Humminbird 997c si

adrianevo · 22 March 2008, 17:54

Hi anyone got a humminbird side imaging sonar?
Do they work?I'm buying one from the U.S.do the gold charts work?
Please let me know as i think it could be a great aid to findiing wrecks
and surrounding debris in poor vis!
Cheers Adrian

jyasaki · 26 March 2008, 16:46

My dive buddy got one for their 20'ish Apex. They were looking forward to being able to ID new dive sites, and see exactly what wrecks looked like and such.

Their current evaluation is that it doesn't work. Last weekend, they tried getting a shot of a 40' sailboat hull that sits in about 25' of water. Carol said she saw a blob, and that was it.

Here's what she posted on the exercise:

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
While waiting for Jeff and his buddies we cruised around running my Humminbird sidescan over the barge and the sail boat to see what they looked like on it. The barge was pretty much unseeable.
The sailboat showed up well, but didn't look very boatlike. All in all, I wouldn't buy the Humminbird again. That feature is pretty useless, but not cheap. :-)
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Note: The Barge was a 60 to 80' sailing vessel that had been dismasted and used to tow cargo around the Monterey area. It apparently burned and sank (and not necessarily accidentally.) It's now just a series of ribs and some planking sitting in 65 feet, with a relief of maybe 3 feet at the high points.

The sailboat, as I said, sits in 25 feet, partially buried, and has a relief of at least ten feet. It *may* be made of cement, though I suspect it's glas. I haven't been diving on that particular site for many years, so the current data may be a little suspect. FWIW, my Lowrance apparently picked up about the same echoes off the sailboat as her Humminbird thingie.

jky

Diver · 26 March 2008, 18:50

Try to search for humminbird on this forum. I have posted a few times on this subject with snapshots of wrecks I have found as deep as 150´. I find the 997 a really good tool for the money and have just ordered the bigbrother 1197, in the USA, the dollar is so weak now!

It takes some time to get really good pictures, but for the initial wreck search it is GREAT!

Regards
Henrik

captnjack · 26 March 2008, 23:40

The sidescan features work very well on metal, less so on wood and GRP. But 80% of this functionality is up to the operator. It can be challenging to interpret. You won't be mowing the ocean and finding very many new wrecks with it. But to help you find things when you are already in the area it can be helpful. I have the smaller screened 797 unit.

paul holder · 27 March 2008, 10:32

there was a diver in the baultic posted images on this forum some time back.they were from a 977, & in 150ft water & were very good ,.he was going to move to the 1197 .they are being released in uk june time.

Diver · 27 March 2008, 19:54

I Think that diver was me:-)

I have never searched for GRP hull, but that is useless anyway... Wooden structure and wooden ships will show up perfectly!

Attached picture of 18th century WOODEN wreck..:-)

But of course you will not find many new wrecks without postions to start from.

Regards
Henrik

Diver · 27 March 2008, 19:55

oh.. and this wrecks is 25m long...

adrianevo · 28 March 2008, 00:33

Thanks guys looks like i'll have to suck it and see for myself!
will post results,keep scan picks coming!

Simon B · 28 March 2008, 13:29

You are starting to make me jealous Diver, I wonder if Humminbird could smooth the image; the line down the centre or the side should be flat this could be off set off.

Diver · 28 March 2008, 14:33

Hi Simon,

I dont really know what you mean?? off set off?

The sonar files have so much more information than the snapshot shows. There is a file converter called Yellow fin, which makes the pictures even better... I just don´t know how to get it to work, need a DANISH manual!

Season just started over here.. I have had 12 dives in March allready, all ready and we have a handfull of new positions in the Baltic to check out.

Regards
Henrik

Simon B · 28 March 2008, 15:06

Re-align the image to smooth out all the ups and downs caused by waves.

Diver, there is a forum had you seen it?

Humminbird Forum

Diver · 28 March 2008, 16:02

Ok, no I dont know if it can be done... but if the sea is calm, then its no problem to get it almost straight..

Yeah, I have seen the forum. Usefull, have posted there a few times, the pros are really cool, fast replies. But they are not doing much wreck search "over there" and most of the picures they post are from shallow water.

Henrik

paul holder · 28 March 2008, 17:31

diver were is the unit mounted & how ,.can you see it from stearing possition wilst sat down ..i have a1197 on order for the uk delivery june may be .if i mount into consul to my left i am conserned about if i will be able to see it in sun light

Diver · 28 March 2008, 21:05

Hi Paul,

The 1197 should be more bright than the 997, which is not the best (really faint compared to my Garmin 4012), but still able to see the needed details in bright daylight. You can choose from different coulors for the scan mode.. Gray is best in light and inverse is best in clouded conditions.

My 1197 is stuck in the US, waiting for a friend to come over in May.

Here´s a picture of my setup.

Regards

adrianevo · 29 March 2008, 11:34

Hi Henrik,
Now you are making me jealous,12 dives this year'in the baltic?.
The Irish sea is not so forgiving!wind wind wind and more wind this year,
the only uk dives i get are in puddles(quarrys).
cheers adrian.

Diver · 29 March 2008, 12:46

Hey Adrian,

Every time the wind is calm, we go out, no matter what day of the week. We are so lucky to be a group who manage our work time pretty much as we want...

Well, the baltic includes Øresund and Kattegat, the more northern part of the Baltic, closer to the North Sea, a bit saltier. Thursday we went 21 nautical miles out dived 3 dives! Brrr.. very cold:-)

Pictures show at speed and the catch.

Henrik

adrianevo · 01 April 2008, 13:53

Hi henrik,
What depths are you diving?is it mainly wrecks?do you think i should go fo the 1197?is it that much different from the 997?
I used to visit denmark,my girfriend was from Koge copenhagen.where are you?
Cheers adrian.

adrianevo · 01 April 2008, 23:46

Hi Henrik.
Another question,do the maps work on gps?
Cheers Adrian.

Diver · 03 April 2008, 09:23

Hi agian,

I think the 1197 is better. Not only because of the size, but also the set up on the screen is better. The data boxes is in the lower part of the screen not to the side as on the 997, so the sonar image goes all the way from side to side, an there fore a larger image and easier to spot the details.

I have not tried the maps on the 997, as I have an other plotter too, so only use the sonar and for bacpup gps, but it is a chart plotter.

I do only do wreck diving. We dive on air down to 55-58m, but most wrecks is from 40-50m. We were out yesterday again, found a new wreck in 45m of water. Probably a really old wooden wreck. We didnt dive it, as the water is to cold for long deco!

I live in Copenhagen, that is 30 km north of Køge.

Henrik

karlT · 06 April 2008, 12:40

I have a 987cx si. The US version does not have metric option so opted for uk model (extra £200) so you are stuck with feet for depths. Navionics charts are very clear. I wanted metric because when navigating tricky / unknown areas off the beaten track I always have a paper chart to see drying heights of rocks which aren't very clear on electronic charts.

Bigger screen will definitely be a benefit. As said in previous posts the system requires a lot of patience in setting up both transducer position and operating functions. Best speed for scanning is around 3-4 knots but depth / echosounder works well at speed.

I have had some very good images of known wrecks and have also found a couple of small wrecks in shallow water (less than 30m). Have not had much success in deeper water but then have not tried extensively either.

KarlT