Ice Helix 7 Gen 2 Issues

[bmoen]

I purchased my Ice Helix 7 Gen 2 last year and just cannot seem to get it to work worth a damn. I had to turn the gain up to nearly 20 to be able to see an airplane jig tipped with a minnow head last weekend on Red Lake in 12' of water. Even at that gain, it is not a consistent signal.  I had it out twice last year with the same issue. I ended up speaking with Humminbird after the second outing last and they had me upgrade from the software version 1.83 to 1.90. I am still having the same issue. I have gone over and over the menu settings without any luck. The other possible issue I have is when toggling through the different views, the machine with shutdown after pressing the view button several times. Is that normal?

 

Any ideas would be much appreciated. The only thing I can think of now is that I received a bad transducer from the factory as this has been the problem since the first time I had it on the ice.

[Fathom]

I am having the same power issues with my Helix 7 G2N. I start switching between views and it shuts down. I was sitting 6 feet from my buddy using a Helix 7 G2 in 17 feet of water and I noticed my gain had to be turned up higher than his to see the same size lures. I'm not sure what is going on but I hope it can be easily fixed or replaced.

[rundrave]

sounds like a bad transducer but if you have another unit to compare side by side make sure you guys are both running the same settings and same transducer.

 

which transducer are you using? I found they haveto be under the bottom of the ice or it wont pick up right. I was using the open water transducer for mine and having issues and it was just a pain to run and gun with and keep level in the hole. I went and got the ice ducer for my helix no problem since. Have you tried doing a reset and then re-adjust your settings

 

what mode are you running in? ice mode or advanced?  You should be using the to 2d element when not using the si/di transducer. I dont think you have to use ice fishing mode, however. Ice fishing mode increases the sensitivity and updates the circular flasher view but that's it

 

auto depth or manual depth? I get issues with auto so I just set it to manual and adjust depth from there.

 

good luck there is a bit of a learning curve I am still getting used to it myself. I have watched alot of videos from Brian Brosdahl Promotions on his facebook and youtube he has some great pointers.

[Fathom]

I am using the ice transducer and will try you suggestions next time i'm out. I was going to do the reset this morning but pesky work interfered.

 

The powering off issue seems like something different though, I don't think the transducer should affect anything when I'm switching between views. I'm going to make a call and see if I can get any answers, will report back if I do.

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[Getanet]

Could possibly be an issue with the frequency setting, or perhaps your cone angle?  Just spitballing.

 

The issues of having it shut down when you toggle between views isn't normal and shouldn't be happening.

[bmoen]

I am running the XI-9-1521 transducer in Ice Mode, Advanced User, and have gone back and forth between Manual Depth and Auto Depth. I have tried the different IR settings, cone angles, etc.  I think I must have gotten a bad transducer from the factory.  I have done far more troubleshooting than fishing with this thing. I am going to give Humminbird a call again a see what they think about the transducer and also the issue with the machine shutting down when changing views. 

[Getanet]

That stinks. I'm sure you're right about the ducer. Good luck!

 

[Hawg]

Bmoen , I sent you a PM. 

[rl_sd]

C'mon guys.... if this was Facebook, the only thing that we would be hearing would be "Get a Vexilar ..." etc. What's up with all of the helpful suggestions? LOL

[leech~~]

54 minutes ago, rl_sd said:

C'mon guys.... if this was Facebook, the only thing that we would be hearing would be "Get a Vexilar ..." etc. What's up with all of the helpful suggestions? LOL

 

Well lot's of suggestions but problem not solved? I would suggest getting a Vexilar!        Better.  

[bmoen]

I spoke with Humminbird customer service yesterday afternoon. They seem to think the board may be faulty. Anyways, I sent it off a bit ago to Humminbird, so I should know in a week or so what the issue was. They are going to fix issue as it was documented last year and their suggested fix of the software update did not address the issues. In the mean time I will pick up a Vexilar or Marcum again.

[Mike89]

got a Marcum M5 for sale if interested.. new in the box and a good price..

[Rick]

Did you check with them again to see what they said?

[bmoen]

They sent me an email saying that they replaced the transducer and updated the software. It is supposed to arrive on Friday. Hopefully that will be the fix. 

[bmoen]

Today was my first day back out on the ice after receiving a new transducer and the software update from Humminbird. I started off fishing in 14’ of water with a panfish jig with the gain set to 10. The signal response was great and really could have been turned down to 5. Just as a test, I hopped over to an 84’ hole and could easily see that same panfish jig and weight without any zoom with a gain of 18! I guess I just had a bad transducer from the get go. Anyways, I am very relieved. Thank you all for your input.

[leech~~]

13 minutes ago, bmoen said:

Today was my first day back out on the ice after receiving a new transducer and the software update from Humminbird. I started off fishing in 14’ of water with a panfish jig with the gain set to 10. The signal response was great and really could have been turned down to 5. Just as a test, I hopped over to an 84’ hole and could easily see that same panfish jig and weight without any zoom with a gain of 18! I guess I just had a bad transducer from the get go. Anyways, I am very relieved. Thank you all for your input.

 

Sounds great!   Since your from Crosslake, got any ice reports from up around there?  Thanks. 

[bmoen]

On 1/14/2020 at 9:17 PM, leech~~ said:

 

Sounds great!   Since your from Crosslake, got any ice reports from up around there?  Thanks. 

 

I have only been on the ice once due to being out of state and that was to check to see if the Bird was working on Tuesday. I didn't have a tape measure, but I would guess it was around 12" of clear ice and 4" of grayish ice on Cross Lake. There was a 1/2 ton truck driving along the west shore directly across from the Army Corps of Engineers Campground. I have heard the smaller lakes in the area really suffered as they were frozen up prior to that 18" snowfall we had in November and then the rain/frozen rain we had in December. Some guys I spoke with were saying they experienced up to 8" of slush under the snow.

Edited January 17, 2020 by bmoen

[leech~~]

56 minutes ago, bmoen said:

 

I have only been on the ice once due to being out of state and that was to check to see if the Bird was working on Tuesday. I didn't have a tape measure, but I would guess it was around 12" of clear ice and 4" of grayish ice on Cross Lake. There was a 1/2 ton truck driving along the west shore directly across from the Army Corps of Engineers Campground. I have heard the smaller lakes in the area really suffered as they were frozen up prior to that 18" snowfall we had in November and then the rain/frozen rain we had in December. Some guys I spoke with were saying they experienced up to 8" of slush under the snow.

 

Thanks for the report. Hope the slush hardens up-Hate it.