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I think I have decided I am gone order me a humminbird helix 9 for my new to me boat. I was wondering if anybody has one of these helix units and if you need the lake map navionics chip to go along with it. On the navionics it doesn't say the specifically have the maps to fit a helix but I am assuming that it is not listed because the helix is a newer unit. Under the specifications of the depth finder it just says preloaded contour maps. If anyone has any answers to this please let me know.
Roland, I have the Helix 5 and the built in map sucks. No detail or contours at all. I have it on my TM and the Lowrance HDS 7 on the transom. I have a chip in the 7 and I am planning to put one in the Helix.
I have a helix 5 SI , and I use hotmaps that a buddy has on his older units. Check the compatibility list at the humminbird sote, its different per unit. The 9 series im sure is much more equipped than my 5 series, some of the units have the autochart live feature which lets you map the contours in real time.
Sorry, I can't say! My brother Wayne just got the Helix 9 and has not put it on. I'll try to speed him up so we'll all know. I liked the demo it has.
I have a helix 9 si and I run a navionics platinum in mine and love it diff get the card for it
As someone already said, the map that comes loaded in the unit is not good. You will likely need or want either the Navionics maps or the Humminbird LakeMaster maps. Both are good. If you only fish one or two lakes, you may want to look at the Humminbird ChartSelect where you can buy individual lake maps. Each lake map is about $30 but you can only put one map per SD card so you need a different card for each lake.
Thanks yall, got a helix 5 DI unit and ordered a helix 9 combo today!
I got the Lakemaster map for the Southeast for my Helix 7. Great detail and features that allow you to select different types of water and change their color. I make the shallow water red (too skinny to troll) and the ideal water (8 to 16) green so I can stay off the shoals easily. Also has lake offset so you can make the contours accurate based on the elevation of the lake (over full or drought low).
The helix 5 is not able to hook to the helix 9 if you di don't to hook them up so they share weigh points and other info
I HAVE A HELIX 7 AND I BOUGHT A LAKEMASTER CHIP CHEAPER
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