Helix 7SI

[BearCreek]

Put a new helix7 SI on the boat an it seems to not mark structure hardly at all On SI & DI when deeper than 13ft.
Im going over standing cane piles that I know are there but there not showing up. I went over some grass in 10ft an it shows up fine. I went up an down on the sensitivity an doesn’t help. I think that transducer is mounted in the right location same as most pictures I seen. What could cause this $700 and I can’t find a 20ft standing tree

[Wayne P.]

Are you using a Chart Speed setting that matches or is higher than the GPS speed?

[BearCreek]

I have no idea I haven’t messed with any of the settings to do with that it’s all factory. I can’t even ride past a dock and mark the poles. I have another helix DI and have never had any issues like this.

[psygnal11]

Not sure if this is the same you're experiencing, but I had a similar frustration when I installed my H7 G2N SI last year... couldn't for the life of me figure out what I was doing wrong and why the images on the flyer and around the web were so much better than what I was getting from known structure. I found that my answer was pretty much the transducer... not the installation, but the 'ducer itself. If you're using the Compact SI transducer that comes standard with the H7 SI, the quality of your scans won't be comparable to the marketing materials and/or most other images you'll see elsewhere.... which are likely taken with an HDSI.

Wayne has a pretty definitive side-by-side of the same location taken with both the CSI and HDSI on the H7 over here: http://www.bbcboards.net/showthread.php?t=583834

[BearCreek]

Thanks I agree that probably is part of the issue. Hate to spend $300 on another transducer...
Just can’t see how my Helix 9DI with out mega is so much clearer than the 7 Mega.

[EzyEric]

Did they show up on 2D or were you not on top of them enough?

[Wayne P.]

Thanks I agree that probably is part of the issue. Hate to spend $300 on another transducer...
Just can’t see how my Helix 9DI with out mega is so much clearer than the 7 Mega.

No such model as a MEGA Helix 7. Only the Helix 9, 10, and 12's have units with the MEGA frequency.
You have two SI transducer types you can use for any Helix 7 SI model---Compact SI and HDSI.

Not only that, the DI units create the DI image via a dedicated DI crystal.
The Compact SI and HDSI transducers do not have a DI crystal in the transducer. The DI image is a composite of the two SI pulses--more stuff blended together=less sharp images. Been that way since Jan 2010 when a software update added DI views to SI units.

ONLY a Helix MEGA SI transducer, ONIX SI transducer, and SOLIX MEGA SI transducer have a dedicated DI crystal.

[BearCreek]

Yes my bad just a G2 not mega. Still thinking it should be better than it is.

[BearCreek]

First picture with the deck circle is dock poles. 2nd pic is the trees laying above the water then passing by them in the 3rd. These SI shots are in 4-5ft of water. Anything deeper I can’t see hardly anything. I can drive by brush piles and not see them at all. Like I said at the beginning I can ride by docks in 8-15ft and not see the poles at all with the range on like 40ft. Should the images look better than this or what? Maybe I’ll try moving the transducer before getting a HDSI.

[BearCreek]

First picture with the red circle is dock poles. 2nd pic is the trees laying above the water then passing by them in the 3rd. These SI shots are in 4-5ft of water. Anything deeper I can’t see hardly anything. I can drive by brush piles and not see them at all. Like I said at the beginning I can ride by docks in 8-15ft and not see the poles at all with the range on like 40ft. Should the images look better than this or what? Maybe I’ll try moving the transducer before getting a HDSI.
You may think these pictures I took make the screen look blurry but that’s how it is.

[Wayne P.]

First picture with the red circle is dock poles. 2nd pic is the trees laying above the water then passing by them in the 3rd. These SI shots are in 4-5ft of water. Anything deeper I can’t see hardly anything. I can drive by brush piles and not see them at all. Like I said at the beginning I can ride by docks in 8-15ft and not see the poles at all with the range on like 40ft. Should the images look better than this or what? Maybe I’ll try moving the transducer before getting a HDSI.
You may think these pictures I took make the screen look blurry but that’s how it is.

Put a microSD card in the card reader and take some screen shots so we can see what the unit is doing.

Unless the dock posts are over a foot in diameter, they won't show very well. No different than a fish that is less than 12" long. Shadows is what you would see and a white blob where the posts are at the water's surface.
Brush piles are a lot of small items, not a large object. That is how Imaging does its thing---- DETAIL.

This brush pile has parts large enough to be distinguishable with Imaging:

[BearCreek]

Ok thanks I will try to get some screen shots