wmk0002 said:
golfrnut said:
To all those innovative people...I need some ideas.
I currently have a Helix 5 on the bow. I bought it before the outboard so I didn't really see this one coming. Now that I have the motor, I want to option to be able to cover more water from the back while searching for fish with the sonar. I have been going back and forth over the last few days over whether to start buying more electronics(possibly networking bow/stern units) or adding the additional wiring so I can move the single unit between ends of the boat. For now, I have decided on the cheaper option. I have the HB wiring on the way to give me a second connection point at the stern. I figured this way, if I still decide I hate it and get annoyed with only one unit, it only ran me >$100. Believe me, a hard decision considering the HB 899 units I have seen going for >$600.
In any event, I still have the same dilemma no matter which option I end up doing, where/how to mount the unit in the back? As you can see from the pics above, I have a pedestal seat in back(extension can be removed). Just trying to get some ideas from people that may have crossed the same bridge and how you ended up mounting yours. It's only a five inch unit, so while I can see it pretty well, I want it somewhat close to me and at least within arms reach to be able to switch screens and hit mark buttons, etc which I'm idling around on the outboard.
Glad you checked back in. I am in the beginning stages of rigging my new 1648 Alumacraft and am in a similar spot as you. As of now, I plan on getting a Helix 5 DI/SI GPS and mounting it on the back instead of swapping it from back to front. For the front, I really like some of the basic Lowrance DI models they have that run about $150. They don't have GPS but if I can find the spots with the Helix, then hopefully I can use the cheaper front unit's down imaging to stay on them. It may be sacrilege to run two different brands on the same boat but I don't care
. I guess the cheaper Humminbirds are also an option but they don't appear to have as good of displays at first glance.
I am interested in your research on moving the Helix to different locations as well though. I have another boat which I would like to share the Helix between.
I bought another mount bracket, transducer extension cable, and power cable. I think it ran me about $85? My intention is to run the wires and just leave the connectors at wherever I end up mounting the unit. HB used to make a unit switch, the US3, that would have made it a bit easier to switch between locations but the switches are pretty much impossible to find so I will either do one of two things, just plug the extension cable in or splice the wiring together to T the wiring off to either mounting location. My intent will hopefully be to mount the brackets in the two locations and just use the knurl knobs to mover the until between the two. I don't really think I want the unit back there all the time, but there are times when I am just surveying an area and want to be able to mark fish/structure on the unit. If I start loving a unit back there too much, I am sure I will end up biting the bullet and going to a two-unit network.
As much as I think I already want to do so now, I was able to talk myself back off the ledge and go with the less costlier way of trying it out. I was really close too, was able to price out both a 899 and 859 unit for a shade over $1K. Would have been a little more with the network cables, etc...but cheap with all being considered.
Have you decided how you are mounting your back unit? I have a 1552 so it's going to be a little too wide I think to mount off the side.
