HB798 ci si

Just ordered this unit today. Anything beyond sonar(which I am good with) is beyond me. I could use any and all help I can get with set up, settings, uses, or anything else I should know. Saying this, I have a basic understanding or how SI and DI work so I think I can decipher once I get a good Pic going. Just got to get there first. I that the best thing is time on the water with it but hoping I can speed up the learning curve. Any help will be much appreciated. Not looking for a HB vs Lowrance battle here. I love Lowrance but the 798 was priced right for me to finally get SI. Saw an 1198 work a couple years ago and was blown away by it and its price tag. I'm not expecting the same performance as the 1198 out of the 798 but the 798 will be light years ahead of where I am at now. Thanks for any help that anyone can give.CF

Below is a depiction of the 455kHz SI beam and the 83/200kHz 2d beams that are included with your 798..

The SI sonar beam is in the shape of a thin slice..
The 2d sonar beams are conventional cone shaped...

For the SI ....Each time the unit pings, the unit takes the echo information in that thin slice and plots that echo information on the SI image across the very top of the SI image in a thin line...

The very next ping echo information is plotted at the top of that same SI image... Pushing the previous echo Information down on the image...

It is this pinging, plotting, stacking (of the thin lines of echo information on the image) .... That builds the SI image on the screen...( it is not a camera snapshot of the bottom)...

The DI in the 798 is a computer generated image created from the data received from the Si crystals in the xducer (it will not be as good of a quality image as can be obtained from a unit that has "dedicated DI crystals" in the xducer...

Keep the chart speed matching the boat speed... 1mph=1 chart speed, 2mph=2chart speed...etc...

Set the SI range to a "left and right range" of about 60-70 ft... Less will make structure look bigger - more will make structure look smaller....
You can set the SI to left OR right only to make structure look bigger...

Choose a pallete that is pleasing to your eyes... Your eyes are different than anyone elses...

Take snapshots and recordings and view them at home to study the images for uninterupted learning of image interpretation...

Use the Si sensitivity setting as a brightness control for the SI image ... Different water conditions/bottom compositions will lighten and darken the SI image...

Ask lots of questions... Pm me if need be...

It is possible to take advantage of HB's xducer trade in policy and trade in the SI compact xducer (that comes with the 798) for the HDSI xducer (and pay the difference)...some users see a image quality improvement with the 455kHz crystals in the bigger xducer.... (you willl not be able to take advantage of the 800kHz crystals in the HDSI xducer even with the exchange because the 798 does not have the internal circuitry to read the data from the 800 kHz cryatals)...

Rickie

455kHz SI beam
http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...ing_480ft2.jpg

83/200kHz 2d beams http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...reenshots1.jpg

Am I going to need to purchase SD cards(if so, which kind is best?)? A cable to connect to PC? anything else I need to buy outside of what comes in the box?CF

rickie I too have a 798 ci hd si ,so are you saying the hb xducer is a different transrucer and if so ,is better ,then is it worth the different and about how much more would it be?

The 798 comes with this xducer...
XNT 9 SI 180 T :: Humminbird

You can trade in the unopened compact xducer for the HDSI xducer here...
XHS 9 HDSI 180 T :: Humminbird

The HDSI xducer has different size 455kHz crystals than the stock in-the-box Compact xducer which can give better quality 455kHz SI images...

The HDSI xducer also has crystals for the 800kHz SI beam but they would not be utilized in the 798 (because the 798 does not have the circuitry needed to use the 800kHz beam ...)

Some say the upgrade to the HDSI xducer improves the image quality of the 455kHz SI image that the 798 uses...

Conversely, some say they see no difference in image quality...

Maybe someone that has upgraded their xducer to the HDSI xducer for their 798 will chime in...

Rickie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crappiefarmer

Am I going to need to purchase SD cards(if so, which kind is best?)? A cable to connect to PC? anything else I need to buy outside of what comes in the box?CF

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If you want to make Screen Snapshots, Sonar Recordings, update the software in your 798si Si unit or save your waypoints on your computer; you need to get an SD card (the cable is not needed with this unit). We recommend the SanDisk brand.

Do you know what software version is on your 798ci Si unit now?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Humminbird_Greg

If you want to make Screen Snapshots, Sonar Recordings, update the software in your 798si Si unit or save your waypoints on your computer; you need to get an SD card (the cable is not needed with this unit). We recommend the SanDisk brand.

Do you know what software version is on your 798ci Si unit now?

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Not yet. I won't be getting it until tomorrow( weds, march 7th) Still won't know until I get power to the unit. Just doing my homework right now. Anything else that anyone can tell me will be much appreciated. Thanks Humminbird_Greg.CF

What is the purpose of having two SD slots on the 798? Do I need two cards?CF

I use the Navionics Premium map card for my region in 1 of the card slots...(the Contour XD base map preinstalled does not cover my home lake...)

The second slot I keep a blank SD card in just in case I want to make a snapshot or recording...

Rickie

The Recording feature of your unit is a very good learning tool...

When I first got my unit I would fish until about an hour before dark...
Then I would motor to a point about 1/2 mile from my launch ramp...
Then I would start a recording and record the entire stretch of bank all the way to the ramp...(without fishing)...
Then I would take that recording home and study it to learn SI image interpretation..
Playing the recording back even has the benenfit of marking waypoints on interesting structure shown on the recording...
I still have some of those first recordings I ever made...
I have an entire SD card dedicated just for saved recordings that I can study any time I want..
There is a "learning curve" to ascertain what different structure looks like...
Studying the recording at home is invaluable..(there are no distractions during study time this way)...
Rickie