Humminbird MinnKota plan

[TR4321]

I would like suggestions for a second fishfinder to go along with my plan to buy a Humminbird MinnKota set-up over a three year period (so the cost is not too much at once). At the end of the three years I would like to have a second fishfinder to go along with a Helix 10 SI GPS I also plan to buy and a networked Terrova or Ulterra. I am assuming that the Helix 10 SI GPS will be the more expensive of the two fishfinders. What I am looking for are ideas about what to start with first and how to proceed from there.  For example, what should my second fishfinder be, should I buy it before the Helix 10 SI GPS, and where should it go (console or bow)?  Should the second fishfinder be network compatible with the Helix 10 SI GPS or not I worry about it? Should the second fishfinder or the Helix 10 SI GPS go to the console with the other at the bow?

Thanks.

[slonezp]

3 year plan? The Helix will be old technology by then.

[Wayne P.]

You mentioned the Helix 10 SI GPS five times.

What other model is involved with "two fishfinders" ?

 

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, slonezp said:

 The Helix will be old technology by then.

Stop reminding me ~ 

A-Jay

[gulfcaptain]

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Stop reminding me ~ 

A-Jay

It's gonna be old by Summer....lol

[TR4321]

"You mentioned the Helix 10 SI GPS five times. What other model is involved with "two fishfinders" ?"  That is actually the question...what should I get as a second fishfinder to pair with the Helix 10 SI GPS? I don't think a second Helix 10 SI GPS is needed.  

[slonezp]

The general consensus is to put the better graph where you spend your time fishing. You will need similar graphs if you will be linking them together. As I stated earlier, by the time 3 years is up your Helix 10 will be deeply discounted because it will have been replaced by a new graph with new bells and whistles. 

[Wayne P.]

13 hours ago, TR4321 said:

"You mentioned the Helix 10 SI GPS five times. What other model is involved with "two fishfinders" ?"  That is actually the question...what should I get as a second fishfinder to pair with the Helix 10 SI GPS? I don't think a second Helix 10 SI GPS is needed.  

 

"needed" would be if you want the same sonar data at the bow and console with the data coming from your location instead of a boat length away.

The Helix 9, 10, and 12 models will cross-share sonar technologies so you can have a SI unit and a 2D unit and still have SI/DI/2D on both. You can so the same with a DI and SI model. Cross-sharing is done via Ethernet.

My personal choice is to have sonar data, no matter what technology, generated and displayed at the same location. That is why all my units are Side Imaging models. Will have another Side Imaging unit delivered today. I use Side Imaging at the bow a lot more than at the console since I fish from the bow.

 

[TR4321]

Thanks for the input on SI.  if I had to make a choice, should I go with SI or 360?  In other words, should I choose a Helix SI or should I choose a Helix DI or Helix Sonar with a 360 unit mounted on the transom?

 

[Wayne P.]

All three Helix versions will support 360 and can use the 360 for Side Imaging and Down Imaging also.

In my case I have the 360 at the bow where I fish from.

If you have the transom 360 and view it at the bow, that would be the same position difference as a SI transducer on the transom shared to a bow unit. Still a boat length away from the sonar source.

The 360 is certainly a great fishing tool. Not so much a search tool like Side Imaging.

[TR4321]

Thanks. My initial plan was to install a Helix 10 Sonar Combo or DI at the bow plus a 360 as the first step and then installing a Helix 10 Si at the console as the second step. But from what I have read I will find side imaging more useful than 360, so installing a Helix 10 SI should be the first step. Plus, as I understand it, the 360 trolling mount is not compatible with a Terrova/Ulterra, meaning the 360 will be transom mounted at the back of the boat reducing its effectiveness for someone fishing in the bow.

This leads me to my current three-year plan. 1) Install Helix 10 SI at the bow where I usually fish and where I hopefully can see it from the console. (I will test the viewing distance from bow mount to my console in the store.) The transducer will be installed at the transom to avoid the problem a SI trolling mounted experiences when the trolling motor moves around. 2) Install Terrova/Ulterra with iPilot Link and network with the Helix 10 SI at the bow. Use the built-in Universal 2 sonar from the Terrova/Ulterra.  3) Move Helix 10 SI to the console, install Helix 9/10 Sonor Combo or Helix 9/10 DI at the bow, install a 360 at the transom, and network all items together. The choice between a Helix 9/10 Sonor Combo and a Helix 9/10 DI will depend on how I eventually rank the value of a dedicated DI crystal over the price difference between the two units. The choice between installing a 360 or not depends on its usefulness for fishing from the bow when installed at the transom.

Well, that is my most recent version of this Rubik cube problem. Any thoughts?

[Wayne P.]

The US2 will not do Down Imaging. It is dual beam 2D sonar ONLY. If you want imaging data from the bow, it will have to be a trolling motor mounted transducer.

[A-Jay]

19 minutes ago, Wayne P. said:

The US2 will not do Down Imaging. It is dual beam 2D sonar ONLY. If you want imaging data from the bow, it will have to be a trolling motor mounted transducer.

Good to know.

A-Jay