# Humminbird or Garmin



## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I have a Crestliner FishHawk 18.5 currently it has a humminbird 889 installed however the headunit is in canada from the person I purchased it from and I really want to use my electronics, I have a buddy that's trying to talk me into upgrading to a helix 7si unit.
I've made a few calls to check pricing and have been told Garmin is better then humminbird for si/di usage so now i'm between a hard place need some input. I will mostly be using these to target crappie with the occupational usage on erie for eyes

the garmin unit i was told to look at is the 7sv gt54 for $719

I also see bass pro and cabelas have the 7sv gt52 units on sale what's the difference between them?


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

we're can't really answer the difference on those two units but I have the 93 and a 94 SV with a GT 54 I believe transducer and it outperforms any other unit that I've used


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## MuskyFan (Sep 21, 2016)

I have 3 Humminbird units -- 2 Helix 9's an d1 Helix 10. All Mega, 2 SI and one GPS. The 10 lost its SI recently and I'm torn between having HB repair it ($400) or getting a new Garmin, Garmin has made great strides in SI and now rivals HB from the units I've seen on display. Livescope is something I'm interested in and can't get by repairing the HB. I'm leaning toward the Garmin at the moment but as with anything electronic, it is obsolete before you buy it. 

I like the HB's but can't justify the repair cost for a 3+ yr old unit.


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

MuskyFan said:


> I have 3 Humminbird units -- 2 Helix 9's an d1 Helix 10. All Mega, 2 SI and one GPS. The 10 lost its SI recently and I'm torn between having HB repair it ($400) or getting a new Garmin, Garmin has made great strides in SI and now rivals HB from the units I've seen on display. Livescope is something I'm interested in and can't get by repairing the HB. I'm leaning toward the Garmin at the moment but as with anything electronic, it is obsolete before you buy it.
> 
> I like the HB's but can't justify the repair cost for a 3+ yr old unit.



I agree about the live scope that’s why I was leaving to the garmin and having the pre loaded maps on garmin is very nice no extra fees


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## Muskeye (Apr 12, 2004)

Take it from experience. Get the biggest screen you can afford. I have the 7 and wished I had gone bigger.


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

Wish I had unlimited funds I would however Funds are not that way so I have to go with a7 unless I find a banging deal


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

wis2ohio said:


> Wish I had unlimited funds I would however Funds are not that way so I have to go with a7 unless I find a banging deal


Go to Garmin direct, best prices I've found , saved hundreds


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

So far bbgmarine is the cheapest. 
$720 for the echomap 73sv tg54


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

wis2ohio said:


> So far bbgmarine is the cheapest.
> $720 for the echomap 73sv tg54


Dig deeper....


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

I paid as little as 599 for a 93sv and I paid as much as 1100 just got to look around and shop finding the best deals usually requires a lot of research and if you want to save money go with last year's model which is just as damn good as this year's model in my opinion


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

Wish bass pro and cabelas still has their units that are on sale they are last years garmin models buy all sold out


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

Garmin direct , Amazon and eBay , look around daily , you'll find a deal if not in a hurry


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## s.a.m (Feb 22, 2016)

Spring or fall bass pro has the sale


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## Redheads (Jun 9, 2008)

Bought plenty of stuff here with ZERO issues and haven't found what i was looking for any place cheaper
https://g.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/1639/Garmin-Marine.html


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

Redheads said:


> Bought plenty of stuff here with ZERO issues and haven't found what i was looking for any place cheaper
> https://g.factoryoutletstore.com/cat/1639/Garmin-Marine.html


Ditto !!!!


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## wasserwolf (Jun 6, 2006)

s.a.m said:


> Spring or fall bass pro has the sale


He's right... Last 2 years Cabelas has had the Garmin93SV on sale for $ 599 ! I jumped all over that. Being installed right now on new boat.


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

If I can find the 93sv for that I will get 2 units


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## wasserwolf (Jun 6, 2006)

If I can find the 93sv for that I will get 2 units

I should of mentioned , this has been a Black Friday sale the last 2 years, 2 years ago it was in store only. A friend of mine made the drive and got his then.... Last year it extended to on-line sales... It was a no brainer for me. Good luck !


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## s.a.m (Feb 22, 2016)

Two years ago it was a Jan/Feb. sale I got mine from. Last year was a Dec. sale I saw them. 
Gander outdoors had them also


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## jcoholich (Feb 12, 2014)

The gamin units with the navionics preloaded maps are a great deal! You can do almost everything you do on the app with the unit


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## joekacz (Sep 11, 2013)

wis2ohio said:


> If I can find the 93sv for that I will get 2 units


Go to West Marine web site,last day 6/21, $300 off Garmin.


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## allwayzfishin (Apr 30, 2008)

Saw bass pro sent out a flyer for Father’s Day.
Garmin 73sv plus for $499


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

allwayzfishin said:


> Saw bass pro sent out a flyer for Father’s Day.
> Garmin 73sv plus for $499


I just got the Garmin 1242 with Livescope, i love the si and detail compared to my HB 999 its no contest. However i just cant read the livescope or see my jig most of the time i hope its just a setting. Cant help to think i wasted my money.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

Katfich25 said:


> I just got the Garmin 1242 with Livescope, i love the si and detail compared to my HB 999 its no contest. However i just cant read the livescope or see my jig most of the time i hope its just a setting. Cant help to think i wasted my money.


