HDS7 or HB 997csi

I am trying to decide between the 2. I have had good luck with lowrance in the past, and can get a very good price on it. I think that I will mostly be using the below the boat views, for vertical jigging. I do often go out on Lake superior looking for salmon. I would also want the unit to lock on botton and show the depth for the speed travel runs.
(40mph).
I have been reading several posts on here and just when I think the 997 wins out, I come a cross a post that says that the bird doesn’t hold the bottom very good Oh and is the 997 that much more preferred than the 797? Is it really worth the extra $1,000. Thanking you in advance for any input.

My only input is that if I had it to do over again, I would get the 997 over the 797.

No idea on the Lowrance, how do the prices compare?

I have no trouble with my Humminbird 997 or 1197 losing bottom at high speeds. Guys who are concerned about this can install a second, through-hull transducer that will automatically provide sonar information above 10 mph.

Humminbird’s “TVG” feature does a great job of allowing you to track objects, fish and lures, right below the boat. Here’s more information about TVG direct from Humminbird:

TVG stands for Time Variable Gain. The great value of Time Variable Gain is that it adjusts sonar returns to compensate for differences in depth. For example if you were fishing with another brand of fishfinder (no names mentioned) they don’t use TVG so if there were a 10 pound bass in 10 foot of water and the same exact 10 pound bass in 50 foot of water the return from the 10 pound bass in 10 foot of water would be much larger and stronger than the 10 pound bass in 50 foot of water because of the differences in depth. With our current software the TVG will make adjustments to the returns to compensate for the different depths and both returns will have the same strength and size. The downside of TVG is that to accomplish the compensation there is some reduction in overall signal strength capability.

The new software will provide more flexibility to the user than other products on the market. If the user wants to get a cleaner screen presentation and utilize the advantages of TVG then they would operate with the TVG ON setting, which is comparable to how our product currently works. This setting is also best for very shallow water conditions, which explains why our product outperforms the competition in very shallow water. If the user wants to track jigs, spoons or drop shot or get the absolute greatest amount of detail of fish and structure they would use the TVG OFF setting. By utilizing this approach we have provided more flexibility in our units than the competition has. One of the downsides of not using TVG is increased surface clutter. If you have used competitive products you are aware of this. We have also included an much improved Surface Clutter adjustment in the new software as well.

I went from a lowrance with a 5″ screen to the 997. I’m kicking myself for not getting the 1197. Yes, the $1000 is worth it.

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Guys who are concerned about this can install a second, through-hull transducer that will automatically provide sonar information above 10 mph.

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Thats what I did. 997 all the way!

A month or so ago I would have said go with the 997. But after seeing some of the info. and demo’s on the new Lowrance I’m not so sure. I would at least wait until some of the new SI Lowrance units are available and check them out. From what I have heard they are going to be incredible!!!!

I would wait until Lowrance releases their side-imaging attachment, which they say will happen within the next few months. Then you can really compare apples to apples. Plus, the competition may force both companies to lower prices a bit for 2010.

Edit…

This made me curious so I checked on prices, etc.

The good: Cabela’s has the 997 for $1,799. HDS7 plus structurescan is $999 plus $699 = $1,698.

The bad: Structurescan press release says it will be available “later this year.” I’d be nervous about being the first one to buy structurescan given Lowarance’s recent history with software glitches.

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A month or so ago I would have said go with the 997. But after seeing some of the info. and demo’s on the new Lowrance I’m not so sure. I would at least wait until some of the new SI Lowrance units are available and check them out. From what I have heard they are going to be incredible!!!!

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I’m not so sure about that. That’s what I thought. Then I started reading about Lowrance’s Customer Service and bugs that need to be worked out. If I were to go Lowrance, it won’t be for 3 more years. Let them get the bugs worked out. And hire better/more customer service reps.

John23, if you look around, you can find that 997c for less. Jolly Ann Marine and Skeeter Boat Center, two of IDO’s site sponsors, both beat that Cabelas’s price.

Waiting on a purchase may be a good thing…Humminbird’s 800-series Side Imaging combo, with an 8″ screen, will retail at $1499.

The $699 for the structure scan is the suggested retail price from what I understand. I would guess it will be less than that.

Just figured I’d use a common source for prices. Guess I should have used a site sponsor!

my 997 will hold bottom at 45 mph. Not sure about faster, since I can’t go any faster. transducer is externally mounted. My SI actually holds at that speed, too, but loses the detail.

customer service is a no-brainer. Lowrance is about the worst in the market. On unproven technology, you might be taking your chances… In a year or two, maybe???

