One of the latest innovations in marine electronics is the Humminbird 360 Imaging. Although this sonar isn’t out yet, the release is expected for this September. This technology will be great for the enhancement of your fish finding capabilities, but it’s going to be a bit spicy priced. The expected price for this product is somewhere around $1900. So, ladies and gentlemen anglers, if you want a 360 underwater view, start saving.
The first thing that I have to mention here is that this sonar will probably be commercialized separately from any Humminbird head unit. As a general idea, it will be compatible with the Hummingbird fish finders that have Side Imaging. To be more precise, these are the 1198c SI Combo, 998c SI Combo, 898c SI Combo and 798ci HD SI Combo, the ethernet capable units. In other words, it can upgrade the top Hummingbird fish finders. So, the good news is, if you already have any of these fish finder models, you’ll be able to upgrade it with the Humminbird 360 Imaging sonar.
The biggest advantage of the 360 imaging is that it provides the angler with a great, 360° view of the underwater environment. It works like the Side Imaging technology, but it’s evidently superior. There are a few options regarding the view of the 360 Imaging.
The cicle image can be broken down in 4 segments, and you can only observe one of them, if needed. For example, you can select the front view segment, and observer only what’s in front of the boat. Of course, observing the image in split screen, along with the SwitchFire view is possible.
The 360 Imaging sonar covers a circle area with a 300 feet in diameter.
Since this type of sonar is compatible with the Humminbird models I mentioned above, marking waypoints on the circle are will be possible. And everytime you will sail over a marked waypoint in casting range you’ll be notified by a sound signal. Of course, taking screenshots and recording videos is possible.
The physical 360 Imaging device, is rather big. It’s actually a whole transducer deployment system and it has to be attached to the hull of the boat, preferably at the rear. With the push of a button, the transducer is lowered into the water. However, the pole at the end of which the transducer is mounted doesn’t extend for too long. Therefore, if you have a boat with a high hull, the transducer may not reach its adequate position. However, it should work fine on almost any standard bass boat or fishing boat.
Hummingbird Fish Finders FAQs 