hbird 597 di

[eelpout50]

I'm lookin to upgrade one of my locaters and the 597 di fits my budget. I like the idea of the down-imaging. Does any one have any pros or cons with these? I'm not looking to spend more than 600 or so, any suggestions are welcome.

[Brad B]

This is the unit I put on my boat. It is a very nice unit for the money.

Pros :

Traditional 2D sonar can be set to either the standard 200Khz or to 455Khz. this is a nice option if you have another unit in the boat that is a 200Kzh unit. In my boat I run my HB on the 455Khz setting and my Lowrance X510C on 200Khz(only setting on the Lowrance) there is no interference issues when doing this.

Down Imaging can be set to 455KHZ or 800Khz. The DI is well worth the money. the example I have from my unit is I was in 20 feet of water on this really clear lake and the DI showed where the weed line stopped clear as day. it also allowed me to know the weeds were about 2 feet tall. on this particular lake the larger bluegill hang down by this weed line edge. on another lake I was able to make out a piece of a tree that was on the bottom of the lake and you could tell it was holding some fish by it.

GPS : It works very well and when paired with a lake master chip it is very accurate.

Cons :

DI not usable if you decide to make the unit into a ice unit. HB rep told me they will run a standard ice transducer but you would only be able to run the unit in the 2D sonar screen or the flasher screen.

My plans for my boat this summer is as follows :

X510C will go to the bow and run off the trolling motor transducer when the trolling motor is deployed. HB will be set to 455Khz on the 2D screen and DI and if I don't use the sonar part it will be set to full screen GPS. LX 7 will be set to split screen (2D sonar and flasher). doing it this way there should not be a interfernece issue unless the X510C and the LX 7 pick up each other but if this happens it should be minimal since there is 16 feet between the 2 transducers. I'd put the LX 7 on the bow but there is not a adapter made that will allow me to run it on the minnekota universal sonar transducer.

[Whopper Stopper]

I had the 597 DI for a short time. The downside for me was how the unit could not keep up when going across the lake. It was always re-drawing the maps and I had to slow down so it could catch up. I am not talking 60 mph, I am talking about half that.

I was told that by going with the 788 DI, I would get a faster micro-processor, and my problems would be solved. I did and not the case. After reading reviews on the units I found many complaints about this. I still have my 788 but can't say I am happy with it. I am in hopes that before I put it back in my boat for the season (I used it on my ATV for the winter) that HB will have some updates I can install to fix a few problems.

WS

[harvey lee]

I have the 788Csi on the trolling motor and yes, that one is a pretty good unit. Smaller screen size but it serves the purpose well. I have the 998CSI on the counsel.

No expierence with the 597 but a friend has one and he said he has speed issues with it. There are times when some do not have the transducer attached properly and that also can cause issdues when going at higher speeds. For the money, not a bad unit.

I had to play with my transducer angle for a few trips before I could get them both to work well going at faster speeds. Transducer mounting is very important with these units. They can go fast and still read.

[amateurfishing]

love mine, upgraded last fall from a HB 4 x 6 LCR from '84, completely new and better fishing experience for me for open water and ice.....but then i dont know much bout this stuff and my 597 is major upgrade for me, but dont have di.

[ccarlson]

I have one of these units and it it had some issues last year with shallow depth readings bouncing all over and also interference when I had the trolling motor on. HB stood behind it and resolved both issues with software updates and a new power cord that had a filter of some kind on it. Works perfect now.

My only thing I regret is not getting the next unit up which has the side imaging. Can't remember the model number but I had the chance to see a friends in operation and it would be worth the extra $150.

ccarlson