Topic: Some newbie questions for the kind experts on HB forum

[LImmy]

Hello all,  I'm a proud owner of a new 998 SI unit.  My first Humminbird and I'm anxious to get it set up...  It's the wrong time of year for this I know, up here in Ohio, but I'm going to install anyway.  Can you folks please let me know any and all things that I should do to get up and running?  I'm sure I'll have questions along the way but here are a few starters...

How do I find out what software I have and do I need an upgrade?
How large of an SD card should I get for storage of information?
Will a Navionics SD card from my Eagle unit work in my 998?
Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated... I'm a soon to be retired bass fisherman and can't wait till March 2012...  Thanks in advance.. Limmy

[LocDown]

Congrats on the purchase.

To find the software version, on startup press menu and goto system status or while in normal operation mode, enable the self test view and change to that view for software version number.
I'm using a 16gb SD card so you can at least use up to that, might be able to go with 32gb if you want that much. lol
The Navionics card should work in your 998.

..As for tips or information, just check youtube for videos on how to setup and use your side imaging unit.

[George]

Welcome Limmy

You may want to get electrical converter for the house to play with your unit in the warmth of your house.  You can hook up your GPS and put the transducer in water.  This way you can play with your unit live and learn how to set it up.  On good days during the winter I take my boat out and drive around slowly making recordings to locate fish and structure and to review the recordings on the computer.  You will see a lot more with the larger computer screen and learn how to recognize different things.

Download Hummviewer and get some recordings to view on your computer.  You will be amazed at the journey that your unit will take you. 

Also, you should go to Doug Vahrenberg's site and view his videos including a 9 part seminar which is very informative, even though he is talking about the 1198 it is very relevant to all of the SI units.  Doug will show you how to properly start set up your unit to get the most out of it.  Everything is not in stone but a starting point for making adjustments. 

--->  http://www.dougvahrenberg.com/Videos.html  <---

There is tons of information on this site which will probably answer most of your questions, but  do not hesitate to ask a question no matter how simple you think it is, it is questions that helps all of us.

George

[Humminbird_Greg]

LocDown told you right on checking for the software version in your unit.

For the memory card size: what are you going to be using this for?  If all you are going to do is use it for software updates and moving GPS Data (Waypoints, Tracks and Routes) than you could use a very small (by today’s standards) memory card like a 16MB MMC card.  Anything larger will work for this as well.  If you are going to be taking lots of Screen Snapshots, than go to a larger memory card and think about getting one of the faster memory cards.  A 2GB memory card would work and be larger than you need for this.  If you are going to get into making Sonar Recordings like George; than I suggest getting at least a 2GB (if not a 4GB or larger) SDHC memory card.  Also look for one that has a very fast read/write speed like the SanDisk Extreme III memory cards.

What is the type of Navionics mapping card you have in your Eagle unit?  The Navionics Gold, Platinum and Premium mapping cards will work in your 998c Si unit as will a few other Navionics mapping cards.

[sonar2000]

As far a operation and setup......
Play with the unit for a while to learn the menu and options so you can get to the option by memory and not the book page.
When you get out on the water play with the settings until you get a feel for how they affect the display.
What works for one is not always the same for another.The more you use it the better you will become.
Boat speed and water depth play a big part in returns so have fun and just try different options until you find your optimal setting for you..
Chuck