Larger screen is worth the extra $$

Jason,

When is the 800 series scheduled to come out?? I would be interested to see that as it is a little cheaper and trying to squeeze a kicker and a side imaging combo in this fall. Thanks

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Jason,

When is the 800 series scheduled to come out?? I would be interested to see that as it is a little cheaper and trying to squeeze a kicker and a side imaging combo in this fall. Thanks

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All I’ve been told is, “soon”.

Information is coming out of Humminbird/MinnKota on a daily basis. I’ll tell everyone on idofishing.com as soon as I learn anything concrete.

I have an HDS 7 and I love it! Works great for me and no problems. I have read about some complaints and problems, but so far so good for me. I understand HB has come along way over the past few years, but I still have a bad taste from old units, I just can’t bring myself to run them again.

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John23, if you look around, you can find that 997c for less. Jolly Ann Marine and Skeeter Boat Center, two of IDO’s site sponsors, both beat that Cabelas’s price.

Waiting on a purchase may be a good thing…Humminbird’s 800-series Side Imaging combo, with an 8″ screen, will retail at $1499.

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What’s the measured size of the 797 and 997 screens?

The 798, the 2009 update to the previous 797, is 480 x 480 pixels and measures 5″ diagonal.

The 997 is 480 x 800 and measures 8″ diagonal.

If you buy the HD7 and structre scan this fall you will get $100 back fro lowrance also….

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If you buy the HD7 and structre scan this fall you will get $100 back fro lowrance also….

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I think that promo ended on July 6th.

Thanks Guys for all your input. I purchase the bird 997cSI last nite. I could not find a transducer board in Thunder Bay, so I will be mounting directly to the transom. Hope I get it right the first try. Also, the bird site says the control head has a swivel mount. It does not. The mount is a tilting mount not a swivel, so back to town I go to get a RAM mount. I have various 1″ RAM options “in stock” ut I think with the weight of this unit I need a bigger one.

Nope if you combine the locater and the structure scan you’ll get $100 through 12/31/09. Yes to $100 bucks for just the HDS-7, that promo is done…..

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Nope if you combine the locater and the structure scan you’ll get $100 through 12/31/09. Yes to $100 bucks for just the HDS-7, that promo is done…..

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Lowrance promo

Although the promo runs through the end of 2009,
the requirement was to have purchased the first qualifying
unit by 7/6/2009.

Oops sorry about that….

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Thanks Guys for all your input. I purchase the bird 997cSI last nite.

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Welcome to the Humminbird family!

You’re going to be very happy with the investment you just made.

Humminbird’s industry-leading Side-Imaging technology will only do one thing for you: completely change the way you fish, for the better!

Be sure to read up on some of the threads we have going in the Humminbird forum, and please feel free to add any questions you have, or cool screen captures that you have collected.

Now get out there and put it to use, and be sure to share pics of all the bigguns you’ll be reeling in with help from Humminbird

I have transducer mounted directly to the boat, ie no transducer board, For travelling what are people doing to protect the transducer from rocks etc. I do travel quite aways on gravel roads when I am going fishing for eyes. I rigged up a little protection from an old Hot Shots neoprene ice fishing glove that I had laying around. I checked Humminbird’s website and could not find an accessory for this purpose. Just thought I would check here to see if something has been perfected for this purpose. Thanks

One thing to note when you are comparing apples to apples is the HDS 7 has 6.4 inch display with the display pixel count at 480 x 640. The 997 has a 8 inch display and the pixel count is 480V x 800H.

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One thing to note when you are comparing apples to apples is the HDS 7 has 6.4 inch display with the display pixel count at 480 x 640. The 997 has a 8 inch display and the pixel count is 480V x 800H.

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The HDS 8 has an 8.4 inch display with a 600 X 800 display resolution. If you want to compare screen sizes, I would think this would be the better comparison.

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One thing to note when you are comparing apples to apples is the HDS 7 has 6.4 inch display with the display pixel count at 480 x 640. The 997 has a 8 inch display and the pixel count is 480V x 800H.

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The HDS 8 has an 8.4 inch display with a 600 X 800 display resolution. If you want to compare screen sizes, I would think this would be the better comparison.

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The OP never mentioned the HDS 8 only the 7 that is what he was comparing.

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One thing to note when you are comparing apples to apples is the HDS 7 has 6.4 inch display with the display pixel count at 480 x 640. The 997 has a 8 inch display and the pixel count is 480V x 800H.

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Oops, my bad.

The HDS 8 has an 8.4 inch display with a 600 X 800 display resolution. If you want to compare screen sizes, I would think this would be the better comparison.

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The OP never mentioned the HDS 8 only the 7 that is what he was comparing.

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