Humminbird Fishfinders, GPS, and More
Humble Beginnings to Marine Electronics Player
Humminbird fishfinders have been around under a variety of brand names since the early 1970s. The company started operations by modifying and marketing kit electronics in a southeastern Alabama garage.
Over the ensuing decades the company expanded, changed names, and changed ownership several times. These days, Humminbird electronics are designed, built, and marketed as part of the marine electronics group of Johnson Outdoors.
From its humble beginnings Humminbird has grown into a powerhouse player with a full line of fishfinders, GPS chartplotters, fishfinder chartplotter combos, and digital depth sounders. The company also builds and markets ice fishing sonar gear and wireless fishfinders known as the SmartCast series.
Over the years the company built a strong reputation and loyal following among freshwater anglers and bass professionals. Lately the Humminbird has expanded into the saltwater arena with its big screen mapping chartplotter fishfinder combos.
Humminbird fishfinders are also quite well-known for its side imaging technology which is available in a number of their mid-size and big screen units. Their latest technology addition is down imaging. Down imaging uses high-frequency transducer technology to produce photo-like images from views below the boat.
300 Series
There are currently four models in the Humminbird 300-series entry level lineup. Several of these models are available in standard, portable, and other special configurations. They range from a standalone monochrome screen fishfinder to a color screen mapping chartplotter fishfinder. In this series, I reviewed the top-of-the-line Humminbird 385ci Combo.
500 Series
There are currently twelve models in the Humminbird 500-series lineup ranging from standalone monochrome screen fishfinders to full blown mapping chartplotters with onboard cartography and the latest Down Imaging sonar technology. Our first review in this series is the top-of-the-line Humminbird 597ci HD DI.
700 Series
Next up is the 700-series, which is a six model lineup including a pair of monochrome standalone sonar units a high-resolution color screen fishfinder. The remaining three are high-resolution color screen chartplotter fishfinder combo units. We have reviewed the Humminbird 788ci. Humminbird offers both a Side Imaging and Down Imaging version in combination with a GPS chartplotter.
800 Series
A pair of wide screen high resolution combination chartplotter fishfinders make up the Humminbird 800-series. These combos use a landscape layout 7-inch display screen.
900 Series
Another pair of wide screen high resolution combination chartplotter fishfinders make up the Humminbird 900-series lineup. These two use 8-inch display screens.
1100 Series
These are the biggest and baddest offers from Humminbird. I got a chance to see the Humminbird 1198c SI in action on the water at a South Florida boat show and was impressed with the Side Imaging technology.
