hummingbird 898c si

[new_kid]

I am looking at buying a new hummingbird 898c si and i am wondering if anyone has any opinions about these i would like to go bigger than the 898 but the price is getting to steep for my pocket book also looking at where is the best place to buy one fror the best price

[JohnMickish]

I ran one of these for two years and it's a great unit. A bigger screen is always nice but this unit will do. I did not realize how much info there is to be gained by using the SI function. For whats it's worth, I run a HB 1197C SI now.

[Mike Stark]

I am looking at buying a new hummingbird 898c si and i am wondering if anyone has any opinions about these i would like to go bigger than the 898 but the price is getting to steep for my pocket book also looking at where is the best place to buy one fror the best price

Pro Fishing Supply

Dave will take good care of you. I got a 898c from Pro Fishing Supply for a good price. It is a very nice unit.

[h8go4s]

Another vote for Pro Fishing Supply. Great price & service.

[TruthWalleyes]

I got an 898si. Great unit. Screen is good. I would advise against the 798 for the screen size, but if your pocketbook allows - go bigger. If not, you won't look back at purchasing an 898.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

I got an 898si. Great unit. Screen is good. I would advise against the 798 for the screen size, but if your pocketbook allows - go bigger. If not, you won't look back at purchasing an 898.

Not to hijack the thread, but I bought both a 798ci for $600 and a 788ci for $400. Trying to decide which to keep (no, I can't keep both). Can you see anything on the SI with that small of a screen, or should I just go with the cheaper unit?

[delmuts]

" Can you see anything on the SI with that small of a screen, or should I just go with the cheaper unit?"

Sure you can, but you have to pay closer attention to see it. As said; if you can afford to go bigger, do it! I couldn't, and i,m happy with my 798 si.

[new_kid]

thanks for all the help guys i was going to go with a 798 but i wanted the bigger screan so i held out a little longer till the depthfinder fund grew a little more so i think all that is left to do now is to buy the unit and sit and cry about it being winter and not being able to use it till spring but it will also give me plenty of time to install it just the way i want it

[delmuts]

You can do like i did last year; buy a ac/dc converter. (i think i payed $40 for mine) Then you can learn and play with it. You can't do everything, but shure helps getting familiar with it.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Or you could wait and see what the new 2012 units have to offer.

[TruthWalleyes]

Wish I Were...You can see side imaging just fine on the smaller screen of the 798. But where the bigger screen is nice on the 898 or 998 and UP is you can display multiple screens at one time. FOr example, GPS and SI, or SI and Sonar, ETC...

You will be fine with the 798, but you will be changing screens frequently to see what you want, where the larger screen you can display multiple screens.

[reddog]

The current Humminbird line is whats available for 2012. There are software upgrades coming down the pipe for the 898 and 998 that are exciting.... and free.

Go with at least the 898, as it uses the HDSI transducer, so when (and if) you upgrade screen size, you wont have to change that out on your boat.

The 798 uses a Compact transducer.

Ive always said, figure out what you can afford, then buy 1 size larger.... It doesnt cost 2K to upgade screen size before you buy, it only costs $500 to go from a 898 to a 998.

It has to hurt..

If a 798 is what you can afford, and it hurts to buy a 898, that that is what you should buy.

[delcecchi]

"only 500 bucks" ? That much money is totally disproportionate to the increased cost to manufacture. Highway robbery is the old time expression.

Let them eat cake.

[reddog]

It is, what it is Del.

I agree, its alot of money.

Im not sure whats been a better uppgrade for me, electronics or my new Terrova IPilot, but as for right now, I wouldnt want to be without either of them.

Its hard to put a dollar value on how these pieces have made fishing more fun for me... even when they arent biting..

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Believe me, it will hurt when my wife finds out no matter what I buy!

[reddog]

Believe me, it will hurt when my wife finds out no matter what I buy!

My wife: Honey, didnt you have a Honda outboard motor on your boat when you bought it?

Me: No honey, its always been a Yamaha..

[delcecchi]

It is, what it is Del.

I agree, its alot of money.

Im not sure whats been a better uppgrade for me, electronics or my new Terrova IPilot, but as for right now, I wouldnt want to be without either of them.

Its hard to put a dollar value on how these pieces have made fishing more fun for me... even when they arent biting..

I guess the "only 500" got me. It's not like I haven't spent a bunch of money on fishing stuff. But the price of fishing electronics strikes me as totally out of line. But someone has to pay the pros who "endorse" the stuff, and the marketing expenses.

When you can buy a really nice laptop with an I5, a 17 inch screen, and a terabyte of disk for under 1000 dollars, them charging way more for a depth finder/gps with no disk, not that much memory and some imbedded processor driving a 8 inch screen seems totally out of line.

There isn't any rocket science in those units.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

They sell more laptops so they get the parts cheaper. I would think if they sold as many fish finders as laptops, the price would be lower too.

