Humminbird Helix 7 CHIRP Si GPS G4

The Helix 7 with GPS, Mega down imaging, and Mega side imaging has been a phenomenal addition to my kayak fishing. I no longer feel like I am fishing blindly in the winter when the fish go deep. The "Mega" provides extremely detailed views of submerged structure, bottom composition, vegetation, and identify fish well beyond what I imagined possible with this unit. The included Humminbird Basemaps have helped me navigate some of the larger lakes, and the autochart live feature has enabled me to create my own maps of the smaller local lakes I fish. Installation was pretty straightforward. The Helix 7 user interface is friendly. There are numerous videos on YouTube to help you install the Helix 7, navigate the menus and I interpret the maps.

I really wanted to upgrade to a side-scan unit. So many choices but clearly the Humminbird HELIX 7 was the best choice in the market of "most value for the money" -hands down. I have only fished with it once so far and it's quite amazing. Instructions are a bit confusing with inadequate guidance towards the side scan functions, but I kept pushing buttons until I eventually (by accident) accessed the side scan features. It does include excellent installation instructions. I'm impressed with the unit overall, and I'm sure with some practice with trial and error it will become second nature to work it. It's an excellent unit with an economical price tag.

Nothing but problems from day 1. Down imaging showed like grass in a yard no matter what was on bottom. Dozens of phone calls and emails trying different things. Replaced circuit board when finally sent back. Image is ok but not as good as my 8 year old Lowrance. Now depth disappears from bottom of screen. More phone calls and emails. Sent back again only thing done was software update. Same issues. Sent back 3rd time with pics of screen with and without depth reading and a video of it disappearing an reappearing later. Told there is nothing wrong because they can't duplicate the problem so they can't fix it and won't replace it. They are sending it back to me after doing nothing and told there is nothing else they can do. Sent back 3 times in 6 months and dozens of ... MoreNothing but problems from day 1. Down imaging showed like grass in a yard no matter what was on bottom. Dozens of phone calls and emails trying different things. Replaced circuit board when finally sent back. Image is ok but not as good as my 8 year old Lowrance. Now depth disappears from bottom of screen. More phone calls and emails. Sent back again only thing done was software update. Same issues. Sent back 3rd time with pics of screen with and without depth reading and a video of it disappearing an reappearing later. Told there is nothing wrong because they can't duplicate the problem so they can't fix it and won't replace it. They are sending it back to me after doing nothing and told there is nothing else they can do. Sent back 3 times in 6 months and dozens of wasted hours trying different settings and transducers for nothing. Will sell it and buy a Lowrance like I should have in the first place.