I've read a lot of headaches about the livescope and update glitches but once guys get them dialed in and the updates straightened out they love them but for my style fishing livescope just isn't needed


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I found a garmin 93sv GT54 uhd for $959 and a 106sv GT54 uhd for $1799


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I’ve heard LiveScope is way better than the 360 for suspended fish so I’m leaving to garmin for that reason plus they are touch screen and I don’t have to purchase a separate map chip


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

if anyone that knows about the Livescope and wants to show me about this unit i will appreciate it and even willing to pay for a lesson.


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

Katfich25 said:


> if anyone that knows about the Livescope and wants to show me about this unit i will appreciate it and even willing to pay for a lesson.


if you’re on Facebook add the garmin group and all those ppl will get you fixed up


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

I did get the unit without touch screen, told its quicker, and screen wont get messed up.


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

i'm not into Facebook. Never have


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

How much faster is it without and with touch screen


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

wis2ohio said:


> How much faster is it without and with touch screen


I have both the touchscreen is not much faster at all and all you end up doing is getting a bunch of fingerprints on the screen I prefer my non-touchscreen unit


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

I was told the non touch is quicker, and playing with it, it is quicker than my HB unit.


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

Katfich25 said:


> I just got the Garmin 1242 with Livescope, i love the si and detail compared to my HB 999 its no contest. However i just cant read the livescope or see my jig most of the time i hope its just a setting. Cant help to think i wasted my money.


The factory mount has an eight degree ‘cant’ or tilt. It’s there to deal with the barrel of trolling motor. This alternative adapter helps. 
https://summitfishingequipment.com/products/livescope-transducer-90-degree-mount


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks for the info, i ordered one. Hope this helps with the issue. I appreciate that!!


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

dgfidler said:


> The factory mount has an eight degree ‘cant’ or tilt. It’s there to deal with the barrel of trolling motor. This alternative adapter helps.
> https://summitfishingequipment.com/products/livescope-transducer-90-degree-mount
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Do you have the Livescope? if so hows your pic?


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

Just be aware you are working with a 20 degree cone that’s ‘aimable’. For vertical jigging, the cone is very small if you’re in 8 fow compared to wider at 16 ft. In 16ft, you might be able to see your jig plus your partners jig. When casting, you might see a crankbait 40 ft away and it might disappear as it gets closer depending whether you’re reeling in exactly on the axis the transducer is pointed. The classic application of this is vertical jigging for crappie. You see the brush pile on your SI, examine it with the Livescope to determine if it’s worth fishing, then move in with long pole and vertical jig for individual fish with boat held 8-10 ft off the pile depending on how long your pole is. It’s fun to video game fish, but I think for better fisherman, knowing the depth and general location of fish is plenty of information to get em (or not you’ll find) without watching the fish bite on screen. It’s so well suited for crappie fishing that I’d recommend taking that up as a new hobby if you currently don’t fish for them. 

Livescope excels in identifying suspended fish. You can also see bottom hugging fish as humps that are moving. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

I am a crappie guy, that's what i got it for. My thinking was just to use it to locate larger fish and then "don't use it" and fish for them. But after seeing some videos i like to see my jig but i not able to see it any further than 5-6 feet from the boat. I can see swimming fish so i know it's working. I hope the mount will help my direction better. Thanks for any help.


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

Using it in forward view with a 12 ft crappie pole will get you where you want to be. Enjoy!! I taki to you’ve seen the video where they guy spots the big fish and using his TM, brings his jig to the fish and gets it. That mount will help and using a longer pole to get just a little wider cone at rod tip are the keys to you repeating that. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Katfich25 (Jun 30, 2012)

Thanks,


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I am going to pull the trigger on garmin today I think. 
93sv gt54 uhd and 102 sv uhd for crappie and saugeye and use it during ice fishing season


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## dgfidler (Sep 22, 2014)

wis2ohio said:


> I am going to pull the trigger on garmin today I think.
> 93sv gt54 uhd and 102 sv uhd for crappie and saugeye and use it during ice fishing season


I bought mine originally for ice. Had a trip planned for Lake Erie two winters ago and justified buying it to avoid spending $800 on the top of the line Vex. Still haven’t been on the ice yet! This year we even expanded our range to include Saginaw Bay. Hopefully this winter we’ll get out. I went so far in prep for last season to buy a second head unit and networking; the plan was to have one Livescope supporting two shanties with the holes drilled in a line. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

I have a vex fl18 duel beam works amazing for its age.

I’ve been on Erie once ice fishing was fun but also scary feeling the ice shift and pop all the time


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## wis2ohio (Jan 20, 2012)

Well I went to purchase the units and it was more then my wallet could take, I came home and someone offered a humminbird Helix 10si/di g3n unit for $750 something I couldn’t pass up so I will give it a shot when I get the unit and if I don’t like it will sell it


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