Humminbird side imaging?

[musella]

Hi. I just purchased a new boat (Caravelle 23'walkaround) and am picking out the electronics. Specifically a combo fishfinder/gps.<br /><br /> I looked at all of the different ones and came across the new humminbird 987SI<br /> http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=512 <br /><br />It has something called side imaging. The website looks great, but wondering if it really works in the real world??<br /> <br /> How come no other manufacturer does side imaging? Looks like a great feature.<br /> I never thought of humminbirsd as an innovator<br /><br />I will be fishing the NY bight - and plan on fishing a lot of wrecks in the 50-200 foot depths.

 

[JB]

Re: Humminbird side imaging?

Side imaging came (Sidefinder) and went several years ago, Musella. Sounded like a great idea but of very little use.<br /><br />I wasted some bux on a sidefinding accessory for a Lowrance. Used it twice and took it off.<br /><br />Interphase has been marketing a system that images forward for several years. SIL has one. Ho hum.<br /><br />For a combo unit my first choice would be Garmin, followed by Lowrance.<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[musella]

Re: Humminbird side imaging?

It also has a nice 7" color display at 480 x 854 pixels.. so even without side scanning it looks good. The user interface is also much easier than the old Eagle combo I had.<br /><br />As far as usage, when wreck fishing, location is everything. Even moving 10 feet can make a big difference. Side scanning sounds ideal to find the best part of the wreck to anchor on..<br /><br /> look at this image from thier website:<br /><br />

<br /><br />also - when fishing over a school of fish, you would be able to tell which direction they are moving.. otherwise it is a guess.

 

[jtexas]

Re: Humminbird side imaging?

Interesting image, looks kind of like a lunar landing to me. Lots of pixels, though, great imaging.<br /><br />At 50 to 200 feet, aren't you getting a cone diameter in the neighborhood of 15 to 65 feet? Will this side scanner look around corners & over at the other side of the wreck?<br /><br />sorry, don't mean to be a smart-***, really just wondering.<br /><br />jtw

 

[musella]

Re: Humminbird side imaging?

I just bought it an will get the boat next week. I will let you know how it goes.<br /><br /> Theoretically, it can image 150 feet to each side. The transducer is big.. it actually has 50 and 200khz elements pointing straight down, as most fishfinders do.. then it has 262khz and 455 khz elements pointing sideways, on each side.. so it is like having 6 transducers.

 

[musella]

Re: Humminbird side imaging?

I had it for a few weeks now. Overall, I am pretty happy with it. The GPS is fantastic compared to my last one (an Eagle monochrome with a small screen and a bizzare user interface). This one is very easy to use and to see (with navionics chart).<br /> The side scanning sonar works pretty well. Better than I expected. I was able to see which side of the boat had the most fish and cast or drive that way. I also mapped out the remains of an old bridge that I knew existed but never fully appreciated how huge it was - I will be striper fishing it soon<br /><br /> It is also pretty good at reading the bottom at high speed.<br /><br /> I only had 3 small problems..<br /> It has problems at very shallow depths.. like under 3 feet.. you can manually turn down the sensitivity and it works, but the automatic sensitivity obviously wasn't designed for shallow water- which is when you need it the most.<br /><br /> And one time, as I was pushing the buttons maybe too fast, it rebooted itself. It only happened that once, but it takes away a tad of confidence.<br /><br /> And finally, they have a really stupid promotion.. when you buy it, you get a free (by mail) barametric pressure sensor and a free enhanced mount for the unit - which is much more adjustable. The only problem: it took 3 weeks to get, about 2 1/2 weeks after the unit was installed. It would have been much easier if I had these things when the unit was installed.<br /><br /> Anyone else have one yet?