humminbird ICE 688ci HD Combo

[tritonboy]

has any one been useing the humminbird ICE 688ci HD Combo ??? and what do you think of it ? good or bad

[wormdunker]

I have a 597 ci hd set up for ice. I also have a few ICE 45's. When fished side by side i notice a delay in jig response on the 587. It seems there is just a bit of lag. I also notice that the GPS is slow to update maps.

Also when fishing in weeds I don't feel as though I can dial the sensitivity down appropriately to still allow me to see the jig in the weeds like I can on my 45's.

For pure fishing though the ice, I would go with a flasher. For multi purpose all year, I would not have a problem with the LCD.

[kerryd15]

I picked up a 687 for my dad this winter. He really seems to like it. Will double on the boat this summer.

[osok]

Wormdunker, Did you see these delays when you were in flasher mode? Was the lag more noticeable in colder weather with the LCD screen for both fishing and in GPS mode?

[wormdunker]

The lag occurs in both traditional view and standard. On my boat I have 8 series units. They process maps much faster than this unit. However, I would say that the GPS tracks and operates at expected rates.

To describe the lag, imagine your jigs actual position just being about 1-2 lines of resolution ahead of what is being represented on the display. When I move a jig on any of my flashers (Humminbird or Vexilar) it is real time.

Some may not see this as an issue but I would rather have absolute immediate feedback.

I do enjoy switching to it on occasion in open water, the "history" is nice to have. Like I said I do not think these are optimal if you fish any weeds in standard 2d mode, flasher mode is a bit better in the weeds.

I use it as a back up sonar but as my primary GPS, having maps and all my summer spots is awesome.

[tritonboy]

when using the 688 did you notice any interference from the flashers ??

[fivebucks]

I have a 698 and just started using it on the ice this year. The transducer is the same frequency as my FL18 and I get interference on both units. I can get rid of most of it on the Vex with the IR button but I don't think the bird has anything like that.

[wormdunker]

Five bucks, do you experience the slight lag that I described?

[fivebucks]

It seemed there was but I was mostly working my Vex. I usually had it on open water mode since the flasher had too much interference. I should have shut down my vex and fished more with it but I didn't - next time. I am pretty sure I had the split second lag and I thought I needed to do more fine tuning to get it down right.

[Might_B_A_Pike]

on my 597 I increase the chart speed to max, not sure if that will help with the delay issue, but I feel that it is as real time as my brain can process. I also set use the graph mode and send the RTS window to wide.