Santa Brought me an HDS10

Hi,

Probably a lot of discussion already on this topic but here is my dilemma.

I was with the Rainy Lake Group this year and started to have problems with my LCX15. So started to do a little research with the goal of having a new unit on my boat come ice out and plenty of time for detailed research.

Then to my surprise Santa brought an HDS10. So the last few days I have spent hours and hours checking out websites/comments etc. and I am undecided about keeping the HDS10 or returning for the new HB.

Part of my reasoning to go with the HB was that I am also thinking of upgrading the bow mount to I-Pilot. However from what I can find, the new HB and I-Pilot are not networked and no info found on when this might be done.

So looking for some pros/cons on which way to go.

Thanks in advance for what I hope will be an enlightening discussion.

As of now as I know it as well, the new 2011’s 1198 HB’s are not talking to the I-Pilots yet. I’m waiting for the 2012’s.
Anyone got any other news on this?

I don’t have any specific information on this either. But I do have an HDS and the iPilot. If MinnKota already built a gps receiver into the iPilot what would the benefit of linking them be?

Follow a plot trail? Yeah that would be easier to do by looking at lots of saved trails, selecting one and telling the motor to go. But the iPilot already can do this. It just can’t remember that many and they are not selectable via a screen. But I just don’t see myself using the same plot trail everytime.

Follow a depth contour on a map? That would be really awesome. But I don’t believe map data works that way. I think the map is a background image and specific depth lines are not available to the depth finders as plotable trails. I think this would require a total re-do in mapping chips. But again, I don’t know this.

I think the real breakthrough for the iPilot is to be able track depth and follow it like the old Pinpoint system. But it seesm to me this would not require anything of your depth finder. It would be awesome if that technology would come back and work.

So in the end I am not sure there is a huge benefit to ntworking the iPilot to an HB. But if I was an HB proponent I would sure fuel the possibility to keep you thinking about it and buying HB over Lowrance. But I am very happy with my HDS.

Just my opinion.

I am very happy with my hds 10 and 7 that I got last year. I also have the structure scan and I am happy with also.

If your thinking of switching I would go to cabelas or bass pro and play around with both. i was on the fence last year and thats what i did.

I think there would be a lot of benefit of linking ipilot to your graph. I think it would be easier to manage and create trails for the ipilot. And you could also have more than 3 trails saved. I am not a hbird guy but i do see the benefits but I don’t think its enough to get me to switch.

jeremy

Do you guys see any advantage with the separate ducers other than being able to locate up transom and out of harms way when running up and down the river?

Yeah, with the ability to use the same ducer you eliminate the interferance issues. In the past if you were fishing 30ft and had one unit running in the front and one in the back you would get a lot of interference from one another. Now you don’t have that issue. So one guy in the front can watch the depthfinder and so can the guy in the back of the boat. Very useful in my opinion.

Or are you speaking of spliting them for Left and Right with them both on the transom?

http://www.drdepth.se/rdtwo.php?l=gb

That will be great when we can actually do that with the software and i-Pilot.