New boat electronics

Hey just wanting some input on new FF for my boat. Going to by a new boat and it has a minn kota ulterra on the front. I was wanting to put a 9 or 10 inch Helix humminbird on the dash. Just wondering what you guys would put up front by the trolling motor. Going to be using it for spider rigging and spot fishing structure. Looking at a 9 inch up front but wondering if I need the side imagining or can a person go with a cheaper model that would do everything I need and still get the job done. I know I need the GPS on it. Thanks in advance.

I am no expert but when I asked these same questions a year ago I went with a 10 SI on the dash and a 10 DI on the front. I like the big screen up front, especially when single pole fishing and moving around the deck. I believe if you put SI up there you would not want it mounted on the TM because it will blur the image when turning the TM.


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Just my opinion, and what I talked my father-in-law into.... I would consider the Helix 10 DI for the bow unit. Don't open the transducer packet that comes with the unit, call Humminbird and swap it for the trolling motor version this is supposed to be more shielded to "help" prevent interference. The 9 and the 10 are exactly the same size, only the actual screen is smaller, so the 9 does not save space. It is cheaper.... however, the screen is clearer on the 10 because the pixel count is higher. My father-in-law already had a Helix 10 SI at his console, so he is used to that screen/clarity already. The DI version of the transducer is supposed to produce a better image than the SI transducer that "blends" the two sides together in the middle to give you a down image.

I would put the 10 SI at the dash. It comes with the upgraded transducer already and as I said before, the screen clarity is better than the 9. If you choose the 9 for the dash, I would still opt to upgrade to the better transducer. If you haven't thought about it, I would also consider adding a AS GPS HS (heading sensor/gps) antenna to your rig. It works so much better if you fish off shore structure like brush piles. It will always show the correct position of your boat on your map, and show the direction your boat is pointing. This will keep the map from spinning around when you are sitting still or the wind is slowly drifting you. I wish this antenna could be shared the heading sensor with both units like you can do with Lowrance, but you can not with these units and you would need one for each graph if you wanted it. I would recommend it at both units though. You could also go with the heading sensor antenna on the bow unit since a lot of your slower idling time will be there and put a regular antenna on the back of the boat as close to being above your transom transducer as you reasonably can. Your waypoints marked at the console will be more accurate than if using the internal gps of the console unit. ALL this stuff is expensive and confusing sometimes, but get the biggest screen you can to start with.

Joe

Thanks guys. That is what I wanted to know.

Update on fish finders. Thanks to the great advice and Brian at BBG marine. I purchased a helix 10 g2n gps for the bow and a Helix 9 mega chirp g2n for the console. I also made my choice on the boat, I ordered a lund 1875 sport with the crappie option yesterday. Now to wait for the boat to get here. 8 weeks will be a long time. I went with the plain 10 at the bow to reduce cost and the 9 mega at the console to reduce cost also. I did get the heading antenna for the bow unit. Thanks again

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Originally Posted by Marine4life

I am no expert but when I asked these same questions a year ago I went with a 10 SI on the dash and a 10 DI on the front. I like the big screen up front, especially when single pole fishing and moving around the deck. I believe if you put SI up there you would not want it mounted on the TM because it will blur the image when turning the TM.


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If fish were suspended say 8 feet or so
Wouldn't side scan bee nice up front ?

To see those out to the side and cast to them??

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Originally Posted by Machine

If fish were suspended say 8 feet or so
Wouldn't side scan bee nice up front ?

To see those out to the side and cast to them??

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I think side scan would be great up front. But in order to get a clear image you would probably want to have a mount independent of the TM. I also have not been able to tell how deep a fish is if they are out a ways from the boat.
I personally like the DI view because I don't often cast unless it is to known structure. The DI gives me a better view for the vertical fishing style. I do regularly switch the view on my front DI unit to the SI view using my SI TD (networked units) to look under barges and docs. I think that is pretty cool doing this from the front of the boat.

Although With the HB Gen 2 and an independent mount up front I would say you get it all since the Gen 2 SI also has dedicated DI.
You could probably get the best of both worlds and buy the 360. I don't have any experience with 360 though. Getting way out of my experience level here.


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I got my SI up front and DI at console works good for me.