Humminbird issues continue.. waste of money thus far

[jgoucher12]

I can honestly say so far I highly regret the move from Lowrance to HB. Three times on water after all the $$ spent and no correct depth to be had in shallow water. It shows double depth constantly, jumps from 4' to 2000+ feet sporadically (rendering ACL useless). this is crazy.. and no hummingbird statement to the issue or any resolution in sight. Look at these boards alone and the amount of people having these issues, even on the more expensive Solix. It just does not make any sense.

And don't waste your breath with "set max depth to double" for two reasons, I should never have to do this, not even once let alone changing it every single time I go to a different body of water, and it doesn't work anyways. Never one time did my HDS give me these issues and they were 4yrs old. Auto Depth and drive the boat, just like it should be.

7 more days until I have to make my mind up for refund and either way I lose my installation money. Hoping HB finds a quick fix.

[exx1976]

You should return them now and go back to lowrance.

[Phoenix Jim]

Lot of truth to what he is saying as i’m In the same boat. Been a fan of humminbirds for years and love many features of my solix units and have to believe it will be resolved so I’m in for the long haul. I have to believe we will hear from HB but in the meantime sure is frustrating.

[godsdozer]

How long of period is the refund available ?

[exx1976]

How long of period is the refund available ?

I imagine it would depend on the retailer..

[grandbassslayer]

I can honestly say so far I highly regret the move from Lowrance to HB. Three times on water after all the $$ spent and no correct depth to be had in shallow water. It shows double depth constantly, jumps from 4' to 2000+ feet sporadically (rendering ACL useless). this is crazy.. and no hummingbird statement to the issue or any resolution in sight. Look at these boards alone and the amount of people having these issues, even on the more expensive Solix. It just does not make any sense.

And don't waste your breath with "set max depth to double" for two reasons, I should never have to do this, not even once let alone changing it every single time I go to a different body of water, and it doesn't work anyways. Never one time did my HDS give me these issues and they were 4yrs old. Auto Depth and drive the boat, just like it should be.

7 more days until I have to make my mind up for refund and either way I lose my installation money. Hoping HB finds a quick fix.

I agree, which units do you have?

[Bob G.]

I can honestly say so far I highly regret the move from Lowrance to HB. Three times on water after all the $$ spent and no correct depth to be had in shallow water. It shows double depth constantly, jumps from 4' to 2000+ feet sporadically (rendering ACL useless). this is crazy.. and no hummingbird statement to the issue or any resolution in sight. Look at these boards alone and the amount of people having these issues, even on the more expensive Solix. It just does not make any sense.

And don't waste your breath with "set max depth to double" for two reasons, I should never have to do this, not even once let alone changing it every single time I go to a different body of water, and it doesn't work anyways. Never one time did my HDS give me these issues and they were 4yrs old. Auto Depth and drive the boat, just like it should be.

7 more days until I have to make my mind up for refund and either way I lose my installation money. Hoping HB finds a quick fix.

If your Lowrance units served you well, maybe you should go back as life is to short to be unhappy with your graphs. What HB's do you have?

During the last 5 years of reading the Humminbird forum, I think most issues are caused by bad installs. Not sure who did your install, but if you want it done right, you might want to do it yourself. I personally wouldn't pay anyone to install my graphs and transducers or the wiring.

[jfaulkner32]

Same issue with my helix 9. Would love to know of a fix to this.

[born 2 fish]

All these posts about the solix and Helix make me feel better about keeping my 1199 I was about to jump on the mega bandwagon.

[grandbassslayer]

If your Lowrance units served you well, maybe you should go back as life is to short to be unhappy with your graphs. What HB's do you have?

During the last 5 years of reading the Humminbird forum, I think most issues are caused by bad installs. Not sure who did your install, but if you want it done right, you might want to do it yourself. I personally wouldn't pay anyone to install my graphs and transducers or the wiring.

When you dump 6k on electronics its tough to dump it and spend 6k on another brand.

[tomoad]

I had a 782c2 ,piranha, 998c , helix 12si & a helix 10si. Not once have i had trouble reading depth and i can read it up 55mph or atleast until i trim up and pick hull out of water. Sounds like your transducer are not angled rt. Anyway not happy go back to lowrance. Im happy with my birds

[Flipper374V]

Just had a Helix 12 Si Mega and Helix 10 Di Mega installed on my Lund Pro Guide and thought I would have problems reading at speed. I'm happy to report no issues whatsoever. from 0-50mph I get solid readings. Occasionally I will get a double depth reading on 2D I'm guessing that is software related. Otherwise very happy. Sorry you are having problems.

[Tarheel14]

Is this a known problem with the mega units? I have a Helix 7 and I have had no issues.

[CSF]

I have both a gen 1 helix 9 si and a gen 2 helix 10 mega si and neither display incorrect depth unless the incorrect settings are used.

[CSF]

Is this a known problem with the mega units? I have a Helix 7 and I have had no issues.

If you try to run 2d chirp on and 83/200khz instead of 200khz it can produce a double bottom reading in shallow water with a hard bottom, reducing sensitivity, and turning chirp off and adjusting surface clarity will usually prevent it if no install or equipment issues.

[jgoucher12]

They are brand new Helix 9 Mega DI (with the swapped transducer from HB ) that's on trolling motor so not buying into any "wrong installation" on that one for sure. And the other is a Helix 10 Mega SI GN2 all wired from a dedicated fuse panel.. Bass Pro Shops offers refund for 60 days. Or so I'm told

[Meleagris1]

They are brand new Helix 9 Mega DI (with the swapped transducer from HB ) that's on trolling motor so not buying into any "wrong installation" on that one for sure. And the other is a Helix 10 Mega SI GN2 all wired from a dedicated fuse panel.. Bass Pro Shops offers refund for 60 days. Or so I'm told

What kind of fuse panel and what gauge wire to it? Are you running high (~200khz) only?

[BoatBuggy]

They are brand new Helix 9 Mega DI (with the swapped transducer from HB ) that's on trolling motor so not buying into any "wrong installation" on that one for sure. And the other is a Helix 10 Mega SI GN2 all wired from a dedicated fuse panel.. Bass Pro Shops offers refund for 60 days. Or so I'm told

Is the unit on the bow wired to the fuse panel ? It's not clear from your post.

If it isn't and the wire size running back to the dedicated fuse panel isn't least 12 ga, you might want to consider buying into the suggestions from people who have forgotten more about this stuff than you currently know.

[Bob G.]

When you dump 6k on electronics its tough to dump it and spend 6k on another brand.

A crappy install on any brand of electronics can result in crappy results. There are several members here with new electronics that have good results. Wayne and Troy post their results on a regular basis.

5 years ago I bought a HB graph and installed it at the console. I was happy with the results and added another HB graph at the bow a year later and have been happy with that one too. Both are 1100 series. I have never updated the firmware for either unit and they are not linked. Maybe the new ones have issues as quite a few post about them. Maybe they were not installed properly. Maybe the same people that rig boats are not qualified to install the new fangled electronics. Maybe they don't know a good solder joint with heat shrink tubing terminated at the cranking battery from a crappy butt splice at the boat accessory power block.

[Stumblebum]

Have you considered calling Humminbird technical support about the issue ?