Ice helix 7

[johnaronson]

Fished high point lake today.got to use my ice helix 7 for first time. Worked great,except for battery draining after only 5 hours. Any suggestions as different battery alternatives? Can you get a lithium ion battery for it and is this a common problem? I would appreciate any helpful suggestions.

[broonice]

HOWS THE ICE AT HIGH POINT

[bsapp15401]

How are you picking up in the weeds? Seems when I am in the weeds I loose everything, only seeing the weeds and my jig going down...even at that sometimes I cant even see that. I have a 5 that needs updated, not sure if this will help my problem or not.... outside of the weeds I love it!

[johnaronson]

we got on ice at the southern launch.  ice at High Point was 5 good inches with crunch snow on top  first 2 feet from  shore was open but solid enough to jump where ice started.  was able to read the top of weeds and when dropping jig through weeds was able to see a little line going down towards bottom most of the time.  This cold weather should make some more good ice. 

[Schlegs]

I have the same problem with my helix 7, I reduced the brightness before I went out but I am reading that the setting returns back to normal when shut off. I went from 93% to 4% battery power in 5hrs. They say to turn off the gps if you don’t need it. It’s a great unit but has a ton of settings to deal with to make it perform at it’s max in varying conditions. It’s my first season with the unit and just starting to learn how to set it up, but I keep going to different lakes and locations so I don’t get a chance to really tune it in.

[johnaronson]

I'm hoping to try it this weekend if ice is good and will try turning of GPS. I called Humminbird and they said the battery should last much longer than 5 hours. I have an ice 55 and they said to try that battery and see how it works.  I will let you you know.

[Schlegs]

I have a little suggestion for you helix unit, I made a foam piece and put it in the front of my unit to keep my transducer from bouncing around.

[johnaronson]

That's a great suggestion.  Thanks  for the tip  you think they would have made the little well that it sits in a little deeper.

[PaCarpboy]

Thanks Shleps.   That upgrade will work with my 35 and other units as well.  Nice work!

[johnaronson]

I followed your example and did the same for mine

[Schlegs]

I got my helix 7 tuned in and now can easily see fish at a hole or if it’s dead. Still having battery problems, power was lasting pretty well I thought until it hit 50% after 4 hours and then dropped off sharply after the next two hours. I was even turning the unit off when I went to check tippup lines or to eat. Also had the gps turned off.

[bsapp15401]

What settings are you guys using on your helix units? I am having trouble in the weeds... I am going to try to switch over to the graph mode tomorrow... I have my sensitivity all the way down and still seem to not be able to see anything!

[ice dawg]

I got my helix 7 tuned in and now can easily see fish at a hole or if it’s dead. Still having battery problems, power was lasting pretty well I thought until it hit 50% after 4 hours and then dropped off sharply after the next two hours. I was even turning the unit off when I went to check tippup lines or to eat. Also had the gps turned off.

I used my Helix 7 for 9 hours and the battery meter was reading 70%. It read 86% when I started. I use the black background on the screen, night mode and backlight set at 5. The GPS is always on.

[nightfisher]

Screen brightness is the biggest battery draw. Turn it down to 5-6, lower at night.

[Schlegs]

I still have the same problem even running a 15amp Norsk lithium ion battery- now I’m up to 8hrs run time, still not that good. I will have to call hummingbird for more suggestions.

[Wheres Walleye]

In addition to dimming the brightness.  Try having sonar color with the black background which I think is number 6. Also turn on night mode.

[chumster]

Take an extra battery with you until you figure out the problem. Remember to charge both of them after use. One will take less time to recharge each trip.