Hbird or Lowrance

[TruthWalleyes]

Thats the latest lakemaster chip in a hummibird 898cSI.

[eagle_3464]

How many different depth ranges can you highlight at any given time. For instance, you mentioned to see how many humps were in a given lake. But in the image given it is actually a deeper pocket rather than a hump. So, if you could do multiple, you could have a color for humps and a color for holes.

Have the issues with map speed rendering and shallow water sonar been resolved with the HB units? I also noticed that the new 798 ciHD SI has an ethernet port for sharing GPS and sonar data between two units.

[TruthWalleyes]

No the picture isn't of humps, i think i had 10-14' highlighted, and was hammering them that night. Got 6 in an hour, and quit because of the bugs.

You highlight a specific depth...29' lets say

You then choose a +/- range to add to that 29', how about +/-2'

See example below.

So you can highlight any range of water you want.

Chart speeds are great. Never had an issue. I don't run full speed with the chart zoomed in though - cuz there would be no point to that anyway. I pick my destination before putting the boat in gear, and have no need to see in-depth details on the chart at full speed.

I've also never had a shallow water issue. I think most of the shallow water problems are when people don't have their transducer set properly, or in the wrong spot in the boat.

Running directly over a transition area. Hard bottom to the left of the boat, soft to the right.

Crappies schooled up, with other fish mixed in.

[Tracker55]

Holy Moley !! After reading all this I think I'll go back to my old Herters Flasher. It doesnt know north from south, cant take pictures or have internet capabilities. It did catch fish though.

[TruthWalleyes]

I can tell you that with the addition of 898 Humminbird to my boat this year that it has put a lot more fish in the boat...especially those "hard to get south central MN" walleyes. Additionally, lakes that i've fished for years all of a sudden have lots of previously unrevieled structure that the basic depth finders don't disclose.

You know how they say "Fish where the Fish are"...Great tool for locating the fish, and identifing the structure the fish are on; Put these two things together tagged along with weather patterns and you really start to figure out the fish's habits, as well as understand why they are on the structure they are (Seeing everything from zooplankton to bait fish, pebbles, to temperature differences=thermocline, identifying weed type, etc.

[reddog]

Sorry for the ramblings, and lack of proper grammar.. blah, blah, blah, its the internet, right?

Dont care which one you get, and dont have time to post individual pictures (gotta get to work) but Ive got two SI birds on my boat. I have never had them rigged so they could talk to each other. (dont really understand why its needed, like Truth said, fish where the fish are)

Ive been to numersous seminars over the last 4 years, and get tired of seeing everybodies bridges and trees etc. I havent tried, but I dont think you can fillet a tree or a bridge or a rock, for all that matters.

I use mine to find fish.... period.

http://imageevent.com/okoboji_images/hummingbirdsideimaging

Click on "Show all to see them all

I might get booted off for posting the link, but if you wanna see what fish look like.

Lowrance images are clearer, but only because they have their 800 khz working well. (something Hbird should get done) but with that said, my Humminbird is plenty clear enough for me, and like mentioned before, shaded depth rocks!(pics 60-64) By the way, pictures 115 series is with800 khz, not 455.

Like truth said, I find it somewhat hard to find good LOW structure scan pictures of fish. Low Di, there are boatloads of great pictures. but SI, not so much.

Im about as low tech as they come, if thats worth anything.

I own 5 Humminbirds ( 1198, 2,997s, and 2,788, bought and paid for with my own money)), and to date, none have seen the factory since they left, every software upgrade has been free, and when I update my units, they are on a par with the newest units being shipped from Humminbird.

The addition of SI hasnt put any more fish in my boat..... I just have to fish half as much.

[CaptainMusky]

The addition of SI hasnt put any more fish in my boat..... I just have to fish half as much.

I love that!!! But you make sure and stay on the water, just so the wife doesnt know how easy it was right? LOL

[eagle_3464]

Nice report reddog and thanks for the link. I think I will have to study the images to get a better understanding of what they are showing.

If I purchased the 798, could I get the same results as those in the link? Or, are they from a higher end unit with better imaging? The 798 is already more than my budget but may fork out a little extra if the SI is that much of a benefit.

[TruthWalleyes]

You see the same things on a 798, they're just a lot smaller

It is also going to be hard to run multiple screens because that will crunch everything down even smaller.

Save your $$ and buy an 898 or bigger IMO, or maybe look for a used unit.

[eagle_3464]

Thanks TW, I'll take that into consideration.

[Nick Kuhn]

The 798 has a less powerful transducer and only one SI frequency setting so it won't quite be as crisp of an image, but it'll still show everything he has highlighted.

[SXViper]

I will comment on the Lowrance CS service. When all the problems with the last LCX ubits and the new HDS units were going on, Lowrance had just under 80% market share. So if they had 20% units with problems that was almost equal to all other units sold. I dont think there was a 20% failure rate but it puts it into better perspective on why there was lack of CS. Also the HDS units caused a huge CS nightmare with people calling in just asking how to use the unit. A huge majority of the calls were asking things like how to change overlay data.

[reddog]

I will comment on the Lowrance CS service. When all the problems with the last LCX ubits and the new HDS units were going on, Lowrance had just under 80% market share. So if they had 20% units with problems that was almost equal to all other units sold. I dont think there was a 20% failure rate but it puts it into better perspective on why there was lack of CS. Also the HDS units caused a huge CS nightmare with people calling in just asking how to use the unit. A huge majority of the calls were asking things like how to change overlay data.

Gotta agree with you on the calls to customer service regarding how to run the machine. Both Lowrance and Humminbird CS get logjammed by calls that are really not customer service related, such as: I seen on a message board on the internet, that I could program my Humminbird to fry eggs over easy simply by changing a setting. Is that true, and what menu is it under. Do I have to bring my own salt and pepper, or can I program this into the Bird also.