Some day many will be using tablets on their boats. That way you don't have a $1000 bill setting on your boat being used for fishing only. Navionics has an awesome app out now and things will just get better from there.

[PerchJerker]

When you can buy a really nice laptop with an I5, a 17 inch screen, and a terabyte of disk for under 1000 dollars, them charging way more for a depth finder/gps with no disk, not that much memory and some imbedded processor driving a 8 inch screen seems totally out of line.

There isn't any rocket science in those units.

I'm not disagreeing with what you're saying ..... brand new high def TVs and brand new kick-a$$ laptops and tablets are genuine bargains compared to fishing electronics ..... but I will point out that you are not paying just for the hardware, you are also paying for proprietary software when you buy Lowrance or Humminbird or Garmin, etc. Not sure if that helps or not, it's still a lot of money .....

Regarding the 898c SI, it has been extremely popular since it came out, and has been relatively trouble-free. The 800 series is popular due to the combination of screen size and price and is quite a bit less money than the 900 series. A bigger screen is nicer for viewing SI and for splitting the screen, but there are a lot more guys using 898s than there are using 998s or 1198s, and you don't hear many complaints from the 898c guys. If the 898 is in your budget and the 998 is not, there is no reason to not go with the 898.

If you're looking for an 898c SI, shoot us an email at [email protected] and mention that you saw this thread. We've got a few units on hand that we can deal on at this time of year

[delcecchi]

Thanks for the offer. I know they don't sell that many units, although the number would be interesting. But the parts cost does not justify the price. I did electronics for a living for a number of years.

An Ipad sells for 500 bucks and Apple makes a nice profit from it. Add maybe, tops, a hundred for a transducer, some analog circuitry, and a case. Subtract some money for the battery. You could also take out the wifi and save another few bucks.

If it was a chartplotter/depthfinder they would charge like 2000. They get 1500 for a unit with a 8 inch screen.

The money goes somewhere but it isn't parts cost. Development? Marketing? Distribution? Probably all of those.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Guess we could just buy their stock. Anyway, yes that 898 looks like a nice unit. I think the screen looks funny though because it is long and narrow. Is this a good thing?

[reddog]

Nothing says you have to buy new. I bought my first 997 new 4 years ago. Since that time, I have bought a used 997 and a 757 package for 1K. I also just bought a used 1197 for 1500.

With the software updates that Humminbird keeps sending down the line, the 997 that I bought 4 years ago (for $1639), has everything in it that a new 998 has, with the exception of ethernet capabilities. Did it have down imaging when I bought it? No, but it does now, and you know what humminbird charged me to completely revamp my unit to current state of the art specifications? Zilch.. There have been at least 7 software upgrades available for my 997 since I bought it 4 years ago. Sure, some of them fixed glitches in the system, but most offered more features, like contour mode, sharpness options, waypoint management,Switchfire mode for 2d sonar. etc. All these items have been upgrades to my unit, at no cost. I think that's pretty amazing in this day and age of "disposable" electronics.

My Humminbirds have been bulletproof since day one. That is why I am not afraid of buying used units. Do I think there will be some neat things coming down the pipe later on, yes, that is the only reason that I bought the used 1197 now, rather than a new 1198 at this time.

[JohnMickish]

When you can buy a really nice laptop with an I5, a 17 inch screen, and a terabyte of disk for under 1000 dollars, them charging way more for a depth finder/gps with no disk, not that much memory and some imbedded processor driving a 8 inch screen seems totally out of line.

How much is this laptop going to cost once you make it waterproof and make the screen visable in direct sunlight? Add in the ability to handle the vibration and abuse that quality marine electronics take and I bet you find that this "cheap" laptop cost several thousand more than a sonar/GPS.

I'm not standing up for the prices, but I've had this discussion with the Humminbird and Lowrance reps and that's the answer I get. As mentioned earlier, it is what it is.

[delcecchi]

How much is this laptop going to cost once you make it waterproof and make the screen visable in direct sunlight? Add in the ability to handle the vibration and abuse that quality marine electronics take and I bet you find that this "cheap" laptop cost several thousand more than a sonar/GPS.

I'm not standing up for the prices, but I've had this discussion with the Humminbird and Lowrance reps and that's the answer I get. As mentioned earlier, it is what it is.

Oh Please. I spent 40 years in the electronics industry. The display in a depthfinder is no different than the display in a cell phone or a computer. It is visibly in sunlight because they crank the backlight up to extreme levels. (put your hand on the screen of a lowrance on bright)' So the board is conformally coated and in a waterproof box. Not a major expense.

The real reason is that Fishermen will pay the money and it isn't that competitive a field due to the relatively low volume.

You know how to tell when a salesman is lying, right?

[morepower02]

I have 898's in stock and willing to deal. Let me know if you need a price.

[TruthWalleyes]

You won't be mad after you buy one