Sunday, September 22, 2013

Humminbird 408120-1 Fishfinder 597ci HD DI Combo


Best bang for buck!
I did a lot of research before buying this unit, I couldnt decide between this and the almost identical Lowrance Elite5 chartplotter unit. After reading countless reviews I chose the Hummingbird. The Lowrance has more color palete choices but the hummingbird had the old style sonar ability otherwise they seem the same to me. I am soo glad I chose this one! The downscan is awesome, truly showing great detail of structure and bottom, but its really hard to see fish and baitfish on it. The old style (seems like an updated version)shows fish and baitfish great and will mark them on the screen. This unit allows you to split the screen and use both sonar types at the same time, and its freaking awesome. The chartplotter is nice for navigating the big lakes but the included mapping is bad on small lakes showing just a blank white screen with your boat in the middle. But you can mark a waypoint for the dock to help you get back and view your tracks as you go to help navigate blindly. The...
597ci di
Overall I really like the unit, but not Humminbird.
I sound harsh, but I would just get a 2D, or move up to a larger screen unit.
I was very let down by the down imaging hype and pretty pictures that humminbird shows on their ads.
The unit is great, and I love it, but don't think for a second that you'll see what the ads show. You might if you are running on an indoor swimming pool with NO wind and crystal clear water. The best pictures I have seen so far after 4 weekends using it will not even tell you if you are above a tree or an old concrete slab down below. What a waste. Other than a worthless down imaging feature that you spend an extra $100 for, the unit is a great GPS and 2D sonar. I already wasted my money, too late. Do you really want to waste yours? Humminbird, you really need to improve your "trick them into believing we can do anything" ads.
Also, I was at 3 stars, but the included "charts" are nothing but an outline of the lake. My 6 year old cell...
HB 597 ci DI fish finder/gps assembly review
I received this in excellent condition. The assembly instructions are a large fold out with scenarios for two different transducers. They are fairly clear, but the illustrations could be better and should be larger. I got the transducer ready to install, spun on the 1/4-20 pivot bolt locknut finger tight, adjusted everything, went to tighten the lock nut, and after about 1/2 turn it galled and seized. The bolt had barely contacted the nylon on the locknut. Fortunately there was still enough bolt sticking out under the nut that I could saw it off. Off to the fastener store for another stainless steel bolt. I lightly greased the threads on the new bolt before use and everything went smooth. I could not get the transducer perfectly parallel with the boat bottom due to the limited number of click stops on the adjuster. I had to pick the "best fit", but it may work out ok. The unit comes with a six foot power cable, so I had to make up extension wiring from the back of the boat to tie...
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