Back to the topic at hand,..

Will you be happy with a 798, I would think so.

My theory since day one, is figure out how much your budget truly is, and I mean truly, If youd like to spend 800, but could spend 1200, if you really whad to, then 1200 is your true budget.

If a 798 is your true budget, then make it hurt, and go with the 898. If the 898 is your true budget, then buy a 998. Its gotta hurt, or youll regret it later, I guarantee it.

I cant wait for the new 1598 series

Ive had Lowrance units all my life, and the most current unit I have (other than my 520 that I bought for mapping purposes) was a Y2K LCX 15MT, and while I had a terrible time with it the first couple years with blown Xducers and software updates that only caused further problems, once I/they got it working, its been bulletproof for the last 8 or 9 years.

I bought my initial 997, because of the SI technology \and the fact that it came out a couple years prior to Lowrances Structure Scan. I truly do not know anyone close with Structure Scan that I could go out and compare to my Side Imaging.

I do know people with HDS units (but no SS) and I know if I had one I would figure it out real quick, but I find the menus easier to manipulate with the Humminbird.

When I bought my 997, my fishing partner scoffed at the unit in the box. He now owns 2 997s, and it only took one trip to convert him.

Anyone truly contemplating this investment, needs to ride in a boat with an experienced operator, whether you chose Lowrance or Humminbird and see the things unfold right before your eyes. Simulation in a store, just dont cut it. Beg, borrow or steal a ride with someone that knows how to set the machine up, and knows the menu strokes well, and then you can truly compare.

Gotta go, its cocktail time.

[jwmiller33]

Lowrance had just under 80% market share.

where do you find these types of stats... not disputing it, just curious

[TruthWalleyes]

I cant wait for the new 1598 series

I bet it would sell!

[TruthWalleyes]

The 798 has a less powerful transducer and only one SI frequency setting so it won't quite be as crisp of an image, but it'll still show everything he has highlighted.

Does anyone even use the higher frequency side imaging? I think the images look like [PoorWordUsage] compared to the 455hz. I'm guessing it was designed for deep water, like 100' or better. I'll have to play around with it some more though and see if i can tune the 800hz image better.

[eagle_3464]

Begging a ride (preferably Miltona) with anyone that has SI or SS. The 798 is already much more than I originally planned on spending. With it you have the 3 presets to toggle between favorite screens. Is the size still to small if you use SI on full screen rather than split screen? How much difference will the 500w compared to 1000w make?

[Nick Kuhn]

The 798's screen in term of pixel count is higher than an 898's. The detail will be there, but it depends on how sharp your eyes are to see that detail. I have no trouble seeing things on the DI/2D/SI split with my 798ci, but then again my vision is 20/15 with my glasses on. If you set it so that a soft bottom is dark blue, all you need to do is pick out anything white. You can zoom if it appears to be of interest. But common things such as cribs, bottom content changes, weedlines, and breaks are pretty easy to see on a 798. ANd I have no trouble noticing smaller things like a school of crappies.

Edit: Here's a screen capture of a school of crappies on a mud flat.

[Superduty]

If a guy is limited to a 5" SI or SS unit. It is a good idea to have a separate cheaper unit that can display gps or sonar. That way you won't have to split the screen on the smaller unit.

[reddog]

Does anyone even use the higher frequency side imaging? I think the images look like [PoorWordUsage] compared to the 455hz. I'm guessing it was designed for deep water, like 100' or better. I'll have to play around with it some more though and see if i can tune the 800hz image better.

[reddog]

800 khz:

[TruthWalleyes]

Thanks Reddog. I'll have to do some playing around.

I checked out your slide show. Some very nice pics there.

Do you ever do any vertical jigging using max mode the same way you would while ice fishing with a vexilar? That is my next goal to master.

[reddog]

Thanks Reddog. I'll have to do some playing around.

I checked out your slide show. Some very nice pics there.

Do you ever do any vertical jigging using max mode the same way you would while ice fishing with a vexilar? That is my next goal to master.

Ive been leaving the vex at home, and taking the 788 and using it for icefishing, and it rocks. I dont remember all the settings offhand right now, but I like it better than the vex.

[PurpleFloyd]

Thanks Reddog. I'll have to do some playing around.

I checked out your slide show. Some very nice pics there.

Do you ever do any vertical jigging using max mode the same way you would while ice fishing with a vexilar? That is my next goal to master.

A friend of mine bought a 798 and used it when we were ice fishing last winter and it works great. We basically had the 798, a vex and a Lowrance ice machine going in the house at all times. The 798 has a few different screen shots you can use which similar to the ice machine that I prefer to the vex's flasher only design but it is a much nicer unit that the IM of course. He tried the SI feature a bit but it seems you may need to have the ducer either constantly rotating or moving to get a reading from what I understand. I personally prefer the graph mode to the flasher mode when ice fishing but obviously everyone has their preferences.

[reddog]

Agreed on the graph mode vs the flasher mode with the 788, or the 798. I set the RTS window to wide, and you basically have a flasher on the right side as it enters the graph. The RTS window is the key to using a graph in an ice fishing application, in my opinion. Using SI when ice fishing is something I have chose to do yet, because of the complexity of the transducer mount,(rotational) and I like things simple, I think the SI option would show you the fish, but you would need to be well versed in readiing it, in order to interpret what it is showing you. Much like SI on a trolling motor. I will never be without SI on my trolling motor...ever, because Ive seen what a powerful tool it can be. but, reading it at 0.1 mph, takes some experience.