899 hd si question relating to down imaging

Hello everyone. I am pretty new to this forum but frequent plenty of forums so I know asking opinions can be hazardous. I am going to be buying either the 899 or a hds 7 touch. I have been pulling my hair out for days trying to decide. The things I keep reading is that the 899 is great at side scanning but seriously lacking in down imaging. Thing is these are all old articles from 2010ish-2013ish. Has hb gotten the down imaging improved? I can see images of the hds via Google and they are absolutely stunning. There do no seem to be near as many great images on Google from the 899. Is there that much difference in the two presently?

The 899 uses the compact transducer first, second bird uses the side imaging returns to computer generate the down imaging. The Lowrance units use a dedicated DI crystal for down which gives you a much better picture. Now if down is all you want the birds with the down only transducer give a picture that is comparable to the Low. I said all that to say this, if you want DI and SI but DI is your priority then I would go with the Lowrance. And I run a 998 so not biased one way or another.

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Originally Posted by cray

The 899 uses the compact transducer first, second bird uses the side imaging returns to computer generate the down imaging. The Lowrance units use a dedicated DI crystal for down which gives you a much better picture. Now if down is all you want the birds with the down only transducer give a picture that is comparable to the Low. I said all that to say this, if you want DI and SI but DI is your priority then I would go with the Lowrance. And I run a 998 so not biased one way or another.

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Well Cray there lies my issue. I have been boatless for about 8 years and holy cow the technology has changed! I am not 100% sure what I want or even need for that matter. I have a 16' v bottom with a tiller. There is a foot controlled trolling motor as well. For the time being, I will only have one finder in the boat so I need it to do it all. I fish Missouri lakes and usually fish summertime standing timber. I want to learn how to find and catch suspended fish this year so I can fish year round.

I have the 899 and I have no issues with the DI. I bought the higher end HD transducer that gives me a better overall scan. I'm not too sure about Lowrance but why would SO many people buy Humminbird if their DI was sub par to Lowrance? I don't think Lowrance gives you a DI advantage over Humminbird so it comes down to your choice as I see it. I will be buying a new Helix unit for $500 to go on the front of my boat to add to my 899. After I get that unit then I am going to look at getting the new Ulterra trolling motor then i will be set!
Good luck

I think it would really help you out, if you could find someone locally on crappie.com that would take you for a ride, and show you the Ffinders in action! I am running HB fish finders and love them. I personally think it is a Ford/Chevy thing, either one will get the job done.

Kickingback I didn't realize that there was a higher end transducer. I will look into that.

One thing you need to do first is figure out what your budget is. When you do that then you can back into a unit that would be suitable for you. I agree with Kicknback, the new Helix unit looks like it is going to be hard to beat for the price. Seriously thinking about getting one to put on trolling motor.

humminbird has an exchange program to upgrade to the "high end transducer".. all you gotta do it is call humminbird customer service send the compact back and request the HD transducer.. all your required is to pay the shipping!!! I done this and the images on both down and side imaging are three times better.. hope this helps

tlmorrow88, I contacted them and they wanted $90 to ship the HD to me to replace. I figured that if new regular transducer only cost less than $200 I decided to keep that transducer as well and put it on my TM. When I get my new unit I will sell the transducer that comes with it as it will be the same or I will try to find someone selling just the unit and get it cheaper I hope.

I just went and looked at Bass Pro. Both very nice looking machines!! I gotta tell you I love that touch screen on the Lowrance HDS-8 but it is not a deal breaker. The guy behind the counter was pretty helpful and I walked away from there feeling like if you learn how to use them, they will both make a great machine. I think I am probably going to go with the 899 simply for the ability to talk to the Minn Kota trollers when I upgrade my troller this summer.