Wayne P.

Either is a "fit". I personally would choose the highest resolution dislay of the 571 I use a 10.4" screen at my bow.

In the dual view it would be somewhat difficult to see due to the size of the displayed views being 1/2 of the screen height. With just one view displayed it would be just like the 5" screen's vertical height. http://store.humminbird.com/media/document/346cDIOperationsManual.pdf

No you do not need to replace the receptable and you can use the same trolling motor plug. Just use match the boat wires for your hookup at the receptacle with the trolling motor plug. You already have the jumper at your batteries.for 24V. Technically you do not have to change the receptacle hookup at all. Just put the trolling motor cable on the 24V terminals of the plug. You won't have a 12V connection on the plug anyway.

The 571 HD DI has a gray scale display and has traditional 2D sonar and Down Imaging just like the 346c DI It also has the highest resolution display in the industry for that size unit. The Elite 5X is just a traditional 2D unit but is color and a 5" screen

Humminbird 346c DI. That will give you 2D sonar plus Down Imaging in a color display in your price range.

The Lowrance and Humminbird displays have a top right to lower left polarization and Garmins have a top left to lower right polarization. That's just the way they are made. Doesn't make sense--you just have to be aware of it when wearing polarized lenses. If you tilt your head so your polarized glasses are perpendicular to the screen polarization, it will block the screen. If your tilt your head the opposite way the screen will look brighter. Hold you head uprright and the screen will be a little darker.

Water flow from the prop cannot affect a transducer unless you have a motor that is reversable. A bent prop shaft, or any out-of-balance of the prop operation can produce RFI. Typically a motor with selectable speeds such as a 5 speed will not produce noticeable RFI.

The Down Scan unit will not "interfere" with a traditional 2D sonar unit. The frequencies are very different. 2D is usually 83 or 200 kHz. Imaging is 455 or 800 kHz. RFI is mostly caused by the electronic speed control circuit of a variable speed motor. You won't know if RFI will be an issue until you actually install the transducer on the trolling motor and use it. RFI is random in occurrace, the frequency it may affect, and the intensity it will have.

If your Humminbird is not working and there is no power issue, you are SOL: http://www.humminbird.com/FAQ.aspx?ContentId=3229 You should connect each one directly to a fuly charged batery to confirm there is not an issue with your wiring or battery.

Have you personally seen the Dragonfly in operation on the water?

I use the Side Imaging view at the bow 100% of the time. I'll add other views sometimes, but SI it my primary information source while fishing. I spend a lot more time at the bow than I do at the console. When I am fishing electric-only waters, my bow unit is the only one I have with me.

Look up the name Doug Vahrenberg. He is a Humminbird pro staffer. He has lots of instuctional videos on his web site. He explains the settings for all functions. Really has some good ones about Switchfire.

It is a creek channel on both sides--(top left and middle right). All the lines on the bottom are vehicle tracks made during lake construction.

MSRP of the 598ci HD SI is $800 and you can get this kind of view of the bottom with a bow mount and trolling motor mounted SI transducer:

Humminbird 581i HD DI if you want GPS Humminbird 596c HD DI if you don't want GPS

Yep, any unit can be made portable:

J--- Humminbird Down Imaging tranducers can be used as a shoot-thru in suitable hulls just like a regular sonar transducer. The Humminbird Down Imaging transducer XIH 9 DI T comes with epoxy for that purpose. A Side Imaging or Structure Scan transducer has to be externally mounted since the two crystals that produce the side looking pulses boardcast to sides. If that transducer is on the interior hull bottom the sides if it are not in contact with the hull. Marine sonar doesn't work through air. emmickley, send me a picture of your transom from directly behind the motor with the motor tilted all the way up and take it at a the level of the hull bottom so I can see all of the transom. I will edit the picture with the proper location for your hull. Additionally for your hull type and performance level, you should use a shoot-thru 2D transducer for on plane depth readings. You should be using a shoot-thru instead of the transom one you have now. That is called installing your equipment instead of just mounting it. Installing takes into consideration your hull's design, construction material, and performance capabilities. I'll describe what it takes to get your unit to perform its best and why, when I return the picture. Additionally don't send a thumbnail size image, make it at least 480X600 pixels resolution-larger is better for editing. purdum43@aol.com emmickley

"One Fish Anna". LOL. We caught 62 bass

The "lot larger" two blade is the Safari and is the slowest prop. That one is designed for weeds. Using that prop on a 105# thrust motor gives you .6 mph less speed. Several (including me) bought that prop when it first came out and did the speed test and got the same result.

This is an example of Switchfire Clear and Default sensitivity setting with a summer thermocline: This is a column of plankton:

If the unit is operating, you are using Switchfire. That is the trade name for the feature that gives you two levels of 2D sonar Sensitivity settings. The two choices are Switchfire Max and Swithfire Clear. Max is for manual Sensitivity settings. Clear is for mostly automatic Sensitivity settings with adjustability at a lower power level and some filtering. In operation you can use Clear until you don't see what you want to see, then you change to Max and adjust the sensitivity to show what you want such as a vertical presention in deep water. I don't use Max and rarely even adjust the Sensitivity in the Clear setting past the Default. The unit is sensitive enough to show plankton and the thermocline with no help at all. Usually the deepest water I am on is less than 80' and I doubt I would attempt to use a presention beyond that level if presented with deeper water. Humminbird describes it like this: The key features of SwitchFire™ Sonar are: You can choose between two distinct modes for displaying returns on the sonar views Max Mode shows the maximum amount of sonar information Clear Mode reduces noise to show only structure and fish Sensitivity, filters, and all other sonar adjustments are available in both modes

Well at least Raymarine made an intelligent foray into the imaging market with a dual technology unit.

Another more solid and protective mount is to use the Transducer Shield and Saver that fits the transducer you have or the puck type. Visit their web site for the correct model. Bass Pro Shops carries some of the models too.

The one that has the waters you fish and is compatable with your unit. That information is on the Navionics web site.

You have to go through the proceduce that the site is trying to tell you about. When you insert your card, it contacts Navionics all by itself. It downloads the Navionics Store software and an icon. That download is what is used to update your card when you insert it in your computer. If you don't let it complete that phase, you cannot update your card. Something IS happening-- you have to pay attention. That soltware is also what is going to be used for the Sonar Charts feature for Humminbird and Raymarine owners with the Platinum edition software.