HumminBird's NEW ICE Machine

[CamoHunter]

Guess it depends how large of shack we're talking about.  Both fishing in a flipover shack, probably too much interference.  Both fishing inside a large wheelhouse, probably not an issue.  I've fished with a friend in an ice castle, he had an LX-9, I had a 788ci HD, probably fishing 10ft apart in 25ft of water, and we didn't have any issues. 

[Chadx]

So.....just to clarify, seems to be differences of opinions. If I had this unit in the same house as a LX7, we would both get interference but can get rid of it with our rejection options on the units? I normally fish with a buddy who has a LX7 and it would suck if neither worked well. Thanks guys.

Depends on what frequency you run your humminbird sonar. 688 ice can run at 83 or 200 kHz. Marcum lx7 transmits at 200 kHz. If you get interference, maybe just set your sonar to only 83 kHz?  200 does give more detail and is nicer, i think, but if its the only way, it's an option.

The humminbird ice flashers are 240 and 455 kHz so that is why some like to run those; no interference with the marcum or vexilars or the humminbird sonars which all run at 200 kHz.

[CamoHunter]

83khz is usually just way too wide of sonar cone to be of much use.  Usually too much dead zone, and slower return.

[C.A.M.O.]

Took the New HB 688 ci out today and it work great, the transducer was defective but HB took real good care of that problem, and fast too.
Loving it so far. and caught lots of perch today 

[Yankee Troller]

So.....just to clarify, seems to be differences of opinions. If I had this unit in the same house as a LX7, we would both get interference but can get rid of it with our rejection options on the units? I normally fish with a buddy who has a LX7 and it would suck if neither worked well. Thanks guys.

Fished 20' of water this weekend next to my buddy with his LX9. We were 20 yards apart. I was able to use the noise filter to get most of the interference to go away, but it wasn't completely gone. Because of this I never even wanted to try to get in the same shack as him. It's all good though. My 'Bird caught me more fish than his LX9 LOL

[C.A.M.O.]

Good news to hear Yankee Troller! 

[BrianPeterson]

I really want to buy this unit, but am concerned about the interference issues. I wonder if Bird is aware of this issue? If they could find a way to improve on this I think they would be huge sellers!

[Yankee Troller]

I really want to buy this unit, but am concerned about the interference issues. I wonder if Bird is aware of this issue? If they could find a way to improve on this I think they would be huge sellers!

It's something you're gonna have to deal with when manufacturers start using similar frequencies on their ducers. I see it on my charter boat when another boat gets too close trolling on Lake Ontario. The shallower the water the closer you can be without interference.

[JiggerMan]

How do you guys think these 688's are going to compare to the helix 5 sonar/gps.  I have will probably be in the market this year for an upgrade from my current bird. 

Can you turn the GPS off n these units after your done using it?

[matzilla]

Helix units are at a slightly different price point....have a wide screen. Other than that they're very comparable. I remember seeing 688ci di's on sale last year for $350, however. A 688 can use a quad beam skimmer but that's about the only major difference feature wise

You cannot turn off the gps on my helix - if you're looking to save power use just turn the backlight down to 1-3. This will save more power than any other setting on the unit. They don't draw much from a battery

[Yankee Troller]

You also lose the 3 favorite view buttons when going with the Helix.

[matzilla]

Forgot about that...not a big deal for ice fishing (I use a single view) but would come in very handy on open water

[Yankee Troller]

Forgot about that...not a big deal for ice fishing (I use a single view) but would come in very handy on open water

It's nice to switch from sonar to chart plotter, but you're right it'd be used much more on the open water.

[phoolish]

Just picked one up from the bargain cave. 440 bones 400 after my cabelas points. only thing is that it didn't have a case but they said I can just call hummingbird and they will send one for free. Going to test it out tomorrow

[C.A.M.O.]

Just picked one up from the bargain cave. 440 bones 400 after my cabelas points. only thing is that it didn't have a case but they said I can just call hummingbird and they will send one for free. Going to test it out tomorrow

I'm sure you will love it, very nice unit, works great!

[phoolish]

I hope so was going to try it out tonight but the wind is a lil but I'll try it out tomorrow on big bass lake

[phoolish]

anybody know what size thread fits into that threaded brass insert on the base of the 688? i want to make a transducer arm but can find a bolt to fit into it so i can mount it.

