Got my new Helix and Navionics

:biggrin First thing I was concerned with was to make sure the transducer would fit between the prop an keel on my trolling motor, like a hand in a glove. :) Next I got the transducer wire inside the power cord on my Minn Kota Power V2, down thru the the front compartment and up thru the hole in the deck. Then I Put the plug end up the the hole in the deck and the other end went down and got hooked up to the power supply. Plugged the the power and transducer wires in an.....What the?? After reading the manual, it seems they're almost making it mandatory that you register your unit. I have to get an SD card and go to their webpage, register, and then they will load my SD card which I then plug into the unit in order to make it work. If nothing else it had taught me a little more patients.:pray

My Helix worked without doing that.

You do not have to register or have a card. Just turn it on and it works. You need to register for warranty then need a card if you want to down load any updates but neither is mandatory to use the unit.

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Originally Posted by "G"

My Helix worked without doing that.

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When I turned it on, it couldn't find the sonar. I just went back, read and figured I'd need to load the program for sonar.

OK, OK, so I get it now. :Doh: There's a lot a buttons to push on this thing. I can see its gonna take awhile to get used to all these buttons and tabs. Can't wait to get to the lake now to see how it reacts on the water. Guys y'all were right, doesn't need a thing to get it going. :hesaid Thanks for making me check again.

Get on the lake turn it on.....hit menu and move curser with arrow buttons and press buttons.....everything will work.....I played with mine about thirty minutes and got it all set like I wanted it. Works great.

Russ, what you're experiencing is exactly why I was so late to get into the hi-tech electronics game. To put it bluntly....I didn't want to have to learn how to operate the confusing things! I finally let Dean and Rickie shame me into going with my 1st 788 then 898.

Rickie has a way of calming nerves down about the electronics. The 1st time he got in my boat to play with my 788 and 898 his 1st question was "What do you want it to do?" I guess that made me think about all the confusing stuff I had zero desire to learn or use. They put 100X more crap on those units for sales points than the average fisherman will ever want or need. You just need to decide what screens you want to use and get rid of all the clutter.

Now you need to do what I do when I get confused about my units--- call Rickie.

Oh Rickie! I haven't hit the lake yet and confused already. I'll have it down pat by November 6th, just in time for the tourney. Chaunc will you be down for a match up?

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Originally Posted by slabseeker1

Oh Rickie! I haven't hit the lake yet and confused already. I'll have it down pat by November 6th, just in time for the tourney. Chaunc will you be down for a match up?

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Right now, it doesn't look like i'll make it but hopefully that will change by October. And remember, i'm not the defending champ this year. I finished around fifth last year. We'll both be gunning for the champ.:biggrin :highfive

We could hold our own tournament �� how many hush puppies can you eat Chaunc?

Pressing Menu 1 time will bring up frequently used settings for the specific view that is showing ...

Pressing Menu 2 times will get into the main tabbed menu ...

The tabs at the top (they look like folder tabs) are the different categories controlling the unit ...

Use the 4way cursor left and right to highlight the tab you want to enter ...then use the 4way cursor up and down to highlight different menu settings under that tab category ...then use the 4way cursor to activate/control that highlighted menu setting ...

Use the "Exit" button to exit out of the menus ...

Once the menus are absent ...use the "View" and "Exit" buttons to scroll thru the available views ...

Sonar doesn't work thru air so you will need to be in the water to view any sonar screens in Normal mode ...

You can start the Simulator (while not on the water) and play with the settings because the Simulator is a recording hard coded into the unit for learning menu settings ...

To start the Simulator ...

*Power in the unit ...
*Press the "Menu" button when you see the HB logo screen ...
*Highlight "Simulator" from the popup window ...
*Cursor right to activate the Simulator ...
*Power off the unit to exit the Simulator ...

Ask questions ... We're here to help ...

Rickie

Are the screens easy to read on the si units? I'm a lIttle worried about the screen size.

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Originally Posted by endo2075

Are the screens easy to read on the si units? I'm a lIttle worried about the screen size.

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In my case, I have a Tracker Panfish Pro stick steer, so my unit is mounted in front of me. I'm not out there to watch the evening news, look down Oprah's cleavage, or count Hillary's wrinkles so for me its perfect. I'm interested in seeing whats under me, and the maps so I can follow the channels. The best part is it fits into my wife's budget :)

Crappie better beware. Ole Russ caught them good before hand, now gonna make it very rough on them with his new electronics.

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Originally Posted by badbrad

Crappie better beware. Ole Russ caught them good before hand, now gonna make it very rough on them with his new electronics.

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Soon as i decipher all them tabs an buttons :scratchhead School starts Friday morning on the lake.

I like the budget post also. I think it would help cover more water. I was just curious what kind of picture you got in the elements.

As you can see I'm not on the lake. To give you an idea of size and I guess you mean clarity when you said elements. In the end, you'll need to go see one on display for yourself so you can feel comfortable with the unit.Attachment 212300Attachment 212301

I love my helix unit...its got great clarity....I wish i had the helix 7 now!!