Really Tired of my 'bird at times

I recently bought a Helix 10 GPS/DI Gen 2 for over $1200. Love the DI but hate the fact that I frequently get double echo at slow speeds in water shallower than 11 feet. IN 11 feet of water it reads 22 feet. I know there is a “patch” coming from HB some time soon but the retailer should have told me about the problem. I went back to the sales guy and he told me he knew about the problem. I am not the most tech savvy guy so fingers crossed on downloading a patch and installing it on the unit.

The short term fixes suggested by HB and the dealer did not work.

Have you tried setting the depth manually? I do that with my DI unit if I’m consistently under 12′.

I have no idea how that is done. Any tips?

thanks

With the sonar displayed, hit menu, scroll to lower range, change from auto to 12′ (or so).

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lots and lots of series 2 Helix users complaining about 2d sonar echoing…the fact that no software updates have been released all year to fix it is worrisome…Hopefully Gen3 fixes it…

Gen 3???? No no no no no-those of us who have shelled out a bunch of money would like gen 2 to actually work.

Humminbird Helix update cycle happens this upcoming spring… you’ll start to see the Gen2 rebates/discounts start soon..

I’m with Tim. I don’t want a gen 3. I want my Gen 2 to work. I just got back from Canada on LOW. That shallow water reading is important unless you dont want your lower unit to be there at the end of the trip.
Usually these fixes come out quick….hmmmm….

I have heard if you turn the surface clutter setting up a little bit this helps with reducing the double bottom and the depth from bouncing around. Worth a shot if you have not tried it yet.

Play with your settings.
Read the manual.
People like to turn surface clutter down, and you should not. 5-7.
Sensitivity 10 or less.

Make some adjustments and see what works.

Reading a manual goes a long way folks. So does internet research. There’s several good humminbird forums out there.

I have been playing around with the settings. H’bird Tech suggested turning down the sensitivty as well as surface clutter. Did both but did not work. H’bird said they are working on an update.

The 4 birds I’ve owned have all showed a double echo at some point; with the correct settings, nearly eliminated.

Hard bottoms don’t require much sensitivity.

I’d keep trying bartman.

If your gen 2 had si id buy it from you real cheap

Based on your last 5 created topics… You haven’t read a manual or done any research on the bird. Just looking for easy answers won’t help you understand the technology.

Not being a jerk. It is worth your time.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Based on your last 5 created topics… You haven’t read a manual or done any research on the bird. Just looking for easy answers won’t help you understand the technology.

Not being a jerk. It is worth your time.

X2 on that advice

My Onix will do this also. I have done a fair amount of research on it and talked to HB. I usually get it to what I think is “set” and it will do it again when I move bottom hardness which seems like the root issue. Its really bad on the river when going up stream over a wing dam looking at them due to the transition.

NateR wrote:

I have heard if you turn the surface clutter setting up a little bit this helps with reducing the double bottom and the depth from bouncing around. Worth a shot if you have not tried it yet

I’m in one of the other threads saying this same thing, see notes there. Just got back from Rainy with my friend’s Gen2 10 mega si and posting an update shortly.

Won’t argue that reading and studying manual will help somewhat. BUT

When most basic of functions do not work properly ? In comparison these things cost a small fortune compared to the equipment of the near past.

My Helix 10 Mega suffered from p.p. engineering . I was able to get it to work by my trial and error. Starting with the Onix series. Humminbird in their rush to get new products to market. Have not tested their units to a level that insures out of the box operation. Solix is their top of the line yet it to suffers from intrinsic problems.

These problems have affected consumers of all levels of experience . Humminbird’s not fixing with prompt update is on their heads. Companies spend millions on advertising to attract buyers. Then when product fails to work as advertised. They drive them to another manufacturer.

Original owner’ s of Humminbird destroyed their rep. Johnson Outdoors, after buying ,worked long and hard restoring that rep. Now it appears they have embarked on that same downhill road.

Only time will tell if they come to their senses. If not they will suffer the same fate as Winchester Arms Co.

papaperch ^^^ says “Solix is their top of the line yet it to suffers from intrinsic problems.”

Boy that was really clarifying the issues with Humminbird’s flagship, now wasn’t it? Can you list more of exactly what you were referring to?

Why don’t you do a little looking up from a side imaging website like the following one.
http://forums.sideimagingsoft.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=o67cv1s5s16k78ogrf2k793fc6&action=forum

Have done more research than you can imagine. I have been with Humminbird side imaging since the day of the 987C. There are several issues with the new Solix and Helix models. Prior to that the days of the CH 30 paper graphs.

Customer service quality has suffered the past year. Cutting the warranty on their top of the line units from 2 to 1 year make you happy ?

If you are postulating that there are no problems with their “top of the line units “. Take your own advice and do more research. Humminbird has repeatedly promised an update to fix these problems. To date it has not been forth coming. If there are no problems why the promise ?

I personally do not want to invest 1500-3000 dollars in something that does not work as advertised. I do not expect anyone else does either.

I do not like the direction Humminbird has taken the last few months. If you see nothing wrong with them that’s fine. Had the same argument with Lowrance fans 10 years or so ago.

FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:

Reading a manual goes a long way folks. So does internet research. There’s several good humminbird forums out there

You’re a man of common sense fishblood, you really feel that these units in order to work properly the manuals should have to be read from front to back, forums searched and read through, and even then more hours playing with em to get it right? That’s crazy to me. Should be a plug and play system. Yes, to fully optimize the units one should have a complete understanding of them and know how to set it up but most fisherman don’t have the want to do that, nor should they, these things ain’t cheap.

Alot of us take our sport very serious, and some do not, and those in the middle. These 4 figure units should work with no issues for any of these users across the board.

Nothing wrong with expecting better from these big companies.

Amen to that-Tech should make things easier! Eyes should mostly be on the lake not so much on buttons and a screen.

nhamm wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>FishBlood&RiverMud wrote:</div>
Reading a manual goes a long way folks. So does internet research. There’s several good humminbird forums out there

You’re a man of common sense fishblood, you really feel that these units in order to work properly the manuals should have to be read from front to back, forums searched and read through, and even then more hours playing with em to get it right? That’s crazy to me. Should be a plug and play system. Yes, to fully optimize the units one should have a complete understanding of them and know how to set it up but most fisherman don’t have the want to do that, nor should they, these things ain’t cheap.

Alot of us take our sport very serious, and some do not, and those in the middle. These 4 figure units should work with no issues for any of these users across the board.

Nothing wrong with expecting better from these big companies.

It isn’t what you want it to be… So do you cry and whine or figure out how to make it the best unit available! People been doing this for many years… Welcome to the ball club.

Incredibly sensitive units are not basic by any means. Did the price feel “basic”?

You can do as you like. I’m trying to help y’all use that toy to catch fish. You’ll get way more help on bbc and meet many many people using these quite successfully!

I get the full benefits of my research everyday on the water. Education paid back in full.