humminbird 788ci

[Les Young]

It will work out. You can go to bass boat central & go to Humminbird gps sonar room & see pictures of installs folks over there have done & Doug Varenburg or Tennessee Mike (the moderators) & members as well can answer any ??? you have & are glad to help.

[Bass Addict 170]

Just got done installing a 1197c SI Humminbird on my boat.Waiting on satellite weather receiver to finish the install. Dealer had Humminbird rep at store doing seminar on Saturday,really helped to start to understand all the things this machine is capable of doing.Now starts the learning curve to get up to speed on locator.

Has anyone broke off their sidescan transducer ? Rep said Humminbird had problems with failure at high speed(60 + mph). Rep said to mount transducer on jackplate or above bottom of hull to prevent this problem. Just make sure it has clear line of sight on left/right/down, make sure puck is in water.Puck will function properly till boat gets out on planeThen put a skimmer puck on back of transom to get high speed reading on normal locator mode

Been a Lowrance man for many a year,but they have some issues now.Hope this Bird works out,if not -Just another expensive life lesson!!

Depending on when you talked to the rep, Humminbird has upgraded their transom mount brackets in roughly the last year, making it a aluminum/plastic combo. Workin at BPS, hardly ever do I get complaints about breaking them off, at least when mounted properly. Putting them on the jackplate is an excellent idea, know of a lot of people who do, just have to make sure you have clearance for scanning and plate adjustments. If you do go this route, definitely get the extra transducer and spliter cable for it I you want sonar at higher speeds. Epoxy this one to the bottom of your hull if you have a
fiberglass boat.
And as someone said before, I don't recommend the NVB Combos, b/c they do come with older charts, and lack a great deal of lakes (i.e. KY Lake doesn't have nearly the detail of newer HD Charts. I have the 2010 Navionics, and KY, Barkley, Cumberland, Dale, Barren + Nolin, Rough, Green, Herrington, and T-'ville Lakes are HD for KY.
Skeeter, as far as GPS recievers go, internal will work, but it's not my personal preference when flush mounting a unit. I prefer the external, and placing it further up on the bow for better accuracy, in relaion to your transducer. Be careful of interfernce from the TM, so not to close. Hope all this helps.

[smuckey41]

Just got done installing a 1197c SI Humminbird on my boat.Waiting on satellite weather receiver to finish the install. Dealer had Humminbird rep at store doing seminar on Saturday,really helped to start to understand all the things this machine is capable of doing.Now starts the learning curve to get up to speed on locator.

Has anyone broke off their sidescan transducer ? Rep said Humminbird had problems with failure at high speed(60 + mph). Rep said to mount transducer on jackplate or above bottom of hull to prevent this problem. Just make sure it has clear line of sight on left/right/down, make sure puck is in water.Puck will function properly till boat gets out on planeThen put a skimmer puck on back of transom to get high speed reading on normal locator mode

Been a Lowrance man for many a year,but they have some issues now.Hope this Bird works out,if not -Just another expensive life lesson!!

i have my 1197si transducer on my trolling motor. and use the 788 for my top speed reads. i have the 1197 mounted on the bow on the front of the boat. and the 788 is in the dash board.

[rickhise]

Just got done installing a 1197c SI Humminbird on my boat.Waiting on satellite weather receiver to finish the install. Dealer had Humminbird rep at store doing seminar on Saturday,really helped to start to understand all the things this machine is capable of doing.Now starts the learning curve to get up to speed on locator.

Has anyone broke off their sidescan transducer ? Rep said Humminbird had problems with failure at high speed(60 + mph). Rep said to mount transducer on jackplate or above bottom of hull to prevent this problem. Just make sure it has clear line of sight on left/right/down, make sure puck is in water.Puck will function properly till boat gets out on planeThen put a skimmer puck on back of transom to get high speed reading on normal locator mode

Been a Lowrance man for many a year,but they have some issues now.Hope this Bird works out,if not -Just another expensive life lesson!!

can you take my sd card an copy all that info you store, r u doing any scouting this week

[Ky Trophy Fish]

Rick-- Book says that you can.Hadn't got that far along learning about unit yet.Went on river playing with it today.It is very impressive especially the Down Imaging Mode.Steer is picking up his boat Thursday.Had Sportsman Center put his unit on.Bet he goes straight to Dale to play with it.When we both get up to speed on the units,fish won't have a chance.Fishing Cumberland tomorrow,will try out all the different modes.Stayed on houseboat Sat night,lots of small thread fins at light-no alewives.Thready's were stressed bad from 40 degree water.We'll be on Dale checking out units this weekend if lake isn't frozen over.Give me a shout if you want to go.

[lil skeeter]

what comes with the unit when you buy it? never bought one and was wondering if the transducer is a seperate purchase. also, is the hot maps platinum compatible with the 788ci?

[Ky Trophy Fish]

You can buy a complete setup or about any part by itself.Complete is the most economical. If you see a retailer that has a cheaper price than others ,check close to see that everything you need is included in package.For our setup,we got 1197c SI everything included (locator,GPS module,all wiring harness,transducer.etc.).Extras not in complete pack that we needed-- high speed skimmer transducer for high speed pickup.Been some issues with standard Down Scan/SI ducers breaking off at high speeds(60 mph+).Mounted it on jack plate so would not be in water at WOT,thus need for skimmer ducer.Need a Y-cable to work both ducers without having to switch.Got Navonics Premium map chip also.Map in unit is not that detailed.Don't know about Platinum working in your unit.

[rickhise]

Rick-- Book says that you can.Hadn't got that far along learning about unit yet.Went on river playing with it today.It is very impressive especially the Down Imaging Mode.Steer is picking up his boat Thursday.Had Sportsman Center put his unit on.Bet he goes straight to Dale to play with it.When we both get up to speed on the units,fish won't have a chance.Fishing Cumberland tomorrow,will try out all the different modes.Stayed on houseboat Sat night,lots of small thread fins at light-no alewives.Thready's were stressed bad from 40 degree water.We'll be on Dale checking out units this weekend if lake isn't frozen over.Give me a shout if you want to go.

I cant wait to see it work, wish I could we are going up to Lou. for HB show. If these nights an day time temps, an some warm rains would just come ON!

Congratulations on your purchase what a tremendous tool!!

[Bass Addict 170]

what comes with the unit when you buy it? never bought one and was wondering if the transducer is a seperate purchase. also, is the hot maps platinum compatible with the 788ci?

The navionics platinum charts will NOT work on the 788ci. Only work on 798, and the 800, 900, and 1100 series.