Humminbirds response to a problem

[mercman]

Bought a 587ciHD Sonar/GPS combo last January.Installed it on my new boat in april, and in my driveway, the unit was reading .8 to 2.3 MPH And that was fluctuating up and down.Also, when on the water near land, it would put my location on the land mass rather than on the water Now i know at 510.00, its not the most expensive unit available, but would you accept this answer from them, concerning the issue?

"Humminbird are aware of this problem and consider this within the normal operating parameters of this unit, "

I underlined the word problem.

 

So, accept this answer, or push the issue with them? What do you all think i should do

[scugpg]

is there any updates to the unit? maybe that will help?

[glen]

I dont believe you.

[Roy]

I told you to get a Lowrance, Paul. Seriously.

[Raf]

What do you all think i should do

 

get a lowrance.

[glen]

Humminbird will fix it for you.

[Fish Farmer]

I have the 587ci and had to ship it to North Bay $30.00 later, got it back in a few days. It was causing static on my VHF Radio. The transducer is a poor design, it throws water up the back of my boat into my motor. I have to get Red Green over with some duck-tape to cover the opening on the transducer.

Would I buy another?

Take yours back were you bought it. Thats what I should have done.

Roy is right.

Edited November 4, 2011 by Fish Farmer

[mercman]

Their local service center was excellent to deal with.The unit was a demo at Sail,(full warranty) and had a card reader problem.They will be replaceing the reader under warranty, but to resolve the GPS problem, they want me to buy an external antenna for 160 bucks.

I dont want this to turn into a Lowrance/Humminbird thread.Both are good units, and both have lots of problems.

For sonar/gps owners in general.Would this answer from the maker of your unit be an acceptable solution for the issue?

[bushart]

I may also have mentioned---Lowrance

[mercman]

here is the email from the service center

 

Paul,

I got your unit in, I will have to replace the card reader and everything should be ready by next Thursday.Re: GPS reading, the new software update might help, but Humminbird are aware of this problem and consider this within the normal operating parameters of this unit, the only thing that can fix this problem for sure is using an external antenna.

Regards,GaryFISHNTECH

 

 

btw

the software has been updated twice, so it si the latest

Edited November 4, 2011 by mercman

[mike rousseau]

i know if they wont fix my unit... cabelas will take it back and ill buy a lowrance unit...

 

my humminbird is only 3 months old and the temp was reading 150 degrees the other day in 53 degree water... and the gps issues that paul mentioned...

 

so either way im gunna have to tear my boat apart to send back the head unit as well as the transducer...

[mike rousseau]

also...

 

the

 

"I told you so"

 

comments arent helping the situation...

[Fisherman]

Bought a 587ciHD Sonar/GPS combo last January.Installed it on my new boat in april, and in my driveway, the unit was reading .8 to 2.3 MPH And that was fluctuating up and down.Also, when on the water near land, it would put my location on the land mass rather than on the water Now i know at 510.00, its not the most expensive unit available, but would you accept this answer from them, concerning the issue?

"Humminbird are aware of this problem and consider this within the normal operating parameters of this unit, "

I underlined the word problem.

 

So, accept this answer, or push the issue with them? What do you all think i should do

 

When you say, when you're close to shore, it indicates you're on land, now if you were at the other side of the lake and on shore, would it put you in the water? I know on my prehistoric Lowrance, it has several options of correction factors if the map or lake and GPS don't line up so you can manually correct it. As for the unit indicating movement when you're standing still(that's a PQ thing, you guys always think you're going faster)although honestly, I think the unit should indicate zero ground speed. I know mine will give fluctuating very low speed readings if I'm walking really slow or just slowly drifting with the boat. If Humminbuzzard knows about the problem, then it's their problem. Unless they advertized it as a crappy product without an external antenna, then they should at least "give" you the antenna. Who pays for repairs if you run into a rockpile, I'm sure it's not in their parameters of things to do.

[aplumma]

The external antenna being the answer indicates the one on the unit is not powerful enough to be accurate. I have 2 units one is internal and the other an external and the external does mark a little more accurately. The degree of accuracy on all of the units are within 20 ft usually. The dirty little secret between all of the units is the program of the units are told to read the nearest water. The GPS units for the car are also told to hold in the lines of the roads or nearest one possible. So basically if their units can't do what you ask no amount of complaining will make it exceed it's design capacity. The antenna while extra in cost is separate from the unit and increases it's designed capacity to what you want. Personally you will at best get to within 10ft of the actual mark. I have seen people who have a false belief that they can track back a route and miss the shoals up North after dark. It is just a game of Russian Roulette for sure.

