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just got the Hummingbird Helix 5 SI- never had nothing but old school broadband black & white sonar- tips or suggestions? afraid i got a big learning curve here! LOL! research i did said its pretty much a 7" 899 compacted to a 5" screen- heard a lota good stuff bout the 899s. :biggrin:scratchhead
Have you used it yet?
Just picked it up yesterday- Murphy's law probly gona be too cold to put on the boat this weekend- lol! Got my old unit moved to the bow last weekend tho so I'm ready to start installation as soon as it warms up !
Installation tips ...:
Installation & Networking Information Resource
Read ... Read ... Read ... :
http://www.crappie.com/crappie/side-...reting-images/
Watch ...:
https://m.youtube.com/user/imonbass
More...:
Instructional articles for Humminbird Side Imaging sonar units
Of course you can always ask questions here ... (Or PM me) ...
Rickie
well finally got everything mounted and got on the water with it with winter hanging on so long - went last monday & spent 6 hours on the water just playing with the helix- too cool - think im gona like this- just gona take a while to learn to interpret what all im seeing on the screen & then to fine tune the adjustments to see it better- going go tomorrow & fish this time ! LOL!
Learn to use the unit recording feature ...
Then review that recording at home when your not distracted by boats, waves, fish, pretty girls ... Etc ...
Reviewing the recordings on the unit at the same time as in Humviewer is invaluable for learning how to interpret what you're seeing on the display ...
HumViewer
Rickie
I just discovered sonar recording on my 899 and viewing it at home. Now I need to figure out how to mark waypoints on my map that match my sonar recording.
Why not just mark a waypoint on your unit while you are watching the sonar recording?
Great question, and my honest answer is I am not fast enough. I can't mark SI waypoints while traveling. When I stop the screen I need to stop the boat. At that rate I don't get anywhere. Besides that is why I want to record my sonar readings. I want to review it when I am off the water and have time to stop the playback, zoom in and get a better look, then decide it was worth marking as a waypoint. Also at that time I can name it, change the icon so I can find that spot while on the lake fishing. I won't waste my fishing time naming/changing icons/marking possible waypoints while traveling. I'm on the water one-two half days a week. Work during the weekday, and have time at night to review my sonar recordings.Quote:
Originally Posted by Humminbird_Greg
Take my 2 hour trip last weekend when I recorded my sonar to create my Lake Map via AutoChart Pro. I spent 4 hours reviewing the sonar playback and had about 25 or so spots I wanted to investigate in greater detail. Next time I am on that lake I will go fish those spots, at least find them again in down imaging to verify that it may be a good spot for another season (spring, fall, summer, etc.). The challenge I face now is marking those spots on my map so I can find them while on the water. Still looking for a method to mark waypoints while in ACP Sonar Playback. I'll check the other thread to see if there is a solution.
Hanr3 I think what Greg was meaning was playback your recording on the 899 after your trip and mark them then.Quote:
Originally Posted by Humminbird_Greg
That is what you were saying, right Greg?
I had my 798 HD for over a year and just started making recordings, I view them with Humviewer and mark the waypoints as I find structure or beds then I click at the top toolbar and click tools then show waypoints and print them. Next is just a matter of opening Humminbird PC and adding the waypoints and save to the SD card after im done. For the last year I was out looking for fish on the SI (wasting time I call it Now) then I ordered a DVD called the Technological angler volume 1...... not only did the dvd show me what I was looking at but also showed me functions and setting to help along the way, Now I look for structure and breeding beds and mark them as describe earlier. I never really knew how much info I could get from a SI/DI fish finding unit. I am not saying you need to buy the DVD... Im just saying how it help me with the learning curve.
Humminbird Greg can you help me out with depth when i add a waypoint? when I manually enter a waypoint the only info i cant edit is depth 0.0 is all it will show.
Are you printing your Humviewer waypoints and manually entering them into HBPC ... ??Quote:
Originally Posted by DCottrell
You can export the Humviewer waypoints as a .gpx file that can be opened directly with HBPC ...
*In Humviewer choose "File/Export" ... Change the "File Type" at the bottom to "Humminbird .gpx" and save it to somewhere you can find it with HBPC ...
Rickie
After feedback on another thread, that may be the option I choose. However I will buy another power cord and 12v battery. Bring the unit in the house and review/mark from the comfort of my recliner. Kind of defeats the purpose of a SD Card though. The recording is captured on the card, bring the card into the house and plug it into the HumminBird PC program. Then upload your waypoints. However it appears HumminBird does not have a sonar player on the HB PC program. So you have to watch it on the unit, mark the waypoints, then take the card out of the unit, climb out of the boat in the garage, and plug it into your pc. But if I am marking the waypoints on the unit, why do I have the pc program? To change names and icons? There are third party companies providing the sonar viewer, however its not a simple process to get those waypoints onto the map card either. I think HB has a great product, they just need to close the loop and provide a complete product. The HB PC program must have the capability to review sonar recordings and mark waypoints from that review. Without it, they are missing the biggest benefit for recording SI. I think it's ridiculous for HB to expect their customer to sit in the boat at home to review sonar recordings, or drag the head unit into the house. Sorry, I got this thread off track and for venting a bit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rprince80
I appreciate the feedback Rprince80.
