Helix 9 DI Depth Issue

[NumberOne]

I just installed a Helix 9 G2N DI unit at the trolling motor. Transducer at the trolling motor (Ultrex 80 if that matters). Have a Helix 9 SI gen 1 at the console. First time out this weekend and the picture look great in deep water. Once I get to anything shallower than 15 feet, the depth reading goes haywire. I will be in 10 feet and it will say I am in 25-30 feet. This of course makes the water column so small that I can't even see the picture that well. It is doing it on DI and Sonar. It seems like its getting a very severe double bottom which makes sense because it happen mostly on spots with very hard bottom.

I was catching fish (doesn't happen a whole lot) so I didn't really piddle with it much. I did turn off the console unit to see if that would fix it but the problem persisted. I also lower the sensitivity down on sonar but that didn't change anything. I didnt mess with the frequencies at all because I didn't want to jack around with that on the first trip. It is the correct transducer so I am good to go on that front. Any ideas?

Thanks

[NumberOne]

Also I have never had a sophisticated unit at the trolling motor. Do I need to turn off the unit every time I lift the trolling motor up? I don't want to ruin the unit doing something dumb.

[ezfishn]

Are you running the latest software version 1.84 ?

[Wayne P.]

I just installed a Helix 9 G2N DI unit at the trolling motor. Transducer at the trolling motor (Ultrex 80 if that matters). Have a Helix 9 SI gen 1 at the console. First time out this weekend and the picture look great in deep water. Once I get to anything shallower than 15 feet, the depth reading goes haywire. I will be in 10 feet and it will say I am in 25-30 feet. This of course makes the water column so small that I can't even see the picture that well. It is doing it on DI and Sonar. It seems like its getting a very severe double bottom which makes sense because it happen mostly on spots with very hard bottom.

I was catching fish (doesn't happen a whole lot) so I didn't really piddle with it much. I did turn off the console unit to see if that would fix it but the problem persisted. I also lower the sensitivity down on sonar but that didn't change anything. I didnt mess with the frequencies at all because I didn't want to jack around with that on the first trip. It is the correct transducer so I am good to go on that front. Any ideas?

Thanks

What is "the correct transducer" exactly?

[NumberOne]

What is "the correct transducer" exactly?

I called humminbird to swap out the transducer the unit came with and they sent me the correct one. I think it was the XTM 9 Wide DI 20 T.

[NumberOne]

Are you running the latest software version 1.84 ?

I just got the unit so I haven't updated to the latest software.

[Wayne P.]

I called humminbird to swap out the transducer the unit came with and they sent me the correct one. I think it was the XTM 9 Wide DI 20 T.

If the depth issue is all the time, then it is probably a software issue.
If that only happens when the trolling motor is running, that is a RFI issue.

[MonteSS]

It is a VERY common prob that HB is supposedly working on.

Put surface clutter on 7 and ONLY use High Chirp. That wont fix it all but at least make it usable to about 5' or more.

[NumberOne]

If the depth issue is all the time, then it is probably a software issue.
If that only happens when the trolling motor is running, that is a RFI issue.

It happens in shallower water no matter if I am on the trolling motor or not. So if its a software issue do I need to update it?

[MonteSS]

There currently is no fix for it except the band aid I said

[NumberOne]

There currently is no fix for it except the band aid I said

Thanks Monte

[MonteSS]

BTW I did the 1.84 update on my Helix 10 Mega Si and unit was unusable afterward. I had to roll it back. Others said it was fine.

[SteveRo]

Just manually adjust the lower range of your sonar depending on the depth you're fishing. If you're in 10 feet of water set it to 13 or 14 feet instead of auto. That way even though the depth reading will be wrong you can still see the whole water column. I have the same Helix 9 G2N DI on the bow of my boat and it doubles the depth on hard bottom with the stock transducer that came with the unit. I cant remember what software version I have right now cus I last updated in April.

[Wayne P.]

Just manually adjust the lower range of your sonar depending on the depth you're fishing. If you're in 10 feet of water set it to 13 or 14 feet instead of auto. That way even though the depth reading will be wrong you can still see the whole water column. I have the same Helix 9 G2N DI on the bow of my boat and it doubles the depth on hard bottom with the stock transducer that came with the unit. I cant remember what software version I have right now cus I last updated in April.

1.610 was the software version before May 2018 and that was released in Jan.

[MonteSS]

LOL, I would go nuts changing max depth every ten seconds.

Yes 1.61 is what I am using.

[SteveRo]

LOL, I would go nuts changing max depth every ten seconds.

Yes 1.61 is what I am using.

Better than not being able to see anything! OP had an issue with depth in 10 feet of water and I offered a short term solution until Humminbird figures it out. I primarily fish offshore and have been doing this all season. I don't have to adjust it more than a couple times a day.

[MonteSS]

No prob. That just wouldn't work for me in lakes I fish.

To be honest, I dont think HB will have a fix for it. They would have had one already by now.

[Wayne P.]

No prob. That just wouldn't work for me in lakes I fish.

To be honest, I dont think HB will have a fix for it. They would have had one already by now.

They are still working on it. It's just not a simple fix.
The current update states that issue was addressed, just wasn't for some.

[Wallace]

I fish shallow hard bottom lakes. I’m certain spots it’s still got issues but on the whole the issue is better than it was. Still have the 360 sensitivity issue but oddly enough about every third or fourth stopping of ping when I start it again it will work proper. Still the erratic depth has pretty much been solved.