# H B Helix



## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

Any thoughts or opinions on the Hummingbird Helix? Looks like an affordable unit.


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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

My first thought was expensive as heck! lol  Which one you looking at? With the new technology coming out, the legacy stuff should get cheaper...

Hmm, you are right. Maybe I was thinking of the Onix. They only making those with 5" displays? Not sure about SI on that size screen, but the DI and traditional sonar should be effective. Also, not compatible with iPilot Link so if you we're considering that in the future, you'd need a different head unit.


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## James F (Jul 2, 2005)

Yeah I do have the I-Pilot in the near future. But for an entry level this is not a bad deal.And I believe you are right about the prices dropping, just not sure how long it will take, like most electronics outdated in a few months!


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## steelneyes2 (Jul 19, 2011)

Before I switched to Bird I ran SI on an HDS 5, it worked, but to get good detail required only watching one side at a time. I would say some SI is better than none though, and I did find lots of deep structure that I wouldn't have thought existed. 
My best guess is that 360 imaging and CHIRP are going to be the direction everything has gone 5 years from now. It becomes a question of what you really want or are comfortable with. Given the number of people who still use fish symbols on their sonar, technology is easily lost on the masses.
Personally, I would be concerned with not being able to use map cards since the base maps are not usually detailed if they even cover the water you are fishing. 
At under $500 with side imaging they are breaking the price point quite nicely. And on a small boat, it looks to be an affordable option. I may consider one of the basic sonar only units for my bow where I wouldn't be using the mapping anyway, just need something while I'm casting to know where the contour breaks are.


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## Nissan (Dec 26, 2014)

I like it! Only down side no DI and broadband like Lowrance Elite. Might not be deal breaker still cool unit. We never had choices like this in $300 finders awesome! We are just getting spoiled. I have Ipilot LINK and not linking lol. Even if I ran 1197 to complicated to use I am there to fish.


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

Technology is only lost if people refuse to learn it. No fishfinder is worth a nickel if user just turns it on and ignore it. The 360 that somebody mentioned was first thought of by an individual. I know because I read about it on another website. When he got the idea to a point where pictures of it was displayed. All of a sudden Humminbird comes out with the 360.

I belong to several side imaging sites and believe me all the ingenuity and innovation is NOT contained in between the manufacturers walls. Articles on rewiring a Lowrance transducer to work on a Humminbird finder. 

Our fellow anglers come up with some brilliant ideas. You can spend as much money as you want on a unit. But if you do not work with it and study how to best use it you are wasting your money.

A friend of mine said he was waiting for a unit that would flash " FISH HERE " after inputting what he wanted to catch on the unit. He is still waiting by the way. I like to sum it up in an equation.

Thirst for Knowledge + Fishfinder + Experience = Successful Angling

Lots of Cash + Laziness + Fishfinder + unrealistic expectations = Guaranteed Failure

Some of you are old enough to remember in computers when the expression the software engineers came up with " Plug and Play ". The techs changed the phrase to " Plug and Pray ". In that I pray I am smart enough to get this $%#@#$^& thing to work.

What I am amazed at is how few people even bother to read their owners manual. No wonder some of them don't get past turning it on.


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