Quote Originally Posted by crappie1133 View Post
I went to BPS today to look at new Elite 7HDI. I was impressed, great unit. I have read on this forum that two transducers are needed. Not true - 2D and DI are from the same transducer. This is Lowrance's first sonar to have regular sonar and down scan in the same unit( w/o Structure Scan). The salesman told me I didn't want to mount it on my trolling motor as I would have to be going at least 4 to 6 miles an hour to get a good picture with down scan. Also said my HDS 7 Gen 2 would get a much better picture with Structure Scan ( was this a sales ploy????). I liked the Elite 7 HDI and feel it would be better for my type of fishing. Would someone familar with both units please speak up or correct any statements I may have made in error. I respect this board and what the guys on it have to say. Thanks.
I am not an electronics expert by any means, but I recently purchased and installed an Elite 7 HDI unit on the trolling motor and have had an HDS 7 on the console already for a year. I added and installed structure scan on my HDS-7 last week. I think it's unfortunate for Lowrance and Hummingbird that the information provided by sales reps at retail stores such as bass pro is frequently bad information. The elite-7 is not the first lowrance with 2d/di in one transducer. The Elite units in the 5 series have had it for several years.

In regards to mounting the transducer on the trolling motor, Lowrance is actually marketing it to be used in that capacity. This paragraph is from the Q&A pdf from the Lowrance website for the Elite 7 HDI; "Because the HDI transducer utilizes the Lowrance Blue-connector it can also be plugged into a Lowrance HDS Gen2 Touch and provide traditional sonar along with DownScan™ Imaging. This makes it an ideal transducer for mounting to a trolling motor." http://www.lowrance.com/Root/Lowranc...lite-7-FAQ.pdf.

As far as quality of your down scan returns....I can't comment from personal experience as I haven't spent the time of the water yet with my two units; however, here is a link to a post where a guy shows some screen shot comparisons between his Elite-7 HDI and an HDS-9 touch. Lowrance Elite-7 HDI - First Impressions - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum