Search the Community

OK - so I have an old Eagle FishEasy fish finder that was given to me years ago. The transponder is mounted on my Minn Kota Powerdrive V2 trolling motor. My son & I joke that I think the manufacturers programmed the FishEasy software to throw random fish in the scroll just so you think that's it's working (or possibly I've have had it running in demo mode for these past 10 years haha). We think that it would show fish even if I could deploy the trolling motor in the garage. We decided to pick up our game and my son bought me a Helix 7 Chirp, SI, GPS, G2N. I had heard about the i-Pilot Link and I was interested because there's nothing more aggravating than having to constantly adjust the trolling motor speed & heading to compensate for wind & contour. Unfortunately, after checking, I found that the i-Pilot Link is no longer offered for the Powerdrive V2. I understand this since the Helix & i-Pilot Link set-up would be way more expensive than the Powerdrive so they probably didn't sell very many for that model. So what do I decide to do? Look at new trolling motors. I'm really limited since I have a 12V set-up and I want to tie the Helix into the motor with the i-Pilot Link. I'm limited so much that there seems to be only one trolling motor that will fit this set-up and it is the Minn Kota Terrova. With that said, the Terrova comes with the US2 (2D sonar). I feel like I would be stupid to connect the US2 to my new Helix robbing the Helix of all of the goodies designed in and that they charged for. I also don't like the fact that the best (& really only) place to mount the HD transducer (after the $85 trade-in) is on the transom since I'm seeing where I've been not where I'm going (seems counter intuitive when fishing) but I also realize why I can't/shouldn't mount the transducer to my trolling motor. So I see the scenario where I hook up the Helix, mount the transducer to the transom, mount the receiver to my console, link it to my new Terrova via the i-Pilot Link but then I have the US2 sitting unused. Now for my question: Does anyone have a set-up where they are using the US2 from the trolling motor with a feed to a receiver at the bow but then the better fish finder mounted elsewhere with its transponder mounted to the transom or do you feel like this is an overkill? I am going to get the exact model of my Eagle FishEasy and, if I'm lucky, the US2 may feed into that receiver and I wouldn't have to drop another $199 or $299 on another fish finder just for the receiver to hook to the US2. Anyone with any thoughts about this proposed set-up? Thanks in advance.

I have a new Humminbird Helix 10 SI that I have networked with my older 798CI so they use the same transducer. When fishing the past few times I have noticed that the 798 displayes fish arches much better than the Helix 10. I have adjusted the input frequecy and sensativity and tried to match what the 798 setting are as well as trying to modify the sensativity on both units. When I increase the sensativity on the Helix 10 the fish arches start to improve but they get washed out with background noise before that are clear like they appear on my 798. I have also checked the filter settings. Any Ideas on what may be causing this?

Just got a new tracker boat and I want to upgrade the little fish finder that came with it. Never used a fish finder before. I want it to be at least 7 inches and have DI and SI. Out of the Lowrance Hook 2 7 tripleshot, Elite 7 Ti, and 7 HDS what would you recommend for a first time user that wants a product to work well and last for a long time? Also what are your thoughts on the Helix 7 and the garmen fish finders? Thanks, Alex.

Hey Guys, I just ordered my first bass boat. I have 2 helix's at the console and 1 at the bow. With this being my first bass boat, i was wondering....when I buy the LakeMaster Plus SD cards, do I really need 3? Or can i get away with just one. Im not sure, so any information/suggestions is appreciated. Thanks!

So im not really looking to buy one yet, just starting some research. I was wondering what everyone thought about these two units. I will be buying the 5 inch version, but I wanted to know what the difference between the two units (Lowrance Elite and Hummingbird helix) are and which is more user friendly?

I have a newly installed Helix 12 G2N SI and while I am absolutely amazed by the quality of the new SI imaging...I lose 2D depth when running faster than about 10 MPH. Unit is installed on an '05 Crestliner CMV 1850. I can provide pictures of the install if that will help. This is an upgrade from a Humminbird 1198, never had any issues like this with the older transducer. Thanks in advance for any help!

Last year I added a 5th battery to my boat, to keep my electronics off my starting battery. I put the battery, and the single bank charger for it, in the back of the boat next to the starting battery...because it seemed like the thing to do. This year, I'm upgrading my 998 SI and 798 SI to Helix G2N units...and as part of that process, I'm going to pull the battery and charger out of the back of the boat and move it up front. After running the boat all season with the extra battery and charger back there...I just didn't like the way it was affecting how the boat trimmed out and ran. Seems like a little thing...but I could tell the difference. This will give me the opportunity to keep the wiring completely separate from everything else...Wires won't be running near anything else (except where the cords have to come up through the dash for the console unit). I'm not going to go overboard with shielding or any of that...but I'm wondering if anyone else here has done anything like this, and if so if you've any thoughts you'd share?

So I took my boat out today to see if I fixed the leaks that I discovered the last time I had it out and also to play with my Helix 5. I found a stick bed that I wanted to mark so made a waypoint on it and later on I decided I wanted to rename it to make more sense. When I went into Edit mode on the waypoint the text box that contains the name was a white box and the letters were white too!! So I had to guess which direction to move the cursor numerous times until I found the right letter, then go to the next letter and repeat the same insanity all over again. There is probably a very simple answer to this, but how to I get the letters to be seen in the text box? You can see in the background of the attached screenshot that I finally did get the name changed but it took about 5 minutes!!! THANKS!! Mike

I have a 2016 Feel Free lure 13.5. This has a box in middle of Kayak, front of seat. To mount Fish finder on, with battery in box, and transducer under neath. Am trying to pick out a good Fish Finder. Withing he $430 range. I've currently been looking at the Garmin Striker 4DV $179 ( But screen is only 3.5 ) Been looking at the Lowrance Hook 5 $399( Has missed reviews ) Also Been looking at the Humming Bird Helix 5 SI KVD combo. It is on sale for $423. ( Not sure side imaging would even work with me, since The hull of my Kayak would be on sides of transducer. If I lowered it then would become damaged.) Any help is much appreciated. If there is a better Fish Finder not listed here you would recommend please do so. And tell me why. I just wanna get the best bang for my buck. Thanks.

I have a Helix 10 and I've updated the software. I have the Smartstrike card inserted. I can see the Lakemaster maps from the card but have no idea how to access Smartstrike. Help please.

Anybody familiar with the new helix series? Specifically the helix 5 DI GPS. Haven't been able to find much buyer reviews anywhere on this model, but from the few I have found they have been pretty good. Thanks !