I couldn’t take it anymore, so rather than wait until the new boat arrives I decided to put one of the Humminbird SI units on my crestliner and then move it over to the new rig later this fall.
For the guys running SI units….word on the street is that the only tricky part of the install is the transducer mounting. Any tips to make the install go smoother?
Here is another. Humminbird
Take a peek at mine next time you are down…It is almost like they made a spot just for that transducer! 
Well, as you know, your current boat and my next boat have a lot in common, so I will do just that!
Jason keep us posted on what you think of the unit.
What kind of boat are you getting?
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Here is another. Humminbird
Thanks for the leads Gregg.
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Jason keep us posted on what you think of the unit.
I sure will Kurt. It will see a lot of use under a variety of conditions and in a variety of bodies of water. I plan to spend some time learning about the unit and reporting on its capabilities.
I also should take a moment and thank Wade at Jolly Ann Marine (link) for tracking one of these down for me. Very popular units indeed. Thanks Wade!
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What kind of boat are you getting?
I’ll let you know as soon as the ink is dry on the deal.
Thanks again Jason! It should be to you in a couple of days.
Your going to love it. If I didn’t have this Humminbird 997 I wouldn’t have a clue about any of this stuff I’m finding.
Humminbird finds
WarrenMN
I just ordered one too. Wade said I should have it tomorrow. I hope to have it installed to use this weekend. From what I hear I won’t want to fish anymore. I’ll be too busy idling around looking for stuff. Hopefully, it give me a little advantage two weeks from now in the Bassmaster Open on Lake Amistad. I plan to report back how well it works for me.
Thanks for the speedy service Wade.
Jason
The only thing you need to remember when mounting the transducer is the line that separates the top of transducer from the bottom of the transducer needs to be clear/below of the bottom of the boat in front of it. The Yahoo users group in one of the above post has some excellent pictures about this.
I also put transom saver boards on my boat, real good cheap investment for peace of mind over making a mistake.
WarrenMN
Thanks Warren!
I have a transducer mounting plate already, and found it to be very useful for repositioning my Lowrance transducer without needing to put more holes in the boat.
Can one run the SI and a “normal” sonar unit in the same boat at the same time without interference?
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Can one run the SI and a “normal” sonar unit in the same boat at the same time without interference?
I’ve got a friend that runs an in-dash Lowrance unit with a shoot through transducer and has no problems with interference 
I’d say you no more could than you would with any sonar. Sonars of the same freq blind each other. Its like two people with flash lights shining in each others eyes.
But then why would you want to? If you want to run both side scan and the vertical at the same time there is a split screen choice that works well. Humminbird vert sonar This is a fish house and those arcs surrounding it are fish, I had the camera down and they are that thick.
WarrenMN
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But then why would you want to?
Uh, because sometimes there is a guy in the front of the boat and and another in the back and both use sonar. Warren, you need to use that SI for actaully trying to catch fish instead of just taking pretty pictures! 
I asked the question in the event there was a unique characterstic to SI due to the signal direction, mod it uses, etc. They are still above my price point, but are certainly getting closer. Thanks for the info!
Doc always turns off the back sonar when we’re prefishing. Guess I got so use to it that I thought ever one did.
Its really hard to say whether they’ll interfere with each other. You’d have the same odds with two of the same kind or two of any different brands, using the same freg. It’s really strange how one persons will and the next won’t. My guess would be how far a part vs how deep your fishing.
Only way to tell is try and see.
Yeah, I got to start putting the poles in the boat.
WarrenMN
I run the Hbird stuff as well and yes the back and front sonar units do interfere with each other at depths greater than 20 feet. Mine are 20 feet apart on my boat.
The interference is not enough to need to turn one unit off, you can still see the structure and the fish with no problems.
The transducer for the SI does work for moderately high speeds, but I would suggest that you get a switch box and a second dual beam ducer. When you are running accross teh lake, use the dual beam. When you are fishing or looking for fish, use the SI ducer. I didn’t go that way this year, I used two units instead.
You will love the units. Mine performed exactly as advertised and it is truly amazing what you will find down there.
When I got home last night my unit was waiting for me. I worked on it only for about 20 minutes and all I have left to do is run the wire for the transducer. It was like Hummingbird made these units to replace Lowrance units. I unbolted my lowrance from my ram mount and the bracket for the 997C fit perfectly. Even the locking knobs for the unit worked for my Hummingbird. I was also very surprised that the gps puck lined up exactly with the holes for the hummingbird. I plan to install the transducer tonight and will test everything out tomorrow. I almost think I’ll spend more time idling aroung looking at stuff than actually fishing.
Jason
I’m hoping that mine will be waiting for me when I get home tonight. I suspect that I’m like you, Jason, in that I will do a little less fishing and a little more gazing in the immediate future. I have a long list of places I want to get a close look at!
One more thing I should mention. Your going to want to do screen captures, guaranteed. The best chip for this has been the Sandisk Extreme III 1 or 2 gb. It really speeds up the save. So far locally the best place to buy them has been Circuit City and they’re on sale this week, 2mb for $45. Thats the best bang for the buck. Circuit City Sandisk Extreme III SD card sale You can pick them up or order them.
WarrenMN
One of the guys from the side imagining group on Yahoo just posted this link. um um um um
http://www.fishingct.com/huminbird_987c_si_screenshots.htm
WarrenMN
WarrenMN, what software are you using with your screen shots?
Jason
I installed my Hummingbird the other night and made it our to the lake Saturday morning. All I can say it that it is increadible. The ammount of structure you can find with these things is unreal. I found many a lot of cover and structure I didn’t know was there. I still need to pick up a memory card and I have a Navionics Platinum chip that should be here tomorrow. I should have a lot of good informations to share on the unit once I get back from Lake Amistad in two weeks.
Jason
So what size units are you guys running?
I bought the smaller unit, as I will be able to flush mount it in the new rig and keep a larger Lowrance combo unit mounted on the dash.
I was able to pull wire for HB yesterday and should have it up and running by my next trip out.
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