Helix 7 sonar ice ducer problem

I cannot get mine to work properly. I have the correct one, the – 20 it has the cone angles same as my fresh water ducer. However, it reads different. I cannot see my spoons or lures. I take it out of the water and it shown nothing. So, I guess it is working. Any help would be appreciated. i only fish shallow water. 5 to 15 feet. Thanks Geo,

What model is your Helix, and what model transducer do you have?
What firmware version are you currently on; have you ran the latest update?
What settings are you using – clear mode on/off, gain, manual depth, etc?

Xi 9 1521 is the “right” ducer for Chirp on H5 an H7 G2.

I have a helix 7 sonar software ver 7.620 transducer xnt 9 20 t. The ice ducer is xi 9 20. I cannot update anything. Its a basic sonar early version. Tried all the suggested settings. It shows stuff but different from the freshwater transducer. I dont know. G.

I have I believe the same one. Last year I added the ice ducer and kit to start using it on the ice. I have almost given up on it. The depth reading never stays accurate, if I am fishing in 20 feet, it’ll be accurate few a few seconds then jump to 80 feet, 60 feet, 10 feet, whatever it wants, then back to accurate again a few seconds. It makes it almost unusable. I contacted hummingbird and they walked me through a list of advanced settings to change it, however it didn’t fix the problem.

My original thought was, “well, if I’m fishing in 20′ I’ll set auto depth to 23′ or so. Didn’t solve anything because it will still act like it’s jumping to deeper water but the bottom reading just says what I set it at. It’s been frustrating to say the least.

Here is what Hummingbird told me to do:
In setup menu, switch from normal user mode to ADVANCED mode.
Go to Sonar Menu.
Go to Digital Depth Source. Switch to 2D Sonar or Dual Beam Mode.

However it did not fix the problem for me, after that they were out of thoughts.

What do you mean when you say you “can’t update anything”? They provide update software downloads online for the Helix 7 Sonar, from what I can see.

Current version is 7.770.

I’d try updating and see if that solves anything. However, I’ve heard from most people with anything older than the G2’s that the ice sonar is not very good. Unfortunately a unit upgrade might be the only solution.

Thanks guys. I give up. I’m going to use my transom mount transducer. I was wondering if anyone knows the cone pattern on the xnt 9 20 t. Is it round? or some other shape. Thanks Geo.

bbuchho90 Not mine no usb or card slot. One of the first ones made.

george dolak wrote:

I was wondering if anyone knows the cone pattern on the xnt 9 20 t. Is it round? or some other shape. Thanks Geo.

That model is a 20/60 degree dual beam intended for legacy and gen1 helix units. The shape is officially termed a cardiod; think of a cone shaped downward flashlight view for angling purposes.

george dolak wrote:

bbuchho90 Not mine no usb or card slot. One of the first ones made.

Non GPS? All gps g1 units have a micro card slot.

its basic sonar unit with no card….

If it works fine with the open water transducer just use that one – loop the cord like this

Make sure the pins look good on the ice ducer connector – maybe it was dropped/broken?

Mat Peirce wrote:

its basic sonar unit with no card….

If it works fine with the open water transducer just use that one – loop the cord like this

Make sure the pins look good on the ice ducer connector – maybe it was dropped/broken?

I like this idea. I will try it. Thanks Geo.