I have found it very beneficial to play the recording back on the unit at the same time as viewing in Humviewer ...
This gives 2 tools to inspect and interpret "points of interest" found in either ...
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Exporting waypoints out of Humviewer is as simple as choosing "File/Export" - changing the "File Type" to "Humminbird .gpx" - and saving the file somewhere you can open it directly with HBPC ...
Rickie
Rick, yes I was putting them in manually, I tried the upload and could'nt find it, I missed the step on renaming the file, Thanks for the info. I will give that a try.
Ricky just tried and I cannot open the file with Humminbird PC, It saves from Humviewer and I rename it Humminbird.gpx but when I open humminbird PC I can not find it where I saved the file.
http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/r...pspw93zrpw.jpgQuote:
Originally Posted by DCottrell
Rickie
Did you save the file to somewhere you can find it ...??Quote:
Originally Posted by DCottrell
My pic above shows this one would save to "My Documents" ...
Rickie
Ricky, this is crazy... I save it to desktop and changed the file name, message says saved successfully, Minimize humviewer and No file saved to desktop, tried many time with different names, Check the default file location my documents and nothing there either.
Create a new blank folder on the desktop then save it to the folder.
Created new folder and clicked file export then changed file format and created a name, Click save to new folder and saved successfully, open folder and its empty..... sorry to hijack the thread, guess i will need to play around with it, Thanks for the help fellas
I just checked my Humviewer export and it's doing the same as you ...
Like Bill said ... Create a folder on your desktop ...
Then in Humviewer choose "File/Export" ...and find this folder ...and choose this new folder in the upper "Save In" drop down box ...
Then name the file at the bottom and change the file type to "Humminbird .gpx" ...
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It's odd the .gpx file gets saved to my desktop even when I choose the new folder I just created ... But it does open correctly in HBPC ...now that I can find it on my desktop ...
I'm not sure why Humviewer is not putting the .gpx file where I tell it to ...
Rickie
Tried again with new folder and it worked, Thanks for the help. this will diffidently save some time typing everything in. Thanks for the help.
Did Humviewer put the .gpx file in the new folder for you or reside it on the desktop ...??Quote:
Originally Posted by DCottrell
Rickie
Resided it to the side, from there humminbird PC could get the upload, I do have to wait a min. After saving it for the reside
My apologies to hunter for side tracking his thread ...
Rickie
Yes, that is what I was meaning.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rprince80
If you are manually entering the waypoints you cannot add a water depth. There is a way to do this but it requires the older version of HumminbirdPC (which i just figured out io no longer have on my new PC...) and converting the water depth to centimeters. I don't know of any other way of doing this. You may just want to mark the waypoint now and then go to the waypoint while on the water and mark anotrher waypoint at that time which will have the water depth, then delete the one you manually entered.Quote:
Originally Posted by DCottrell
Thanks Greg, the export seemed to get all the info in. But it is good to know that the depth cannot be added to a manual input waypoint.
Sorry Hunter Again I did not mean to hijack your thread but hopefully you can use some of the info shared. The learning curve was steep for me hope you can get quick use of the humminbird features, it's truly amazing
LOL! not a problem- been a good read- see how much i got to learn yet- was reading in helix manual bout recording and it says must do it to a non-supplied micro sd - question- i dont see that but one will fit in the head so to record i gota switch cards? if thats the case ill never do it - aint taking the chance on losing that $150 navonics one on the water with my big fingers- ive seen crappie scales bigger than that durn thing! lol!
Not too familiar with the Helix units, My 798ci HD SI has 2 SD slots, I almost bought a 598 unit with one slot and yes to save recordings you had to remove the lake card if installed first and put in another card to record too. (guess the one slot would have been good though the area I live in has yet to be mapped..... so a lakemaster or navionics card would be a waste)
I agree it would be a chore to change cards anytime you wanted to make a recording on the fly ...Quote:
Originally Posted by hunter1314
When I first started with my 1197 ...one of my common practices was to quit fishing about one hour before dark...
I would then motor to a point away from the boat ramp about 1/4 mile down the same bank as the boat ramp...
Then I would start recording and record the entire bank from that point all the way to the boat ramp...
Then (when I got home)... I could load that recording into the Unit and Humviewer and study my recording without the interruptions of fishing and such...(marking waypoints as I progressed thru the recording)...
Then I could verify those waypoints the next time I was fishing that same area...
Studying the recording at home is such a great learning tool in sonar interpretation ...not to mention the experience in learning waypoint management thru Humviewer and HBPC and "HBPC to head unit transfers"...
Rickie