New HB 598ci SI HD, 1st trip, 1st impressions
I took my new HB out for a test drive today. I thought I'd share some observations about it.
1. I wish I had bought a color FF to start out with; it just seems easier to see things over the grayscale.
2. SI will take some time to learn. I took lots of snapshots to look at things that I saw.
3. I can see where the larger the screen the better the viewing but for basic small water viewing I think this is going to work just fine for me.
4. Switching color palettes does make a difference but I'm not sure which is the best for seeing the details yet.
5. I didn't expect to see my oar strokes in the monitor but I do, in both SI and DI. That surprised me. I may have to rethink my plan as they interfere with interpreting the data that's on screen. If I row backwards, they don't show nearly as bad 'cause the 'ducer is ahead to them enough in the other direction.
I swapped around the heads in my portable case and mounted the new transducer to the suction cup mount so my whole package is just the same as what is was with the 570 DI. I didn't have to make anything and its easy to tote and set up just like before.
I still have lots more reading to do now that I've tried it out under actual conditions and not just the simulator.
The sensitivity and the contrast really need to be adjusted together to get the better returns and I found myself constantly fiddling with those 2 settings. The pond I was on today is a soft bottom for the most part and I found myself turning the sensitivity way up, probably too high.
Bottom line, I'm glad I bought it!
