This review of the Humminbird 898c si Sonar/GPS with HD Down and Side Imaging explains why it is one of the most complete fish finding machines you will find on the market today. Humminbird has come out with this model to give fisherman, like you, the features you are looking for, at a reasonable price. Scroll down to learn about many of the key aspects of the Humminbird 898c si that will help you spend more productive time on the water.
Humminbird 898c si Features
- A newer, faster microprocessor for increased refresh times
- A spacious 7”, 480V x 800H pixel, 256-color LCD screen
- Sonar Coverage: 20/60/180 degrees
- Peak-to-peak power output: 8,000 watts
- Depth: 1500 2 Dimensional, 480’ Side Imaging width, 150′ Side Imaging depth
- Speed/temperature
- Navionics & Lakemaster compatible
- High-definition Side Imaging and Down Imaging
- SwitchFire downlooking sonar
- 50-channel external GPS+WAAS with chartplotting
- Dual SD Card Slot
- Video-out and Ethernet port on back of unit head – allow for future expandability
Side Imaging
Side Imaging on the Humminbird 898c si may have been the biggest thing to hit the fish finder world since the arrival of a combo GPS/sonar. Humminbird developed Side Imaging in the mid-2000s and captured what many fishermen had always wanted: a picture of what’s under the surface of the water. With the Side Imaging on your Humminbird 898c si, your fish finder can show amazing detail of the bottom of the lake up to 240’ wide, to the left and right of the boat. Learning about the structure you fish over, and how it looks is truly an amazing experience. Cruise over the structure with the Humminbird 898c and get a clear view of what’s actually down there. You can even pick out the fish within the structure! Take your friends and family around and amaze them with this imaging technology. You never know what you’ll see down there.
Down Imaging
If you thought Side Imaging on the Humminbird 898c si was cool, now they have come out with Down Imaging. Down Imaging creates “snapshots” while emitting super thin slices of high-frequency sound waves. This gives you the ability to see the structure with a side view, even though you are going over the top of it. If you turn on Narrow Mode, it analyzes the returns to verify the position of the echoes to ensure Down Imaging only shows you structure and activity beneath you, and not off to one side or another. Having down imaging on your fish finder will give you the advantage that all the pros use.
Switchfire
Of all the amazing aspects of the Humminbird 898c si fish finder, SwitchFire ranks right at the top. SwitchFire sonar modes let you adjust the view on the screen to the fishing conditions. You have two modes to choose from. Max Mode and Clear Mode.
Max Mode
In Max Mode, sonar returns really come to life from the screen, in amazing detail. You’ll see the tiniest subsurface object (even thermoclines and water currents) for complete underwater coverage. Since Max Mode returns so much information on the screen, it may be difficult for an unexperienced user to interpret what they see on the screen.
Clear Mode
In SwitchFire Clear Mode, Time Variable Gain (TVG) software sifts through sonar returns to display only fish and structure – great for fishing in shallow and rough water, or for reducing undesired clutter in the water column. Clear Mode will be very beneficial to a newer user of the Humminbird 898c or people that have a tough time interpreting what they see on the sonar screen.
Additional Features
Screen Views
With three soft-key preset buttons on your Humminbird 898c, you can create multiple views with GPS/Side Imaging or Side Imaging/sonar or GPS/sonar, or many more. It’s easily customizable for ease of operation. The large screen makes it easy to see the detail of the screen as well.
Memory, GPS, Mapping
The Humminbird 898c’s dual SD card slot expands unit memory, giving you the oppurtunity to save screenshots of your fish finder to share with friends and family. Forums on the internet are great places to meet with other fishermen to discuss and interpret your screenshots, as well as everyone else’s.
The 50-channel external GPS will keep you locked in on your location to make sure you don’t slip off the magic fishin spot. And to help you find the safe path to the fishing spot, the Humminbird 898c fish finder is also LakeMaster and Navionics compatible-giving you a great visual of where you are on the water.
Summary and Additional Information
Now that you’ve read all about the Humminbird 898c fish finder, you can see why professionals choose Humminbird products. If you are unsure the Humminbird 898c is for you, click here for an all to often scenario that you may be a victim of.
