Hummingbird 788 questions

I am planning to buy a 788 for the bow of my boat and was wondering if
I should get it with the internal or external GPS antenna. the salesman at
Cabellas claims the model with internal antenna wil not be prone to interference from digital trolling motors. I would like to know if performance
is better with the external one and if anyone has had problems with either type. I would also like to know who has the best prices on this unit. I have
a promotional card from Cabellas that will give me a 150.00 gift card if I buy
it there but if I saved enough online and saved the taxes it may still be
better to consider getting it elsewhere. I would also like to know if GPS
speed is reliable at speeds I would use while longlining.
THANKS

I have a 788 with external antenna on my bow and have had ZERO issues with interference from my Power Drive with co-pilot and auto-pilot. I have also not had any issues with speed fluctuations like some 788 guys with internal antenna. I got mine off eBay for less than $500 shipped.

It's probably not an issue at longlining speeds but the HB GPS has issues at slower speeds....below 0.5mph

While the digital readout is fairly accurate...the directional boat icon on the map turns into the "dreaded donut" below 0.5mph.....this is the icon that HB has designated for when the unit does know it is still moving....

There's beem lots of discussion on this "donut" and why HB can't seem to listen to it's customer base and fix this simple issue...

From what I understand: trolling motor interference normally gets into the unit from either the transducer or the power cables and not the GPS; so I don’t know where the salesman at Cabella’s got their information from. For the best performance I like the external GPS Receiver but in most instances either will work well.

Best price I found was Just4Electronics!, Your Electronics Super Store $498.20 for the internal and $528.06 for external. Price includes shipping. I bought the internal and have now problems with in on the bow.

I have a 788 with internal GPS on the bow, hooked to a Terrova with US2 with i-pilot, interlinked to a 998 at the console. I've had no, zero, not any problems with interference or anything else. Good product. Good service.

The GPS should provide no interference. It's a power issue. You might have issues, and should call HB anyway and get the interference kit if possible. The GPS issue is just an HB issue. It's well documented on here. Maybe they'll come out with a GPS kit soon.....:confused:

If you have the latest software and the GPS receiver hooked direct to the unit or internal receiver model you will get 4x a second GPS Refresh rate.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Doug Vahrenberg

If you have the latest software and the GPS receiver hooked direct to the unit or internal receiver model you will get 4x a second GPS Refresh rate.

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That is said every time. So can we get the official response to the question, "Does this correct the issue with the donut always coming up when you are trying to sit on one spot"?????? I had this exact unit, and the update that was supposed to fix the "GPS problem" but still couldn't sit on a spot without the donut coming up, and if you couldn't tell where you were in relation to your waypoint. Then you have to troll with some speed away from the spot and come back.

I'm all for supporting your sponsor, but tell the whole story please. Most can allow for some error when running down the lake, but this is a crappie website and a lot of people want to fish structure without moving. The HB donut makes this very difficult.

The 4x per second software update does not affect the usage of the “donut”. All it was supposed to address was the slow response rate of the GPS – which it did. We use the donut to show that the GPS Receiver does not think that the boat is moving. If we did not use the donut than we would just be showing a ‘best-guess’ as to the direction that your boat is pointing as without movement the GPS cannot determine the direction of movement of the boat.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Humminbird_Greg

The 4x per second software update does not affect the usage of the “donut”. All it was supposed to address was the slow response rate of the GPS – which it did. We use the donut to show that the GPS Receiver does not think that the boat is moving. If we did not use the donut than we would just be showing a ‘best-guess’ as to the direction that your boat is pointing as without movement the GPS cannot determine the direction of movement of the boat.

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So this explains the flaw with the programming. I can have an HB unit sitting next to a lowrance unit and I never lose where I am with the Lowrance unit.

Where I am is way more important then what direction I'm moving, when I'm not really moving.

Since the transmissions from the satelites move at the speed of light, it shouldn't be too difficult to determine your location. Every time someone complains about the GPS, you'll see a mention of the 4x per second update. It's a canned answer that means nothing. I was always able to run wide open and know where I was, even before that update.

The “donut” does not indicate that the unit does not know where you are; it only indicates that it does not know the direction of travel for the boat. If the unit did not know where you were it would give a message like GPS not responding or something like that.

The faster GPS refresh rate does help at slower boat speeds (above about 0.5mph) as it will show a change in the direction that your boat is moving far quicker than the slower GPS refresh rate did. This was more of a concern for Crappie fishermen than Bass or Walleye fishermen and often the two issues got intertwined in a post.

Sorry Lowe Rider. Did not mean to highjack your original questions here.

Don't worry about hijacking the thread, I figure any info about the unit is good info.

I just placed my order with Just4electronics for a 788c with the external antenna.
I decided to buy from them rather than pay more at Cabella's just to get the $150.00
gift card, from cabella's it would have ended up about $655.00 total and online it was
$528.00. While I'm sure I could have found something at Cabella's to spend the gift card
on I figured I'd rather pay less now instead of being commited to having to use the gift
card in the future.
Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for all the responses to my questions and for the
info on Just4electronics.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Humminbird_Greg

The “donut” does not indicate that the unit does not know where you are; it only indicates that it does not know the direction of travel for the boat. If the unit did not know where you were it would give a message like GPS not responding or something like that.

The faster GPS refresh rate does help at slower boat speeds (above about 0.5mph) as it will show a change in the direction that your boat is moving far quicker than the slower GPS refresh rate did. This was more of a concern for Crappie fishermen than Bass or Walleye fishermen and often the two issues got intertwined in a post.

Sorry Lowe Rider. Did not mean to highjack your original questions here.

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I fish somewhat similar to how the Crappie guys fish ie stationary over small brush piles, drop shotting and spoon fishing vertically. Greg is 100% correct. If your not moving GPS has no way of knowing your direction. The donut (circle) just shows your location and that you are stationary and doesn't know your line of travel. Once you move the arrow comes back up and shows your direction of movement. The circle simply just shows that you are stationary.