For Sonar/GPS ONLY, is a 7 inch screen sufficient at bow?

[OperationEagle]

Would like to get thoughts on the screen size I should go with at the bow as I equip my boat.

All threads say buy the biggest screen you can afford.  But I don't want to spend more than necessary.  I am sure this makes sense especially if you have SI or DI and you want to run multiple split screens.

It will be a sonar GPS only, so the only screen split I would have is the map and the sonar.  So would 7 suffice or would a 9 be worth the extra $250 (approx.)

If it matters, I plan on having a 7 at the console.  TM will be the Ulterra 80 w iPilot.

One additional question.  I see that the 9 incher comes with Contour XD maps installed.  How different is this from the Lakemaster chip maps?

[Wayne P.]

So everyone else knows, your question is about Humminbird units since only Humminbirds are Lakemaster compatible and have ContourXD background mapping.

Screen width is the most important factor for a Side Imaging unit since the size of displayed subjects is based on the Range setting you choose. Screen height is the most important for 2D sonar and Down Imaging since the size of displayed stuff is based on the depth. Your concern should be the size of each view in a dual view. That should not be big issue with the 7" 16:9 aspect ratio.

ContourXD is 3000 bodies of water with contours nationwide, that is tens of thousands of bodies of water that are not included. It is also 2006 Navionics data and none are HD. It is a little better than the color background that Uni-map has with the Helix 5 and Helix 7. You can download the .pdf lake list for ContourXD from the Humminbird website. Chances are very low XD will have the map data you want.

Humminbird units will read Lakemaster and Navionics digital map data. BUT you should check each product's coverage to see if the waters you fish are covered. No mapping is any good to you if it has no maps you want.

You can view the actual current maps that Navionics has on their website's Web App. You can download the Lakemaster lake lists in .pdf form on the Humminbird Lakemaster site. 

Your trolling motor makes no difference which sonar model you get unless you are getting iPilot Link. It would take a Helix 9, 10, or 12 for that feature. iPilot Link is an Ethernet accessory and those models are Ethernet capable. The Helix 7 is not.

As far as the Helix 7 capabilities, they are not linkable to share GPS data or accessories. The larger models are.

[OperationEagle]

Wayne...thank you for your thorough and well though out response.

I am so lucky that there are MANY MN lakes covered by ContourXD...unfortunately many of them are in outlying areas.  I would assume that Humminbird decided that too much overlap would cannibalize sales of their Lakemaster chips.

Just to be clear, you are thinking the 7 inch will be sufficient at the bow?

I will have one Lakemaster chip...does this mean I will need to buy a second chip for the bow?  Or do people pull the chip and plug it in wherever they need it (console/bow)?

[Sprocket]

I recently put a Garman 73dv (7") on the bow. I used a Ram mount with a 6" extension and glad I did. The extension makes it easier to read and also I don't have to bend over as far to make adjustments. I was suprised how sturdy the 1.5" Ram is. 

I think the 7" is fine but a 9" would definitely be better. 

[Wayne P.]

11 hours ago, OperationEagle said:

Wayne...thank you for your thorough and well though out response.

I am so lucky that there are MANY MN lakes covered by ContourXD...unfortunately many of them are in outlying areas.  I would assume that Humminbird decided that too much overlap would cannibalize sales of their Lakemaster chips.

Just to be clear, you are thinking the 7 inch will be sufficient at the bow?

I will have one Lakemaster chip...does this mean I will need to buy a second chip for the bow?  Or do people pull the chip and plug it in wherever they need it (console/bow)?

You got lost in my last post.

Lakemaster had nothing to do with the ContourXD. ContourXD has been a higher end unit chart background several years before Johnson Outdoors bought Lakemaster.

Not only that, what ContourXD has is irrelevant with the Helix 7, it doesn't have ContourXD.

Yes the Helix 7 Sonar GPS would be OK.

Since the Helix 7 is not linkable to share anything and none of the Helix units will share map data, if you want more than a color background with the Uni-map, you will need a map card for both units or move the map card to the unit you will be viewing.

Remember the Helix 7 has a microSD card reader, your manual dexterity with handling that size card may or may not be an issue. The unit card door is on the left edge of the unit and that card door has no tether. You can loose that too.

[Ohio Archer]

I have a Helix 7 on the bow.  For me, the 7's display is big enough unless I'm using SI (which you, the OP, isn't going to have).  For me, going from a 5" black gray Eagle to the full color Helix was a huge improvement.  I have a 999 on the console with a LM card.  Since the 7 uses the micro card and the 999 the full size, I do not move the card.  Instead, I turn the 999 around so I can view it with the chart visible (using a RAM mount).  I don't need to constantly look at the map while fishing so this works out well.

[Wayne P.]

2 hours ago, Ohio Archer said:

I have a Helix 7 on the bow.  For me, the 7's display is big enough unless I'm using SI (which you, the OP, isn't going to have).  For me, going from a 5" black gray Eagle to the full color Helix was a huge improvement.  I have a 999 on the console with a LM card.  Since the 7 uses the micro card and the 999 the full size, I do not move the card.  Instead, I turn the 999 around so I can view it with the chart visible (using a RAM mount).  I don't need to constantly look at the map while fishing so this works out well.

All the 2015 issues of Lakemaster are microSD. They did that because of the Helix 5 and 7 series so they would be interchangeable with any model unit.