[Yankee Troller]

anybody know what size thread fits into that threaded brass insert on the base of the 688? i want to make a transducer arm but can find a bolt to fit into it so i can mount it.

It's a weird size. I forgot what it was. I took mine to the hardware store and figure it out there.

[phoolish]

thanks, thats what i was thinking about doing. i work at a screw machine shop and none of the std. setscrews we have here fit.

[phoolish]

ive been able to try it out a few times and i love it. it makes a world of difference being able to see whats going on even if i cant get the window shopper to bite. They also seem to have great customer service. when i bought mine it didn't have the bag like it should have gave them a call and in 3 days i had a package at my door. There was some miscommunication they sent be a battery instead of a case, sent them an email and now the soft case should be here tomorrow. They haven't asked me to pay a dime and there was no hassle just a little miscommunication.

[Yankee Troller]

This guy does a great job explaining the power of the 688. Follow him on Youtube. He comes out with videos pretty regularly.

[matzilla]

Jason has some great videos online for using a lot of features that carry over between all of the series of HB's. I use mine the same way to find and fish some steeper drops in small ponds

[phoolish]

just subscribed, thanks

[Yankee Troller]

FYI guys......new software version was released about 10 days ago.

[Yankee Troller]

FYI guys......new software version was released about 10 days ago.

Hold off on this. I noticed when I DL'd the file it was named 7.1 like the version we already have loaded. I have an e-mil into them.

[C.A.M.O.]

I was going to do the same thing and call them, 7.1 is in the unit now, 7.5 download file is not working yet.
Any news why, I didn't make the call.

[Yankee Troller]

I will try to get an answer this week.

[Channel Z]

I had 7.110 software on my 678 c HD when I bought it new.  Was setting up the configuration to be similar to my 385 ci DI.  Had a problem with the initial configuration screen that came up when was started new, Water Type and Maximum Depth.  Every time I tried to set Maximum Depth from Auto to 50’ which is the max depth I fish the unit would freeze up and required to be disconnected from the battery.  Decided to bypass that screen then went in and set lower range to the max of 1500’, user mode to advanced, Ice fishing Mode On then was able to set Maximum Depth to 50’ and no freeze up.  Did a power cycle and it seemed to work OK.  Decided to do a Factory Reset to see what the settings would be after it was reset.  Following power cycle after Factory Reset the unit was bricked.  Would freeze up in about 5 seconds after pressing any button to get it to work.  When I called Tech support to discuss the problem the support person pulled out the same model and tried to duplicate the problem but her unit and an older version of software, 6.8? so could not recreate the problem.  I sent it back to the mother ship for them to straighten it out.  Service notice shows General Technician Diagnosis as software, DUH, and Specific Technician Diagnosis as 25- Features Incorrect.  The unit is on it’s way back here along with the repaired defective Iceducer that I bought for the 678, scheduled delivery Tuesday.  Looking forward to seeing what software version is on it now.  BTW, I can lock up my 385ci DI by going into demonstration mode and try to change Maximum Depth from Auto.  Make the change and it will freeze.  I included that info with unit return so hopefully the next software release will solve the lockup problem.  I can say that Humminbird Tech Support was excellent.  When I complained about having to spend $60 to buy cables to upgrade the software on the 678, a few days later a box showed up on my doorstep with the cables, turnaround time not too bad on the repair but I remember someone writing on a Marcum topic that the best technical support is the one you never have to use because their products have no defects. 

[Channel Z]

UPDATE!  Just received my repaired 678c HD and the software version installed is 7.520.  Went through the procedure I used to brick it with 7.110 and it did not lock up when powered up and made change to Max Depth and did not brick after making other changes noted in prior post doing factory reset, that worked as it should.  So all seems good now  .  Looking forward to see how it compares to my 385ci DI for icefishing which was totally transformed into an awesome icefishing FF after adding the iceducer to it.  I expect no difference in performance between the two.  I will be playing with max depth as that seems to control ping rate.  When you power the unit up into normal mode, set chart speed to Ultra and listen to the pinging from the transducer as you change max depth from Auto, you will see the display really zip when at minimal depth and taper off as depth is increased, with a noticeable audible step change at 50'.  That's as far as I went.  I want to see how that affects display noise and resolution along with changes to surface clutter.

[Yankee Troller]

I was going to do the same thing and call them, 7.1 is in the unit now, 7.5 download file is not working yet.
Any news why, I didn't make the call.

Looks to be fixed. Will DL it tonight.