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H-Bird 570 DI or H-bird 596c HD

4K views 27 replies 5 participants last post by  senkomaster 
#1 ·
My Brain is hurting trying to decide on an upgrade from my cuda 300 ...anyone have any experience with the greyscale down imaging...is it worth it or should i get a regular sonar with color... I dont have anything against the black and white been using it for 3 years but color def looks cool... is all this wattage talk bs? The 596c has 4000 ptp and the others have 2400... i know this isnt rms but still. I also have heard a lot about how DI is pretty useless and just looks good on demo?
?
 
#2 ·
I don't think DI is over-rated but it doesn't always give you proper perspective, wrote a post on this a few months back.
IMO if you want imaging, go all out and get the SI - it's worth every penny.

Wattage is never over-rated so get as much power as you can afford and color in 2D is well worth the money. Were it me, I'd go for a color 2D-only unit with high wattage punch and if you can get one with GPS even better.
 
#3 ·
i upgraded from a eagle cuda 300 recently

as bwguffey knows i was narrowed down to the same two units as you the humminbird 570 di and the 586c hd

get the 596c hd or 586c hd for sure. the color is outstanding, deffinately worth the money over the 570 di

the 586c hd is basicly a 596c hd your looking at with a 480 horizontal pixels rather than 640, and about a $100 less.

i got mine for $310 or so from a trusted seller on ebay and couldnt be more satisfied.
 
#6 ·
Heres a picture of the HB 586C Hd on falls lake, only in 14 foot of water but when i was out in the channel i would go over a tree and i can see the crappie suspended around it. 640 vertical pixels, and pretty clear image. the photo is blurry cuz i zoomed in on a lrevious picture taken with a phone camera, in person its crystal clear. the color makes a huge difference from the grayscale of the 300

 
#9 ·
Its your descision to make.

Its just that even though you can see the fish or tree on the DI without side imagine your taking a shot in the dark as far as where that item is in reference to your boat... could be 60 feet to your left, under you, 30 feet to your right, or 60 feet to your right on the DI.

The 570 has 2D sonar too which is cool having both 2D and DI for only $300 but then again you will probably end up having to run 2D side by side with the DI just to identify if the fish your seeing on DI is even within the 2D beam too.

EX: see a fish on the DI, look at the 2D

1) its there on both, now you know the fish is within X/2 distance of your boat (X being water depth) so in 30 feet of water the fish is within 15 feet of your boat. its not actually 15 feet but a cone that widens from your transducer to form a circle with the same diameter of the depth you are in. (Not on all units but thats how it is on the 83* beam of the 570 and 596
2) its only on the DI. Your fish is somewhere outside of 15 feet to your right or left, you cant tell how dar to which side or even WHICH side the fish is on

Thats the main reason DI is hard to use without SI

With the 596c Hd you get more vertical pixels meaning more detail, more wattage and rms so more power for deep or stained water, and most importantly color. Color is great because a fish shows up as a different color as a tree or rock so if they are holding close to structure you can see if they are there or not. It also is easier to read in sunlight.

Guffeys right about the GPS though, if you can afford it get GPS. I dont have it but find myself wishing i did sometimes
 
#14 ·
I agree with the gentlemen above.

I have the 597 hd di.... The only reason I got it versus the non-di model is because of a bass pro rebate they were offering with it that made it only about $50 more if I remember correctly.

Having used it for a while now, my gut feeling was correct.... DI is nice occasionally (helps to differentiate between certain kinds of structure vs baitfish balls) but overwhelmingly the color/high pixels is much more helpful to me.
 
#15 ·
thanks all... the main reason i wanted DI was to just tool around and see whats down there though (dork factor).. not really planning on using it to find fish(I know im stupid). H-bird lists the wattage as the same for the 570di 586chd and 596chd so wouldnt my 2d sonar be about the same looking, just harder to decipher with the greyscale? If i had the money i would totally buy the 596hd di but i need another $100... thanks again for the smart advice but i might have to be an idiot and buy the 570di ... but hey at least im not buying another lowrance:):)
 
#18 ·
I don't think you can go wrong with either and it sounds like you're pretty sold on the DI feature. That's just something you'll likely have to use for yourself to decide whether or not it was worth the extra money after the fact. I spent the extra money for it for the same reasons and can't remember the last time I even used it. It's more of a novelty than anything in my opinion and doesn't show the fish arches and bait returns that I use to fish over deep water.

Honestly, the best value in the 500 series is the 597ci HD. It's got the wattage, color, and resolution I've grown to love as well as the GPS feature with Navionics capability. Never thought I would care about GPS and after having it I wouldn't buy another unit without it. Period. I read a post where another NCangler member said he could do the same thing with a $2 marker bouy. He can't...he just doesn't know he can't because he's never had it.

Good luck...like I said, you can't go wrong with either unit.
 
#20 ·
I'd do a foam wet well instead. The DI transducer has a wide cone so it really needs a large area to shoot through. My Lowrance DSI didn't work well at all with epoxy dispite a virtually perfect bubble-free pour - It wanted to be strictly in water, can't imagine the HB DI would be any different.
 
#26 ·
you cant find it local :(

closest thing is the foam used in kayak transporters for cars without racks. the foam block that you put between the kayak and car top.

i checked home depot and lowes and ace none have closed cell foam anywhere thick enough. lowes was nice enough to give me some very very dense foam used for putting stacks of lumber on but in the end its too rigid.
 
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