Humminbird Side imaging

[bronsonwinston]

I am thinking of buying the 1197 SI combo. Had heard bad reports on Hummunbird gear, anyone used one of the 1197's?

[BarraBandit]

G'Day. Last year I went out with a well know Barra charter operator who has the 997. To say this SI Sounder was amazing was an under statement. Went out with him again this year. He now has the 1197. Just as fantastic but bigger screen of course. I have been an avid Lowrance man for 25 yrs but these new Humminbird Side Imaging unit are awsome. Very easy to use, a multitude of features and the SI is just fantastic. I have the 797C2 SI and it's a little ripper. In '09 I believe the 798SI will be available here in Aus (much dearer than the 797SI) but I think I might sell the 797 and pay the extra $1000 premium to try out the 798. Right now I actually run the both units Humminbird and Lowrance on my boat but find I am now using the SI more and more, it just gives so much underwater detail and cover a great expanse of water so you can see the structure and fish in detail to both sides of your boat, including underneath. In answer to your query, if I haven't alredy said enough, get one! All the best, BarraBandit.

[bronsonwinston]

Thank's for the info.. Yes i think i'll get one. I've been researching to make sure the side imaging was't just another selling gimick but all the images i've seen look fantastic and only good reports read. Is the transducer setup the same as conventional or are they set deeper in the water to get a better result for the side imaging. Also when your Lowrance and Humminbird tranducers are on simultanously do they cause interference with each other?
Cheers..

[BarraBandit]

Hi. It's a regular tranducer setup but I do have mine set a couple of mm's deeper. Your transducer bracket allows for enough adjustment anyway. Both Lowrance and Humminbird work well together as they are on different freq's. The only thing I noticed was a little interferance on the Lowrance but that was because I had my sensitivity turned up to about 98-99%. Cheers, BarraBandit.

[Alchemy]

Does the 1197 have a greater depth capability than the 997 in 3D mode? I see on the BLA website that the 997 is rated to 45m, but no info on the 1197.

[bronsonwinston]

On the US web it states 150ft for the 1197, so yes the same as the 997, just a bigger screen and higher res i think..

[bronsonwinston]

Barra Bandit... I am thinking of running a Furuno 585 in tandem with the Humminbird. The store reps are telling me not a problem as they run on different frequncy but they have been known to tell the odd white lie to sell there products. Sounds like you don't have any problems with the Lowrance so i would imagine the Furuno would be the same. Thanks, Darren