 

 

 

 

Art

[mercman]

The external antenna being the answer indicates the one on the unit is not powerful enough to be accurate. I have 2 units one is internal and the other an external and the external does mark a little more accurately. The degree of accuracy on all of the units are within 20 ft usually. The dirty little secret between all of the units is the program of the units are told to read the nearest water. The GPS units for the car are also told to hold in the lines of the roads or nearest one possible. So basically if their units can't do what you ask no amount of complaining will make it exceed it's design capacity. The antenna while extra in cost is separate from the unit and increases it's designed capacity to what you want. Personally you will at best get to within 10ft of the actual mark. I have seen people who have a false belief that they can track back a route and miss the shoals up North after dark. It is just a game of Russian Roulette for sure.

 

 

 

 

Art

 

 

Good point Art. I can live with the positioning thing.I can always set the map offset for each body of water i visit, but the speed issue is whats bothering me.When my boat is anchored or parked, it should be showing 0mph, not .8 to 2.6mph, and fluctuating this speed.If i want to precision troll for walleye for example, how do i know what speed i am doing?

 

 

Paul

[DRIFTER_016]

I have seen people who have a false belief that they can track back a route and miss the shoals up North after dark. It is just a game of Russian Roulette for sure.

 

 

 

 

Art

 

Not if you combine your mapping/GPS with a keen eye on your depth finder.

A big freaking light doesn't hurt ether.

[Skipper D]

I own no GPS units , but can't help but think GPS means on the mark . I'd be upset if i own one such device and it did'nt do what i have come to believe they do do .

[Twocoda]

your unit shouldnt be turned on when when the transducer is not in the water to be cooled off....who cares what it says when its on the trailer ....borrow someone elses handheld unit and make sure it is marking an identicle speed when you are fishing/moving ....if it works correctly when it supposed to be working ...then dont sweat it....if it isnt working correctly when its supposed to be then you response to them should be " Im glad you aware of the reason this unit is the last i will purchase from your company"

[mercman]

your unit shouldnt be turned on when when the transducer is not in the water to be cooled off....who cares what it says when its on the trailer ....borrow someone elses handheld unit and make sure it is marking an identicle speed when you are fishing/moving ....if it works correctly when it supposed to be working ...then dont sweat it....if it isnt working correctly when its supposed to be then you response to them should be " Im glad you aware of the reason this unit is the last i will purchase from your company"

 

 

I hear ya.

Securely anchored on the water, same issue. Speed on boat speedometer indicates a faster speed than GPS, and my Bro, paced me in is Bass boat, and i was going faster than my GPS indicated.1-2 mph faster.

[mike rousseau]

What happens is...

 

I'll be trolling a steady 5mph and the units on the screen jump between 3-7mph...

 

A lot of the time the speeds are correct... But the other day I was trolling 5+mph and for about 20 minutes it was saying a steady 3.5-4

[Twocoda]

I hear ya.

Securely anchored on the water, same issue. Speed on boat speedometer indicates a faster speed than GPS, and my Bro, paced me in is Bass boat, and i was going faster than my GPS indicated.1-2 mph faster.

speedo on the boat will vary from the GPS due to currents of the water.....anchor could be dragging and your drifting ...

[mercman]

What happens is...

 

I'll be trolling a steady 5mph and the units on the screen jump between 3-7mph...

 

A lot of the time the speeds are correct... But the other day I was trolling 5+mph and for about 20 minutes it was saying a steady 3.5-4

 

Bingo.....exactly the same thing here too.

I will keep you all posted on what Humminbird is doing to resolve this issue.

[mercman]

speedo on the boat will vary from the GPS due to currents of the water(brothers GPS indicated higher speed than mine).....

anchor could be dragging and your drifting ... Nope, securely anchored

[esoxcrazy]

Well the accuracy of the gps signals for civilian use has been a topic for many years. There is only a few ways to help you map as accurate as possible: The use of the external antennae is a must! I run lowrance 520C with the external puck and the 522igps on the bow. I also have my garmin hcx with the accuracy onscreen display. The internal 522 is definetly not as accurate as the external reciever. Having the accuracy of the waas reciever is a great piece of info that is gonna get you back on those "spot on spot" locations.

You may need to hold off for the use of the european "Galileo" system that is expected to blow the american gps system out of the water!

In 1999, the different concepts (from Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom) for Galileo were compared and reduced to one by a joint team of engineers from all four countries. The first stage of the Galileo programme was agreed upon officially on 26 May 2003 by the European Union and the European Space Agency. The system is intended primarily for civilian use, unlike the United States system, which the U.S. military runs and uses on a primary basis. The U.S. reserves the right to limit the signal strength or precision of GPS, or to shut down public GPS access completely, so that only the U.S. military and its allies would be able to use it in time of conflict. Until 2000, the precision of the signal available to non-U.S.-military users was limited (due to a timing pulse distortion process known as selective availability)

[Gerry]

Crazy is correct. GPS units, even with external antennas, are somewhat inaccurate in positioning and so it stands to reason that they will also be off when indicating low speeds. If you want precision at low speeds a GPS will not do it for you, especially worse with an internal antenna. If you want precision for trolling only a paddle wheel specially designed for this application will give that to you. I use this while trolling for walleye or salmon: Moore Subtroll.