don't really need to spend the money on a car that pricey, but as long as she has her toys and is happy I get to have mine as well.

[Danny]

Whats the typical set up on these units? I know the smaller unit will fit at the wheel or the bow, but what about the bigger 2 grand version? Are the TD's thru hull, trolling motor mount or both?
Stoner

Stoner, you asked the exact question I was wondering, where does the transducer go?? I would think there must be two that have to be mounted, and if you can use them while idleing, they would have to be mounted inside your hull, in the back of the boat so they work at higher speeds too.

So is that the answer?? Back inside of boat?

Thanks,

Danny

[Moose1am]

Humminbird has a RepresentativeRepresentative that frequents another fishing board that I enjoy reading. He gives a lot of great information about the new Side scanning units.

Now from what I have gathered over the last few months the best spot for the side scanning transducer is on the back of the boat. A lot depends on the type of boat and the type of water flow under the back of the boat where the transducer is placed. You MUST have laminar water flow without any air bubbles or turbulence. Sound waves travel faster in water and slower in air bubbles. So to get accurate readings you have to have the surface of the transducer in full contact with the water in a laminar flow type environment. Timing is critical in determining how long it took for a signal to go out and bunch back off an object. If you send the sound waves though water, air and water and then back though that environment the accuracy of the unit will be WAY OFF. The unit is only designed to work in full water environment not a mix air water environment.

Hope this makes sense. If not just get someone to drive your boat and then hang over the back end of your boat and see how the water flows from under the back end of your boat while you are going fast or on plane. You will immediately see the flow and where to best place any transducer.

Also the way you mount the transducer is important as the location. Once you find a spot that far enough away from the motor and in a laminar flow you must place the transducer in the right orientation to get good contact with the water and the face of the transducer.

One extra thing to remember to do from time to time. Take some dish washing detergent and clean the face of the transducer from time to time. Clean any oil from the transducer. Remember that oil and water don't mix and oil can interfere with the working of the transducer. So keep it clean and free of any oils or other crud. You will find that it will work much better.

Make sure that the transducer is parallel with the water when you are using the depth finder. If you pack one side of the boat with more stuff it will lean to that side. This can make the sound waves go out at an odd angle instead of straight down to the bottom. 2d function.

When in Side scanning mode you want to go in a straight line and not make a lot of turns to get the best picture on the screen in side scanning mode. Also you want to keep the speed at around 3 to 4 mph. This should give you the best pictures of the bottom and surroundings. Adjust the screen scroll speeds accordingly to give the best picture of the bottom


Note: The best spot to place the side scanning transducer for side scanning operations is on the transom of the boat. You could mount it on the trolling motor but then if the trolling motor spins around while you are using the side scanning mode it may not give you the desired results. Now if you can keep the trolling motor absolutely still and in one place it may work. But then you could not use this transducer when you take the trolling motor up to go to a new spot.

Remember that the transducer that's sold with the 997c si unit and the 797 c si unit is a three frequency and a dual frequency transducer respectfully. The 997 can use 200 MHz, 455 MHz and 800 MHz frequencies. The first one is for the 2 D function look down view and the last two are used for side scanning view.

The 797 c si uses the 200 MHz frequency for 2 D operations and the 455 MHz frequency for side scanning operation.

So if you put the transducer on the boats transom at the rear of the boat and adjust it's pitch, roll and yaw just right you should be able to use it for side scanning at slow speeds and for high speed 2D views while running across the lake at high speed.

You could also add extra wiring, a switch and another trolling motor puck type transducer to the system and then be able to use the trolling motor puck transducer to look right down under the trolling motor at the front of the boat in 2D mode.

I have an older Humminbird LCR 8000 that I mount on the boat with Heavy Industrial Velcro. I can move the display unit from the steering console to the front bow easily. That way I can use one display unit with two transducers and have the best of both worlds.

BTW I get a spray on the back of my boat too. And when I make a sharp turn to the left I loose contact with the water and can't use the depth sounder to see the depth anymore.

The best thing to do is mount a piece of thick plastic on the back of the boat. That way you can mount the transducer to the plastic and not have to drill any more holes though your boat. It would only take two or four bolts to hold the plastic sheet on the back of your transom. And you can play with the transducer mounting position on YOUR Boat to get it in the best spot. Depending on how long the mounting screws are for your transducer you would want to get the plastic a little thicker than those screws. I think that Bass Pro Shop has these plastic mounting blocks in their online catalog somewhere.

Stoner, you asked the exact question I was wondering, where does the transducer go?? I would think there must be two that have to be mounted, and if you can use them while idling, they would have to be mounted inside your hull, in the back of the boat so they work at higher speeds too.

So is that the answer?? Back inside of boat?

Thanks,

Danny