Humminbird to humminbird interference?

[PFUNK]

I have really been looking into this for awhile and I have seen a lot of mixed opinions. My girlfriend got a humminbird ice 35 for Xmas and I have really enjoyed using it and think it is a great value for what you pay. I too would like to get one but I am worried about interference between the two. For those of you who regularly use humminbirds together, what is the interference like? If you can't get it tuned out with the IR, does it resolve if one runs the narrow beam and the other runs wide beam? I just don't wanna buy it and have it be a nightmare fishing together. I know a lot factors into interference, just wanna hear about how good the IR is on these?

[luckydog25]

I fish with a buddy that has a Ice 55 as do I in a clam guide (pretty small 2 man flip over). We do get a bit of interference, but they are about 4 feet apart. One of us will use the wide beam and the other will use the narrow beam and it is fine.

[Surface Tension]

You shouldn't have any problems.

Using the IR and if need be switching to Narrow Beam will work to clear up clutter.

Lets say you both have a Bird and your friend comes along with a Bird.

Getting rid of clutter will not be so easy but doable. You might end up having to turn gain down, and you might end up still having a little clutter but again doable.

Well when you trying to separate targets from clutter plus having your gain turned down barely enough to mark your jig, I'll just say your not getting full use out of your electronics to have to put up with that.

I'd get a MarCum or vex to pair up with the Bird and that is what I do.

The Bird and MarCum get along well. Throw a 3rd(Bird or MarCum) sounder in the mix and getting rid of clutter is no problem.

[bltbowhunter]

I have the 55 and my buddy has the 35. We only get together once a year on LOW to fish. His gives mine quite a bit of interference. For some reason mine doesn't give his as much. It drives me crazy. I yell at him all day about it. I will sit for hours trying to tune it out, but I still get flashes of color that circle the display all day long. I'm going to borrow a marcum or vex this year so I don't have to deal with it. If interference bothers you as much as it does me, I'd get a Marcum or vex. You will be much happier.

[fisherman-andy]

Adjusting the IR, using lower gain settings and narrow beam transducer will work wonders in close quarters.

[PFUNK]

Thanks for the advice. I would consider a marcum or vexilar if you could buy them new with comparable features of the humminbird for a comparable price. I will deal with a little interference before I will give away the dual beam transducer and the big flat screen on the humminbird. I have heard great stuff about the marcum's but you can't get into the super fine lines until the LX5 and it is out of my budget. The vexilar's are dependable as heck and get the job done nicely, but you pay a lot for fewer features. I think I will give the ice 35 a shot.

[Beegreen111]

PFUNK- I have the 35 and I fish in my flip over with a buddy who has a 45. I don't really mind a little interence so other than each of us hitting ir button once in awhile I just deal with it. On my machine I have a red line that moves in a steady clockwise rotation around the dial and on his machine he has a red line going counter-clockwise. Once you figure out that a fish is not dive bombing your bait from the top of the hole it really is fine to fish with. Just my 2 pennies worth.

Brad

[PFUNK]

Good to know. I ended up finding an ice 55 on craig$list yesterday and bout it for $345 shipped to me. It is less than a year old and used once. Thinking it is a pretty good deal but only time will tell.

[govikes211]

Fished yesterday with my 45 and another buddy's 45 and they worked just fine. I had mine on the wide beam and his was on the narrow beam. Never tried both units with the same beam tho.

[JohnMickish]

I run a 55 and my wife runs a 45. We have very little interferance in both deep and shallow water. I use the narrow beam and she uses he wide beam. You will like the birds.