Thoughts on Helix 5

jettman96 said:

Actually you can remove the data bar.

Click to expand...

unless they are different than the core units, you cannot

you can remove some of them in some views like SI, but not in others. something we have asked for for years is proper overlayes, but you can only get that if you upgrade to an onix

one example

I did verify... it seems the only screen that you can remove the readouts is on the SI screen. When you remove it from the SI screen, there is a temp and depth overlay that remains but without the white box.

That's crazy that you can't remove it from other screens. Seems like it would be easy enough to add to the firmware.

Agreed. Thanks for the replies.

Well that was a bit of an upset. Austin Kayak just called to tell me that RAM Mount was supposed to deliver the Helix 5 Mounts this week but just got word that they won't get them until mid May... ugh.

I'm using some redneck ingenuity and working on a PVC mount. But I am curious if anyone can confirm if this thing will fit on a "universal" fishfinder mount.

I like the Balzout mount but it's pretty spendy and I'm not sure it will get here in time for my fishing trip next week.

Thanks,
Nik

Order directly from Ram?

Credit to Doug V



Rickie

I had a piece of 1/4 inch aluminum and marked the holes on the bracket and got the cheap standard ram mount and marked the holes on it drilled them out and bolted them together turned out pretty nice compared to my ram mount for my lowarance I have a picture but do not know how to upload

Ram shows it in preorder status for 1 April 2015. They also want $20 for shipping... I have a fundamental problem with that.

rnvinc said:

Credit to Doug V



Rickie

Click to expand...

Rickie,

Are those the mounting dimensions for the holes on the Gimball mount?

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

jettman96 said:

Rickie,

Are those the mounting dimensions for the holes on the Gimball mount?

Thanks for all the feedback guys!

Click to expand...

Those are actual screen size comparisons ...

Notice the pixel count is the same as the 800 and 900 series units ...

This means the pixel density is higher in the Helix ...(Pixels/square inch) ...

Here are the pixel densities of the core units ...

The 798 has 31,170.5 pixels per square inch.
The 898 has 17,533.4 pixels per square inch
The 998 has 12,755.7 pixels per square inch
The 1198 has 8,858.2 pixels per square inch

The Helix specs are ...:

480 x 800 = 384,000 total pixels
3" x 4.6" = 13.8" square inches (unverified)

384,000 divided by 13.8 = 27,826 pixels density per square inch ...

So the Helix pixel density resolution is almost as high as the 798 ...and higher that the 800/900/1100 series units ...

Rickie

Yea humminbird resolutions have never been much to write home about. Even the onix 10 is lower than several other 10 inch units like the garmin 7610xsv

What a great unit for my needs and application. Love the screen size. Can the transducer mount to a trolling motor without getting interference? If so does it come with the bracket for the trolling motor or is it sold separately ?

littlejon said:

What a great unit for my needs and application. Love the screen size. Can the transducer mount to a trolling motor without getting interference? If so does it come with the bracket for the trolling motor or is it sold separately ?

Click to expand...

For a TM application you would want to call HB before you installed the stock XNT 9 SI 180 T (Compact SI) (transom mount) and trade it for the XTM 9 SI 180 T (Compact SI) (TM puck) ...

The XTM 9 SI 180 T has the puck style housing that mounts directly to the foot of the TM and it has extra shielding for combatting TM EFI/RFI ...

http://www.humminbird.com/Products/XTM-9-SI-180-T/

The stock xducer eligible for trade must be unused ...

Rickie

The Helix is very good in my opinion as well.. Lake George/St. Johns River as it turns out is not a very good place to test the SI features of the Helix in my opinion. The places we went while we were there didn't hold a lot of structure and very flat bottoms and this time of year it seemed as though most of fish were very shallow (we caught all of our bream with our bait only about 12" under our bobbers and bass were tearing up the bottom of the lily pads). On top of all of that, I am an amateur at best when it comes to Fishfinders and especially SI.

That being said...

I was pleasantly surprised with the screen quality. Even with full sun light glaring on the screen it was less visible but it was still pretty decent. But I fully understand why a larger screen for the SI feature would be appreciated (for my needs it works fine).

I played with a lot of the settings to get the unit customized for my needs while trying to do a bunch of fishing and helping my little girl fish as well. Playing with the Helix played second fiddle to the trip.

I do wish I could change the icon for the vessel on the Navigation screen. That seems like a small deal but the icon is simply a red outline of boat shape. Which becomes difficult to see in certain light conditions.

I didn't get much time to play with the other settings for the Sonar, and DI features.

That's it for now but I'll try to add some more thoughts as time goes on and I can get some more fishing time.

I am going to put one on my boat this summer and move the bigger unit to the bow. I pretty much need it for the lake map and traditional sonar. Anyone know if the transducer port on the helix will accept the same transducer cables as the 999 series?

jerseycat9 said:

Anyone know if the transducer port on the helix will accept the same transducer cables as the 999 series?

Click to expand...

Yes the Helix can use the XHS 9 HDSI 180 T that comes standard with the 999 ...

The XHS 9 HDSI 180 T has SI frequency functionality for 455kHz and 800kHz ...but the Helix cannot utilize the 800kHz frequency because the Helix doesn't have the circuitry to transmit the 800kHz ...

The 455kHz frequency of the XHS 9 HDSI 180 T thru the Helix will render somewhat better SI detail than the stock XNT 9 SI 180 T because of the longer SI piezoes ... (Longer SI piezoes create a thinner SI beam = more detail) ...

Rickie

The helix is not listed on the newest south east lake master chip does it still work? Or did I just miss it

chewy32 said:

The helix is not listed on the newest south east lake master chip does it still work? Or did I just miss it

Click to expand...

http://www.humminbird.com/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=5730

Rickie