Another elite 4 hdi.

Alright, my patience was tested to the breaking point. Instead of waiting for my ff to ship, I canceled and drove from Ptld to the Springfield Cabelas and back.

First thoughts: I am happy with the screen size @ 4.3" controls are intuitive and everything seems self explanatory. Transducer is huge! Much larger than the older 83/200. So far playing with it in demo mode the only thing I would change is the ability to go from side by side to top and bottom 2d/dsi. Might be an option I haven't found yet.

I grabbed the ball ram mount made for the elite/mark series. This allows the user to use the quick release built into the unit. FF, ram mount, and 8ah sla battery came to a total of $364.48. Much easier for me than a 5 or 7 hdi.

I am going to try and get out tomorrow. If not, at my earliest convenience I will try to do a light review of this unit's performance. Although with the chocolate water and debris I will probably be just pedaling in circles instead of being productive with fishing. 

Update: I am on the water now with the unit. The dsi is great, but without having the 2d sonar next to it, it would be hard to decipher. Fish I see, mostly with regular sonar. Tree branches, rocks, and drop offs are very clear on the dsi. I have no navionics  chip so GPS is just that a bone basic gps map. So far the sweet spot seems to be running 200khz side by side with 455khz. Instillation was easy with the lowrance mount on my outback but the extra cable for the nema 0183 made the final through hull connection not as water tight as I would like. Hopefully more to come on the review

I just put an Elite-4 HDI in my new Outback.  I'm kind of a perfectionist (read: anal) when it comes to installing things.  The RAM base was installed off center intentionally to give more room to tighten the tension nob/wingnut thing...that was difficult on my OCD, but it had to be done. 

I got a RAM mount and put the base in the port (left) cup holder.



Marked the first hole, and think about it for a little bit before the drilling the first hole.



Got the hardware installed for the base. Used 1/4" stainless steel machine screws with blue locktite, of course that also meant enlarging the holes in the RAM base slightly.



Had to steal the cable passthrough from the starboard side, ordered another one to replace the empty 1" hole on the nekid side. The cables are pretty stiff, but still allows the mount to be moved around and adjust the angles.



Ready to go; need to get the battery installed...I ordered the Hobie 12vdc battery holder, going to mount it to the sailing mast post in the front of the hull.  I picked up a 7amp hour batter for $25 local.  I can adjust the screen so it is pushed back away from the rudder handle.



With the head unit removed, the cables tuck into the cup holder and are clear of the top of the hull, so it will be flush for hauling upside down.





Zip tied the excess transducer cable to the seat scupper tube. I used two zip ties for now, might put a couple more on later...because I figure, "If it's worth doing, it's worth over doing."



Then coiled the NMEA cable up and secured it to the transducer cable.

thanks for the review and pics.

Currently have Elite-4s and am thinking of upgrading to this or an Elite-5 HDI. Can one of you send me a pic of the X-ducer? I currently run my Elite-4 X-ducers through a seat scupper but I'm sure the HDI X-ducers are larger and wonder if they'll tuck in close enough to the hull to be protected like my Elite-4s

My outback is a 2014, so it has the Lowrance Ready transducer pocket, it fits and is completely covered by the plate...so I won't be able to get a pic for you.

Currently have Elite-4s and am thinking of upgrading to this or an Elite-5 HDI. Can one of you send me a pic of the X-ducer? I currently run my Elite-4 X-ducers through a seat scupper but I'm sure the HDI X-ducers are larger and wonder if they'll tuck in close enough to the hull to be protected like my Elite-4s

Here's a picture of my Elite 5 HDI installation, and the approx. dimensions (they are longer). 

Perfect, I can make that work...thanks!