Fish finders are NOT supposed to be disposable....

[Greg]

Get this, most of you know I got a new boat last year - it came equipped with a new Humminbird Helix7 at the main console - no issues with that unit - works great - installed a Ram mount last week for easier viewing and that is excellent.

The dealership also put a small humminbird 197C at the front on the floor which connects to the transducer in the electric motor - just so you have depth and water temperature while casting - nothing fancy, but it had a colour screen and it worked great, until 2 weekends ago, when it just started having issues - it would turn on and say "No Transducer connected" - Huh?  Did some diagnosis, my boat dealer lent me a transducer just to plug in and try - same message!!  So I unhooked the Helix 7 and plugged that in up front and it worked fine - so obviously the fish finder is at fault.  I did a factory reset on the device, checked all the pins and cables and everything seems ok, but still has the same issue.

I go to the boat dealer and it is after my 1 year warranty, so no luck there.  They recommended I call the official repair dealer (in a little town in Quebec about an 75 minutes away) - I tell them what model it is and they flat out said we don't accept those because it is cheaper to buy a new one, versus paying them to look at it, shipping and any parts necessary!  Wow, a disposable fish finder that lasts a year.  Disappointing.  Ok - I get it is the cheapest little piece of cr*@#p in their line up, but it is just for the front of the boat!  I don't need a GPS with Maps with down imaging at the front of the boat... so now I have a fish finder sitting on my desk which I have to scrape and try to replace.  I've looked at all the normal avenues online (Cabelas, BassPro, Sail, Kijiji, etc.).  Either I pay $400 for a used Helix 5 or 7 or just go buy another cheap one for $149.

Any thoughts?  Advice?  Special places to hit it with a hammer?   All the wiring is in place for a Hummingbird, so it makes sense to just buy another Humminbird and like anybody with a vacation coming up (Alwaki, here we come!!) - I am on a budget.

Anybody got a spare Humminbird for sale they want to donate?  or get rid of at a low price?

Greg

P.S.  Fishing has been good here lately - on the Ottawa river about 10 times so far this season and have not been skunked and went away for a 2 day fishing vacation at White Lake - I probably have landed close to 50 fish (Pike and bass) so far.

[RHYBAK]

Greg
Sorry to hear that but we do live in a disposable society.
Electronics are built cheap, sold expensive and not worth fixing.

My suggestion.... If you know somebody in the US ( T-Bone) coming up on your week, see if they can hit a Cabela's Bargain Barn down there and find one cheap.OR  get their address, find a cheap alternative , have it sent to their house and they bring it up for you.

[RHYBAK]

Greg
Here you go

https://www.cabelas.com/product/bargain-cave/electronics/boating-electronics/pc/105591780/c/105681780/sc/105684480/humminbird-helix-di-g/2418554.uts?slotId=0

[Canuckbass]

That sucks!! Usually those cheaper ones last forever!!

Down the road is look into having gps at front if you have a trolling motor and casting, allows you to stay on breaklines etc.

I may have exact model at home never used, won it in a pike derby or something. I opened it for the transducer but never ended up using it.

Lowrance Hook3x are less then $100 at Canadian Tire now, for what they are they’re a great unit. Caught my limit of walleye last night because of it.

[Greg]

Thanks RHYBAK - that model is a very good suggestion - and the sale on at Cabelas US site is a very good one for sure - after conversion, that would be about $250 CAD and it is at Cabelas Canadian web site for $350 - still a $100 savings.

I am going on vacation in August on a road trip with my wife to the US (...as long as Trump doesn't close the boards for us tourists) - maybe I wait and pick up one in person then.

CanuckBass... if you have an old Humminbird laying around, that is exactly what I am looking for - I don't need any wiring or transducer - just need the unit... let me know if you want to sell it and how much $$.

