Mega Live w/ Mega 360

[sholder02]

Just got off the phone with Humminbird support asking a few questions about set up. One of my questions was running Mega Live while also running Mega 360. She said that was not going to be an option. I asked why and she said it had something to do with how they're mounted. I asked why others are able to run Livescope while also running Mega 360. I did not get an answer back on that. Anyone else heard that (no live & 360 operating at the same time)?

[JohnN]

Was the rep talking about not being able to run them simultaneously on one unit? Or simultaneously on a network?

[Buggs247]

following....

[TXZ21]

Not sure what they are trying to say. They're own marketing shows the two together. And a pic of one of their pros with both on his boat.

[woppercatcher]

Of course you can run both at the same time. You can run a M360 and Mega DI at the same time. Not sure about any interference though. My question is can you share the views for each on the same graph? I plan on running both the M360 and Mega Live and using a Helix 12 for both. I will use my M360 to find what I want to fish then switch to the Mega Live view and do my fishing if that is possible. I want to do this so I don't have to dedicate yet another graph on the front of my both that already has two Helix 12's not stacked.

[sholder02]

I would like to think that she understood that it would be multiple units, as that was the main reason for the call. I explained that I was planning on running at least 2 Solix units at the bow, 1 for M360 & 1 for MLive.

I'm hoping that it was just miscommunication. I may call back after work and see if I am told the same thing again from a different rep, or get a different answer.

[Bigboy4au]

I have heard that they are on the same frequency. I could be wrong.

[TXDonkeyHunter]

You have to have two separate head units to see both at the same time.

[TXZ21]

The way I understand it, the M360 uses the transducer connection at the unit, and the MegaLive connects via ethernet at a 5 port switch.

[Wayne P.]

The way I understand it, the M360 uses the transducer connection at the unit, and the MegaLive connects via ethernet at a 5 port switch.

Almost correct. An Ethernet device can be connected directly to a display if no other Ethernet sharing is involved. Only need the Switch if more than two Ethernet connections are needed.

[sholder02]

Just got off the phone with another rep from Humminbird. She said that they would work simultaneously, but would each need a dedicated unit and could NOT be networked.

She said that may change as they do more testing, but at this time, there is not enough information to say that they will work simultaneously if networked.

[woppercatcher]

Just got off the phone with another rep from Humminbird. She said that they would work simultaneously, but would each need a dedicated unit and could NOT be networked.

She said that may change as they do more testing, but at this time, there is not enough information to say that they will work simultaneously if networked.

What? "could NOT be networked"? The unit connects to an Ethernet box so by default it is networked. There are videos showing the installation this way. IF what HB says is true that would mean you have to connect the Ethernet cable directory to a unit which means that unit is no longer in the network. Why didn't they just make it like the M360 and use the transducer port then? Sorry, but as usual HB support seems as usual clueless!

[sholder02]

If true, they're going to have to come up with a different catch-phrase than "One-Boat Network."

[cevans]

What your finding out is,,,,,,,HB teck support is not educated yet as to how Mega Live will/does operate. They probably don’t even have a operating manual or any instructions written yet. When HB released Mega 360 in late Dec of 2019 and I had issues with one of the very first Mega 360’s with issues,,nobody at tech support could help me and so a HB testing engineer worked with me from the factory to resolve issues. I even was given a software update for the mega 360 from a HB internet drop box that a month later was finally posted on HB’s website for a software operating update. In time,,as Mega Live is released and a few are using it, ,HB tech support will be able to give out hopefully more educated answers.

[22RangerZ520R]

[sholder02]

Just received this message from Humminbird via Facebook Messenger:

MEGA Live Imaging can be used at the same time as MEGA 360 Imaging as long as both MEGA Live and the unit that MEGA 360 Imaging are connected to are both operating on the same Ethernet network. Failure to connect MEGA Live and the control head to which MEGA 360 is connected will likely result in poor sonar performance.

If you want to utilize both MEGA Live and MEGA 360 Imaging on your boat but do not have your Humminbird units networked, you may turn off pinging of either MEGA 360 while using MEGA Live (or visa versa) in order to enhance the sonar performance.

Yes, you will be able to have it all networked together. Each unit directly talks to the MEGA Live transducer. As a result, up to four Humminbird units in any combination of compatible HELIX, SOLIX or APEX models can all view MEGA Live at the same time.

We hope this helps to answer your questions. Please do let us know if you have any others that we can assist with.

Thank you

[sholder02]

I'm not sure I'm following along with the 1st paragraph of their reply.

[woppercatcher]

I'm not sure I'm following along with the 1st paragraph of their reply.

Yes, the answer isn't real clear but it does seem that you can connect the Mega Live unit to your Ethernet box and then share it with any other compatible unit in that network. However, if you look at the description on their website it says this "connect MEGA Live Imaging to compatible Humminbird models via the included Ethernet cable. There is no external sonar box required for installation, allowing for the connection of optional sonar source like MEGA 360 Imaging® or Built-in MEGA Imaging® to the same control head."

To me why have any unit compatibility requirements if you can connect the unit to a network? Sort of like the 360 was back when it connected to a network. You might not get the same quality of image but it should work.

I posted a question on this subject on the Humminbird website but it has 0 answers so far. I guess we will see once the units are actually available and people start using them.

[Wayne P.]

Yes, the answer isn't real clear but it does seem that you can connect the Mega Live unit to your Ethernet box and then share it with any other compatible unit in that network. However, if you look at the description on their website it says this "connect MEGA Live Imaging to compatible Humminbird models via the included Ethernet cable. There is no external sonar box required for installation, allowing for the connection of optional sonar source like MEGA 360 Imaging® or Built-in MEGA Imaging® to the same control head."

To me why have any unit compatibility requirements if you can connect the unit to a network? Sort of like the 360 was back when it connected to a network. You might not get the same quality of image but it should work.

I posted a question on this subject on the Humminbird website but it has 0 answers so far. I guess we will see once the units are actually available and people start using them.

The MEGA 360 connects to a unit's transducer port and the MEGA LIVE connects to the unit's Ethernet port so both can be connected to the same display.
If a unit is connected to another unit via Ethernet, you can't connect the MEGA LIVE to it directly and have to use the Ethernet Switch for more than one display and the LIVE.

[SLYDoggie]

Yes, the answer isn't real clear but it does seem that you can connect the Mega Live unit to your Ethernet box and then share it with any other compatible unit in that network. However, if you look at the description on their website it says this "connect MEGA Live Imaging to compatible Humminbird models via the included Ethernet cable. There is no external sonar box required for installation, allowing for the connection of optional sonar source like MEGA 360 Imaging® or Built-in MEGA Imaging® to the same control head."

To me why have any unit compatibility requirements if you can connect the unit to a network? Sort of like the 360 was back when it connected to a network. You might not get the same quality of image but it should work.

I posted a question on this subject on the Humminbird website but it has 0 answers so far. I guess we will see once the units are actually available and people start using them.

On the compatibility requirements in your second paragraph, it's not only about the control head's physical ability to communicate with the Mega Live device via Ethernet but also the software that needs to be updated on the various units to interpret the sonar returns and display them on the head unit. Humminbird has to update the various software versions on the various generations of devices to add the display capability. I don't blame them for making a "cutoff" on how far back they go for these software updates.

On the Solix, views need to be added so that you can mix and match with other imaging and chart panels. On the Helix, they have to add the various view mixes they think people will want. Then those need to be maintained on future updates going forward.