Humminbird Helix 5 ice flasher

Fellow anglers, I have recently stumbled upon the Humminbird helix 5 flasher for ice fishing and was wondering if anyone has used it before. I know that it’s pretty new to the market and I haven’t found much information as to how it performs. I currently own a Vexilar fl-12 and was thinking about upgrading to something with zoom and the fact that I can use my lake master chip is a plus. Just curious as to how it performs (interference with other flashers, battery life, ease of use, etc.)

Thanks in advance.

Not sure I can help you much, but need to inform you of an experience I’ve recently had with my Helix 5. I love the unit and plan to use it for the first time ice fishing this year and hope everything works out well, but the last two times out I’ve had a problem with the screen fogging to the point of being unusable for the first hour of operation. Email to support said it’s normal with the weather conditions this time of year.
Quote” Hello Sir,
Condensation – Although your Humminbird unit is waterproof, the air within the unit contains moisture due to natural humidity. Due to this, some fogging is normal on cooler days. The Spring and the Fall are the most typical times of year that we hear about this. This situation is caused by heat generated from the sun warming the air in the depth sounder. The moist air is then trapped between the display and the lense in the front housing. This situation can be avoided or reduced by storing in a protected and safe area at outside temperatures. The situation should clear after about one hour of use. If not, the unit can be sent in for service. However please understand that we cannot stop a unit from having condensation under the above conditions.

If you have a glass bonded color display (in our 800 Series and higher products) condensation cannot form as there is no void between the display and the lens.”

If it were me looking again for a unit for both open water and ice I would consider the Helix 7 as one of it’s advertising bullets is a Glass bonded display.

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Yes that does help actually quite a bit. I don’t know if I’d really be using it in the summer much, I’d mostly be using it for ice fishing. But if I’m in a heated ice shack and decide to go outside or move then I can see where that would make a difference if the screen fogs up like that. Thanks for the help.

Henpecked- that doesn’t seem normal and I would definitely be getting on bird’s case. I have a helix and never had that issue.

I don’t think this is normal either, but continuing to gather information before taking action. So far I’ve had some people say they have the similar problems with other brands. Having owned other brands and not experiencing similar problems I need to continue testing. Still have time on the warranty, so may have to put it down for the winter season. My first bird and possibly my last, depending on how this plays out.

Have a Helix5 w/DI I installed in boat this spring. What did/would you go with for “ice” transducer? Will also need a power cord as I want to mount it on snowmobile to utilize GPS, and may as well rig up for fishing also, although very happy w/ my FL 20

The one I was looking at comes with the ice transducer but on the website they sell them separately and fit certain models.

Here ya go fellas, this is the transducer you guys need to get. IMO humminbird has great open water units but for hard water, I don’t think their technology is there yet like marcums. There’s a reason why humminbird didn’t launch a LX7 type ice sonar with a wide screen.

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Thanks to all for the advice and knowledge on this product. I chose to get the 688ci hd combo all rigged up for the ice. Can’t wait for the hard water to get here.

-tight lines my friends

Same story as always – Great unit! But next to any dedicated Ice unit you will be blown out of the area with interference.