Humminbird ice helix 7

[reelrusty]

     This thread caught my attention initially 'cause I thought y'all were talking about adapting your boat unit to ice fishing which I've done with my older Humminbird 798. I'm happy with what I've got for image and all but I'm at a loss as to what to use for power. So far I've drug along a 27 series deep cycle 'cause I typically stay out for a couple of days and it does work but I'm not getting any younger and I'd like to start using a smaller/lighter sealed lead acid battery that I could get 2 days fishing out of. Anybody have any ideas what battery might do the job? I dry camp ice fishing and leaving the generator running long enough to 3 amp charge a battery seems to not be an option. Thanks all!

[ice dawg]

I have a couple 12v 25ah SLA batteries powering my wheel house. I would think one would work for what you want to do.

[reelrusty]

Many thanks ice dawg! I had no idea what amp hr battery to look for! BTW love the pic of yer ice fishin buddy. I had a Chessie that loved ice fishing. Especially when picking up at the end of fishing. He loved the minnows I'd take off the line when putting tip ups away!

[IceholeFisherman]

Previous posts are correct about si/di. Good for open water but pretty worthless for ice fishing.

For side imaging....
UNDERSTANDING THE BEAM

Humminbird Side Imaging Sonar uses a razor thin beam to take a “sonar snapshot” of the area up to 240  ft. to the left and right of your location. The return image for this slice is then added to the images taken immediately before and after to build an incredibly detailed view of the lake bottom.

Down imaging works the same way. Speed is important. The manual suggests speeds between 2 and 6 mph, depending on side imaging range setting  and depth.

And, unless they are BIG, down and side imaging is pretty much worthless for seeing fish. I learned this while using spilt screen.

Properly using the si/di as a structure mapping tool, and the switchfire 2D for finding fish, it is a very powerful and useful tool.

[bee]

     This thread caught my attention initially 'cause I thought y'all were talking about adapting your boat unit to ice fishing which I've done with my older Humminbird 798. I'm happy with what I've got for image and all but I'm at a loss as to what to use for power. So far I've drug along a 27 series deep cycle 'cause I typically stay out for a couple of days and it does work but I'm not getting any younger and I'd like to start using a smaller/lighter sealed lead acid battery that I could get 2 days fishing out of. Anybody have any ideas what battery might do the job? I dry camp ice fishing and leaving the generator running long enough to 3 amp charge a battery seems to not be an option. Thanks all!

I use a 4.5 amp LiPo Battery.

[ice dawg]

Many thanks ice dawg! I had no idea what amp hr battery to look for! BTW love the pic of yer ice fishin buddy. I had a Chessie that loved ice fishing. Especially when picking up at the end of fishing. He loved the minnows I'd take off the line when putting tip ups away!

I think my 25 ah batteries weigh about 24 lbs each. I think if I were in you're position, I would use three 9 ah SLA flasher batteries to save weight and space.

[reelrusty]

     Many thanks bee and ice dawg!
I've been looking at SLA batteries on line differently now. I think I need to try 2 batteries like are in my Vex 18 parallel and see what happens. I get a couple days use on a fully charged batt in my Vex. What the heck, if that kind of set up doesn't power my Humminbird for a couple of days I'll have plenty of extras for my Vex!! Wow! what if Santa brings that Marcum 485 unit? I'll have so many damn batteries I'll need another sled!!

[ice dawg]

I like extra batteries. I use one with my MoPod and another for a portable fan in my porties. The two 25 ah batteries in my wheelhouse are 13 years old and still going strong. My wheelhouse was in storage for 3 years and when I brought it home I hooked the batteries up, turned on the lights and radio. Everything powered up fine and the batteries were fully charged in 20 minutes after I plugged my onboard charger in.

[sirjigalot]

(Image removed from quote.)

Yes, Humminbird makes an ice unit. It does have a flasher mode, same as the stand alone 7.

Curious on how long the battery life is on ice...? Thanks

[Figure ate]

Curious on how long the battery life is on ice...? Thanks

It varies depending on how bright you have the screen. 3-4 hours on 10 brightness 10+ hours on lesser settings

[johnsazr]

So I  have the G2 DI Chirp model Helix 7 and reading this thread it appears I should get the XI 9-1521 and take advantage of chirp..If I loop the DI transducer that came with the unit for now, what are the settings I should use for Ice? thanks for the help..I am new to fishing and the technology in 2017 ...I am setting this up now...using a power cord I already had and ordered the following:

[Uncle Al]

I know this is an old thread but how are things working out with the helix 5's and 7's as far as using them year round, I need a new unit for my boat, and like the idea of using the same unit for ice fishing, thanks.

[Figure ate]

I know this is an old thread but how are things working out with the helix 5's and 7's as far as using them year round, I need a new unit for my boat, and like the idea of using the same unit for ice fishing, thanks.

I bought both a helix 5 and 7 G2 in April of 2017. Both have been used on my boat and ice for 2 years and performed very well.