Hummingbird 788 questions

[lowe rider]

I am planning to buy a 788 for the bow of my boat and was wondering if
I should get it with the internal or external GPS antenna. the salesman at
Cabellas claims the model with internal antenna wil not be prone to interference from digital trolling motors. I would like to know if performance
is better with the external one and if anyone has had problems with either type. I would also like to know who has the best prices on this unit. I have
a promotional card from Cabellas that will give me a 150.00 gift card if I buy
it there but if I saved enough online and saved the taxes it may still be
better to consider getting it elsewhere. I would also like to know if GPS
speed is reliable at speeds I would use while longlining.
THANKS

[M R Dux]

I have a 788 with external antenna on my bow and have had ZERO issues with interference from my Power Drive with co-pilot and auto-pilot. I have also not had any issues with speed fluctuations like some 788 guys with internal antenna. I got mine off eBay for less than $500 shipped.

[rnvinc]

It's probably not an issue at longlining speeds but the HB GPS has issues at slower speeds....below 0.5mph

While the digital readout is fairly accurate...the directional boat icon on the map turns into the "dreaded donut" below 0.5mph.....this is the icon that HB has designated for when the unit does know it is still moving....

There's beem lots of discussion on this "donut" and why HB can't seem to listen to it's customer base and fix this simple issue...

[Humminbird_Greg]

From what I understand: trolling motor interference normally gets into the unit from either the transducer or the power cables and not the GPS; so I don’t know where the salesman at Cabella’s got their information from. For the best performance I like the external GPS Receiver but in most instances either will work well.

[Fishawk]

Best price I found was Just4Electronics!, Your Electronics Super Store $498.20 for the internal and $528.06 for external. Price includes shipping. I bought the internal and have now problems with in on the bow.

[majflyboy]

I have a 788 with internal GPS on the bow, hooked to a Terrova with US2 with i-pilot, interlinked to a 998 at the console. I've had no, zero, not any problems with interference or anything else. Good product. Good service.

[mduncan62]

The GPS should provide no interference. It's a power issue. You might have issues, and should call HB anyway and get the interference kit if possible. The GPS issue is just an HB issue. It's well documented on here. Maybe they'll come out with a GPS kit soon.....

[Doug Vahrenberg]

If you have the latest software and the GPS receiver hooked direct to the unit or internal receiver model you will get 4x a second GPS Refresh rate.

[mduncan62]

If you have the latest software and the GPS receiver hooked direct to the unit or internal receiver model you will get 4x a second GPS Refresh rate.

That is said every time. So can we get the official response to the question, "Does this correct the issue with the donut always coming up when you are trying to sit on one spot"?????? I had this exact unit, and the update that was supposed to fix the "GPS problem" but still couldn't sit on a spot without the donut coming up, and if you couldn't tell where you were in relation to your waypoint. Then you have to troll with some speed away from the spot and come back.

I'm all for supporting your sponsor, but tell the whole story please. Most can allow for some error when running down the lake, but this is a crappie website and a lot of people want to fish structure without moving. The HB donut makes this very difficult.

[Humminbird_Greg]

The 4x per second software update does not affect the usage of the “donut”. All it was supposed to address was the slow response rate of the GPS – which it did. We use the donut to show that the GPS Receiver does not think that the boat is moving. If we did not use the donut than we would just be showing a ‘best-guess’ as to the direction that your boat is pointing as without movement the GPS cannot determine the direction of movement of the boat.