Thanks guys,
Greg

[Hodgey1]

hummingbird 197C

Greg, That really stinks, I would call the factory and tell them you will MF the HB 197C up one side and down another on multiple fishing sites and Amazon unless they do something for you. They more than likely will offer a remanufactured unit at a reduced cost, worth the call. Otherwise, I will be traveling from PA to Kipawa the end of July if you needed one brought up.

[Greg]

Hodgey, Ya, I was thinking of reaching out direct to Humminbird also - good suggestion.

Thanks for the offer of shuttling one to my neck of the woods - greatly appreciated.

It is not a critical piece of equipment right now, so I am not in an urgent rush to resolve it - I can still go fishing (and that is what counts).

Greg

[Canuckbass]

Call HB direct, their customer service is awesome and sent me a new transducer for free when I had a faulty one.

[Ozzy30]

Sorry to hear that Greg.  I really like the hummingbird models myself.  When I was having issues with my unit a friend of mine who buys the biggest and best hummingbirds out there suggested the repair facility in North Bay when I had an issue and they sent me a new power cable.  Just be aware you wouldn't be saving all that much in states right now, I just came back and $250 is about   $332 Canadian.  I just put a small garmin gps up front for marking the rock piles by Alwaki.  Instead of getting up and walking to the console to hit mark.  Good luck.

[Greg]

Update: I filled out an online form on the Humminbird web site and explained the situation and asked for some support and customer experience gesture.   I'll let you know what they come back with... if anything....

[Hodgey1]

Greg, I'm guessing there will be a happy ending.

No, not that kind Tbone! 

[Greg]

A happy ending... I guess so.... here is how things evolved and landed...

- contacted Humminbird support - after a couple of emails exchanged the last 48 hours - the summary is - if you buy it off the shelf, it has a 1 year warranty (but you have to have proof of purchase with a dated receipt).  If you buy a new HB with a new boat and it is part of an install on a boat, then the warranty is 3 years - and your boat invoice from the dealer has to call the product out as new and being installed as part of the boat purchase. 

Well... I added it on after my invoice was done (I purchased in the late fall and elected to add on the HB fish finder in the spring - so I have no official receipt to submit with it for repair to prove I am within a new boat 3 year warranty period). 

Honest be told, I added it on for a reduced price when the dealership had it as brand new extra because somebody else bought a brand new boat and this unit was on it and they chose to upgrade to something with expanded functionality.

So, after searching the classified and online - Amazaon, Kijiji, Cabelas, BassPro, I just didn't want to lay out the $400 or $500 for a half decent larger and more functional replacement.   

Timing is everything - I went into my local boat store over lunch today just to talk to my salesman about my email exchange with Humminbird and since I was there two days ago, their service department removed two small Humminbird fish-finders from new boats to install upgrades for their new owners - and they were putting the new (equivalent to my old) fish finders in zip lock bags with all the wires, mounts, transducer, etc. and tagging them at a reduced special price - they sell it new in the box for $160, the reduced zip log bag sticker said $125 - I said to him "help a buddy out? I'll offer you $100?" and they accepted my offer.

Same wires as old one, just plug and play, no need for installation or running different wires, just hook it up and go-fish.  And I don't go without it for a month or more while it is in getting repaired and I have a bag of spare fish finder parts to put on my fishing shelf.

Sure, would have been nice to get a free or repaired one, but I guess that is a pretty happy ending.

Greg

[Ozzy30]

Congrats greg, I'm glad it worked out.

[Greg]

Another update... and I thought this was over...

Humminbird service emailed me, they contacted another support center (in North Bay) and asked me to ship them the unit with a bunch of information (they asked for an original invoice bill again, but I explained, again, that it was installed on the boat as part of delivery and not specifically called out on the boat invoice).  They said they would look at it and determine if they could cover it under warranty as it was only about 14 months new.

So, what the heck, I paid $14 to ship it to them.  If they fix it and ship it back, then I have a spare!!  If not, then at least they reached out and made an attempt.

I'll post an update when I get one...

Greg

[limacharley]

You probably shipped it to Bay Distributing right?