Just got a Helix 7 and have a problem

[markg]

I just got a Humminbird Helix 7 and love it, but when I travel from point a to point b at 30 to 40 mph it wont give me any depth readings. Do I have to change a setting? it works fine at low speed, just wont give any high speed readings.

[fish99]

reposition the transducer

[markg]

You mean put it on a different spot on the the back of the boat?

[Lambo]

Try lowering it first. Transducer might be in too much turbulent water at higher speeds. Need to find smoother water. I had same problem.

[58thecat]

Yup she is in turbulent water.....relocate.....

[SamSteele]

Which model Helix 7 do you have? If it is a 2D transducer you likely need to lower it a bit as well as make sure it isn't behind a strake or row of rivets. Play around with the position (up/down, left/right) and you should get it to read depth at a decent speed.

If it is DI or SI it has a larger transducer that can be tricky to get positioned just right. If it's too low you should get depth readings on plane, but it will create a rooster tail that can spray into the back of your boat. Too high and the water flowing across the bottom face of it will be turbulent so it can't read depth. You also don't want this expensive transducer hanging too low below the bottom of your boat in case you hit something or beach it and it gets damaged. Lots of guys run a "Y cable" from the sonar that splits the 2D signal from the transducer cable and then they attach a 2D transducer to this Y. The unit pulls 2D from the 2D transducer and the DI or SI from the other transducer. You set the 2D lower than the DI/SI transducer which gives you good depth on 2D at plane and protects your DI/SI transducer.

Hope that helps. Posting a picture of the transducer location/placement on the boat would help too.

SS

[58thecat]

Which model Helix 7 do you have? If it is a 2D transducer you likely need to lower it a bit as well as make sure it isn't behind a strake or row of rivets. Play around with the position (up/down, left/right) and you should get it to read depth at a decent speed.

If it is DI or SI it has a larger transducer that can be tricky to get positioned just right. If it's too low you should get depth readings on plane, but it will create a rooster tail that can spray into the back of your boat. Too high and the water flowing across the bottom face of it will be turbulent so it can't read depth. You also don't want this expensive transducer hanging too low below the bottom of your boat in case you hit something or beach it and it gets damaged. Lots of guys run a "Y cable" from the sonar that splits the 2D signal from the transducer cable and then they attach a 2D transducer to this Y. The unit pulls 2D from the 2D transducer and the DI or SI from the other transducer. You set the 2D lower than the DI/SI transducer which gives you good depth on 2D at plane and protects your DI/SI transducer.

Hope that helps. Posting a picture of the transducer location/placement on the boat would help too.

SS



You sir are a world of knowledge as I had the same issue but limited to where I could locate the transducer in a small tinner so opted to keep it in a location that at 10mph I loose the signal but slow down a bit and all is good can operate si and di which is good enough for me but if I was overly concerned I would follow your directions.....don’t wanna rip the bugger off the boat as I fart around in the shallows:)

[markg]

Those are great pieces of advice. Next time I am out fishing I will post a photo. It is the mega side imaging/ down imagining.

[deschambault]

Don't necessarily lower the transducer, depending on where it is located. They work best when the bottom of the transducer matches the bottom of the boat so that you get a smooth flow of water. If the transducer is too low it creates its own turbulence which results in loss of signal return. Also make sure the transducer is not pointed up but is parallel to the boat bottom.

[SamSteele]

Don't necessarily lower the transducer, depending on where it is located. They work best when the bottom of the transducer matches the bottom of the boat so that you get a smooth flow of water. If the transducer is too low it creates its own turbulence which results in loss of signal return. Also make sure the transducer is not pointed up but is parallel to the boat bottom.

Deschambault makes a good point. This is where a picture is really helpful. In my experience, most people mount the transducer too high so that is always my "go to" advice. If more than half the thickness of the transducer is below the bottom of the boat it is likely too low. You would probably see a big rooster tail if that was the case though.

It's also true that just because the transducer looks level on the trailer doesn't mean that it is level in the water. Most boats sit lower in the rear on the water than they do on a trailer. There are good YouTube videos on transducer leveling where you use a small level and a stack of coins to figure out how your boat sits in the water, then replicate that on land using your trailer tongue jack so you can adjust your transducer to sit level in the water. That definitely helps get good signal returns and the nice arches that we are told to look for.

[barbless]

Deschambault makes a good point. This is where a picture is really helpful. In my experience, most people mount the transducer too high so that is always my "go to" advice. If more than half the thickness of the transducer is below the bottom of the boat it is likely too low. You would probably see a big rooster tail if that was the case though.

It's also true that just because the transducer looks level on the trailer doesn't mean that it is level in the water. Most boats sit lower in the rear on the water than they do on a trailer. There are good YouTube videos on transducer leveling where you use a small level and a stack of coins to figure out how your boat sits in the water, then replicate that on land using your trailer tongue jack so you can adjust your transducer to sit level in the water. That definitely helps get good signal returns and the nice arches that we are told to look for.

These are both perfect points. Read what is said. Your boat position in the water (weight in the back) and what position your transducer is actually pointing and reading will tell you what you need to know (rooster at speed.)

[markg]

The transducer has a release that makes it move around on the transducer. I just have to click it back in.

Seems to work, but when I accelerate out of the hole shot sometimes it comes loose